Daniel Craig

[Hoyaheel 1,874]

It's kind of like Clark Gable where if you look at his ears and analyze his face, you wonder why women swooned and yet swoon they did!

And also like Clark Gable--Craig looks better moving (acting, etc) than in still photographs. In my opinion, of course I think he's hot & definitely doable, as I told my husband repeatedly while we were watching Casino Royale

[BobbyD 2]

All AP News

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Cannes Sneak Peak of Kidman-Craig Movie

 

 

Move over, Gandalf and Frodo. After "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy, New Line Cinema is betting that armored polar bears and flying witches will be the next big thing.

 

Reporters at the Cannes Film Festival watched a preview of 10 vivid minutes of footage from "The Golden Compass," a $180 million digital fantasy to be released worldwide Dec. 7. The studio used the same sneak peek strategy at Cannes with the first "Lord of the Rings" installment in 2001.

 

Starring Nicole Kidman and James Bond star Daniel Craig, "The Golden Compass" is set in a mysterious parallel world, where people's souls take the shape of pets cats or snakes or snow leopards who follow them around.

 

Kidman, wearing a blond bob and beguiling 1930s-style gowns, plays a scientist and traveler. Craig portrays an explorer in the Indiana Jones vein professorial in a beard and tweed suit, a change of pace from his incarnation as 007.

 

But the heart of the story belongs to Dakota Blue Richards, a first-time actress who was chosen from among 10,000 candidates for the role of capricious, curious 12-year-old Lyra. The adventure starts when Lyra's best friend disappears and she vows to travel around the world to find him.

 

The tale is a screen adaptation of British writer Philip Pullman's novel, the first book in a trilogy called "His Dark Materials." Craig says he's a fan.

 

"Like with (J.R.R.) Tolkien, there's something about them that's beyond the fantasy," Craig told a small group of reporters in Cannes on Monday. "It's not just about witches and elves. It's a story about true feelings."

 

Director Chris Weitz, known for work on comedies including "American Pie," discovered Pullman's trilogy while co-directing "About a Boy" with his brother Paul. He says he was stunned by the books' imagination and heart, and he hopes to make two follow-ups if all goes well.

 

"There's a very simple through line to a very complex story there's this child who has a very strong sense of ... justice and injustice," he said. "Because a lot of things she does are selfish or self-motivated, she's not a perfect child, but she does what she thinks is right at the time."

 

Delicate, golden-haired Richards says she loved her character's bravery and mischievousness.

 

"When somebody tells her not to do something, then her first instinct is to go and do it which I quite like," she said.

 

In one of the scenes showed in Cannes, Lyra is counseled by a flying witch (Bond girl Eva Green) and recruits an enormous polar bear to help her on her mission. Clad in gold-plated armor, he bounds over ice caps carrying her on her back some of the best footage on show.

[QTPIE 0]

Daniel Craig Engaged?

 

 

James Bond star Daniel Craig may be breaking the hearts of his legions of fans -- he's engaged, according to reports.

 

The British actor reportedly proposed to film producer Satsuki Mitchell during a romantic break in Italy.

 

Mitchell has been spotted wearing a huge ring on her wedding finger ever since the summer vacation.

[Freckles 79]

When I first this photo, I thought 'yuck - head too little for a body that's over-worked' for my tastes. Then I saw Bond and YOWZA! There was just something about the whole package that so few actors have. As someone said above "he's a MAN, not a pretty boy" not to mention he can actually act - imagine that!

 

Couldn't have said it better m'self. In photos he's ugly but in the film he was just so dead sexy I can't even believe it.

 

And you know, I find it really great when a guy hasn't a pretty or conventionally good looking bone in his body but keeps the ladies (and the 'mos) swooning. Good for him!

[BobbyD 2]

Sloan sees hope in talks

MGM boss: Offer means 'progress'

By Paul Bond

 

Oct 26, 2007

 

Related story: WGA seems unimpressed with new AMPTP proposals

 

MGM chairman and CEO Harry Sloan has a prediction: There will be no writers strike beginning Nov. 1.

 

Sloan told attendees of the Forbes MEET II conference at the Beverly Hills Hotel on Thursday that, with the latest proposal from studios, he sees "the beginning of a constructive discussion."

 

But while Sloan is predicting that WGA members won't strike the moment their current contract runs out Halloween night, that's not to say they wouldn't walk out later. The point he was making, he said, is that for maybe the first time there "are signs of progress."

 

"I really don't think that our side is as dark and anti-union as the studios are being portrayed," he said, adding that his mother was a member of a teachers' union and his father was a machinist.

 

 

He also encouraged sympathy for innocent bystanders. "If you've got one or two writers on the show, you've got 150 other people who would still have to pay their mortgages," he said.

 

That a sticking point in negotiations between studios and writers is digital download revenue isn't surprising, considering writers believe they did not get a fair slice from DVD revenue, Sloan said. But he added that digital downloads don't amount to much.

 

He used the example of the MGM movie "The Princess Bride," which he said was the No. 1 download at iTunes for two weeks, though it only sold 5,000 downloads at $9.99 apiece, of which $7 goes to MGM.

 

The studios proposed early on a study to determine, among other issues, the fair value of digital downloads, though writers viewed such a study as a delay tactic. "It wasn't such a terrible idea, but the writers hated it," he said.

 

Sloan also gave attendees other insights into MGM's business, including the decision to give control of United Artists to Tom Cruise and Paula Wagner.

 

About the time that Cruise was having his falling-out with Paramount and Sumner Redstone, Sloan was meeting with former MGM owner Kirk Kerkorian, who was considering buying UA from MGM.

 

After the Redstone-Cruise feud was made public, Sloan wanted to issue a statement saying that MGM would be glad to work with Cruise. That desire led to much more than a mere statement of support, though.

 

Sloan also said that MGM is typically the seventh-place studio among the seven majors. "We need to show that MGM can get somewhere in the middle of the pack," which he guessed would make MGM a $12 billion company. Sony and others paid $5 billion for MGM in 2004.

 

MGM missed several trends, like satellite and cable TV, though it won't miss upcoming opportunities. "There's going to be more change in the next five years than occurred over the past 35," he said.

 

He called franchises "the base of any studio," which is why he signed Daniel Craig to do four more James Bond films and he's planning on resurrecting the "Fame," "Death Wish" and "Thomas Crown Affair" franchises.

 

MGM has no in-house production, which means Sloan can have a film made for $25 million that would cost $40 million at a big studio, he said.

 

"There's just so much money wasted when the studio is telling the creative team what to do all the time," he said.

 

Earlier Thursday, speaking from the sidelines of the conference, investor Strauss Zelnick said he's on the hunt for specific kinds of media companies to put money into, including business-to-business publishing, market research, interactive entertainment and service businesses related to the film and TV industries.

 

What the venture capitalist is not interested in is making an investment in a movie company.

 

"We are very selective about the sectors in the media in which we'll invest, and the movie business is not among them," he said.

 

Zelnick, who runs ZelnickMedia after having been CEO at BMG Entertainment and COO of 20th Century Fox, predicted anemic growth in the movie business owing mostly to ticket price increases.

 

"The wallet share related to any one entertainment medium is getting compressed and then you have some growth businesses like interactive entertainment," he said. "When you have a business growing 15% to 20% a year, certainly that will pressure pre-existing industries."

 

Zelnick, contrary to the view of many others in the investment community, also said he still likes the music business. He said a company ZelnickMedia took control of in 2001, Columbia Music Entertainment, is profitable, in part owing to the fact that 10% of its revenue comes from digital distribution.

 

"Will people still consume music? Yes. Are they willing to pay for it? Yes. This space just needed to get a lot more efficient," he said.

 

Other companies in the ZelnickMedia portfolio include ITN Networks, Naylor Inc., OTX and Take-Two Interactive Software.

[GimmeSumSugar 0]

I find him to be unattractive and harsh looking.

I wouldn't say he's unattractive facially by any means (and he has a great body) but I like the fact he's so different from the other slicker Bonds. It means that Bond can be reinvented and anybody can have a crack at playing the character and be successful. I like him as Bond. The blonde hair is a real change and Craig keeps the concept diverse and more interesting.

[BobbyD 2]

Craig trains for next Bond film

By Mike Collett-White

Nov 29, 2007

 

LONDON (Reuters) - He's jumping off tall buildings again, but this time it is just rehearsals ahead of the next James Bond blockbuster due in theatres in 2008.

 

British actor Daniel Craig, who won over the skeptics with his dark and dangerous interpretation of the world's most famous spy in his hit Bond debut "Casino Royale," is set to reprise the role in an as yet untitled sequel.

 

"We are rehearsing stunts and I'm throwing myself off tall buildings ... again," Craig said in a recent interview.

 

Asked whether "Bond 22" would be based on an Ian Fleming novel in the same way as "Casino Royale," he replied:

 

"It's a completely new story and it does go straight on from the end of the last one. We've picked some themes that come up in the last movie ... They are pretty fundamental ones and they're good fun to do."

 

The 39-year-old hesitated before accepting the role of Bond in "Casino Royale," aware that he would be expected to commit to several more films in the hugely successful franchise and run the risk of being typecast as an action hero.

 

But Craig said he had had few problems doing what he wanted to do since then, and the clout that Bond has given him had actually opened up new possibilities.

 

"I produced a movie this year which has been a new experience," he said of "Flashbacks of a Fool" due out next year. Craig also stars in the tale of a fading Hollywood star who examines his past after the death of his best friend.

 

"It may happen (that I am typecast)," he told Reuters. "Maybe I should just relax and let it happen. Maybe I'm just working too hard."

 

NEW BLOCKBUSTER

 

Craig next appears in cinemas in early December in "The Golden Compass," a big-budget adaptation of Philip Pullman's acclaimed novel "Northern Lights."

 

A fan of the books, Craig always saw himself playing the explorer Lord Asriel. As with Bond, the role will probably mean having to commit to more films, because "Northern Lights" is the first installment in a trilogy.

 

"On a completely selfish level ... I would really like to continue telling this story," he said.

 

Pullman fans are concerned that the Hollywood version has watered down the theme of religion, while a U.S. Catholic group has called for a boycott of "The Golden Compass," fearing it will attract young readers to books it says are anti-Christian.

 

Craig defended the film, which also features Nicole Kidman.

 

"I think it does stand up. It's an incredibly enjoyable couple of hours."

 

But he would have welcomed the inclusion of more overt religious content.

 

"I wish there was, because I think the debate that Philip Pullman raises is incredibly healthy," he said.

 

"I think the thing that Philip Pullman has done so spectacularly is using the platform of a children's book to deal with very adult themes. My hope is that people will watch this film and read the books."

 

(Editing by Paul Casciato)

 

Copyright 2007 Reuters News Service. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

[Lea 0]

Dear Ted:

 

Um, great, now you're hinting that Daniel Craig is gay (saying he brought his "date" to the Golden Compass premiere in London)? Get real, Ted, not every attractive man in Hollywood is gay. It's just your wishful thinking, and it's getting a bit ridiculous. Forget your middle-aged fantasies, Daniel Craig isn't gay.

 

Lika

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

 

Dear Don't Lika Me Like That:

 

Oh, eat my crow's-feet. I have no desire to do Daniel Craig; I'm happily attached. And the point of the quotation marks isn't sexuality (Craig's certainly not gay, to my knowledge) but sensuality: D.C. and his companion looked rather constipated and hardly romantic together.

 

The Awful Express Newsletter--E! Online Insiders Hear It First

[Lea 0]

Quantum Of Huh?

 

 

The 22nd Bond movie will be called "Quantum of Solace" after a short story by Ian Fleming. That shit sounds like a chapter in L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics. The movie is currently shooting with Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arterton, Judi Dench and Mathieu Amalric.

 

Barbara Broccoli, the movie's producer said, "It's not a revenge movie. It's much more complicated than that. There's much more action and it also deals with the inner turmoil of Bond following Casino Royale." I just added that quote, because I wanted to write Barbara Broccoli. That's a delicious name! Best served with Velveeta.

 

What the hell does that title even mean? Barbara Broccoli totally came up with that title. She seems like the type. It's what she needed as a little girl when everyone was making fun of her last name.

 

http://www.dlisted.com/

[kappy22 1]

[BobbyD 2]

Denise Richards Voted Worst Bond Girl Ever

Ursula Andress was named the best

February 1, 2008

 

Denise Richards has a curious distinction in the world of 007, but it's one she'd rather live without.

 

The 36-year-old actress was named the Worst Bond Girl Ever by fans, reports the UK's Daily Mail from an unscientific poll.

 

Richards played nuclear physicist Christmas Jones (you call her Dr. Jones!), a scientist with a penchant for midriff-baring tanktops and short shorts, in 1999's "The World is Not Enough" opposite Pierce Brosnan playing the British super spy.

 

One fan commented, "Even Q didn't have a gadget to escape from that disaster."

 

The second most-hated Bond girl was former "Charlie's Angels"/"That '70s Show" actress Tanya Roberts who played geologist Stacey Sutton in 1985's "A View to a Kill."

 

The original Bond girl Ursula Andress was named the best for playing Honey Ryder in "Dr. No." Her emergence from the water is an iconic scene. Second in line for praise is ex-"Avengers" star Honor Blackman, who played the colorfully named Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger."

 

Blackman was noted for "introducing fans to the series' first real woman -- a gorgeous dame who can fly and plane and kick butt as well as coo and woo."

 

The full lists of Worst and Best Bond Girls follow:

 

WORST BOND GIRLS

 

1. Denise Richards as Dr Christmas Jones in "The World Is Not Enough"

2. Tanya Roberts as Stacey Sutton in "A View To A Kill"

3. Corrine Clery as Corinne Dufour in "Moonraker"

4. Maryam D'Abo as Kara Milovy in "The Living Daylights"

5. Karin Dor as Helga Brandt in "You Only Live Twice"

6. Britt Ekland as Mary Goodnight in "The Man With the Golden Gun"

7. Carey Lowell as Pam Bouvier in "License to Kill"

8. Lois Chiles as Holly Goodhead in "Moonraker"

9. Lynn-Holly Johnson as Lili Bahl in "For Your Eyes Only"

10. Maud Adams as Octopussy in, you guessed it, "Octopussy"

 

BEST BOND GIRLS

 

1. Ursula Andress as Honey Ryder in "Dr. No"

2. Honor Blackman as Pussy Galore in "Goldfinger"

3. Diana Rigg as Tracey Divicenzo in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service"

4. Eva Green as Vesper Lynd in "Casino Royale"

5. Barbara Bach as Anya Amasova in "The Spy Who Loved Me"

6. Famke Janssen as Xenia Onatopp in "Goldeneye"

7. Michelle Yeoh as Wai Lin in "Tommorrow Never Dies"

8. Lotte Enya as Rosa Klebb in "From Russia With Love"

9. Jill St. John as Tiffany Case in "Diamonds Are Forever"

10. Carole Bouquet as Melina Havelock in "For Your Eyes Only"

[ElleDriver 0]

Craig To Wed After Bond Movie?

 

James Bond star Daniel Craig will reportedly marry girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell, as soon as he wraps up filming on his current 007 movie, "Quantum of Solace."

 

The 39-year-old British actor allegedly proposed to his film producer partner during a romantic break in Italy last summer, but the pair have so far refused to confirm their engagement.

 

However, reports state the couple have been inseparable during filming of the latest superspy venture, with Mitchell allegedly visiting the hunk every day on the movie's set in Panama.

 

A source tells the Britain's The Sun, "Daniel and Satsuki are so loved-up. He asked her to marry him and she's been showing off a very beautiful Cartier ring. It has a large diamond solitaire with a platinum setting.

 

"Daniel and Satsuki are now stronger than ever. They're planning an intimate ceremony for close family and friends. They make a great couple."

 

A spokesperson for Craig refused to comment.

[ElleDriver 0]

Rains thwart filming of Bond flick at Inca site

 

Producers for the upcoming James Bond movie "Quantum of Solace" said on Friday they have scratched plans to film near the Inca ruins at Machu Picchu -- Peru's top tourist site -- due to bad weather.

 

Filming for the 22nd Bond movie, starring Daniel Craig as the British super spy, had been set to start early this month in Cuzco, a city in southeastern Peru near the ancient Incan citadel.

 

"They decided not to come because of climatic conditions. They couldn't be sure it wouldn't rain and they have very tight time," said Margarita Morales, director of Iguana Productions, a Peruvian company hired to assist with filming.

 

Last month, protesters upset by changes to laws that make it easier to build near historic sites marched through Cuzco, snarling traffic on highways and forcing railroads and the airport to close.

 

Some government officials have complained that such protests threaten tourism and long-term investment. Cuzco was replaced as the site for a summit meeting later this year of leaders from 21 countries.

 

Morales said the decision to cancel production in Cuzco had nothing to do with the protests.

 

"They told me the reasons were strictly because of the weather," she said.

 

"Quantum of Solace" stars Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko and follows the spy in a cross-continent quest to take revenge on a beautiful woman who betrayed him.

 

The film is due to hit theaters worldwide in November, and it will be released by Columbia Pictures, a unit of Sony Corp, and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.

 

Reuters/Nielsen

[BobbyD 2]

James Bond to open first in U.K.

British release set for Oct. 31

 

By ARCHIE THOMASLONDON — James Bond pic “Quantum of Solace” will open in Blighty a week ahead of its U.S. bow.

 

Sony Pictures Releasing will provide “Solace” to U.K. auds on Oct. 31. It arrives Stateside on Nov. 7.

 

Other Euro territories getting their 007 fix ahead of the U.S. are France and Belgium, where Daniel Craig and co. touch down on Nov. 5., and the Netherlands and Germany, which get the pic on Nov. 6.

 

Pic launches in Spain and Italy on Nov. 7.

 

“Solace” takes up where box office hit "Casino Royale" left off, with Craig reprising the role of the British superspy as he embarks on a revenge mission following his betrayal by Vesper Lynd — Eva Green's character in the previous film — that takes him to Austria, Italy and South America.

 

Along the way, a case of mistaken identity in Haiti introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a woman nursing her own vendetta, who leads 007 to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a ruthless business man and major force within a mysterious organization.

 

Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources, is forging a dastardly deal with an exiled Latin American general (Joaquin Cosio).

 

Eon Productions, Sony Pictures Entertainment and MGM are producing “Solace,” which is currently shooting.

[ElleDriver 0]

New 007 film to open Oct. 31 in Britain

 

 

James Bond will be back in theaters a little sooner than expected.

 

Sony Pictures says "Quantum of Solace," the latest 007 adventure, will be released in Britain on Oct. 31. The film had been due to open Nov. 7, which is still its scheduled release date in North America.

 

Daniel Craig is returning as the suave British spy, tracking down a shadowy international conspiracy whose leader is played by French actor Mathieu Almaric.

 

Sequences are being filmed in Panama, Chile, Austria, Italy and at Pinewood Studios near London.

 

Copyright © 2008 The Associated Press

[ElleDriver 0]

Daniel Craig Dishes About New Bond Film

OK!

 

Long listed as merely Bond 22 while in pre-production, the newest installment of the James Bond series left many wondering what the official name of the film will be, including Bond himself, Daniel Craig. But when Quantum of Solace was finally confirmed as the flick's title, the Brit was very pleased with the choice.

 

"I'm very happy with it. It came from an Ian Fleming short story," he tells Extra. It encapsulates what the movie is at heart and a lot more which I can't give any away."

 

Production is currently underway on Quantum, which will definitely be more action-packed than Casino Royale, Daniel promises. How much more?

 

"[The stunts have] started to hurt," Daniel, 40, says. "So I can only gauge it by how much pain I'm in and I think we're doing pretty good."

 

As for the Bond girls, gone are Eva Green and Ivana Milicevic, and in there place are Brit Gemma Arterton and Ukranian model-turned-actress Olga Kurylenko.

 

Gemma, 22, plays Agent Fields and says it's "incredible" being on set. Twenty-eight-year-old Olga portrays Camille, who is, "very driven. She has her own mission in the movie and of course, she comes across Bond. They are opponents and then they have to work together. She's very feisty."

[sanlee 49]

Daniel Craig Doesn't Like Being Stared At

 

 

Poor old Daniel Craig has been moaning again - apparently he doesn't like people staring at him.

 

Maybe you shouldn't have become an actor then, love!

 

The Bond star, 40, has been comparing himself to the character Joe Scott who he plays in film Flashbacks of a Fool. He told Empire mag: "Joe has driven himself into a corner, and I kind of relate to that. I can understand wanting to hide away from everything, because people seem to be staring. It does get you down." Diddums, 007...

 

Source: mirror.co.uk

[hedda_louella 1]

Daniel Craig Doesn't Like Being Stared At

 

 

Poor old Daniel Craig has been moaning again - apparently he doesn't like people staring at him.

 

Maybe you shouldn't have become an actor then, love!

 

The Bond star, 40, has been comparing himself to the character Joe Scott who he plays in film Flashbacks of a Fool. He told Empire mag: "Joe has driven himself into a corner, and I kind of relate to that. I can understand wanting to hide away from everything, because people seem to be staring. It does get you down." Diddums, 007...

 

Source: mirror.co.uk

 

Dude! You've taken on playing JAMES BOND - what did you think would happen?

 

Idiot. And I like Daniel Craig, in general.

[sanlee 49]

Daniel Craig's Bond Friends

 

Daniel Craig says playing James Bond has not turned him into a superstar.

 

The 40-year-old actor - who first played Agent 007 in 'Casino Royale' - insists he still hangs out with the same friends and goes to the same places despite his worldwide fame.

 

He said: "Everybody says to me, 'Oh, your life must have changed!' And it has. But not really - I mean, it has gone weird, very strange, and you do find out who your friends are.

 

"But at the end of the day, those things that I held dear to myself still remain the same and it's always a great thing to realise that."

 

Daniel also said he is very excited about new Bond movie 'Quantum of Solace', which is due out in November.

 

He added to Total Film magazine: "The story continues where we left off. In 'Casino Royale', we were finding out that there was an organisation trying to destabilise the world for its own gains and I'm going after that.

 

"It's still early days but I feel really good about it."

 

Source: people.monstersandcritics.com

[ElleDriver 0]

Daniel Craig is UK's best dressed, says men's mag

 

LONDON (Reuters) - James Bond actor Daniel Craig was named 'Britain's Best Dressed Man' for the second consecutive year by men's magazine GQ.

 

The first blond Bond was joined in the top 10 by fellow Hollywood stars Daniel Day Lewis, James McAvoy and Jude Law.

 

But there was bad news for future king Prince William, who was named Britain's sixteenth worst dressed man, a list topped for the second consecutive year by comedian Russell Brand.

 

But three other British princes made it into the best dressed list. William's brother, Harry, his father, Charles, and even his grandfather, Philip, all feature in the top 50 of Britain's best dressed men.

 

Prime Minister Gordon Brown is third on the list of worst dressed men, but there was better news for opposition. Conservative leader David Cameron was named eighth best dressed man, his third top 10 appearance in a row.

 

The two main candidates for London's mayoral election were also given the sartorial thumbs-down. Incumbent Labour mayor Ken Livingstone was the country's 11th worst dressed man but his Conservative rival Boris Johnson fared only slightly better, coming 14th on the list.

 

Footballer David Beckham's ability to polarize opinion has seen him included in both lists. The former England captain was named sixth best dressed and ninth worst dressed man. Beckham topped the best dressed list in 2002, 2003 and 2004 but lost his title to fellow footballer Rio Ferdinand in 2005.

 

Formula One star Lewis Hamilton was a newcomer to the best dressed list, entering in fifteenth place.

 

Reuters/Nielsen

[sanlee 49]

00-ld Till The End, Daniel Craig

 

 

Daniel Craig has vowed to keep playing James Bond until he is an old man.

 

The 40-year-old actor - who will reprise his role as 007 in the upcoming 'Quantum of Solace' - wants to continue to portray the iconic secret agent until his body gives out.

 

Craig - who signed a three-film deal when he was announced as the new Bond in 2005 - said: "Until my joints go I will keep going as Bond. I have no intention of giving up just yet."

 

However, Daniel admits he finds the stunts hard enough now even though he is super-fit.

 

He added to Britain's The Sun newspaper: "We are filming at the moment and we are just going from stunt sequence to stunt sequence.

 

"I did a two-day fight sequence which we had been rehearsing for two months. That was physically very hard - getting hit, basically."

 

Craig - who wowed female fans by donning skimpy blue swimming trunks in previous movie 'Casino Royale' - also promised the new film will feature "a little nudity".

 

'Quantum of Solace' is due to hit cinemas in November.

 

Source: people.monstersandcritics.com

[ElleDriver 0]

James Bond finds 'Solace' a bit Chile

By RYAN PEARSON, AP

 

 

ANTOFAGASTA, Chile - After getting the bad end of his own ax in a fight, a bloodied villain limps alone in a stark desert. Mathieu Amalric stumbles to the red, rocky ground. "CUT!" rings loudly from the set of the 22nd James Bond film.

 

Picking up an hour after "Casino Royale" left off, "Quantum of Solace" is the spy franchise's first direct sequel. Filming began in January and has taken the crew from Britain to Panama to this moonlike landscape in northern Chile, which is standing in for Bolivia.

 

It's a place that director Marc Forster said evokes Bond's "isolation and loneliness."

 

"He is an assassin, he is a secret agent, and that reflects a certain lifestyle, which is lonely," said Forster.

 

Indeed, the big news on the set is that one of the two Bond girls, Olga Kurylenko, doesn't get in even a single kiss with star Daniel Craig. ("Why would I be disappointed?" Kurylenko insisted. "I'm just doing my work.")

 

The question is: Do audiences want an emo Bond?

 

Craig says not to worry too much.

 

"We're not making a kitchen sink drama here. We are making a Bond movie," he said. "What Marc wanted and the producers and what I wanted is to bring back a visual flair to the movie, so that every frame in every shot that we see is beautiful. And there may be things exploding, but they're good to look at."

 

Still, Forster, the youngest-ever Bond director at 39, was hired on by longtime producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson because of his emotionally intense films like "Monster's Ball" and "The Kite Runner."

 

Despite the heightened realism of the last Bond film, not to mention its commercial success (over $500 million worldwide), the German-born Swiss director was wary of joining the bombastic franchise.

 

Forster negotiated with producers to ensure he had as much creative control as possible on the $200 million-plus production. Nevertheless, he's still squeezed into the "framework of Bond."

 

"But I like it because you feel like it can make you very creative," he said. "And a lot of interesting things come out of that. Because, if you look at filmmakers that worked under politically repressive regimes, (they) made sometimes really interesting movies."

 

Filming is about halfway done on "Quantum," which is the name of the organization Bond is going up against. Craig said the emotional tone is lighter than "Casino Royale," in which Bond's lover Vesper Lynd betrayed him and then died — but only a smidgen so.

 

"It's kind of Bond's journey into, at first we think it's vengeance, but it goes somewhere else," Craig said. "They've killed the love of his life, this organization, and we don't know who this organization are, and he needs to find out who they are. And it's for personal reasons but also professional reasons."

 

Craig said that aside from some communications equipment, "Quantum" puts little emphasis on gee-whiz electronics.

 

"The Aston Martin's there, and that's still the best gadget we have," he said.

 

During reporters' visit to the set, Forster was filming the climax. Offices and a lodge underneath one of the world's largest telescopes at Paranal Observatory acted as an eco-hotel, used by the villain. Back in London, it would be re-created — in order to be blown up, Broccoli said.

 

Craig fired into the skylight above the offices, and Kurylenko's character Camille ran separately off the roof of the building, flipping into a balcony. Amalric, playing the villain Dominic Greene, roamed the set in post-Bond fight makeup, bloodied and bruised on his cheeks.

 

A French director and actor known internationally for his star turn in "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," Amalric was allowed no shortcuts to villaindom.

 

"No scars, no eye that bleeds, no metal jaw," he said. "I tried everything to have something to help me. I said to Marc: No nothing? A beard? 'No.' Can I shave my hair? 'No. Just your face.'"

 

Craig, muscles flexing under a dark polo shirt, said he was exercising more than he had on the "Casino Royale" set, to avoid injuries when doing his own stunts.

 

He laughingly steered conversation away from health concerns. "It's just not very Bond-like," he said. "Bond should be able to do ten press-ups, then smoke 60 cigarettes, and then drink a bottle of something and pop a pill, I think."

 

Kurylenko, a 28-year-old Ukranian-born model-actress with few films to her credit, said her character also has "a masculine spirit."

 

"When she meets Bond, it clashes," she said. "She's careful and she doesn't trust that easily. So basically with men, she either uses them, or if they're no use, and she sees that they can't serve her, then she throws them away."

 

There have been several noteworthy confrontations around on the Bond production so far. In Panama, riots near the set forced a shift in schedule. And in Chile, a local mayor interrupted production claiming producers didn't get his permission.

 

National media has reported on Chileans' disappointment in not seeing more of Craig during his stay in their country. And in a separate controversy, Chile-as-Bolivia has not been a popular choice, either: Hurt feelings remain between the South American neighbors over an 1879-84 war in which Chile took Bolivia's Pacific coastline. The two have not had diplomatic relations since 1978.

 

"We knew there was a war 100 years ago, but we didn't know it was still an issue," Wilson said.

 

Next, the eternal question: What's next for Bond?

 

Wilson said he expected Bond production to pause for at least a year following "Quantum of Solace."

 

"I need a break for a little while," he said.

 

Forster said he won't be back for Bond 23.

 

"If I would ever do a big movie again in that size," he said, "it has to be my own franchise, which I would create from scratch, which I would cast, create the look and really create the franchise on my own."

 

And Craig, who turned 40 while filming in Panama, said he'd keep playing Bond — so long as the quality remains high.

 

"I want them to stand alone and be good films," he said. "As long as that continues, then we'll keep making them. And if it doesn't, then we'll stop."

[ElleDriver 0]

Rumor Mill: Will Bond be in the Buff?

OK!

 

Fans of the James Bond movie franchise can't seem to wait until Nov. 6 when the 22nd installment, Quantum of Silence, hits theaters. But aol.com has talked to producer Michael G. Wilson to clear up some of the rumors that are out there.

 

"I'm letting the cat out of the bag," he said. "They're going to be mad."

 

The first rumor is that the Bond villain, played by Mathieu Amalric, might be gay. He might be and viewers are expected to look for the subtext of what he does and says.

 

There are also rumors that Al Pacino and Amy Winehouse are tapped to make cameos. Al's would be in the form of a role in the film and Amy's would be as the singer of the famed theme song. But those two are just rumors.

 

The rumor that perhaps the female legion of Bond fans hoped would be true is that Daniel Craig would appear nude in the film. Unfortunately that is nothing more than idol gossip. But Daniel is still hot enough to get us bonded to this film!

 

"I'm always after him to take his clothes off, every day," joked producer Barbara Broccoli. "I have to fight on behalf of all the women, and some of the men, too. I'm doing my best.

[Hoyaheel 1,874]

Rumor Mill: Will Bond be in the Buff?

OK!

 

Fans of the James Bond movie franchise can't seem to wait until Nov. 6 when the 22nd installment, Quantum of Silence, hits theaters.

Quantum of SOLACE, eh OK!

 

Geez.....The quality of reporting these days just sucks

[hedda_louella 1]

 

Rumor Mill: Will Bond be in the Buff?

OK!

 

Fans of the James Bond movie franchise can't seem to wait until Nov. 6 when the 22nd installment, Quantum of Silence, hits theaters.

Quantum of SOLACE, eh OK!

 

Geez.....The quality of reporting these days just sucks

 

Yep. Their parents must be so proud.

 

Unfortunately that is nothing more than idol gossip. But Daniel is still hot enough to get us bonded to this film!

What kind of gossip is that and why don't we have it here?

 

Oh no wait, it's about David Archuleta.

Edited April 11, 2008 by hedda_louella