James Bond in film of the funding for the Bond films, fell into financial difficulties following the box office failure of "Heaven's Gate" (1980), bringing uncertainty to the future of the funding. The situation was resolved in May 1981, when Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer acquired United Artists. Following "For Your Eyes Only", Roger Moore had expressed a desire to stop playing James Bond. His original contract had been for three films, a requirement fulfilled with "The Spy Who Loved Me". Subsequent films had been negotiated on a film-by-film basis. The producers engaged in a semi-public quest for the next actor to play Bond, which would be for
Q (James Bond) although he later made two uncredited reappearances in Bond films, first as an RAF officer in "Thunderball" (1965) and later as a secret agent in the satirical "Casino Royale". Featured in Beginning with "From Russia with Love", Desmond Llewelyn portrayed the character in every official film except "Live and Let Die" until his death in 1999. In the 1977 film "The Spy Who Loved Me", as Q delivered the underwater Lotus, Major Anya Amasova/Agent XXX (Barbara Bach) greets Q as "Major Boothroyd". While briefing Bond on the gadgets that he is going to use on his mission, Q often expresses