On November 12 2002, the Die Another Day soundtrack for the 20th James Bond film of the same name, was released by Warner Bros. Records. The title song for Die Another Day was sung by Madonna, who also had a small cameo in the movie as Verity, a fencing instructor. The Die Another Day song was written and produced by Madonna and Mirwais Ahmadzaï.
What is your favourite James Bond theme song?
On October 19 2002, Madonna’s Die Another Day debuted at #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the USA. The hit single spent 17 weeks on the chart, eventually peaking at #8 on November 9.
On October 9 2002, Entertainment Weekly published a review of Swept Away after screening the film at the Vista Theatre in Los Angeles on October 7.
Family and friends (and some celebrities) at the premiere included: Donna and Niki, Guy Oseary, Demi Moore, Claudia Schiffer, Matthew Vaughn, Debi Mazar, Herb Ritts, Joe Henry and Madonna’s sister Melanie.
Here’s a snippet of the review:
Drawn, lacquered, and just about as tanned as Goldmember, Madonna, in Swept Away, appears blowsy and middle-aged, and the hard character of experience does something for her. It allows her to leave vanity aside. (Either that, or her vanity now resides in her biceps, which are sinewy enough to strangle a panther.) Sound the trumpets: For the first time since Desperately Seeking Susan, Madonna doesn’t suck as an actress. In a movie career that is by now nearly as benighted as that of Linda Blair or Maria Montez, she comes through with a performance in which her line readings don’t clatter like broken plates, and she looks at least half as relaxed as she does on stage.
On May 22 2002, the real-life All The Way Mae died. Faye Dancer was a member of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1940s and an inspiration for the character (Mae Mordabito) Madonna played in the 1992 hit film, A League of Their Own.
On February 28 2002, Madonna announced that she would make her West End stage debut in David Williamson’s play Up For Grabs. The production would open on May 23, 2002 at Wyndhams Theatre in London, and have a 10-week run.
Madonna’s previous stage role was in Speed-the-Plow in 1988.
On February 12 2002, Madonna: Drowned World Tour 2001 was named Best Music DVD at the 1st annual UK DVD Awards in England.
On October 16 2002, Billboard released their review of Madonna’s Die Another Day:
The theme to the latest James Bond instalment, Die Another Day, is certainly a far cry from the melodic musings of Shirley Bassey, Nancy Sinatra, Paul McCartney, and even Duran Duran. Die Another Day in many ways picks up on the heels of Madonna’s inventive, experimental Music — thanks to her reunion with writer/producer Mirwais Ahmadzai — with a predominance of squiggly blips and zaps and enough effects on Madonna’s vocal to render it practically non-human. It’s an odd number, somewhat disjointed, a bit nonsensical, and not so much melodic as a highly stylized jam — but one must never underestimate the motivations of the long-and-lasting Madonna; and sure enough, with repeated listening, there are enough clever goings on and a hook that sinks into the consciousness to make this a captivating journey. James Bond purists may find themselves fitful that the traditional melodrama that marks such theme songs is remiss here, but radio jumped on the track weeks ahead of its official release, which will certainly fan the flames of publicity for the upcoming flick, out Nov. 22 in the U.S. On the horizon: an onslaught of remixes. Score another bull’s-eye for Madonna.
Today In Madonna History 