"We're ready to begin again."
With James Bond surfing a wave of box office success around the globe, Dark Horizons sat down with Quantum of Solace star Daniel Craig.
Daniel Craig is James Bond
“The way that people have taken to [Quantum of Solace] is just amazing.” – Daniel Craig
When asked whether he was surprised that the critical reaction to Quantum of Solace was more mixed than that which Casino Royale received, the actor replied, “No, because Casino Royale was based on a novel and we’re always going to have that. When you do a movie like that, where the basis of a story is really strong and also the momentum of it, everyone thought that it was going to be sh*t. So when it wasn’t, they were all just completely surprised.”
“I think that Quantum of Solace is as good a movie as Casino Royale,” Craig continued. “I think that the difference is that last time people were surprised by the fact that they enjoyed it. The fact is that we get reviews in newspapers that we’d never had reviews in before. Certainly with the Internet we get seven and a half million reviews, which are all worth looking at, obviously.”
“I don’t try to intellectualise [Quantum of Solace‘s financial success]. I do know what we’ve done is make a movie that the first time I saw it I got a huge kick out of it. Ultimately that’s what we’re trying to do at the end of the day: putting a movie out that’s an entertaining, exciting, hopefully slightly moving Bond movie. That’s all our goal ever was. The way that people have taken to it is just amazing.”
Quantum of Solace
“Unless someone finds a dirty manuscript under the couch at Goldeneye, we’re stuffed.” – Daniel Craig
Craig promises a clean slate for the next James Bond outing. “I genuinely think we’ve got a blank page now. We’ve finished this story off. Quantum of Solace was exactly the right thing to do. We started something with Casino Royale and we wrapped it all up with Quantum of Solace. We’re ready to begin again and we can do what we want.”
The actor hinted that, while they are looking at Ian Fleming story elements for Bond 23, the film would likely feature another original story. “There’s nothing left. It’s all done. Unless someone finds a dirty manuscript under the couch at [Fleming’s Jamaican estate] Goldeneye, we’re stuffed.”
He also ruled out adapting any of the continuation novels. When asked about John Gardner’s 14 James Bond books, Craig responded, “I’ve never read them. I would bet any money that someone sort of optioned them and that they’re tied up in something else. It’s a very closed box.”
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