"As long as they are working, I'll keep on making them."
Entertainment website IGN was on hand at yesterday’s press conference for the freshly-titled Quantum of Solace and landed some revealing quotes from James Bond himself, Daniel Craig.
Daniel Craig as James Bond
“This title is meant to confuse a little. It’s meant to make you wonder, and that’s what we want – we want people thinking as they come into the film.” – Daniel Craig
First up, the title that inexplicably caused much head-scratching upon its announcement. “It’s been going around for a while, we’ve been discussing it quite a while,” Craig said.
“We could have found a nippy title – we had plenty of suggestions that would look good on the poster. But we made a lot of effort last time around to take the film to a new place, and we want to continue to do that. So this title is meant to confuse a little. It’s meant to make you wonder, and that’s what we want – we want people thinking as they come into the film.”
“When we first came up with the title I wasn’t sure, but I’ve been re-reading the Fleming books, which I do when we start shooting because it passes the time. Fleming always has a very emotional line to his books, and that’s where we kind of left the last movie. It doesn’t mean that this movie is going to be some character-driven kitchen sink drama – we’re making a Bond movie – and Quantum of Solace ties in with a very strong plot point, which I’m not going to give away at this point.”
“There’s revenge. There’s a fight within him. There’s a need to do his job and to solve this riddle that’s been given to him, because basically everything he understood about the world has been turned upside down.” – Daniel Craig
When prompted if this meant a more introspective James Bond film, Craig replied, “No. There’s revenge. There’s a fight within him. There’s a need to do his job and to solve this riddle that’s been given to him, because basically everything he understood about the world has been turned upside down. All this points towards a bad organisation that’s trying to undermine the world’s economies by trying to control money around the world in a very secretive way; and he’s after them.”
“My feeling is that we owe it to the people who saw the last movie to give them something better.” – Daniel Craig
The huge success of Casino Royale in 2006 apparently hasn’t fazed the actor. When asked if how much pressure he feels for his return to the role, Craig answered, “As much as before, if not a little more, because we had a major success and people reacted beyond how we thought they would. We always knew we had a great movie, but who knew that people would respond the way they did. My feeling is that we owe it to the people who saw the last movie to give them something better.”
Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench and Marc Forster at yesterday’s Quantum of Solace press conference
Off-camera, Craig has been keeping in shape for the very intense shooting periods. “I trained very differently this time around. Last time I bulked up and got big to make him look like someone who literally just dropped out of the Navy and was Special Services. But I needed to get fitter in a different way because I’m doing an awful lot of physical activity. I’ve got to get myself, and I don’t want to use these words because it sounds awful, but cardio-vascularly fit. I need to last the course on this.”
“We’re doing six-day weeks at the moment, and I’m doing dialogue scenes on this stage and as soon as I finish I change costumes and run up to the 007 stage and I’m swinging from ropes. So I have to keep myself in as best shape as I can because I’ve got to do this for six months.”
Of performing Quantum of Solace‘s stunts, Craig admits, “I think I cracked most of my demons last time. We’re doing things that you won’t have seen from Bond before. We’re always going to be pushing the envelope. Special effects are going to play a part in this movie, but they are going to be as they were before – about the plot. We’re not re-creating cities here, we’re going to locations. I’m pushing myself as hard as I can. But I’m not going to admit to you if I’m nervous or not!”
“We take [violence] very seriously, but it’s James Bond – they are violent films about violent people. That’s what the stories are about.” – Daniel Craig
The actor also addressed the issue of violence in the 007 films. “With the violence in the last movie it was very important that we showed the consequences of it. We took it on very responsibly – glamourising violence is wrong, and we’re taking that onto this movie. Look at From Russia With Love though – it’s no more violent than that. We take it very seriously, but it’s James Bond – they are violent films about violent people. That’s what the stories are about.”
Craig was also asked the million-dollar question: how long does he plan on staying in the role. Enticingly, the actor simply replied, “As long as they are working, I’ll keep on making them.”
Head on over to IGN for much more from the actor, including his feelings on the success of Casino Royale, working with Gemma Arterton and Craig’s thoughts on a return of those swimming trunks.
Quantum of Solace will shoot in Panama, Peru, Chile, Italy, Austria and London over the next six months, before hitting cinemas from 7 November 2008.
Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the most up-to-date Quantum of Solace coverage on the web.
the educated press have been running to their dictionaries to find the meaning of ‘Quantum of Solace’. They have decreed 
