'I wanted to make the Bond movie I always wanted to see…'

Quantum of Solace

With Quantum of Solace released in UK theatres last week and the film rolling out in an additional 50+ countries today and tomorrow, James Bond fans around the world are finally getting a look at director Marc Forster’s interpretation of 007.

Expressing his admiration for the early Bond films, like Dr. No and Goldfinger, Forster said in a Canada.com [Warning: Spoilers] interview: ‘I wanted to make the Bond movie I always wanted to see.’

‘I always felt the design and look of those early films were ahead of their time, so I wanted to make this a little retro but at the same time sort of futuristic.’

The Swiss director also stressed the importance of examining Bond’s character throughout the story. He said: ‘I deal with emotionally repressed characters throughout every film. In Monster’s Ball, they’re repressed. Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland, Will Ferrell in Stranger Than Fiction, The Kite Runner–they’re all repressed.’

‘And Bond is the ultimate. He definitely has a strong shell around him which he is emotionally unable to open.’

With Quantum of Solace acting as a sequel to the events involving Vesper Lynd and Bond in Casino Royale, Forster found he had the perfect opportunity to apply a serious approach

‘They wanted to make it as a sequel, from where Casino Royale left off. In the last five minutes of that film, his emotional state was very interesting, so I felt there was a lot of opportunity to continue that journey.’

However, as many viewers have noticed, Quantum of Solace features an overwhelming abundance of action as well. Describing his take on these sequences, Forster commented: ‘I wanted to do four action sequences set in the four elements–water, fire, air and earth. And I felt we should try to tell a story with each of them. The second unit guy was there–we worked all of them through, even the ones he didn’t direct. I thought he had done so much of this that it would be good for me to collaborate with someone who understands them.’

On his working relationship with producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, he said: ‘They seemed to really love my work, and they felt in the last movie they had taken a chance with Daniel, and obviously Daniel worked and was accepted as Bond, even though at the beginning he was criticized. And they probably felt they were ready to take a chance on the director this time and throw it in a different direction.’

‘They really let me make my film and sort of left me alone. There was a lot of pressure because Casino Royale was such a critical and commercial success, so I felt the expectations were enormous and the budget was enormous. So if the movie fails commercially, it would affect my career with my smaller movies.’

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest Quantum of Solace news and information.