Kevin Tod Haug On Creating 'Quantum's' Visual Effects

An indepth interview with Quantum of Solace visual effects designer Kevin Tod Haug has been posted at fxguide.

Like numerous other crew members on the 22nd James Bond film, Haug had worked with director Marc Forster numerous times in the past on films such as Finding Neverland, Stay, Stranger Than Fiction and The Kite Runner.

Describing the overall experience on Quantum, Haug said: ‘We tore into production with less than 12 weeks of prep, which is unheard of for a movie that size from my point of view, and that was without a final script. There was a writer’s strike, and the script was still being worked out as we were prepping. And then we only had 12 weeks of post. A normal movie these days has 30 weeks of post. We had to make it work in the most intelligent and the quickest way possible. That’s why we did the heavy visual effects shots early and worked as closely with our partners as we could so we wouldn’t get any disaster happening late in the day that we wouldn’t be able to manage.’

‘And then we only had 12 weeks of post. A normal movie these days has 30 weeks of post. We had to make it work in the most intelligent and the quickest way possible.’ –Kevin Tod Haug

He continued: ‘My last day on the show was October 10 and we were coming out on the 29th so there was no space to make mistakes. You have to give the vendors and the VFX crew in London a lot of kudos because there’s not a lot of paces in the world where you could find that much infrastructure and ability to jump on it and run with it as we could find in London. It would be hard for us to do it anywhere else but in LA as far as I could tell. There were lots of Americans who came with Marc but there were people working on this movie who had done the past 22 Bond movies. It was really interesting to be in that group.’

Based off of Forster’s comment that his ‘main bubble for the movie is in pre-production,’ Haug stressed the importance of pre-visualization for getting Quantum of Solace off on the right track.

‘We do a lot of previz,’ he said. ‘Marc is more interested in previz than let’s say storyboards. More often than not previz on Quantum was learning what we didn’t want to do. There’s not a lot of those beautiful previz things where you can see the shot in previz and then wipe to seeing the shot finished. We did an awful lot of work with Gary Powell [stunt coordinator] and Chris Corbould [special effects supervisor] determining what the options were and we eliminated the ones that nobody wanted to do and then we moved on. Marc does a very detailed breakdown built on what we called football diagrams where he gets a layout of the set, lays out each individual camera angle in an overhead view.’

‘He didn’t want the film to look pretty, he wanted it to look more real than pretty.’ –Kevin Tod Haug on Marc Forster

Such detailed levels of preparation enabled Forster to ‘create a new stylistic look for the Bond franchise’ in this film. ‘It was an interesting blend of styles but to me it looks very much like a Marc Forster film,’ Haug commented. ‘He was to bring his taste and style to the Bond franchise and apply it. Going to places like Colón, gritty nasty places to be in, not pretty places to be and dangerous places on top of it all. That kind of look of reality is where he comes from. His movies are full of picking locations almost as characters. There’s a grittiness to it. He didn’t want the film to look pretty, he wanted it to look more real than pretty in a lot of cases so that was a bit of a departure. Having worked on five movies with the man there wasn’t a whole lot of conversations that we hadn’t already had before.’

Despite shooting in more locations around the world than any previous James Bond film and featuring endless action sequences that each had their own special requirements, Haug said his overall goal was to shoot as much footage as possible in camera.

He explained: ‘The very first conversation I had with [producers] Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli we talked about the Bond philosophy of action and they talked about how they’ve always done it in the past and in fact they’d rarely even credited a visual effects supervisor per se. Not that they hadn’t done them but usually the vendor was credited. The idea being that Bond is about stunts and action. So the theory was to get out of that minute control you get out of doing things in CG and focussing again on real action and being able to capture it in an exciting way. So to some extent I chased Gary Powell and Chris Corbould through the process to find out what I could do to make what they were doing better.’

‘In the end we got the permission to go to Siena and shoot there and thank God it looked great.’ –Kevin Tod Haug

‘Other than the skydiving sequence which was heavily involved with Visual FX–even that was driven by Gary Powell’s choreography in the skydiving tube–the CG airplane and all this other stuff was based on shooting real airplanes out in the desert. Just occasionally we weren’t able to put them together in the compositions that Dan Bradley [2nd unit director] had in mind. So we did some CG airplanes but again they were based on real airplanes that were shot already. The interior of the DC3 was huge rig that Chris Corbould put together. So I shot exteriors prior to shooting that. We ran a helicopter up and down the canyons we were going to be in with an Imax camera with a fisheye lens on it so I could cover the entire angle. They were never going to use any lens any wider than that so I knew that with an Imax negative I could extract the part we needed for whatever angle.’

‘So it was all about chasing how they were going to shoot it. We organized it so that Visual FX stuff happened early and special FX happened late. So that Chris had as much time to prep for what he was doing and I had time to finish what I started. And yet everything we did was combined. Chris and I worked as closely together as I think you can for visual FX and special FX. And when I wasn’t working with Chris I was working with Gary. It was very Bond, very Eon, it was all about making it work the way Bond movies are supposed to. With a different director and different production company we might have done things very differently but in visual effects you can do it any way that makes sense for the movie.’

Visit fxguide for further details on the specific action sequences, the different vendors involved in Quantum of Solace, using the DALSA 4K cameras, and more.

Stay up-to-date with complete James Bond coverage at CommanderBond.net–your #1 source for all the latest Quantum of Solace clips and news.

Strong 'Solace' Open Expected In Spain

As reported on CommanderBond.net earlier this week, Quantum of Solace is expected to rule the international box office this weekend for the fourth straight time in a row.

In addition to new openings in Australia, South Africa and Peru, the 22nd James Bond film’s debut in Spain is definitely drawing attention, according to Variety.

Quantum opens today on 533 in the country and bookers are expecting more of the blockbuster business it has shown elsewhere throughout Europe. The film is predicted to do better than Casino Royale, which managed an overall gross of $11.6 million two years ago.

‘Takings under $3.8 million for the weekend would be disappointing,’ said a local booker. ‘It should take about $4.5 million,’ another suggested. A third said: ‘Running time of previous releases came in at around two hours. Quantum of Solace is shorter, which means four screenings per day and most likely a very high screen average; just don’t expect much stamina.’

While pirated copies of the film have already begun to circulate and reviews are generally not as strong as Royale, the reliability of a Bond film cannot be overlooked. ‘No license to bore’ is the title of the La Vanguardia review. ‘An ending as brilliant as its budget,’ said cineyteatro.com.

Despite several new wide releases in the UK and Germany, none are expected to remove Quantum of Solace from the top spot, where it has dominated for the past few weeks.

As always, stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date and complete Quantum of Solace coverage. Check out our continually updated box office report for all the latest news at how 007 is doing around the world.

Have you seen Quantum of Solace in theatres yet? Post your review and join in the discussion in the Member Reviews section on the CBn Forums.

'Another Way To Die' Lands On Billboard Hot 100

‘Another Way To Die’ has managed a spot on the United States Billboard Hot 100 music chart.

The Quantum of Solace title theme by Jack White and Alicia Keys has entered the chart in the #81 position, according to the chart’s official website.

Previously, the James Bond duet was sitting in the #7 position on Billboard’s Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart (which comprises of the top 25 songs that are just missing out on the main Hot 100 chart).

‘Another Way To Die’ joins several other past 007 title themes that have charted on the Hot 100. Most recently in the series, Chris Cornell’s ‘You Know My Name’ peaked at #79 while Madonna’s ‘Die Another Day’ managed to get to the #8 spot.

To date, Duran Duran’s ‘A View To A Kill’ remains the only Bond theme to ever top the chart. Paul McCartney’s ‘Live and Let Die’ and Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’ each got the #2 position for three weeks each.

Keep turning to CommmanderBond.net for the most complete and up-to-date Quantum of Solace news and information on the web.

Keeping 'Quantum of Solace' Real

KEEPING QUANTUM OF SOLACE REAL
Stunt coordinator Gary Powell on the importance of doing the stunts for real

Quantum of Solace

The producers have promised Quantum of Solace will have twice as much action as Casino Royale. For Stunt Coordinator Gary Powell that means twice as many stunts.

He talks about working with the director Marc Forster. “There is as much action in the opening sequence as you have in the whole of Casino Royale. It has actually been good working with Marc because he comes to the table with a totally different thought process. In particular, it works because I want to do these stunts for real and he wants his film to look as real as possible. He wanted to use Daniel as much as possible rather than use a stunt double. Then it’s down to me to say if that works or if we can use a double instead. There are certain things you can’t allow Daniel to do.”

Daniel Craig is always keen to do as many of his own stunts as possible and Powell has always been impressed by his capabilities. “We had already worked with Daniel on Casino Royale so, when we got him back again, we knew what he was capable of and it made our training process much easier, we just carried on from where we left off and got straight in to it. I don’t mind Daniel doing the fight sequences himself, he knows there is a chance he could get punched in the face or he could punch someone else. When you are doing stunts at that speed there is always that risk. Daniel knows the risk and will decide if he wants to do it–9 times out of 10, he does!

‘Daniel did a lot of his own stunts on Casino Royale but on this, he is doing even more.’ –Stunt coordinator Gary Powell

“Daniel did a lot of his own stunts on Casino Royale but on this, he is doing even more. He is in a building full of fire, there are fire balls exploding behind him, fire balls in front of him, he’s landing on fire, sliding across the floor on fire but you know he can do it, he is more than capable.”

Powell choreographed all the fights in Quantum of Solace, he explains how the action has to suit the character so it is believable and assists the storytelling process. “When we first got Mathieu [Amalric] and started training with him we knew he had a big fight sequence with Bond at the end of the film, it was going to be a fight to the death. Very quickly we could see that he was not a technical fighter, he was a messy fighter, so we adapted the fight to suit his style and then fit that in to the character. When he is fighting now, he is getting the better of Bond, not because he is a better fighter, but because he is a maniac. He is coming at Bond in a frenzied attack, kicking, punching, screaming, hitting him with bars–he’s a dirty fighter.

“Olga’s [Kurylenko] character is an agent so she is military trained and we had to push her to that standard–it was tough for her but she really came up to the grade. In a way, she had the hardest fight to do because she fights General Medrano who is twice her size, if not more. Marc was concerned it wouldn’t work but we trained her hard and it does work. We are very proud of her progress.”

‘When we are designing stunts, we work with costume, hair and make up, special effects–everyone has to be involved…’ –Stunt coordinator Gary Powell

Working closely with actors who may not have trained before involves more than physical strength, Powell explains; “As well as physically, you have to prepare the actors mentally. We know at the end of their first month of training, if not before, they are going to wake up in the morning and not want to get out of bed, they will be aching and tired. We need to prepare them for that. When you are training actors, everyone has a bad day. We need to coach them and prepare them because it happens to everyone but the likelihood is, they will come back the next day and be twice as good.”

The stunt team need to work with every department on the film unit, Powell explains; “When we are designing stunts, we work with costume, hair and make up, special effects–everyone has to be involved and communicating from a very early stage. The costume department may want a certain look that I may have safety issues with, for example, if we are working in fire, I don’t want the actress in clothes that won’t work in that environment. With makeup, we need to tell them if after a fight, Bond would probably have a cut above his eye and a bruise on his left cheek.

“Stuntmen must have an overall sense of the film and work to eliminate as much of the danger and risk from a stunt as possible. When Daniel is running down a corridor with explosions and fire, I need to discuss with Chris [Corbould, Special Effects Supervisor] where Daniel will be when the explosions are fired. The special effects team need to time everything exactly and Daniel needs to hit his mark exactly. If he over steps his mark he could end up in a fire ball–there is a massive amount of trust and hard work involved from everyone.”

Daniel Craig

James Bond’s car of choice, the Aston Martin DBS, makes a welcome return in Quantum of Solace. In order to make the cars work in the Italian car chase sequence, Powell had some minor alterations made. “We have seven Aston Martins, they are rigged for two different surfaces; the road surface and the quarry surface which is loose gravel. We have stiffened the suspension and pushed the wheels out at an angle and used specific tires for each surface. We take all the traction control off the cars so, when we want to do a big wheel spin, the car will allow you to do it. That way the stuntman controls the car rather than the car controlling the stuntman. In the Aston we have put a hydraulic hand break in the car so the stuntman can use the hand break to spin the car round corners. The hand break is fitted in between the driver and the door so that it’s easy to reach for without looking down.”

To film Bond and Camille’s jump from the DC3, Powell chose to film the inserts of Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko at a training facility called Bodyflight. ‘Flying’ in the wind tunnel simulates the experience of freefalling, Powell explains; “When the idea first came about we were planning on having a parachutist do the actual freefall and insert images of Daniel and Olga’s faces with visual effects. I wanted to use Bodyflight rather than put the actors on wires with a wind effect so we went there and did video tests. Marc watched the tests and liked it so much he decided to do the whole parachute sequence in there. We filmed Daniel and Olga for a whole day and it looks really good, because it’s them for real doing the fall. You wouldn’t get the moves they were doing on wires so we were really pleased with the outcome.”

‘If [Craig] over steps his mark he could end up in a fire ball–there is a massive amount of trust and hard work involved from everyone’ –Stunt coordinator Gary Powell

Another huge stunt sequence in Quantum of Solace is the boat chase, filmed in Colón, Panama. “The boat chase sequence got changed very late and Simon Crane [additional unit director] and me dreamt up a whole new sequence and rehearsed it very quickly. It was originally supposed to be quite a small set piece. We got there and decided to make it as big as we could with what we had, and that’s what we did. From one side of the Panama Canal to the other we shot the chase, ending up on an island for the finale. Working on the Panama Canal was difficult because it’s not a lake, it’s choppy with hundreds of 1,000ft long boats in your way and the water is changing all the time. You are trying to do precise turns and you are being dictated by the water so you can over shoot your mark by 10 or 12 ft. It was tricky, technical sequence to film.”

Gary Powell talks about working with the ‘The Bond Family’; “I’ve been lucky, I’ve worked on some great productions with some great producers, but Bond is a family business. When you are on the set, you are not just a crew member you are part of the family. Barbara’s [Broccoli] father started it all off with Dr. No and she and Michael [Wilson] are carrying on his work. As producers, they have the job of keeping the film within budget but they trust their crew and will do their utmost to give you everything you need to do the best job you can for the film.”

Keep turning to CommmanderBond.net for the most complete and up-to-date Quantum of Solace news and information on the web.

'Quantum of Solace' To Rule International Box Office For 4th Straight Week

Quantum of Solace is expected to remain king of the internatinnal box office for the fourth straight consecutive time heading into this weekend.

Variety reports that the 22nd James Bond film should continue its successful run at the box office with new openings in Australia, South Africa, Spain and Peru.

The international (non-USA domestic) take for Quantum of Solace hit $267.5 million this past weekend, pushing the film past The World is not Enough‘s $263.1 million take. The film is also expected to surpass Die Another Day‘s $271 million through today.

Furthermore, Quantum of Solace is expected to eventually overtake the massive $430 million international total that Daniel Craig’s first 007 film, Casino Royale, took in two years ago.

After ruling the US box office in its debut weekend, some competition will be arriving in teen-appealing Twilight and the family animation film Bolt. While Twilight is being predicted to take the number one spot, Bond could give Bolt a run for its money for second place.

Keep your browsers pointed to CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date and complete Quantum of Solace coverage. Check out our continually updated box office report for all the latest news at how 007 is doing around the world.

Have you seen Quantum of Solace in theatres yet? Post your review and join in the discussion in the Member Reviews section on the CBn Forums.

Taking James Bond To New Heights

TAKING JAMES BOND TO NEW HEIGHTS
Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli on Quantum of Solace

Michael G. Wilson

Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli talk about how the character of James Bond has developed since the last film. “In Casino Royale, Bond was severely emotionally wounded and he needs to find his way out of the experience he had with Vesper. Bond has a recognition that he can’t leave the service, he can’t really find love in a normal sense of the word, have a family or anything like that. He is bound to his job and it is too dangerous and violent a world to share with someone. Bond doesn’t want to be open to blackmail or put someone else at risk of being blackmailed.”

Barbara Broccoli

Quantum of Solace starts one hour after the end of Casino Royale and marks the first time the Bond franchise has ever filmed two films in direct sequence. Wilson comments, “We don’t think there are any rules about how the Franchise is run. We have had references to one film in another film but it seemed like the natural thing to do because there are so many unanswered questions at the end of Casino Royale and we think our audiences will be interested in the answers.”

The producers talk about the success of Casino Royale and why they felt the time was right to go back to the start of Bond’s career and introduce Daniel Craig to the role of 007. “From the first time Daniel [Craig] did the screen test for us we were confident he would be a great Bond. First of all he was handsome, very masculine and he keeps himself in tremendous physical shape–all that is prerequisite for the job–moreover, he is a great actor. That is the beginning and the end of it. He can pull it off. He is probably the best actor of his generation in Britain, if not the world, so we were very lucky that he saw himself in the role and was willing to do it. Secondly, the story was right out of Ian Fleming so it had a great structure. I think whenever you make a new film with a new Bond or are taking the film in a different direction, you are never quite sure how popular the film is going to be. Of course it is gratifying when it is popular but you just cannot know how successful it will be until it happens. Now we want to duplicate the success of Casino Royale and exceed it.”

Quantum of Solace

‘Now we want to duplicate the success of Casino Royale and exceed it.’ – -Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli

Both Wilson and Broccoli enjoy working with Craig. “He is charming, funny, loyal and passionate–all of the things that you find in a great actor. Daniel really enjoys making these films, he puts his heart and soul into it and is extremely studious and serious about his work. In Casino Royale he was exploring the character and he has gained a lot of confidence since then, so he’s playing Bond with more confidence and an assurance that comes with that confidence. He has a creative input that we welcome, he understands the character very well and therefore, when it comes to script and matters that effect the James Bond character, he is very much involved, his contributions are very important.”

Director Marc Forster

It is the first time Wilson and Broccoli have worked with the award winning director, Marc Forster, and they have been impressed with his methods. “Marc is the most prepared director we have ever worked with. He has a plan of every set and location and he works with the lighting cameraman [Roberto Schaefer] to map out every shot detailing where the camera will go for each sequence. That is all done right at the beginning of the film for the entire movie and he sticks to it. His first assistant, Michael Lerman, is likewise extremely prepared and takes the shots and puts in how much time they will take hour by hour, like the goal for each day. It is amazing to see them work together.”

Daniel Craig is James Bond

The producers filmed the scenes set in Haiti and Bolivia in Panama and Chile, Wilson explains, “Panama is easy to work in–you can get to it easily, it works in the lifestyle, the people speak good English and the infrastructure is good in the country, not necessarily for filming, but every other purpose; hotels, transport etc. With this particular film we needed a couple of locations and it worked out that between Panama City and Colon we could film both Haiti and Bolivia so it seemed the most effective way to plan the picture.”

The producers explain the meaning of Quantum of Solace and its relevance in the script, “The title originally comes from an Ian Fleming short story and, in the context of that, it means that a relationship cannot be salvaged unless there is a ‘quantum of solace’ between the two parties. ‘Quantum’ meaning ‘measure’ and ‘solace’ meaning ‘comfort’–so if they are not willing to share that then their relationship is not redeemable. In our case, it is a couple of things; Bond is looking for a ‘quantum of solace’ after his experiences in Casino Royale, and ‘Quantum’ also happens to be the name of the villainous organization in the film.”

Keep turning to CommmanderBond.net for the most complete and up-to-date Quantum of Solace news and information on the web.

Gemma Arterton Is Fields… Agent Fields

GEMMA ARTERTON IS FIELDS… AGENT FIELDS
The ‘Quantum’ Bond girl who “thinks she can control Bond”

Gemma Arterton talks about her character ‘Agent Fields’ and how she is not the typical femme fatal usually associated with the Bond films. “Agent Fields works for MI6. She tries to be professional and takes herself very seriously but she is naïve and that makes her a funny character. Fields thinks she can control Bond and puts on a front but it quickly crumbles away so there is something very real about her. Fields is not a femme fatal, all strong and beautiful, she is very natural and someone you can identify with.”

Arterton had to film her death scene on her first day on set, she talks about the experience, “Fields is killed by the baddies. She tries to save Bond by stalling them but they know it was her so they kill her by drowning her in oil. She is found naked on the bed she shared with James Bond the night before. Filming that scene was brilliant, although it was quite strange. I was taken on the set and dowsed in the oil and I had to lay there for almost two hours. I couldn’t move, I couldn’t see, I couldn’t breathe properly and I couldn’t hear because all the oil went in my ears. At the time I thought it was quite unpleasant but then I thought this is something I will always remember and it will be an iconic part of the film.”

Fresh out of drama school, Arterton describes what happened when she heard she had been given the part. “When I did my screen test, I thought I had blown it, then a couple of weeks later, I was filming in the middle of the ocean in Gibraltar, I was in scuba diving gear and I got a phone call from my agent singing the James Bond theme tune down the phone. I’ll never forget it, my colleague turned to me with tears in his eyes and said ‘This is such a big moment in your life, your life has just changed forever and I was here to see it happen’. Thinking about it now, on the way to my audition ‘Nobody Does It Better’ was playing on my car radio so I think it was meant to be.

“The difference working on a Bond film to any other movie is the time you get. There is so much attention to detail. On a Bond film, the whole day is allocated to one scene to make sure it’s right. Everyone is the best at what they do so it was quite scary for me because I am so new to it. Michael and Barbara [the producers] are lovely. There are so many expectations on a Bond movie and they can see how intimidating it can be, they understand and are so supportive. Whenever they saw me a bit stuck, they would give me a bit of a boost, a bit of confidence and that makes it really easy for everyone involved.”

In addition to support from the producers, Arterton felt safe in the hands of the director, Marc Forster. “Marc is so understanding of what it is like to be an actor, he is experienced and he invests a lot of trust in us. He trusts that we are good and we know what we are doing with our character. Marc lets you do your thing and will tweak your performance. He doesn’t need to say a lot to get what he needs, he’ll just say one thing that’s exactly right. Ultimately, he has great confidence in all of us and you just know you are in safe hands.”

Louise Frogley, the costume designer, made sure Arterton was involved in choosing the right wardrobe for Fields, “I didn’t know what was going to happen with my costume–originally they wanted me to look quite prim and ordered but we also wanted my character to look a bit wild and a bit unkempt to reflect her character, trying to be something she can’t maintain. In one scene she wears this trench coat but she doesn’t wear anything underneath, so it is like she’s kitted out but being really filthy at the same time! It’s the same with the party outfit so my style of clothes is exactly right for my character. My party dress is beautiful, very Audrey Hepburn, but it is something Bond had bought for me so it is really top end. It’s Prada and fits like a glove with a big bow at the front, it’s streamlined but again there is this cute thing going on.

“Choosing the costumes was great fun. I think Marc had some really strong ideas and everyone has an idea of what they think a Bond Girl should look like, but I wanted to make sure my character looked fresh and real. It was so exciting trying all these clothes on and, as I did, the costume department were talking about chopping bits off the dress here and adding bits there–inside my head I was screaming ‘But its Prada!’. Even for my screen test, I was wearing a Dolce and Gabbana dress which they cut to make it fit properly–and that was just for the screen test!”

Working with Daniel Craig was one of the highlights for Arterton, “Daniel was brilliant, he’s a really nice guy. At first I was really nervous because I’d seen him in Casino Royale but when you get to know him, he’s so down to earth and supportive and we have a giggle–it’s been great.”

Keep turning to CommmanderBond.net for the most complete and up-to-date Quantum of Solace news and information on the web.

Sony Braces For Life Without James Bond

Sony Pictures is bracing for life without the lucrative James Bond franchise, reports the Los Angeles Times.

The company inherited the right to co-finance and distribute 2006’s Casino Royale following their $4.9-billion buyout of MGM with a consortium of investors the previous year.

Following the massive box office success of Daniel Craig’s debut 007 film around the world, Sony received a huge percentage of the profits. According to a person familiar with the matter, because Sony put up 75% of the film’s reported $150 million budget, they received an even bigger cut of the profit than MGM.

At the tme of Casino Royale‘s release, however, this agreement between the two companies came to an end. MGM’s board voted unanimously to dump Sony as the domestic distributor of its DVDs after the studio failed to meet certain performance targets. This is turn also forced Sony to give up the Bond franchise, although they did manage to negotiate one final Bond entry, Quantum of Solace, which is currently breaking records left and right around the world.

‘We grew to love these movies,’ said Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment in a recent interview. ‘Obviously, we’d love to stay involved, but it’s not our decision, it’s MGM’s.’

Stay up-to-date with complete James Bond coverage at CommanderBond.net–your #1 source for all the latest Quantum of Solace clips and news.

'Quantum of Solace': For Your Consideration…

And the winner is… Quantum of Solace?

The Los Angeles Times’ awards blog, The Envelope, reports that James Bond has entered the Oscar race, with Sony Pictures actively running “For your consideration” ads for the following categories.

• Picture
• Director (Marc Forster)
• Screenplay (Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade)
• Actor In A Leading Role (Daniel Craig)
• Art Direction
• Costumes
• Makeup
• Music score (David Arnold)
• Cinematography (Robert Schaefer)
• Film editing (Matt Chesse, Richard Pearson)
• Sound mixing
• Sound editing
• Song (“Another Way to Die”)

The Envelope highlights the categories that Quantum of Solace has a realistic shot at scoring a nomination for – cinematography, film editing, song and possibly the two sound categories – and based on 007’s Oscar history, it’s difficult to disagree.

Over 46 years and 22 films, the franchise has bagged just seven nominations and only two wins – Goldfinger took home the Best Sound gong in 1965, while Thunderball scored the Best Special Visual Effects Oscar the following year.

Casino Royale failed to score a single nomination, despite short-listing in the Visual Effects and Original Song categories.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date James Bond news on the web.

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'Quantum of Solace' Debut US Weekend Total Updated: $67.5 Million

A revised first US weekend total has come in for Quantum of Solace according to Reuters: $67.5 million.

While slightly less than the previously estimated $70.4 million reported over the weekend, the total still makes Daniel Craig’s second James Bond film the highest grossing in the series during its opening weekend, surpassing the previous record of $47.1 million held by Die Another Day.

As earlier reported, Quantum of Solace is expected to become the highest grossing James Bond film ever, inflation unadjusted, where Casino Royale‘s worldwide gross of $594.2 million is the current benchmark.

Taking inflation into account, Thunderball is rhe clear film to beat in the series. It’s $141.2 million gross in 1965 is equivalent to almost $1 billion today.

Other top earners that emerge when adjusted for inflation include: Goldfinger, You Only Live Twice, Live and Let Die, The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker.

Keep your browsers pointed to CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date and complete Quantum of Solace coverage. Check out our continually updated box office report for all the latest news at how 007 is doing around the world.

Have you seen Quantum of Solace in theatres yet? Post your review and join in the discussion in the Member Reviews section on the CBn Forums.