Finding James Bond's Dark Side In Casino Royale

Daniel Craig has spoken to The Telegraph on the bruises, criticism, and other aspects associated with playing James Bond in Casino Royale.

It’s no secret that Craig was criticized by fans and newspapers early on during the filming, and it gets a mention in nearly every interview since.

When asked about it, Craig said: ‘One of the things I was criticised for was that I looked like a bad guy, but I was happy with that because I think true good guys have to step into the dark side to do their job. I wanted people to question Bond’s morals and his judgment.’

As he has discovered, each new Bond film is incredibly important to the fans: ‘I didn’t want to miss a trick, but then I pushed it all behind me because I wanted to take it in a new direction and move forward with it. That responsibility was very, very strong in my mind.’

The recent Casino Royale press reviews are comparing Craig’s debut as 007 to the days of the Sean Connery films, and indeed, Connery himself.

‘Sean Connery set and defined the character,’ said Craig. ‘He did something extraordinary with that role. He was bad, sexy, animalistic and stylish, and it is because of him I am here today. I wanted Sean Connery’s approval and he sent me messages of support, which meant a lot to me.’

‘I wanted to do as much of the action work as I could, so that the audience can see it’s me and it’s real,’ he says while speaking about Casino Royale‘s rigorous action sequences. ‘I feel like I became a sportsman of sorts, and that meant acquiring injuries and carrying on and bashing through to the next level of pain. Although the stunt team did fantastic work to make sure that everything was as safe as possible, if you don’t get bruised playing Bond, you’re not doing it properly.’

‘I’m certainly going to try to get as much out of it as I can,’ says Craig. ‘Of course I am always going to think about whether it is going to limit what I do. I plan for it not to, but if it does, I’ll approach that problem when it comes.’

Click here to read the entire article on Daniel Craig and Casino Royale on The Telegraph.

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Daniel Craig Speaks On Casino Royale On 'Today'

CBn previously reported that Daniel Craig would be appearing on Today for an interview about James Bond and Casino Royale. 007 fans who missed the show can now catch it online at MSNBC Video. As an added treat, a previously unreleased scene between Bond and Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd is included.

When asked what was so important about this film compared to the previous twenty, Craig said: ‘Well, what was important for me was that I wanted to show someone who was fallible, that fell down, that bled, that [you don’t] think from the beginning of the movie that he will be successful…’

After hearing the early positive reviews of the film, Craig says he isn’t planning on going into the “I told you so” mode with the critics that doubted him.

‘He’s learning,’ says Craig, while discussing how clever and sophisticated his Bond is compared with the others. ‘I think there’s a level of level of sophistication that he’s got to get to. I didn’t want to spring him straight in there. I wanted to discover how he comes sophisticated, and how through experience, he becomes the guy he is.’

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Eva Green Speaks On 'Terrifying' Scene In Casino Royale

***Warning***: MAJOR plot spoilers. Do not read from here onwards if you have not read Ian Fleming’s Casino Royale. A crucial plot element is revealed.

Bond girl Eva Green, who plays Vesper Lynd in Casino Royale (and may possibly return for Bond 22) has recently revealed some details on a ‘terrifying’ scene in the 21st official James Bond film…

***Warning***: MAJOR plot spoilers.

Life Style Extra reports that Green has called her death scene in Venice Casino Royale ‘scary’ and ‘weird.’

Speaking to Arena Magazine, she said: ‘I rehearsed before–it was not like trying to drown. You have to swim underwater and gasp, it’s quite scary. I really wanted to cry when I was doing it. It was the weirdest moment of my life.’

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Casino Royale's Algerian Love Knot

***Warning***: Possible plot spoilers

It was previously discovered that the striking necklace Eva Green’s Vesper Lynd wears in Casino Royale is an Algerian love knot…

New Star of Casino Royale: Vesper Lynds’ Algerian Love Knot

Does Bond Get His Girl?

Where does Vesper Lynds’ loyalty lie; with her Algerian ex-lover or Bond himself?

For the very first time James Bond has had his heart broken in the new film Casino Royale! Vesper Lynd, played by the gorgeously curvaceous Eva Green, is the only girl to ever get to the elusive 007.

Casino Royale romantic subplot stems from a beautiful love-token given to Vesper, that tells a complicated tale of love and betrayal. Worn throughout the movie, the specially commissioned Algerian Love Knot necklace designed by Sophie Harley steals the show and Vesper Lynds, his heart.

Created from twisted gold and silver chains and an intriguing silver pendant featuring gold symbols and motifs, the necklace bears the hallmarks of Sophie’s inspiration. The ancient symbols allude to mysterious mythology and storytelling…perfect for the mix of action, intrigue and weaving subplots of the new film.

The Algerian Love Knot is sophisticated, striking and mysterious. Worn high on the neck with a triple strand chain which drops down from the knot, it compliments Eva Green’s enigmatic and seductive beauty and perfectly taps into this Autumn’s red-lipped, femme fatale look.

Want to join the waiting list?…
The necklace is made to order by Sophie Harley at a cost of £1,400- email: [email protected] or telephone: 0207 430 2070.

Please call Suzanne Martin Associates on 020 7524 7600 urgently to request a sample.

View Sophie Harley Designs at: www.sophieharley.com.

View Casino Royale visuals at: www.sonypictures.co.uk/movies/casinoroyale/index.html.

Press Release

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Daniel Craig is James Bond. Suave and sophisticated. Simply James Bond.

In the evening, on November 3rd, Sony Pictures invited members of the world press to the Odeon Leicester Square in London for a preview screening of Casino Royale. Once we got past high security and were sat comfortably, we were in for a treat.

Throughout the entire film, it didn’t seem at all like Casino Royale was Daniel Craig’s first Bond film, and that is because he looks so confident in the role. The one-liners, Craig delivers perfectly—being on par with Sean Connery. Not like Moore’s eyebrow raising, or Brosnan’s later tongue-in-cheek deliveries, at which I sometimes cringe. The audience loved them all and burst into chuckles and laughter throughout—one constant of the original formula that remains in this new reboot.

And this was a much needed reboot. The invisible car in Die Another Day was the nail in the coffin. Having just gadgets and explosions was no longer good enough. There were too many other films copying and doing the same thing, making the latest Bond movie ‘just another action flick’ while the Jason Bourne series and others were surpassing with great storylines. I believe this is why the producers spent so long in a state of paralysis, as Pierce Brosnan described, deciding how they could move forward. And I’m so glad they did. It was worth the wait.

I was at first sceptical about Chris Cornell’s performance of the title song, ‘You Know My Name’. I felt the song was too heavy. However, seeing Daniel Kleinman’s titles with an orchestral version of the track, I now love it. It’s a true Bond ‘Title Song’. Around 95% of the titles are computer generated, with a casino and card theme, mixed in with shots of Craig and Eva Green. But it works so well. I’m really looking forward to seeing the film again on the 14th just to see the titles!

Mads Mikkelsen shines as Le Chiffre. A fine choice of actor. He has a cruel face and plays the part perfectly. In the game of poker, the stares he throws across the table at Bond are great–both men trying to read each other. And it is great to see his reaction when he sees Bond returning to the table unexpectedly at a point during the game. Mikkelsen really plays the part while trying to extract information from Bond. He looks desperate yet sadistic at the same time.

Eva Green is equally as good in her role as Vesper Lynd. When I first saw the trailers, I wasn’t convinced with the choice of her for the role–and I only judged it because that was the first glimpse of her we all saw. However, it’s not surprising, but in the film she is great. When Bond and Vesper first meet you can see chemistry between them, which lasts all the way to the end. That of course has a double meaning… but I’m not going to spoil anything too blatantly.

Despite the news that the torture scene has been cut to make it a 12A rating in the UK, it still had me cringing in my seat, along with every other chap around me. Everyone was squirming in horror at the unimaginable pain Bond was going through. Le Chiffre really does put a ton of power into his swings and gives Bond a good bollocking—literally. I’m so glad they kept this in the film. It’s just such a great, memorable scene. This is one point in the film where it really shows that Craig can act. His facial expressions are intense.

One of two concerns I have with the film is that there are quite a few action sequences all in the first part, prior to Bond being assigned to Casino Royale. They over-shadow slightly what is actually going on—where it is actually setting up the story about Le Chiffre. I’d already read the script so was aware of what was going on. But for others, if you weren’t paying attention too closely, you may have missed it and just thought it was an action sequence they’d dumped in the film for the sake of it. As another reviewer has said, you may be left wondering who Bond is chasing, and why. How does it fit into the rest of the story? Be sure to pay extra close attention and it is a great part of the film. Oh, and I’m not complaining at all about the action sequences. They are amazing and will become classics that fans will remember.

My other concern is that the average person expecting to see a Bond film with gadgets, Moneypenny and Q, will be disappointed for the simple fact that those things aren’t present. Those things are all key constants in the original Bond film formula, but as I said above, Casino Royale doesn’t use them at all. As a big Bond fan, I love it. I’ve read Casino Royale several times and I love the fact that the film follows the book respectfully. But hopefully the ‘average person’ will enjoy it as well and not just expect lots of explosions, gadgets and invisible cars (groan). If you want to see that, go and watch xXx or some other pile of tripe.

As for length of the film, it didn’t really feel as though it was too long or short. It was just right. There wasn’t any part that was being dragged out. Though I wish they’d have spent just a few more seconds focussing the camera on the card flops, turns and rivers so those poker players of us watching it could figure out what was going on before the showdown. It would have helped to interpret the players facial expressions in order to guess what hands they all possibly had, based on what was on the table.

A well spent 144 minutes and 007 seconds.

Critics around the globe are hailing this film as a success. Some of which were the ones who called Daniel Craig ‘James Bland’. As we at CBn originally said, how could they possibly judge Daniel Craig when they hadn’t even seen the film? Now that they have, they love it. They’re eating their own words and I love to see that. And that is such a great indication to the producers that they’re now doing the right thing.

Bravo! I can’t wait to see the film again and to see James Bond return for the next film!

Casino Royale Earns Early Rave Reviews

Casino Royale will ‘give [James Bond fans] what they want,’ says Daniel Craig, and the majority of critics seem to agree…

Early Bond reviews would make Moneypenny proud

LONDON (Reuters) – Actor Daniel Craig, the controversial choice to play the new James Bond in the upcoming film Casino Royale, has won early reviews Miss Moneypenny would be proud of.

The producers of one of the world’s most successful movie franchises were seen taking a considerable risk with Craig, who angry fans said was too blond, too ugly and insufficiently suave to serve on Her Majesty’s Secret Service.

But if the majority of film critics is anything to go by, the risk has paid off handsomely. The 38-year-old, with a proven acting pedigree, has been credited with revitalising a series some felt had become bloated and over-reliant on clever gadgets.

“It’s a terrific debut,” wrote the Daily Telegraph’s Sinclair McKay, summing up a weekend of praise from newspapers eager to get their reviews out early.

“From the very start, he steps with full assuredness into Sean Connery’s old handmade shoes.”

The Times’ Wendy Ide appears to take a swipe at some of Craig’s five predecessors in the role by concluding her review: “His main asset quickly becomes evident. He can act”.

Ide also points out that Bond had met his match in other, younger screen spies Jason Bourne and Jack Bauer, who “share Bond’s initials but little else”.

Casino Royale takes viewers back to the beginning of Bond’s life as a spy, allowing director Martin Campbell to introduce character changes most have welcomed.

“This Bond is far more vulnerable than his predecessors,” said David Edwards in the Daily Mirror. “Not only does he have his heart broken, he also winds up almost dead after a beating.”

Several reviewers noted one joke that deliberately breaks a Bond tradition. When asked if he wants his vodka martini shaken or stirred, Craig replies: “Do I look like I give a damn?”

Casino Royale is described as darker and more raw than previous films in the series and less reliant on the gadgets that have helped Bond out of countless scrapes.

Only The Observer weekly’s Tim Adams was generally negative, calling the time frame of the film “perplexing” and questioning the filmmakers’ decision to make Bond more real.

“The problem with making Bond more real is that everything around him then seems even more fake than usual,” he said.

The response to Casino Royale will come as a relief to producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who admit they took a risk in casting Craig as Bond.

He replaced the popular Pierce Brosnan, whose last Bond film Die Another Day raked in an estimated $432 million at the box office. The franchise has generated billions of dollars over its 44-year lifespan.

The Bond films are produced by EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc and Sony Pictures Entertainment, the media unit of Japan’s Sony Corp. The film goes on general release on November 17.

Reuters

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Daniel Craig & Casino Royale Come Through With Flying Colours

The Times reports that Daniel Craig’s debut as James Bond in Casino Royale is a ‘007 triumph.’

‘Daniel Craig has come through with flying colours as Ian Fleming’s sadistic secret agent … in the most violent Bond film yet.’ The review labels Craig’s performance as rescuing the series after 2002’s Die Another Day.

Actress Monica Bertei said: ‘He’s very sexy. It’s a lot more graphic and gritty than in the past.’ Graham Rye, 55, editor of 007 Magazine (Click here to read the Graham Rye CBn interview), said: ‘I haven’t been as excited about a Bond film for years. He’s the best Bond ever.’

No James Bond film is perfect, however. While the one-liners at stunts of the film are worthy of praise, they are ‘almost enough to forgive the absence of Q, and the pain of an appalling theme song, sung by Chris Cornell.’

The bottom line? ‘It seems we have underestimated you, Mr. Craig.’

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Casino Royale: 'It's Going To Give Them What They Want'

Day one of ‘007 Week’ from The Sun brings us an interview with Daniel Craig where he speaks about getting into the role of Bond in Casino Royale.

‘I started training for the film when I knew there was a possibility I might get the part,’ Craig says. ‘I’ll start trying to get myself fit anyway and even if it doesn’t come off I’ll live another year. If I hadn’t done it early I don’t think I’d have survived [the rigorous shoot for the film].’

‘I’m not obsessive about fitness,’ he continues. ‘I work out three or four times a week but I take the weekends off and drink as much Guinness as I can get down my neck.’

Preparing for the role meant watching all twenty of the previous James Bond films for Craig: ‘I’ve got the box set and I went through them religiously. Some are great movies and any film-maker would be lying if they said they didn’t copy off people, because you have to. I just wanted to go through them all. There was stuff that all of them did that were their little keys and you go, “Oh that’s cute, the way they did that.”‘

And what about the criticism? ‘I always wanted to make a great movie but when things started happening online it gave me a resolve. It was like, “We’ve got no choice now–we have to make the best movie we can.” In fact it spurred me on.’

‘It’s a particularly British movie we are doing here. It’s British talent producing something special. It’s going to give Bond fans–and believe me, I’m careful about that because I know what it means to them–it’s going to give them what they want.’

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Casino Royale TV Spot #8 Released Online

Yet another new TV spot for Casino Royale, the 21st official James Bond film, has been released online.

The new TV spot, which can be viewed online here, contains several shots of Bond and Vesper together well as scenes with Solange and M.

Click here to watch Casino Royale TV Spot #8.

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E! News Covers Casino Royale

Daniel Craig’s debut as 007, Casino Royale was one of the films covered on a recent episode of Access Hollywood.

A clip of the James Bond coverage from the show has appeared online at YouTube and contains scenes of Craig’s Bond driving the Aston Martin DBS as well as an extended clip of the intense chase sequence with Sebastien Foucan’s Mollaka.

Click here to watch the Casino Royale coverage on Access Hollywood.

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