The CBn Dossier, October '06
Welcome to the October 2006 CBn Dossier, a wrap-up of all the James Bond 007 news and rumours for the month. In this month’s column, we’ll be covering anything and everything relating to Casino Royale (and there is a lot of it), all the latest news on Charlie Higson’s Young Bond, the ‘Ultimate Edition’ DVDs, 007-related events, and much more.
This month’s CBn Dossier is delivered by Devin Zydel. Enjoy.
Royale With Cheese (and everything else)
Might as well just call this October dossier the ‘Casino Royale Dossier… October ’06.’ Looking over the main page for the past month, that one film has (rightfully so) dominated the news in the world of Bond. So off we go…
Let’s go about this chronologically. The first bit of news regarding Casino Royale came with details on Ford’s ‘Licence & Loaded’ promotion for the film. As Bond fans may or may not know, 007 will be driving the 2007 Mondeo in the film. Further details on its involvement were later revealed mid-month.
‘The new Mondeo was essentially still on the drawing board when we were asked to supply the vehicle for filming in February 2006,’ said Martin Smith, Ford of Europe’s Executive Director for Design. ‘As volume production for the car doesn’t start until the second quarter of 2007, we had to create a one-off, driveable model based around a design studio property!’ Click here to check out the commercial.
No smoking for Daniel Craig in Casino Royale according to an interview in Parade magazine. ‘I can blow off someone’s head at close range and splatter blood, but I can’t light a good Cuban,’ he says.
The Daily Telegraph reports that Craig and Caterina Murino (who plays Solange in the film) will be attending the Sydney premiere of the film on 4 December, as will director Martin Campbell and producer Barbara Broccoli. The French premiere will be taking place on 17 November.
Her Majesty’s Loyal Terrier
The official Casino Royale website also provided a few new reports from Yarborough as well as the occasional video or two. Click on the following for reports on the Aston Martin DBS and the music of Casino Royale as well as the Filming in Venice video.
UK newspaper The Sun reported to have attended a preview screening of Casino Royale and offered their review of the film. The hook? ‘Daniel Craig is the best Bond since Connery… [his] performance is so strong he could even make moviegoers forget there was anyone between himself and Connery.’
Casino Royale will be rated 12A in the UK for ‘one scene of torture and strong action violence’ and PG-13 in the US for ‘intense scenes of action violence, a scene of torture, sexual content, and nudity.’ Gritty enough for you? If not, then check out this photograph of the Craig’s James Bond in the famed torture sequence in the film *Spoiler Warning if you haven’t read the book*.
‘The Best Bond Ever’
The producers like Daniel Craig… a lot, according to a report from Virgin News where Barbara Broccoli called him ‘the best Bond ever’.
‘He’s such a superb actor. He’s incredibly sexy, he’s very charismatic, he has enormous screen presence and when he takes on a role he completely inhabits the character, and in this case he did everything.’
Posters, TV Spots, Charity Premieres, TV Specials…
On and on we go. October also saw the release of several Casino Royale posters. Most recently is the Japanese poster which features Daniel Craig in a particularly striking pose along with Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd and the 007 logo to the left. The international B poster was also spotted online. It includes a shot of Craig and Green in the water, the Casino Royale, the Aston Martin, and boats from one of the sequences in the film. All the images are part of a gunbarrel backround design.
A flash image of Craig in a set of new Casino Royale posters were revealed online. Additionally, character posters for both Vesper Lynd and Solange were spotted on eBay, but have proved a bit more difficult to come by compared to some of the others.
Two TV spots for the film were quickly spotted and promptly put online (a most recent third will likely be on YouTube by the time I finish typing this sentence.) Check them out here and here.
Details have been flowing in non-stop on the charity premieres for Casino Royale as well. The list includes: Preston, Yorkshire, Cardiff, Edinburgh, and Livingston.
Her Majesty The Queen will be attending the world premiere on 14 November which is shaping up to be quite the event. Tickets are unfortunately completely sold out, but there were several online competitions to win a pair throughout the month. The film’s general UK release was pushed forward to 16 November.
The film is set to break a record upon its release in India with over 500 prints–the highest ever for any Hollywood film. In the case of China, however, it may not be so lucky. As reported by Variety, Casino Royale may be the victim of the country’s next “blackout” of Hollywood films.
Even if you weren’t lucky enough to win that ticket to the world premiere, you can at least check out some of the TV specials on the film that will air in November. MTV, ITV, Sky3, E!…fun for the whole family. Additionally, be sure to catch Daniel Craig making an appearance on the Late Show with David Letterman on 7 November.
The Music Of Casino Royale
As of 31 October, three different versions of Chris Cornell’s title song for Casino Royale, ‘You Know My Name’ have appeared online. Details available here and here.
It was first reported that Cornell would be filming the music video for the title song on 10-11 October in LA. Behind-the-scenes photos from the video were later posted online. The music video for ‘You Know My Name’ will air on MTV’s “Making the Video” on 31 October at 10:00am EST.
***Warning***: The official tracklist for the Casino Royale soundtrack contains a MAJOR plot spoiler for the film.
Meanwhile, composer David Arnold concluded work on the score for the film on 11 October, posting on his website that Sony Records was rushing as fast as possible to get the soundtrack out on shelves. The first real details on the track listing (25 in total) were revealed online only two days later.
Bond fans later got two different opportunities to listen to cues from the soundtrack at both SonyMusicStore and Soundtrack.net. The soundtrack will include nearly 75 minutes of music, but Cornell’s ‘You Know My Name’ will not be included.
Pre-order the Casino Royale soundtrack from Amazon.co.uk (13 November 2006)
Pre-order the Casino Royale soundtrack from Amazon.com (14 November 2006)
David Arnold – Scoring Casino Royale
David Arnold was interviewed by Kirsty Lang on BBC Radio’s Front Row on Monday, 23 October 2006. The in depth interview that follows covers how Arnold matched his music to the masculinity of Daniel Craig’s James Bond, what is different with this score, and much more: David Arnold on scoring Casino Royale.
Interviews Galore
There are several to say the least.
‘After GoldenEye I said I’d never direct another Bond and its rather like Sean Connery saying he;ll never do another Bond… well, you know, never say never again.’ – Martin Campbell when asked if he’ll return for Bond 22.
Daniel Craig and Mads Mikkelsen…
‘We’re talking grittiness compared to the other Bond films. The task is to bring this magical universe–it’s still a fairy tale, he’s still Superman, I’m still the baddie–into 2006. That’s the kind of grittiness we’re talking about.’ – Mads Mikkelsen on just how gritty Casino Royale will be.
‘Um, sharing the night with James Bond. And I loved also the morning when we shot the galloping scene on the beach. It was nice… everything you see on the screen, that’s me. I didn’t use a stunt double.’ – Caterina Murino on her favourite scenes in the film.
Daniel Craig, Eva Green, and Caterina Murino…
‘On a movie of this scale, it’s important to get the locations right… the Bahamas has provided us with fantastic locations and beautiful settings… and then we had to get back into the grind and get back into the studio. That’s part of the process.’ – Daniel Craig on Casino Royale.
‘Eventually, I made it. I was dressed up and I was about to do a scene with Daniel [Craig], but at that time, they’ve all seen my work and they were quite busy, so I got the job without doing the casting, which was kind of an anti-climax, but still, I enjoyed that.’ – Mads Mikkelsen on scoring the role of ‘Le Chiffre’.
Daniel Craig, Michael G. Wilson, and Barbara Broccoli…
‘We wanted to change the style from fantasy to something a bit more gritty. We are still entertainment… We are trying to make it a PG film.’ – Michael G. Wilson on the tone change from Die Another Day to Casino Royale.
Premiere Magazine Goes Inside Casino Royale
‘I wasn’t totally convinced about Daniel… it was when Paul Haggis came on to do the rewrite that it all fell into place. It became a more serious Bond, a more realistic Bond. Much more like the books. And then of course Daniel fits perfectly.’ – Martin Campbell
‘There are some slight undertones that he might be interested in men. Some will see it, some won’t. – Mads Mikkelsen on ‘Le Chiffre’
Where’s Wilson?
CBn scored an exclusive with the first details of producer Michael G. Wilson’s cameo appearance in Casino Royale. As he says: ‘I’ve made an appearance in every film since The Spy Who Loved Me in one form or another–sometimes only as a hand or a voice. It’s become a tradition. I’ve been a priest and a scientist, but this is my first time as SPOILER: Highlight To Read: a policeman.’
Marketing Pals
Heineken, Smirnoff, Sony Style… sound familiar? The full list includes:
- Atlantis
- Bollinger
- Brioni
- Ford
- Heineken
- Omega
- Persol
- Smirnoff
- Sony Ericsson
- Sony Style
- Turnbull & Asser
- Virgin Atlantic
Click here to view the Casino Royale Heineken commercial featuring Eva Green. A making-of video was later added online as well. The commercial was shot at Grand Hotel Pupp, which doubles as Hotel Splendide in Casino Royale. ‘We felt that to be true to what we wanted, we needed to be true to the movie. So we chose to shoot using authentic locations,’ says Heineken International Communications Manager Shane Hoyne.
007 On DVD
Only a few more days to wait for US Bond fans… The biggest bit of news was revealed that the US sets will include the DVDs in slim cases with the UK cover art. Pictures can be viewed on the forums.
Several past Bond film stars, including Roger Moore were also on hand to do some promoting for the new ‘Buy One Get One’ offer in the UK. Details were revealed on actor-specific James Bond boxed sets for those in the UK as well.
Young Bond Book 3 – You Choose The Title
Young Bond fan eagerly awaited month after month throughout the year for details regarding the title of Charlie Higson’s newest adventure, due out in January 2007.
Speculation was finally put to rest on 3 October, when a press release explained that fans would decide the title of Higson’s newest novel. The choices? Double or Die, N.E.M.E.S.I.S., and The Deadlock Cipher. Visit www.youngbond.com to vote (voting ends on 3 November).
For those who can’t wait until January for their Young Bond fix, proofs of the Young Bond Book 3 novel have been appearing on eBay. Unfortunately, these copies seem to be fetching much higher prices than when the proof editions were first released for both SilverFin and Blood Fever.
Why stop there? While you’re on eBay, you might as well look for the limited edition of Blood Fever or check out Waterstones bookstore in the UK if collector’s editions are your thing.
More Literary 007…
If you haven’t already guessed, this is one hell of an expensive year for fans of the literary James Bond. Releases in this month include the Ian Fleming James Bond novel reprints in the UK, The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book, The Art Of Bond, James Bond And Philosophy, So You Think You Know James Bond, The Man Who Saved Britain in the US, and Bond On Set: Filming Casino Royale.
Details were revealed on a short story entitled For Your Eyes Only, James by Moneypenny Diaries author Samantha Weinberg. The story runs at about 3,000 words and is centered on a weekend getaway for Bond and Moneypenny at Royale-les-Eaux in 1956 (which was also featured in Fleming’s first 007 novel, Casino Royale). Ms. Weinberg describes the story as ‘fun in a rather risque manner.’
Honours For Connery, A Birthday For Moore, But No Bonding For Barry
Congratulations to Sir Sean Connery for being awarded the lifetime achievement award at the first Rome Film Festival. Sir Sean, who also attended the opening concert at Rome Opera House during the event, called the award fantastic.’
CBn also wishes Sir Roger Moore a very happy 79th birthday. Nobody does it better.
However, former Bond composer John Barry is not in such a happy mood when it comes to the modern 007. According to a report from the International Express, Barry says ‘forget it, I’ll watch something else’ when it comes to watching one of the newer Bond films.
‘I haven’t been a Bond fan in a long time,’ he says. ‘I gave up after The Living Daylights in 1987. I had exhausted all my ideas, rung all the changes that were possible. It was a formula that had run its course. The best had been done as far as I was concerned…’
Where All Other Bond Sites End…
CommanderBond.net offered several competitions throughout the month, including the chance to win Monopoly: James Bond Collector’s Edition and signed copies of John Griswold’s ‘Ian Fleming’s James Bond’. Our current competition is for a Casino Royale Japanese flyer – enter today!
As always, stay up-to-date with CBn. The RSS feed syndicates CBn news stories all over the world. Be sure to also check out the CBn Podcast–the first and only James Bond podcast on the internet–for all the latest news in the world of 007.
With over 6,500 members, 600,000 posts and endless discussion topics, there has never been a better time to join the CBn Forums to discuss Casino Royale and all other Bond topics. Registration is free and only takes a minute. It’s safe to say that as Bond fans, we have a lot to look forward to. As always, stay tuned to CBn for daily coverage of all things James Bond.
Related Links
- The CBn Dossier, September ’06
- The CBn Dossier, August ’06
- The CBn Dossier, July ’06
- The CBn Dossier, June ’06
- The CBn Dossier, May ’06
- The CBn Dossier, April ’06
- The CBn Dossier, March ’06
- The CBn Dossier, February ’06
- The CBn Dossier, January ’06
- The CBn Dossier, December ’05
- The CBn Dossier, November ’05
- The CBn Dossier, October ’05
- The CBn Dossier, Special Edition covering ‘Casino Royale’
- The CBn Dossier, September ’05
- The CBn Dossier, August ’05
- The CBn Dossier, July ’05
- The CBn Dossier, June ’05
- The CBn Dossier, May ’05
- The CBn Dossier, April ’05
- The CBn Dossier, March ’05
- The CBn Dossier, February ’05