Q2? Cleese in three more Bond films

LOS ANGELES -- And now for something completely different: Monty Python's John Cleese has become a new member of an even more famous British institution, the James Bond franchise.

Cleese, 60, who plays the comical "young assistant" to venerable gadget armourer "Q" (85-year-old Desmond Llewelyn) in "The World Is Not Enough" (opening Friday) has already signed on for three more 007 movies, he said.

Noting that it's relatively easy work for good pay, Cleese said he only spent two days working on the new Bond picture, one of which was just five days before his hip surgery. He said he and Llewelyn kept each other amused during the "boring" hours of downtime on the set.

But Llewelyn, Cleese and longtime Bond franchise producer Michael Wilson all say that despite the introduction of an assistant to "Q" -- the character is jokingly dubbed "R" by Bond in the movie -- Llewelyn will continue to play the role of "Q" as long as he wants.

"It's up to the Almighty," Llewelyn said at the Los Angeles premiere last week -- presumably referring to God, not the late Bond movie series creator Cubby Broccoli.

Should Llewelyn not return for another outing after appearing in 17 of the 19 official Bond movies -- he missed the first 007 movies starring Sean Connery ("Dr. No") and Roger Moore ("Live and Let Die") -- and appearing in a similar small role in Bond originator Ian Fleming's "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang" from the same Bond movie producers in 1968, the "Q" character is given a graceful exit in the new movie.

While descending slowly on a lift out of the bottom of the film frame, "Q" tells Bond two things to remember: "Never let them see you bleed, and always have an escape route."

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