On The Set Of 'Quantum of Solace'

Premiere.com has been updated with an all-new collection of interviews with the director and principal cast members of the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace.

Originally conducted this past May while the 007 production was filming at Lake Constance in Bregenz, Austria, these newly posted interviews feature discussions with Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Marc Forster and Bond himself, Daniel Craig.

Daniel Craig

‘I think there’s probably more pressure this time,’ Craig starts things off with, ‘but I’m just trying to apply the same rules as I did last time. And hopefully that’ll work out, that you make the best movie you can. Certainly, we couldn’t repeat what we did last time. It’d be nice to be able to repeat the success, but we couldn’t repeat the film so we’re into a new way of thinking.’

When asked if this new way of thinking reflected in the hiring of Swiss director Marc Forster to helm the 22nd instalment, Craig said he jumped at the opportunity when it arose.

He said: ‘We’d started something in Casino Royale but we had a book to work from, and we adhered quite closely, emotionally, with that story. Now we want to continue this story, but we have to make it different. So when Marc’s name came up, I jumped at it because I want the audience to be attached, I want the audience to be pulled in and get involved with the characters.’

Craig was also questioned on a recent comment at the time made by Jesper Christensen (who plays the rather nasty Mr. White), calling his Bond ‘slightly dumb’.

‘It’s going to be a major part of this film, is tying together all those psychological battles that are going on.’ – Daniel Craig

‘Dumb? That’s what I like about him, is that it’s shoot first and ask questions later,’ he replied ‘But I take that from the books; that was always Ian Fleming’s image of Bond. It was always, kick the door in, see what happens. If he’s standing on top of a tall building, there’s a 20-foot gap, he can’t see what’s down below–he jumps. And if he hurts himself, he hurts himself. The chances are he won’t hurt himself, and therefore he’ll move on. And if that’s dumb…’

Olga Kurylenko

Playing an equally important role in Quantum of Solace is Olga Kurylenko as the independent and revenge-driven Camille.

After Eva Green’s enigmatic portrayal of Vesper Lynd in 2006’s Casino Royale struck the right chord with many fans and critics, the pressure was definitely on to get the right actress for this role.

Speaking about the audition process, Kurylenko said: ‘After I got the role, Marc [Forster] said, “So, tell me one thing. How come you were so calm at the audition?” I [said], “What do you mean?” He said, “Well, the other girls, they came in and they were freaking out. And you came in and I said, ‘Wow, she just doesn’t give a shit, she’s so cool.'” I said, “I was freaking out!” I was nervous but I also said to myself, if I was going to show that I’m nervous, I would not get the part. You have to take yourself in hand.’

‘It’s very good to know what you want in life, and she definitely knows what she wants.’ – Kurylenko on Camille

The Ukranian actress described Camille’s background as quite tough. ‘Everything she is doing in the movie is because she is driven by everything that happened to her in the past,’ she stated. ‘That’s quite vague, but you know what I mean. Definitely she had tough things happening in her youth.’

And her favourite Bond girl from the series? ‘Michelle Yeoh [from Tomorrow Never Dies] was good because she did the fight scenes by herself, so I think that’s pretty impressive. Because I do that in this movie, I rewatched that movie to see how she did it.’

Mathieu Amalric

When asked how he compared Dominic Greene to the past villains of the series, the French actor said it was more important to focus on the connection of events between Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale.

‘I was so scared that I prefer not to watch the old Bond films again because if I watch them, I would have just said, “Okay, I can’t do that.” The villains often are amazing: [Christopher] Walken, [Klaus Maria] Brandauer, Curt Jurgens, Christopher Lee, Jonathan Pryce. So I prefer to forget all that and try to focus more on Casino Royale and this one, because it’s a sequel–you have James Bond that wants to understand why this woman committed suicide in front of his eyes and betrayed him. Bond has sort of a broken heart, no?’

‘He works in ecology, he’s very nice, very civilized, very smiling… Adorable!’ – Amalric on Greene

Amalric also said he enjoyed the challenge of performing in a role where there are so many expectations by the fans. ‘If it’s not hard, it’s not fun,’ he said.

Each time it’s hard, even in a small independent French film. Because you have to surprise yourself. I have lots of ways of being surprised in this film. The practice of the stunts, to try to work out this fight and maybe it would be more interesting if the bad guy doesn’t know how to fight. Because why should I know kung fu? He’s just a guy that works in a college, and it would be very strange that he has a secret skill.’

Marc Forster

As many CommanderBond.net readers are likely well aware by now, Marc Forster has been praised an uncountable number of times by those associated with the 007 film for his unwavering and almost unnatural sense of calmness.

When asked just how he manages as hectic a production as a Bond film, the director replied: ‘I’m very calm as a person, and I do most of the preparation before I start shooting so everybody knows when we come to shoot exactly what to do. But I feel like if I get nervous or agitated, it doesn’t really help me. I know some directors love working in chaos, and they can be very creative like that, but I need to have everybody calm around me.’

‘They’ve really gone to bat for me and fought for my vision.’ – Forster on his collaboration with producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson

Continuing: ‘I let go to fate, because ultimately, I can’t change it. If something happens, I try to do my best, but I can’t change it or do it differently. In that sense, I’m a fatalist–whatever happens, happens, and I believe it’s the best and just, out of the situation, try to adjust.’

There’s much more. Visit Premiere.com for the full interviews with Craig, Kurylenko, Amalric and Forster.

We’ll keep you updated on the CBn main page with all the latest breaking news on Quantum of Solace.