History Trivia / LicenceToKill

!!Trivia tropes:

* PromotedFanboy: Wayne Newton got the role of Professor Joe Butcher after sending a letter to the producers expressing interest in a cameo because he always wanted to be in a Bond film.

!!Miscellaneous trivia:

* Isthmus City president Hector Lopez was played by Pedro Armendariz, Jr., whose father, Pedro Armendariz, Sr., played Kerim Bey in ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove''.
* The Chinese ninja woman who also appears during the opening credit sequence is [[http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0496729/bio Diana Lee Hsu]], May 1988 Centerfold of ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}''. She is part of a tradition of having an actress in a Bond movie to model in ''Playboy'', although she's the first to have been a Centerfold before making the movie. She also appears in Maurice Binder's photography-themed opening sequence. Incidentally, Carey Lowell and Creator/TalisaSoto both declined to appear in ''Magazine/{{Playboy}}''.
* This was one of Creator/BenicioDelToro's earliest movie roles. He's still the record-holder of "Youngest Bond Villain" to this day (he was around 21 at the time of filming).
* This was the final ''Bond'' film:
** To be produced by Creator/AlbertRBroccoli. By the time ''Film/GoldenEye'' was being made, his health issues (which would kill him seven months after the film's release) prompted his daughter Creator/{{Barbara|Broccoli}} and his stepson Michael G. Wilson, already a co-producer in ''Licence to Kill'', to take over the reins.
** To feature Richard Maibaum as a scriptwriter. He had contributed to all but three of the previous ''Bond'' films, and would succumb to a heart attack in January 1991. (''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' were the only ones he didn't contribute to.)
** To open in the summer. It faced tough competition from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', ''Film/Batman1989'', ''Film/LethalWeapon2'', ''Film/GhostbustersII'', ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' and ''Film/TheAbyss'' at the summer box office, and ever since, ''Bond'' films open in autumn or winter, until ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' would zig-zag between this, originally being planned for release in April 2020 due to production delays, only to be moved to November 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak before being pushed to April 2021 and then finally (hopefully) being pushed to October 2021.
** To have [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Binder Maurice Binder]] design the opening title sequence, as he also passed away of lung cancer in April 1991. He had done every title sequence for the series up to this point, save for ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' and ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', and was succeeded by one of his alumni, Daniel Kleinman, in ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}''.
** To feature a Bond Girl - Cary Lowell - born before the franchise began with ''Film/DrNo'' in 1962.
** To be made before the fall of the Berlin Wall, the collapse of the Soviet Union and the end of the UsefulNotes/ColdWar.
** Also the last film to use the classic office sets for M and Moneypenny (at least until ''Film/{{Skyfall}}'').
** To feature SmokingIsCool throughout the film.
** Not to have any CGI (and thus, also the last to feature cheesy [[DrivingADesk rear projection]] shots).

* ActorInspiredElement: Sanchez' love of cigars came from Creator/RobertDavi. He also suggested to Creator/BenicioDelToro that Dario be the closest to Sanchez, giving them a brotherly relationship. It was Davi who suggested to Del Toro that he call out Sanchez' name during his death scene.

* WagTheDirector: The costume designer, who worked on ''Series/MiamiVice'', wanted Bond to wear pastels, but Creator/TimothyDalton argued in favour of a more casual look.

* InspirationForTheWork: Michael G. Wilson said that the script was inspired by ''Film/{{Yojimbo}}''.

** In Italy, the film was released as ''Vendetta Privata'' ("Personal Revenge" or "Private Revenge"), not following the translation, because ''Film/DrNo'' was titled ''Licenza di Uccidere'', the translation of this film's title. Sweden had the same problem: ''Dr. No'' had been ''Agent 007 med rätt att döda'' ("Agent 007 with a license to kill"), so ''Tid för hämnd'' ("Time for revenge") was used for this movie.

* CreatorKiller: John Glen had worked on every film -- first as editor, then director -- in the series since ''Film/TheSpyWhoLovedMe'', but the disappointing reaction to this film put an end to that. He didn't work on anything except a failed TV pilot during the next three years, after which the twofer of ''Film/IronEagle III'' and ''Christopher Columbus: The Discovery'' ended his career entirely.

** John Glen has said that the film "is among my best Bond films, if not the best".

** To open in the summer. It faced tough competition from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', ''Film/Batman1989'', ''Film/LethalWeapon2'', ''Film/GhostbustersII'', ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' and ''Film/TheAbyss'' at the summer box office, and ever since, ''Bond'' films open in autumn or winter, until ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' was planned for release in April 2020 due to production delays, only to be moved to November due to the coronavirus outbreak before being pushed to April 2021, making it the first film since ''Licence'' to not receive an autumn release date.

* RoleReprise:
** Creator/TimothyDalton reprised his role as James Bond from ''Film/TheLivingDaylights''.
** Returning from the previous Bond films are Robert Brown as M, Caroline Bliss as Miss Moneypenny and Desmond Llewelyn as Q.
** Creator/DavidHedison played Felix Leiter in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' in 1973, and reprised the role for ''Licence to Kill'' sixteen years later. Apparently, it happened because producer Albert R. Broccoli thought a familiar face was needed for Leiter given his prominence in the plot.

** To open in the summer. It faced tough competition from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', ''Film/Batman1989'', ''Film/LethalWeapon2'', ''Film/GhostbustersII'', ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' and ''Film/TheAbyss'' at the summer box office, and ever since, ''Bond'' films open in autumn or winter, until ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' was planned for release in April 2020 due to production delays (only to be moved to November due to the coronavirus outbreak).

* This is the only other Bond movie besides ''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'' in which Bond doesn't go to London.

* RoleReprise: Creator/DavidHedison played Felix Leiter in ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' in 1973, and reprised the role for ''Licence to Kill'' sixteen years later. Apparently, it happened because producer Albert R. Broccoli thought a familiar face was needed for Leiter given his prominence in the plot.

* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed: (Fictional) drug kingpin Franz Sanchez of the (fictional) Central American BananaRepublic of Isthmus is a thinly-veiled allusion to Manuel Noriega of UsefulNotes/{{Panama}}.

** Japanese-American Creator/CaryHiroyukiTagawa as Chinese narcotics agent Kwan.

** Other countries used ''The Cancelled Licence'' (Japan); ''With A Right To Kill'' (Norway); ''Permission to Kill'' (Brazil). Hungary used a completely different title, ''James Bond: The Lone Agent''. Finland, Croatia, Portugal, Spain and Latin America simply translated the actual title.

** Queens-born Italian-American Robert Davi plays the Latin American villain Franz Sanchez.
** Japanese-American Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa as Chinese narcotics agent Kwan.

* FakeNationality: Queens-born Italian-American Robert Davi plays the Latin American villain Franz Sanchez.

* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** The film had several [[https://i.pinimg.com/originals/38/e3/10/38e3103261ca8f24fff40e8d5b5ec23a.jpg beautiful poster arts]] designed when it was still known as ''Licence Revoked''. The name change meant that the posters had to be scrapped.
** The film was originally set in China and had such setpieces as a fight in a museum and a chase along the Great Wall. However, following ''Film/TheLastEmperor'', the novelty of filming there had worn off.
** Music/EricClapton was asked to write and perform the theme song. He and Vic Flick, who had played lead guitar on Monty Norman's original 007 theme, produced a theme to match Creator/TimothyDalton's gritty performance, but the producers turned it down.
** Creator/JohnRhysDavies was offered a cameo role as General Pushkin but declined the offer, as he was filming ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade''.
** Gene Simmons was allegedly offered a role, but due to commitments with Music/{{KISS}}, he declined.
* WorkingTitle: ''Licence Revoked''. Among the reasons for changing the title was to avoid confusion with the 1981 James Bond novel, ''Licence Renewed'', written by John Gardner (who ended up writing a novel based on this film as well). Licence Renewed means the exact opposite of Licence Revoked. Another reason for the change was that "license revoked" denotes losing one's driving privileges in the USA.

** To feature Richard Maibaum as a scriptwriter. He had contributed to all but three of the previous ''Bond'' films, and would pass away in 1991. (''Film/YouOnlyLiveTwice'', ''Film/LiveAndLetDie'' and ''Film/{{Moonraker}}'' were the only ones he didn't contribute to.)

** To have [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maurice_Binder Maurice Binder]] design the opening title sequence, as he also passed away in 1991. He had done every title sequence for the series up to this point, save for ''Film/FromRussiaWithLove'' and ''Film/{{Goldfinger}}'', and was succeeded by one of his alumni, Daniel Kleinman, in ''Film/{{GoldenEye}}''.

** To feature a Bond Girl - Cary Lowell - born before the before the franchise began with ''Film/DrNo'' in 1962.

** To open in the summer. It faced tough competition from ''Film/IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade'', ''Film/Batman1989'', ''Film/LethalWeapon2'', ''Film/GhostbustersII'', ''Film/StarTrekVTheFinalFrontier'' and ''Film/TheAbyss'' at the summer box office, and ever since, ''Bond'' films open in autumn or winter, until ''Film/NoTimeToDie'' was planned for release in April 2020 due to production delays.

* ActorAllusion: Kind of. Robert Davi appeared in the Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger vehicle Film/RawDeal which also featured the hero infiltrating an organised crime group and bringing it down from the inside, though there Davi played Schwarzenegger's rival rather than the Bigbad.

* MethodActing: Robert Davi stayed in character even when the cameras weren't rolling.

* RealitySubtext: Kind of inverted when Sanchez's actor, Robert Davi was taken by a number of thugs while on vacation in South America to an actual drug lord after the film was made. [[MisaimedFandom The man enjoyed his portrayal of a drug lord.]] Davi later revealed in 2016 interviews that said drug lord was none other than Pablo Escobar, who had provided some inspiration for the role of Franz Sanchez.

** Robert Davi improvised the line where Sanchez tells Killifer, "Loyalty is more important to me than money."

* {{Jossed}}: Until this movie, fans tended to assume "Felix Leiter" was just a codename assigned to whoever Bond's CIA contact was, given his tendency to be played by a different actor in every movie. Such fans, presumably, never read the books.

** Other countries used ''The Cancelled Licence'' (Japan); ''With A Right To Kill'' (Norway); ''Permission to Kill'' (Brazil). Hungary used a completely different title, ''James Bond: The Lonely Agent''. Finland, Croatia, Portugal, Spain and Latin America simply translated the actual title.

** Other countries used ''The Cancelled Licence'' (Japan); ''With A Right To Kill'' (Norway); ''Permission to Kill'' (Brazil). Finland, Croatia, Portugal, Spain and Latin America simply translated the actual title.