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Sanchez's iguana was a movie prop.
After watching LTK this week, as part of my 2013 Bond-bluathon (now up to TWINE - 5 films to go) I think its clear the iguana is a fake in virtually every scene, at least every scene in which it interacts with actors, which sees it mostly perched on Sanchez's shoulder. I was first tipped to this possibility at The Designing Bond 50th Anniversary Show, which had the fake, very lifelike prop-iguana on display. But from watching the film again, I think the fake is used in almost every scene. Watch it, it never moves. The prop people seemingly adjusted it's stance by bending its legs or neck, from shot to shot, to create some variety, but otherwise it's stock still in every shot, in which it interacts with humans.
We do see it move once when it is sitting on a couch, but that's it.
The magic of movie-making. And all these years, I though it was the real deal, but I don't think it is.
==A couple of other interesting reveals from the very excellent Designing Bond Show:
The A-Tac machine is nothing but a brightly painted wood construct. The buttons don't even depress. There is nothing remotely mechanical about it.
Le Bombe Surprise from DAF: same thing. It's another painted wood construct, with some cheap wires attached.
Great props. Both sure looked real on film.
Edit: to mods. ooops. Sorry this post is not "news." I forgot to check the category when I posted. It probably fits in General Bond movie discussion.
We do see it move once when it is sitting on a couch, but that's it.
The magic of movie-making. And all these years, I though it was the real deal, but I don't think it is.
==A couple of other interesting reveals from the very excellent Designing Bond Show:
The A-Tac machine is nothing but a brightly painted wood construct. The buttons don't even depress. There is nothing remotely mechanical about it.
Le Bombe Surprise from DAF: same thing. It's another painted wood construct, with some cheap wires attached.
Great props. Both sure looked real on film.
Edit: to mods. ooops. Sorry this post is not "news." I forgot to check the category when I posted. It probably fits in General Bond movie discussion.
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Comments
I always thought the iguana was real too, but now that I know the very life-like prop does exist, I can also see how it could have been, and most likely was used in almost every iguana scene. The fact that real-life iguanas tend to stay still, actually makes the prop more believable and practical. You couldn't exactly do the same thing with a prop parrot, hamster or white persian cat, but with a green iguana, who needs the real deal?!
Biggest surprise for me at the exhibit in Toronto was how beat up the attache case from FRWL was. Looked like something they found in a garbage dump! I actually felt pain in my heart and how little care it had seen over the years...
Another hi-lite from the early years was Connery's actual coat and hat, that he wore as he visited M's office for the first time. These iconic clothing items were also touchable for those of us milling about. Having now made that tangible physical connection with Connery's Bond, my life is pretty much fully lived now. B-)
Funny how the things you experience as a kid are so different than what you experience as an adult...
And no matter how excited I was to see everything there my girlfriend (who got me the tickets for Xmas) was even more excited to see Craig's swim trunks from CR... :-O
The whole exhibit was absolutely fascinating. There was no shortage of props from the films, all instantly recognizable to Bond fanatics. But what I found most interesting were the numerous dresses and other costumes from the actual films. I didn't think this would be the case going in, but the dresses were so well displayed - on mannequins which bore the general look of the actresses, minus facial features, and in the exotic casino display setting. It really did have the effect of physical connection to these iconic films. The fact that you could discreetly touch a lot of these famous costumes was major bonus. I'm not sure it was encouraged, but there was certainly nothing stopping, if one was discreet and respectful. It's only natural to want to get a sense of the fabric's feel.
Of particular fascination for me was Anya's evening gown, the two LTK casino dresses of Pam and Lupe, plus Vesper and Elektra King's casino outfits, all of which were quite touchable and thrilling to see up close like this. Same with Tiffany Case's actual DAF cream coloured pant-suit ensemble. Awesome.
Camille's little black party dress from QoS, featured in posters, was another hi-lite. It was behind glass, but the little tear in the dress which is clear in the both the film and stills, was also quite visible, lending to the authenticity.
I also had fun cracking knuckles on Tee Hee's mechanical arm, which was mounted on a wall. There was nothing phony about that prop. It was quite sturdy solid.
There's a close-up shot of it in the "Bond on Set" DAD photo book, where it was used in the Q "storage locker" scene. It definitely looked pretty scuffed-up then.
While it would be nice if it had been stored better, I kind of appreciate that they didn't re-surface it or cover the scratches with varnish or something. This way, it may not look great, but it's still the original prop intact, without any bells or whistles.
With the newer props and costumes there will be more than one copy. I believe that for the famous La Perla trunks there were two pairs that Craig wore when filming, plus another two that were kept "in reserve" if needed by the production. It's likely there were at least two copies of Jinx's bikini as well, and Green's dress from CR.
As someone who has an interest in clothes (perhaps started by Bond?) it was great to see the costumes up close. You'd think I'd know from working on films but it still surprises me how plain some clothes can look in the real world yet how glamorous they look on film (I'm thinking of Anya's dress or Dalton's tux from LTK). Yet others (Green's purple dress from CR, Pam's dress from LTK) look even better in the real world than on film!
When LTK came out my girlfriend was told that she looked like Talisa Soto, so it was interesting to finally see the red lace dress from LTK. In 1989 she would have loved to have worn a dress like that, not only because of how beautiful it seemed but because it would have enhanced that comparison. But what looked so beautiful on her at the time looks quite dated now and the colour doesn't look nearly as nice in the real world as it does on film. That was one of the few costumes I felt that way about.
It's interesting how different things look on film. The sweater that Craig wears at SF lodge in SF looks turquoise in the theatre, royal blue on my TV, and yet a third different shade of blue in the real world!
The signage was also quite clear that we were viewing film worn arcticles. If that wasn't the case, I wouldn't pay cash to look at replicas or spares. Anything that was replica was identified as such, such as Honey Ryder'sbikini, Sean's TB trunks etc. The integrity of the exhibit hinges on displaying the authentic film-worn goods. That was it's appeal, that we would be gazing upon authentic film-used stuff.
When these reptiles get an idea in head that they are not intending on staying around they can really move! This may be the reason for the disappointing prop, either that or it may have had a penchant for disappearing and not returning with that diamond necklace.