Caterpillar 007 - Licensed to
Operate
Who would have thought that entering an operator
competition could result in an opportunity to work on the latest James Bond
film in Spain? It may sound like something out of a movie, but that is what
happened to owner/operators Jude Mullin and Adrian Caan recently.
Both were visiting a construction show in early May and paid a visit
to the Caterpillar stand. Cat runs a Europe-wide Operator Challenge,
and Site Equipment Demonstration (SED) hosted the UK portion of the competition.
The winner and first runner up will go on to European trials at Caterpillar's
proving grounds in Malaga later this year. What the operators did not know
was that this year Cat plays a major role in the latest James Bond film,
"The World Is Not Enough." The feature film, starring Pierce Brosnan as 007,
includes a sequence on a pipeline site, filmed in central Spain.
The film, which features 15 Caterpillar machines,
from the latest 226 skid steer loader to a 950G wheel loader, needed
skilled operators to work the equipment on the set. Before they knew it,
Jude and Adrian were on a plane to Madrid to join an international team of
operators from Europe and the USA. Jude Mullin, from Tyrone, Northern Ireland
said: "I still can't believe I'm here today. It's been a brilliant week,
and we've been treated like royalty." With typical Irish wit, he added that
the other operators had christened him "double-O backhoe!"
Also on site were the 1998 competition's runner-up
and third place men, Finnish drivers Timo Honkaniemi and Hannu Jantonen,
operating IT14 and IT28 tool carriers. Caterpillar Forest Products specialist
Steve Hinton flew in from Aurora, Illinois, and Swedish Forest Products
demonstration operators Christer Ohman and Daniel Eriksson were operating
an imposing Cat 570 Harvester and a 574 Forwarder, which particularly impressed
art director Steve Laurence. Laurence noted: "It was critical to see that
there was some action in the shot. The harvester is certainly a dramatic
machine to look at."
Caterpillar made its mark on the crew as well. Not
only were the operators all kitted out in Cat workwear, but also the film
extras. Caterpillar produced a 007/Cat hat that was soon adopted as the film
crew's headgear. Former TV Gladiator John Seru, who plays Elektra King's
bodyguard, was particularly impressed with the Spanish set. Seru noted,
"It has been an experience for me. I'm really enjoying this." He added, "I
take a size 13 Cat boot!" It is estimated that around 300 million people
around the world see each Bond movie. When "The World is Not Enough"opens
in November most viewers will have their eyes glued to Pierce Brosnan, Denise
Richards and Sophie Marceau. But there will be some plant operators paying
particularly close attention to the machines at work in the
background!
Background News, Storylist, 7/1/99 |
