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{{James Bond Character| |
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|image= [[Image:Elliot Carver by Jonathan Pryce 200x200.jpg|200px]] |
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|name=Elliot Carver |
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|gender=[[Male]] |
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|occupation=Media tycoon |
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|affiliation=Carver Media Group Network |
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|status=Deceased 1997 |
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|relatives= '''Father:''' Lord Roverman (Deceased) <br /> '''Mother''' Unnamed German woman (Deceased) <br> '''Wife:''' Paris Carver (Deceased) |
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|role=[[List of James Bond villains|Villain]] |
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|portrayed=[[Jonathan Pryce]] |
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}} |
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'''Elliot Carver''' is a fictional character and the main [[antagonist (literature)|antagonist]] in the [[James Bond]] film ''[[Tomorrow Never Dies]]''. In the film, he is portrayed by British actor [[Jonathan Pryce]]. Screenwriter [[Bruce Feirstein]] modelled the character on [[Robert Maxwell]], but many viewers analysed Carver as a satirical take on [[Rupert Murdoch]]<ref>{{cite news | author = [[Bruce Feirstein]] | title = Bruce Feirstein: The Tao of Bond-Film Naming | publisher = [[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] | date = [[2008-01-29]] | url = http://www.vanityfair.com/ontheweb/blogs/daily/2008/01/bruce-feirste-2.html | accessdate=2008-01-31}}</ref>. Carver's character also had basis in American newspaper magnate and leading newspaper publisher [[William Randolph Hearst]], whom Carver quotes towards the climax. Throughout the film, a number of subtle, if inadvertent homages to the classic [[George Orwell]] [[dystopian novel]], ''[[Nineteen Eighty-Four]]'' occur from numerous, huge images of Carver's face staring out at the viewer (akin to [[Big Brother]]), to intentional manipulation/fabrication of news and endless cameras and video screens. The choice of a media mogul as the Bond arch-villain serves as a warning of the power of the media and its ability to manipulate, coerce, misinform, incense and even terrorize populations. This was demonstrated during Carver's ominous first scene as he writes the headline for the next issue of his global newspaper, 'Tomorrow'. At first, Carver types, "BRITISH SAILORS KILLED," only to alter it a few seconds later to read, "BRITISH SAILORS MURDERED." This slight change made the headline more incendiary, suggesting a deliberate, vicious act. |
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==Biography== |
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Elliot Carver was born in [[Hong Kong]]. Officially an orphan, he is the illegitimate son of a German woman who died in childbirth and Lord Roverman, a press tycoon. A Chinese family takes the boy for a one-time fee of 50 pounds. Thirty years later, Carver confronts and blackmails Roverman into suicide and takes over his media empire. This expanded background is found in the official novelization of ''Tomorrow Never Dies'', and it is also shown in a deleted extended scene in the ''Tomorrow Never Dies'' Ultimate collectors edition [[DVD]].<ref>[http://commanderbond.net/article/2339 The Raymond Benson CBn Interview (Part IV) - James Bond 007 - CommanderBond.net - James Bond At Its Best<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Over the course of the film, Carver is shown to be insane. |
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{{R from fictional character|James Bond}} |
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In the novelization, Elliot Carver went to college in [[Hong Kong]] and received a degree in the communication arts. He was hired as a [[meteorologist]] at a Hong Kong Television Station, a few years later, he became the [[anchorman]] of the station. He was not too nice to the women at the station, Carver would harass women sexually, he made one of women leave the station and Hong Kong completely due to his advances. This was before the term [[sexual harassment]] was being used. |
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Carver is an international media mogul of the German-based mass media company, the '''Carver Media Group'''. He frequently uses his influence to gain an advantage for his firm or wreak havoc on opponents. Moreover, CMG doesn't merely report the news - it CREATES it; CMGN is the first to report on scandals and disasters because it CAUSES then to happen. A scene of Carver's daily teleconference with the various heads of his divisions demonstrates this: News of the Day - "floods in Pakistan, riots in Paris and a plane crash in California"; Software – all current releases of software are loaded with bugs that will force consumers to upgrade for years, etc. To boost his viewership, he instructs his head of television to call the [[President of the United States]] and threaten to release scandalous photos of him with a cheerleader in a [[Chicago]] hotel room if he doesn't sign a bill lowering cable rates. Then, Carver adds to release the photos anyway after the bill has been signed. During the CMG Satellite Network Inaugural Party, Carver denies a rumor to his guests that after British beef baron Sir Angus Black lost $10,000 pounds in a game of poker to him and refused to pay up, he exacted revenge by releasing stories on [[Mad Cow Disease]]. He further claimed there was even less truth to the rumor the French pay him $100 million francs to keep the stories running for another year. |
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In the film, he attempts to start a war between the British and Chinese, hoping to wipe out the existing Chinese leadership in [[Beijing]] so his cohort could take over. Beyond the massive publicity such a war would produce, a friendlier political atmosphere would allow his [[television network]], the '''Carver Media Group Network''', to secure exclusive broadcasting rights in China for the next century, something that the existing Chinese politicians have denied. |
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Elliott Carver first appears in the movie at the headquarters of his media empire in [[Hamburg, Germany]], overseeing the sinking of the British warship ''[[HMS Devonshire]]'' in the [[South China Sea]] at the hands of his torpedo-like "SEA-VAC" drill. He then has his men steal a cruise missile from the sunken ship, which they have made impossible to be tracked by the British Government. He is later seen at the launch party for his new satellite network, where he gets unusually aggressive with his wife, [[Paris Carver|Paris]] ([[Teri Hatcher]]). He develops an instant suspicion of James Bond ([[Pierce Brosnan]]) when the [[secret agent]] questions him regarding the sunken ship. He has his henchmen capture and attempt to interrogate Bond, but he escapes and cuts off power to Carver's live international broadcast. |
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When learning it was Bond who caused him and his network international embarrassment, Carver tells Paris to get information from him as to why he was at the party and what he knows. Carver believed that Bond is merely a former acquaintance; when he discovers that they are ex-lovers and that his wife was less than honest with him about her past relationship with 007, he has Paris killed by his henchman, assassin Dr. Kaufman ([[Vincent Schiavelli]]), who is skilled in the art of [[chakra]] torture. This establishes for Bond a personal motivation to complete his mission, although many Bond movies include the "[[sacrificial lamb]]" to spur the British secret agent along the way. |
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Carver runs his operations on a stealth boat that can move undetected by radar. Bond and [[Ministry of State Security of the People's Republic of China|Chinese People's External Security Force]] agent [[Wai Lin]] ([[Michelle Yeoh]]) infiltrate his boat and learn he's going to fire the missile at [[Beijing]] so as to wipe out the existing Chinese government and replace them with a government who will grant him his desired broadcasting rights. |
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Carver is ultimately killed by Bond at the film's climax. After Bond and Wai Lin have taken out most of his army, Carver attacks Bond and points his gun at him and delivers a rant about his master plan, which Bond uses to his advantage by secretly activating Carver's SEA-VAC drill. Carver quizzically looks around and is subsequently disarmed by Bond, who then pushes him into the path of the gigantic drill. Carver screams in fright as the drill steadily approaches, and Bond stands by watching as the drill tears Carver to shreds. |
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[[M_(James_Bond)#Judi_Dench_as_M_.281995.E2.80.93present.29|M]] later releases a news story stating that Carver presumed missing, having drowned while onboard his luxury yacht in the South China Sea, while the authorities believed he committed suicide. |
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'''Memorable lines''': |
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"Delicious..." |
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"Gentlemen, Ladies: Hold the presses... This just in! By a curious quirk of fate, we have the perfect story with which to launch our satellite news network tonight. It seems a small crisis is brewing in the South China Sea... I want FULL newspaper coverage! I want magazine stories! I want books! I want films! I want TV! I want radio! I want us on the air twenty-four hours a day! THIS is our moment! And a BILLION people around this planet will watch it, hear it and read about it from the Carver Media Group... There's no news... like BAD news!" |
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"Mr. Bond, Ms. Lin... Welcome to Saigon. I hadn't intended opening in this center till tomorrow, but as you're here, you can help me in writing the inaugural story: your obituaries..." |
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"Actually, Mr. Bond: YOU'RE the one who wrote my wife's obituary... When you asked her to betray me. Still, let's see... 'British Secret Service agent James Bond and his collaborator Wai Lin – of the Chinese People's External Security Force - were found dead in their hotel this morning in Vietnam...' Lacks punch, don't you think?" |
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"Ah, therein lies your problem, Mr. Bond... You see, we are both men of action, but your era and Ms. Lin's is passing. Words are the new weapons; satellites the new artillery." |
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"Exactly! Caesar had his legions, Napoleon had his armies, I have my divisions: TV, news, magazines. And by midnight tonight, I'll have reached and influenced more people than anyone in the history of this planet save God Himself. And the best He ever managed was the Sermon on The Mount..." |
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"The distance between insanity and genius is measured only by success." |
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"When you remove Mr. Bond's heart, there should just be enough time for him to watch it stop beating..." |
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"Let the mayhem begin..." |
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"What the HELL do I pay you for?! If she's there, BOND is there!" |
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"Great men have always manipulated the media to save the world. Look at William Randolph Hearst who told his photographers, 'You provide the pictures, I'll provide the war!' I've just taken it one step further..." |
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"Oh, Mr. Stamper... Would you please KILL those bastards?!" |
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==Henchmen== |
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*See [[List of James Bond henchmen in Tomorrow Never Dies]] |
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==See also== |
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* [[William Randolph Hearst]], American newspaper magnate / leading newspaper publisher who was the apparent inspiration for.... |
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* [[Charles Foster Kane]], Orson Welles' lead role and character in his masterpiece, [[Citizen Kane]]. |
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* [[Robert Maxwell]], another reputedly corrupt media mogul reported missing from his luxury yacht and presumed a suicide. |
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* [[Rupert Murdoch]], CEO of [[Newscorp]]. |
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==References== |
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{{Reflist}} |
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{{James Bond characters}} |
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Carver, Elliott}} |
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[[Category:Fictional media moguls]] |
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[[Category:Fictional socialites]] |
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[[Category:Fictional mass murderers]] |
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[[Category:Fictional orphans]] |
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[[Category:Fictional adoptees]] |
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[[Category:Fictional people from Hong Kong]] |
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Latest revision as of 03:16, 4 June 2021
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