007 In Austria: 'This is so Bond'

While filming on Quantum of Solace continues at the Seebühne floating opera stage in Bregenz, the main cast members of the film assembled together for a photocall at the Austrian location.

Daniel Craig was joined by Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric (Dominic Greene) and Anatole Taubman (Elvis) and director Marc Forster as they posed for photos yesterday at the eye-opening ‘Tosca’ stage that will play a role in film.

View Photographs:
Set One (16 photographs) /
Set Two (7 photographs)

The 007 production arrived in Austria on 29 April to begin preparations for the shoot. Residents in Bregenz welcomed the cast and crew with open arms as cardboard cutouts of previous Bond actors were constructed throughout the town and several other special events and parties were held.

Shooting will continue until 9 May when the production is expected to return to Pinewood Studios.

“This is so Bond” – these were the words of Callum McDougall, Executive Producer of the 22nd James Bond movie Quantum of Solace, when he first saw the Floating Opera Stage of the Bregenz Festival in Austria. Bregenz, a dramatically picturesque town in the westernmost province of Austria, famous for its annual summer opera festival, is buzzing these days with Hollywood glamour and celebrity excitement – people lining the streets trying to get a glimpse of James Bond actor Daniel Craig, witness a dramatic car chase or just attend many of the special events and parties created around the movie shoot.

Unusual and spectacular venues are a key ingredient of James Bond movies, and the Floating Stage of the Bregenz Festival definitely is unusual and spectacular. The annual Bregenz Summer Festival in July and August will present Puccini’s masterpiece Tosca this year and is again expected to attract thousands of visitors to the shores of Lake Constance and the charming town of Bregenz.

“The Tosca stage set with its gigantic blue eye fits in perfectly with the storyline of the new Bond movie,” said director Marc Forster earlier last year. The shoot requires that a complete performance of the opera Tosca is staged over several evenings, including over 1500 soloists and extras, orchestra, chorus members, technicians and audience. The spectacular scenes are currently shot on stage and backstage as well as inside the Festival Opera House in Bregenz until Friday, May 9.

Austria has been an exciting location for a Bond movie before. Vienna provided the location for The Living Daylights (1987) where several spectacular and memorable scenes with Timothy Dalton where shot in the Prater amusement park and on the Giant Ferris Wheel.

CommanderBond.net will keep you updated with all the latest news and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

'Quantum of Solace' – Official Blog Report #7

The official Quantum of Solace blog has been updated today with another crew member from the 22nd James Bond film: production sound mixer Chris Munro.

On location in Panama (where Quantum in February and March), Munro describes his job as ‘being responsible for all the sound used during shooting.’

‘During production, I’m the person that’s looking after what happens to the original recordings to the sound: what happens to the actor’s dialogue, all the sound effects, anything that’s recorded whilst were actually shooting.’

Speaking specifically about filming in Panama, Munro added: ‘One of the problems of course is that it’s a noisy environment. There’s lots of people and it’s a busy city.’

‘This is my fifth Bond film,’ continued Munro, ‘but I previously worked with this director, Marc Forster on The Kite Runner, and I know that he hates to have any dialogue replaced. He wants all the dialogue to be original. That’s the way he works. That’s the way he wants the film to sound and that’s what we hope to do.’

‘On Casino Royale, we won a BAFTA for best sound, so hopefully this is going to do the same for us.’

Stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for the most up-to-date and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

Go Behind-The-Scenes Of 'Quantum of Solace' In Austria

WARNING: Possible spoilers

As previously mentioned on the CommanderBond.net main page, the Today Show got an exclusive sneak peek (Video 1 | Video 2) earlier this morning into the Austrian set of Quantum of Solace in Bregenz.

Starting off on the ‘eye-opening’ opera stage in Bregenz, Today Show correspondent Ann Curry stated that scenes for the 22nd James Bond film were filmed on the same set just the night before.

Curry also got a chance to sit down with Daniel Craig and discuss his return as 007.

‘We’ve got an incredibly talented and rich group of people who are making this movie,’ Craig started off. ‘Everybody’s throwing so much energy into it and working so hard and they want to because everybody’s so proud to be involved with a Bond movie and the Bond franchise itself.’

‘One of the things we were setting up in the last movie was that Bond has begun and it was the beginning of his career and his attitude towards life and things was very narrow-minded. And so this one is more about him coming to terms with that and learning a few things about himself a realizing who he is. He’s James Bond.’

‘I tend to separate what I do and who I am. And that, I think, is what you have to do.’ – Daniel Craig

When asked if he had hurt himself at all during the shooting so far, ‘not badly’ was Craig’s reply.

‘You know, I enjoy the physical side of filming. I always have. I throw myself into it because I get a kick out of it and I think we can achieve and do things that make the plot and storyline move forward much better if I stay involved with as much of the filming as possible.’

Following up a comment by production designer Dennis Gassner that Craig wasn’t all that unlike 007 in some ways, Craig said: ‘Oh, really? I’m as far removed from this person as I could possibly be. This is major acting.’

‘Makes me feel a bit awkward, really,’ added Craig when told Sir Sean Connery was a fan of his portrayal of Bond. ‘I mean, it’s very nice. It’s a huge compliment.’

  

Floating Stage with ‘Tosca’ Set at Bregenz
(Images copyright Bruno Klomfar and Karl Forster)

Craig continued: ‘I like the job. It’s the collective persons making a film that gives me the most joy. Working with interesting and talented people–they inspire you. For me, that’s always been the most essential part of what I do.’

‘I try and mix it up as much as possible. If I can, I try and do stuff that’s not necessarily the most obvious thing to do.’ – Daniel Craig

‘On Casino Royale, I’d never done something on that scale before. I’d never been involved so closely in something like that so it created very different feelings for me and very different challenges compared to the movies I’d done before. And the outcome was also very different because we had a great success with it.’

Finishing things off, Craig put some rumours to rest: ‘There’s a misconception about me that I have a problem with doing interviews, but I really don’t. I kind of enjoy them. And I’m enjoying this one.’

The show also featured an extensive behind-the-scenes look at the the floating stage with the ‘Tosca’ set.

On a tour of the location, director Marc Forster described the sequence as it will appear in the finished film. ‘It’s basically about Bond overlooking Greene, who is the villain in the movie,’ he said. ‘Bond is following the villain into this opera.’

Forster was also quick to reply following Curry’s mention that Quantum of Solace was a revenge movie. ‘I wouldn’t call it revenge. He’s just psychologically damaged.’

‘We’ve done Daniel incredibly elegantly in Tom Ford.’ – Costume designer Louise Frogley

‘It’s been an amazing journey,’ added Dennis Gassner. ‘[Craig] is James Bond and I’ve taken the great angular face and those great blue eyes and used that as our pattern language for the film.’

Besides the actual set, the Today Show production also visited the props and make-up department, where Anatole Taubman (who plays one of the henchmen in the film, Elvis) was being prepared for a scene.

Speaking with lead villain Mathieu Amalric, Curry asked him why he signed on for the role: ‘Well, listen,’ he said. ‘If someone calls you one morning and asks you “do you want to be the James Bond girl?”, would you hesitate? It’s the same thing.’

The Today Show production also briefly visited Olga Kurylenko in her dressing room during a break. When asked if the rumours were true that her character Camille would be the very first Bond girl who didn’t lock lips with 007, Kurylenko only playfully evaded the question.

CommanderBond.net will keep you updated with all the latest news and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

More 'Quantum' Spy Shots In Bregenz

Following up several behind-the-scenes photographs from the set of Daniel Craig’s second James Bond film in Austria, Monsters and Critics have come across even more.

Focusing on several of the extras as well as stuntmen practicing a jump from a theatre roof, the 10 Quantum of Solace spy shots can be viewed online here.

In related news, the Today Show visited the Bregenz set earlier this morning. Click here for CommanderBond.net’s full report.

CommanderBond.net will keep you updated with all the latest news and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

Today Show 'Quantum of Solace' Austria Set Visit

NBC’s The Today Show will be visiting the Quantum of Solace set in Austria.

The segment, which will likely include behind-the-scene footage of Daniel Craig’s second James Bond film, is set to air on the Monday, 5 May episode.

The Today Show airs 7:00am – 11:00am (EST). Visit TV Guide for further details.

CommanderBond.net will keep you updated with all the latest news and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

Examining What Went Wrong In 'Quantum' Action Sequences

It’s no secret that in their quest for a jaw-dropping opening sequence for the 22nd James Bond adventure, the Quantum of Solace production has suffered more than a couple mishaps in the process.

Most notable among these incidents were an Aston Martin DBS losing control and flying off a lakeside road into Italy’s Lake Garda. The other, occurring only a few days later, involved another one of the cars involved in the chase that crashed after ramming into a filming lorry and then into a nearby wall.

The latter event was serious enough that filming was temporarily suspended on Quantum of Solace to allow for investigating into the incidents.

The Times has posted an excellent article in which Joseph Dunns looks specifically at what went wrong during the filming of these dangerous Bond stunt sequences:

Calamity James: behind the scenes of the jinxed Bond film

The 007 production has since moved onto filming of different sequences in Austria.

Stay tuned to the CommanderBond.net main page for the most up-to-date and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

Winehouse James Bond Title Theme Unlikely To Be Finished

Despite recent confirmations by music producer Mark Ronson that Amy Winehouse was indeed planning a song for the 22nd James Bond film, there are no doubts that the track will ever be finished.

Speaking to Sky News, Ronson, who was working alongside Winehouse, has said they have ceased work on the Quantum of Solace track.

‘We tried to work for a little bit,’ he said. ‘I’m not sure she’s ready to work on music yet.’

When asked if he thought their James Bond theme would ever be made, Ronson was doubtful: ‘I don’t think so unless by some miracle of science it gets recorded and someone sings a vocal on it so probably not.’

‘We did work on it but we never finished it so that’s about it.’

A spokesman for Winehouse added: ‘Mark has presented a track to Amy, but she had other ideas about the direction it should take. She has always made her own decisions about her music.’

‘Needless to say, this is part of the process between artist and producer and we’re sure they will continue to make great music together.’

Other sources mentioned that the prime reason this 007 theme stalled was that Winehouse ‘did not feel the song was appropriate in its current form.’

Keep your eyes on the CommanderBond.net main page for the most up-to-date and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

Photographs: 'Quantum of Solace' Shooting At Floating Stage And Opera House

WARNING: Possible minor spoilers

18 photographs taken during the Quantum of Solace filming the past two days in Austria have been posted online at Getty Images.

The shots were captured as the 22nd James Bond production continued filmed in the Austrian cities of Feldkirch and Bregenz.

The Seebühne Floating Stage was prepared for an action sequence in which 007 interrupts an opera performance as he pursues one of the film’s villains across the grandstand and through the audience.

Shooting also took place inside the nearby Bregenz Festival House, where Daniel Craig can clearly be seen in a tuxedo.

Other photos captured several of the extras on the Quantum of Solace sets as well as director Marc Forster.

  

Floating Stage with ‘Tosca’ Set at Bregenz
(Images copyright Bruno Klomfar and Karl Forster)

Click Here To View All The
Quantum of Solace Photos

These photos follow up those from yesterday in which Craig and Anatole Taubman (who plays villain Elvis) were spotted in Feldkirch.

The Bond production arrived on 29 April and shooting is expected to continue until mid-May.

CBn will keep you updated with all the latest news and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

Photos And Video: Craig And Taubman In Austria For 'Quantum' Filming

Following up yesterday’s report that the Quantum of Solace production had arrived in Austria to begin preparations for filming, new photographs and video from the set have been revealed today.

CommanderBond.net readers will recall that in January of this year we reported that James Bond would be briefly seen in a Volvo during a short driving scene to be filmed in Feldkirch (which is doubling as Bregenz).

Daniel Craig was filmed driving the car as these photos (and video) posted at Voralberg.orf.at show.

Additionally, several photos of Anatole Taubman (who plays the villainous Elvis) were also posted online.

The 007 production is expected to continue filming in Austria until sometime in mid-May.

CBn will keep you updated with all the latest news and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.

Austria Prepped For James Bond Filming

WARNING: Possible spoilers

The Quantum of Solace production has made its way to Austria and James Bond is being welcomed with open arms.

According to reports at Voralberg.orf.at and Monsters & Critics, Daniel Craig arrived along with several other cast and crew members to begin filming earlier today.

As previously reported on CommanderBond.net, filming will be primarily be focused in Feldkirch and at the Seebühne Floating Stage and Festival Opera House in Bregenz.

Eight photographs posted at Monsters & Critics show the Bond crew preparing for filming in Feldkirch. The town has been hit with Bond fever with carcboard cutouts of previous 007 actors constructed around the main city centre.

A press announcement posted at Earth Times states that filming in Bregenz is expected to last until 9 May:

Austrian town hit by James-Bond-fever

Residents in the western Austrian town of Bregenz were keeping their eyes peeled Tuesday for actor Daniel Craig who is shooting several scenes for the upcoming James Bond movie in the town. A film crew will be in town until May 9 to shoot scenes for Quantum of Solace, the latest instalment in the movie series featuring the British secret agent.

Filming Tuesday started with a chase scene in the city’s festival hall, a spokesman for the Bregenz opera festival said.

The city’s annual opera festival, with its signature floating stage on Lake Constance, will play a prominent role in the movie.

In the evening several streets in the medieval town, with a population of 30,000, will be closed off for filming, before filming on the floating stage Wednesday.

For James Bond to chase his adversaries across the huge stage, which is dominated by elaborate props and a huge eye, festival organizers set up a complete performance of Puccini’s Tosca, complete with audience.

The movie’s plot remains a closely-guarded secret until it hits cinemas in November.

In addition, a brief video of stuntmen preparing for filming at the opera stage can be viewed here.

As previously noted on CBn, Feldkirch is expected to be doubling as Bregenz in the finished film.

At the floating stage (first brought up as possible shooting location in July 2007) in Bregenz, Bond will reportedly be interrupting an opera performance as he pursues one of the film’s villains across the grandstand and through the audience. The chase is expected to continue in the Bregenz Festival House.

CBn will keep you updated with all the latest news and complete coverage of Quantum of Solace.