By Tim Roth on 2006-03-12
New amazing picture from ‘Sonntagszeitung’
Swiss newspaper
Sonntagszeitung has published a very long and detailed article on the
shooting of Casino Royale in the Bahamas containg a lot of interesting tidbits.
CBn has summarised the most important quotes and facts.
Spoilers ahead!
Replying to the critics from ‘craignotbond.com’, director Martin Campbell said:
"I am convinced that Craig is the best actor who has ever – and I mean
ever – played James Bond". He added that GoldenEye "was a Bond formula movie,
but that lead into a dead end. We cannot go and blast away control centres for
another ten years. We’re going back to the beginning: No CGI, but good old fist
fights."
Answering the obligatory Pierce Brosnan question, Campbell said "It’s not
personal. It has nothing to do with Pierce. But we re-boot the whole franchise.
We show that Bond will suffer from emotional and physical pain. Honestly, we
couldn’t do that with Pierce."
Also, the Swiss paper cleared up a few rumours. Craig has a normal driver’s
license. He is allowed to and he can drive cars with gear shift. Second unit
director Alex Witt even says: "We’re kind of afraid of Daniel in a bulldozer,
because he drives like the devil." Also, Craig is indeed a little bit
sun-burned, but he said: "Tell me someone of the cast or crew who isn’t." To
keep his good shape, Craig goes to the gym for two hours every day after
wrapping.
Casting director Debbie McWilliams said that "We did actual screentests with
five actors." Of course she wouldn’t tell any names, but she added: "Beyond
Daniel, one English guy, two from Australia and one from former Yugoslavia." As
CBn revealed
a while back, those four were Alex O’Lachlan, Goran Visnjic,
Sam Worthington and Henry Cavill.
Caterina Murino as Solonge
Martin Campbell said that "The last line of the book will be the last line of
the film. And yes, Eva’s Vesper is going to die". Suicide, as in the book? "We
won’t tell", Campbell said. "But the beast is going to die anyway". As for the
other Bond girl, the "Sonntagszeitung" revealed that – as already hinted on the
production skills from the Bahamas – Caterina Mourino’s Solonge will be a horse
lover.
Barbara Broccoli was also quoted, saying: "We are aware that filming book
#1 as film #21 doesn’t make any sense. It’s total nonsense. But it’s fun".
Finally, the paper also has some interesting lines about the gunbarrel: Is
the new gunbarrel already shot? Craig: "Maybe". Maybe? Craig: "Yes, it is shot. But on the other hand it isn’t. It’ll be a bit of a surprise, so stay tuned".
Casino Royale is the 21st James Bond film produced by franchise holders Eon Productions. The MGM/Columbia Pictures production began shooting in January and is due for release worldwide on 17 November 2006. Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond, it is currently being filmed in the Czech Republic, the Bahamas, Italy and the UK.
