Welcome to Austria, Mr. Bond

Feldkirch

Talk about Austria as shooting location for the 22nd still unnamed James Bond
movie first came up in July, when CBn
reported that an Eon team
with producers Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson and director Marc Forster had
visited the Floating Stage at the Festival site in Bregenz.

Vorarlberg Online and various Austrian and Swiss media report today that
both Bregenz Festival speaker Axel Renner and local production manager Leonard
Gmuer of Unicorn Films have confirmed that both the Floating Stage in Bregenz for
a major scene and the previously
rumoured nearby small town of Feldkirch for a minor scene have been chosen.
However, both say that still no contracts have been signed, but that this would
be only a matter of a few minor details and a few days.

Floating Stage with ‘Tosca’ Set (Image copyright Bregenz Festival, Karl Forster)

As previously reported, a
casting of extras will take place. Now the details for this have been announced:
1,200 to 1,500 extras for the Bregenz shooting and 25 to 30 extras for the
Feldkirch shooting are wanted, the casting will take place at the
Kornmarkttheater in Bregenz on January 18th, 19th and 20th, each day from 9.00
AM to 5.00 PM. They are looking for a "mixed audience, from 18 to 70", dress
code from "well dressed" to "tres chic" (dressed for a theatre visit), as the
extras will have to impersonate a real Festival audience. A bit of stamina and
patience is required, as shooting will take place on several nights in the
timespan from 28th April to 10th May 2008. Also wanted are athletic types who
could act as security people, and the producers are also looking for cars, so
people can bring pictures of their cars to the casting. Applicants will have to
fill in a questionnaire and a picture of them will be taken and then, everything
left to do is waiting and hoping. "People are people" says Leonard Gmuer, "Not
only local residents but also people from nearby Germany and Switzerland are
invited to take part."

Gmuer can’t promise that people will actually be able to catch a glimpse of
Daniel Craig, as he will be protected and it has to be secured that he’ll be
able to work concentrated. But he will certainly be shooting scenes on location.
As it is common use, he’s not allowed to tell any details, but he revealed that
Bregenz will be Bregenz in the movie and not double for any other place. Welcome
(back) to Austria, Mr. Bond.

'Bond 22' Filming Begins

Daniel Craig

Start the countdown. Today marked the official beginning of principal shooting at Pinewood Studios for Daniel Craig’s next James Bond adventure, the still untitled Bond 22.

While Bond baddies Mathieu Amalric and Anatole Taubman have already been confirmed by director Marc Forster, according to Variety, a studio executive revealed that Jeffrey Wright, who made his debut as Felix Leiter in 2006’s Casino Royale will be returning for Bond 22.

Furthermore, producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli and the studios are reportedly on the verge of casting a female lead and will make a decision within two weeks.

Bond 22 Baddies: Anatole Taubman, Mathieu Amalric and Joaquin Cosio

In mid-December, Empire magazine reported that British actress Gemma Arterton was locked in for a ‘fairly major’ Bond girl role in the film–this has yet to be confirmed by Eon Productions.

As earlier reported on CommanderBond.net, shooting for Bond 22 was planned to take place at the Barbican, Europe’s largest multi-arts and conference venue, sometime this week.

In related news, director Marc Forster has stated in an interview with Swiss online magazine 20min.ch that he intends a running time for the finished film of exactly 120 minutes – and not a minute longer.

IMDb Updates With 'Bond 22' Release Dates

While it is wise to note that the only Bond 22 release date thus far confirmed by Eon Productions is 7 November 2008, the IMDb has been updated with some further dates for Daniel Craig’s second James Bond film.

As initially reported by CommanderBond.net back in September, Bond 22 was slated for release (according to the IMDb) on 7 November in the UK, US, Brazil, Denmark, Sweden and Turkey. Germany and the Netherlands are scheduled to get the film one day earlier on the sixth.

Most recently, France and Belgium are listed as getting a 5 November release while 007 fans in Australia will have to wait until the 13th. The full listing from the IMDb:

• Belgium – 5 November 2008
• France – 5 November 2008
• Germany – 6 November 2008
• Netherlands – 6 November 2008
• Brazil – 7 November 2008
• Denmark – 7 November 2008
• Finland – 7 November 2008
• Spain – 7 November 2008
• Sweden – 7 November 2008
• Turkey – 7 November 2008
• UK – 7 November 2008
• USA – 7 November 2008
• Australia – 13 November 2008

Once again, keep in mind that this release information should be considered unofficial until confirmed by Eon / Sony Pictures Entertainment. In the case of Casino Royale, several international release dates for the film were switched around a few times before the film premiered in November 2006.

Keep watching CBn for all the latest coverage and details on Daniel Craig’s upcoming James Bond film.

Forster Confirms Amalric And Taubman

Bond 22 director Marc Forster

In an elaborate interview with Swiss newspaper

Sonntagszeitung, Bond 22 director Marc Forster has revealed some tidbits
about the upcoming Bond 22. While the first part of the interview mainly
focusses on Forster’s latest project The Kite Runner, the second part is
all about Bond.

Most importantly, Forster confirmed that French Mathieu Amalric and Swiss
Anatole Taubman are signed for the roles of the two major villains of the film.
Asked whether Switerzland was a shooting location, Forster said, "For a long
time, there were two, three locations we could not decide on. But finally, the
script developed into a direction where Switzerland would not fit, so it was not
an option anymore. Still, I managed to cast Anatole Taubman as the second major villain".

Forster also commented on the question, if the casting of Taubman had anything
to with his nationality, as both Forster and Taubman grew up in Switzerland.
Forster: "Not at all. Anatole was really really good in the audition. I hadn’t
even heard of him before."

Forster also said that he would have loved to have Bruno Ganz portray the
main villain. Ganz is a Swiss actor, best known for his role as Adolf Hitler in
the highly praised German film The Downfall (2004) about the last days of Hitler
in his Berlin bunker. "Still, Bruno Ganz could only have been the main villain.
But we already signed Mathieu Amalric for this role".

Asked about his first impressions on working on a Bond film, Forster said
that "the producers have supported me in nearly everything I wanted to do so far.
Some of my ideas were, however, too expensive. It’s not true that James Bond
films have an unlimited budget." Forster also repeated his remarks from a recent
New York Times interview. “When
James Bond started in the 1960s, travelling was something really exotic. The
world has become smaller. When Bond travels to a beach full of palm trees nowadays, it
nearly looks banal. In a way, the most interesting remaining journey for Bond is
the journey into his mind. We go deeper into Bond himself.” – So will Bond have
a split personality? – Forster: "There will be some elements of this, yes."

Start of principal shooting is, according to Forster, January 3, 2008.

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

Shooting At Barbican Venue Next Week

Barbican Venue

The Times reports today that scenes for Bond 22 will be shot at the Barbican,
Europe’s largest multi-arts and conference venue presenting a diverse range of
art, music, theatre, dance and education events, located near London Wall.

At the Barbican, a sign has gone up giving warning that next week it will be
the venue for the filming of a scene from Bond 22. The sign also says that a
scene will be filmed containing a man talking on a mobile phone. Filming will
take place in the so-called Sculpture Court. Daniel Craig will not attend
filming there.

No exact date is given, but Bond 22 is said to start shooting on January 04th, 2008.

Keep your eyes on the CommanderBond.net main page. We’ll keep you updated with all the latest news and details on Bond 22!

Report: Mathieu Amalric Is "Maurice Green" In 'Bond 22'

Mathieu Amalric

According to a report posted at JamesBond-fr.com, French magazine The Première has revealed the name of the villain Mathieu Amalric will be playing in next year’s Bond 22: Maurice Green.

As previously reported on CommanderBond.net, Amalric will be playing one of the main villains in next year’s James Bond film alongside Anatole Taubman. Furthermore, Mexican actor Joaquín Cosío recently claimed to have landed the role of a Latin American general named “General Medrano” in the film as well.

A hot topic among Bond fans is who will be playing the role of Vesper Lynd’s French-Algerian boyfriend (as originally revealed by Casino Royale‘s Eva Green as the plan and and something that screenwriter Paul Haggis coyly refused to deny) in the film. Amalric and Taubman seem to be the most likely candidates so far.

Take note that this report by The Première magazine has not been confirmed by Eon Productions.

Keep your eyes on the CommanderBond.net main page. We’ll keep you updated with all the latest news and details on Bond 22.

Dame Judi In The Dark Over 'Bond 22'

Dame Judi Dench

With shooting on Daniel Craig’s second James Bond film due to begin in roughly two weeks, Dame Judi Dench has revealed that she’s being kept in the dark over exactly what one can expect in this upcoming 007 adventure.

Digital Spy reports that the Oscar-winning actress admitted the producers are keeping a lid on Bond 22 plot details in an effort to prevent the story from leaking.

She said: ‘It’s all so secretive. I’ve only been told that this will be an original storyline – and that’s it.’

‘I wasn’t remotely surprised about the success of Casino Royale and I’m sure we can surpass that this time.’

Back in mid-November, CommanderBond.net reported that Dame Judi would once again be joining Craig’s 007 in the field for Bond 22 (while also confirming Panama as a location for the film).

In related news, CBn can also report on at least one Casino Royale cast member who won’t be returning for Bond 22: Tobias Menzies.

Menzies, who had the brief role of Villiers, M’s assistant in Casino Royale, wrote on his Myspace blog: ‘Sad news for all Villiers fans, he is no more! Casino Royale was his first and last stand. May he rest in peace.’

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for all the latest coverage and details on Daniel Craig’s upcoming 007 film.

Villain #3? – Joaquin Cosio Reportedly Cast

Joaquin Cosio

It seems as if James Bond will be facing more than one enemy in Bond 22. After the
confirmed castings of French Mathieu Amalric and Swiss Anatole Taubman, Mexican
actor Jaquin Cosio claims to have landed the role of a Latin American General
called "General Medrano". Mexican newspaper

El Diario runs a big story on the casting in today’s issue.

"There are various enemies, and I’m one of them. I’m General Medrano, Bond’s
enemy in Latin America, but there are other enemies waiting in Europe for Bond",
he told El Diario while phoning from Mexico City. According to the actor,
he was chosen from a list of about 500 Latin American actors, among them stars
such as Daniel Jimenez Cach (Y tu Mama Tambien).

"I’m really pleased to be chosen to participate in such a huge film, it’s a
great achievement that the film will feature a Mexican actor" the 45-year old told the
newspaper. Shooting will start for him in early February 2008. "I still don’t know
much of the script, I don’t really know what my scenes will be like, but I know
that I’m going to film in Panama, Bolivia and London", the actor said. Related
to this, CBn has just learned that Anatole Taubman is also scheduled for a
Bolivia shoot, which makes Bolivia the fifth official location for Bond 22. Other
locations include Italy, Austria, Panama and England.

Cosio also confirmed what has been rumoured long before: Italian actor
Giancarlo Giannini will reprise his role as Rene Mathis from Casino Royale. "I’m
very delighted to be in one film with Giannini and Judi Dench", the Mexican said.
Still, "so far I’m not thinking about leaving for Hollywood after Bond 22. I’m
very pleased with how my latest projects are going here in Mexcio."

Stay tuned for all the latest Bond 22 news on CommanderBond.net!

Gemma Arterton Locked In For 'Bond 22'?

Last week, the Internet was awash with rumours 22-year-old British actress Gemma Arterton had landed the role of a Bond Girl in the upcoming 22nd 007 picture. Today, Empire Online claims to have verified the rumours, from “a source who’s in a position to be absolutely sure that this casting is 100% true”.

Gemma Arterton

The film magazine’s website claims to be unsure as to the extent of Arterton’s role in the film, but understands it to be a “fairly major” one.

Earlier this month, Empire Online confirmed reports that Mathieu Amalric will play the role of a villain in the next James Bond film.

Some previous reports that Arterton had scored the role were based on alleged quotes from insiders at Eon Productions. Additionally, The Sun claimed the actress sent her mother a text proclaiming “I got Bond!”, while the Daily Mail reported Arterton learned of her success at the auditions only last week, but has been sworn to secrecy until the full cast is revealed later this month.

Gemma Arterton’s first motion picture, St Trinian’s, premiered in London a week ago, and will go on wide release in the UK in a week’s time.

Bond 22 commences principal photography on 4 January 2008.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest James Bond news.

First Photos Of Daniel Craig In 'Bond 22' Rehearsals

Daniel Craig preparing for Bond, source: Hello Magazine

Hello Magazine today published the first photos of Daniel Craig in training for the next James Bond film. The images show the actor at the helm of a Seadoo speedboat on a lake in Hampshire.

The report claims Craig “let slip” the Casino Royale sequel will not feature any car chases, contradicting earlier reports (SPOILERS) that Bond 22 will see 007 chasing the film’s villain in Tuscany.

James Bond was most recently involved in a speedboat pursuit down the River Thames in 1999’s The World Is Not Enough.

Keep watching CommanderBond.net for the latest James Bond news.