Sony Braces For Life Without James Bond

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

Quantum of Solace may prove to be Sony’s final James Bond film

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.’

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'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.

Quantum of Solace

• 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.

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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.

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'Quantum of Solace' Closing Theme: 'Crawl, End Crawl'

Fans that stuck around to catch the ‘James Bond Will Return’ line during the end credits of Quantum of Solace likely came across a new end title theme for the film.

Playing directly after composer David Arnold’s James Bond theme is ‘Crawl, end crawl’ by Four Tet, also known as electronic musician Kieran Hebden.

Credited to both Arnold and Four Tet, Hebden says the theme is ‘kind of remix of stuff from the score of the film’ on his official website.

‘Crawl, end crawl’ was not included on the official Quantum of Solace soundtrack released by J Records at the end of October, leading many 007 fans to wonder whether or not this end title theme will become commercially available.

Hebden’s response:

I’m getting a lot of emails asking if there is going to be a release for the track “Crawl, end crawl” that I made for the end credits of the new James Bond film, Quantum of Solace. I’m afraid that I at the moment I don’t know if or when it will be released. The music from the film is owned by Sony so it’s up to them and not me what happens with the track now.

It’s not included on the soundtrack album because I was asked to do the track at a very late stage of the project and the soundtrack album had already gone into production. Anyway, hopefully they will release it at some point in the future.

Thanks for all the messages I’ve had from people saying they like the music.

A source also told the CommanderBond.net Podcast recently that the theme should be made available on iTunes by Sony at some stage in the near future. CommanderBond.net will keep you updated as more information becomes available.

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'Quantum of Solace' Expected To Become Biggest Bond Ever

Industry experts are predicting that the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace will surpass the US domestic and international box office records set by Casino Royale to become the biggest Bond film ever.

This news will likely come as little surprise now considering that Craig’s second 007 film has shattered records in basically every single market it has opened in.

Thanks to an extremely strong US debut this weekend totaling $70.4 million plus an additional $56.1 million from around the world, the grand total for Quantum of Solace stands currently at $322 million.

In comparison, Casino Royale was the biggest box office hit for 007 at the time of its release two years ago, playing in theatres for 25 weeks. It’s cumulative US total was $167.5 million with an international gross of $426.7 million (grand total of $594.2 million).

Quantum of Solace continues to surpass not just records, but expectations as well. It’s opening day and weekend grosses in the UK and US well eclipsed what Royale did two years ago.

In the Bond film’s first weekend of major international expansion, Quantum also managed to perform better than Royale in every single one of the 58 markets it opened in (and all of those put the film at the #1 spot, with the exception of Turkey).

As of today, Quantum has grossed more in 13 countries (France, China, Korea, Russia, Bolivia, Bulgaria and others) in two to three weeks of release than what Royale did in its entire run.

‘I think Daniel Craig works in a big way,’ Sony prexy of domestic distribution Rory Bruer said. ‘There’s no doubt about it, Solace hit it out of the park.’

Quantum of Solace will continue to expand internationally this upcoming week, with openings taking place in Australia, Spain, South Africa and Peru.

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.

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Creating A Colourful Bond Henchman: Anatole Taubman On Elvis

CREATING A COLOURFUL BOND HENCHMAN
Anatole Taubman On Elvis

Anatole Taubman

Elvis is Dominic Greene’s henchman and Anatole Taubman has worked hard to develop the character to set him apart from the Bond henchmen of the past. “I love it on this picture, you have a certain format and you have it written in the script but Marc is very open so you can develop the character from there. He has a vision and the artists are invited to help round that vision, we all have creative input. I want to make Elvis as colorful, as edgy and as interesting as possible. I suggested a wig with a monk cut and Marc agreed so you have the head of Elvis, then the costume department adds another layer, then you meet the makeup department and another layer goes on and you go back and forth developing this character. It is a work in progress and on the first day of filming, Elvis is created.”

On the character of Elvis, “Elvis is Dominic Greene’s better or worse half, depending on the situation. The problem with Elvis is that he comes from a rough background, he has always had to struggle for everything materialistically. Greene, a wealthy influential man, took him under his wing and suddenly Elvis wore all these great clothes. He is a big fashionista, he loves clothes but there is always something wrong with the look, something odd and strange–and that is a reflection of his character. Elvis is the most loyal warrior that any boss could wish for but he is not very bright, a bit of a dumbo and a bit clumsy.”

Anatole shares several scenes with Daniel Craig and he has great respect for him as an actor. “I think it was a genius decision by the Bond people to cast a well known character actor like Daniel Craig to be the new James Bond. Daniel has to be very disciplined not only on screen but in his time off. He is very professional and, considering the pressure he must be under, he remains modest and accessible. I have a huge respect for him.”

Taubman has watched Mathieu Amalric’s portrayal of Greene with interest, “Mathieu does a great job because a villain is very interesting when you are trying to reinvent him in every scene so he is not predictable. He is this timid, shy, highly complex psycho case who can barely look at his adversaries. Greene deals with big business, with governments, the CIA, MI6 and plays them off against each other, Mathieu is playing that very timid. Then in the end he becomes a pitbull, an animal who is just manic and crazy like a child that just looses it and wants to extinguish the life of Bond. Suddenly out of this timid person, this mad, explosive crazy energy comes–it’s a fantastic approach.”

Mathieu Amalric

The filming crew travelled extensively during the six month shoot, Taubman enthused, ‘For me it’s the juice of life, I love travelling, seeing new places, meeting people and engaging in new cultures so it has been a part of my life for many years. Panama was amazing, everything is possible. You go one and a half hours to Colón and it is a whole different world, its run down, its dirty, it’s very poor so it is a very diverse country but a very interesting country. Our filming there brings employment and awareness to the country. They are very proud a brand like Bond gives them attention, I’ve talked to lots of locals and the feedback has been very positive.”

When asked what the highlight has been for him during filming on Quantum of Solace, Taubman replies without hesitation, “Meeting Mathieu [Amalric]. He is a true enlightenment, a true inspiration, he is so well read, he knows about photography, about literature. I feel like I’m getting a crash course in French cultural and political history. It’s a real treat to have found a new friend. We are the odd couple in the film and we are the odd couple off screen also.”

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

James Bond Finds Solace At International Box Office For Third Straight Weekend

James Bond took the top spot at the international box office for the third consecutive weekend.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, Daniel Craig’s Quantum of Solace grossed $56.1 million from 10,460 screens in 67 markets.

Quantum of Solace

In addition to the record-breaking US performance, the 22nd James Bond film also did extremely well in two other new markets, Mexico and Hungary. Surpassing records for the series in both markets, Quantum of Solace grossed $2.4 million from 505 screens in the former and $430,000 from 34 sites (equalling a strong per-screen average of $12,647) in the latter.

Despite a 50% drop-off, Quantum of Solace opened or remained in the number one spot in 61 of the 67 markets it played in. To date, the foreign gross stands at $251.6 million. Combined with the opening US weekend of $70.4 million, Quantum‘s worldwide total stands at $322 million.

‘With Casino Royale, people were rediscovering the franchise in a way with Daniel Craig as James Bond,’ said Rory Bruer, head of distribution for Sony. ‘Quite frankly, they loved it. They loved the movie, and they loved him in the role, so I think by the time Quantum of Solace was ready, audiences in the U.S. as well as the world audience was way ready.’

Daniel Craig is James Bond

Once again, the UK was the biggest holdover market for Bond, with the film taking in $8.6 million (a 41% drop from the previous weekend) from 1,218 screens in its third weekend. The cumulative total stands at $64.1 million. Following closely behind was Germany with a $8.3 million take (down 37%) from 1,120 sites for a cumulative total of $26.4 million.

Despite a much weaker US dollar two years ago when Casino Royale opened, Craig’s second Bond film has already managed to surpass Royale‘s market totals in France, China, Korea, Russia, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Ecuador, Indonesia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Poland, Romania and Ukraine.

Quantum of Solace will continue to expand internationally this upcoming week, with openings taking place in Australia, Spain, South Africa and Peru.

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.

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'Quantum of Solace' Sets Bond Box Office Record With $70.4 Million Debut

Quantum of Solace has proven for the third straight week in a row that James Bond is truly a force to be reckoned with.

Quantum of Solace

The 22nd Bond film with Daniel Craig made its United States debut and managed to shatter both records and expectations–grossing an astonishing $70.4 million over the weekend.

That opening total easily makes Quantum of Solace the number one film in the 007 series, rocketing past the previous $47.1 million record held by Die Another Day.

In fact, inflation unadjusted, Quantum of Solace did almost double the box office business that Casino Royale did two years ago during its opening weekend in the US ($40.8 million). It also just beat out Jason Bourne’s US debut of $69.2 million in last year’s The Bourne Ultimatum.

Furthermore, MSN points out that the film drew a bigger audience than the 2002 Bond entry. Based on 2002 admission prices, roughly 8.1 million tickets were sold for Die Another Day in the first weekend, compared to 9.8 million for Quantum of Solace.

Industry expectations had pegged a US debut between $50-60 million for the Bond film. It’s magnificent opening day haul of $27 million was a sign that 007 was aiming higher at the box office.

While reviews for the film have ranged from excellent to ‘good, but not as good as Casino Royale‘ to downright awful, there’s no denying the audience attraction of seeing Craig back again in the Bond role.

‘Audiences have embraced him, and domestic audiences were champing at the bit for the film,’ Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said. ‘It’s certainly gratifying, to say the least.’

The US opening weekend audience for Quantum comprised of 54% males, with 58% of patrons age 25 and older.

The closest competitor to Quantum of Solace in the US was Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa, which took in $36.1 million in its second weekend.

Keep on your eyes on the CommanderBond.net main page and a upcoming international box office report.

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Daniel Craig's Quantum of Solace

DANIEL CRAIG’S QUANTUM OF SOLACE
Making a ‘really special’ 007 film

Daniel Craig is James Bond

Daniel Craig returns to the role of James Bond 007 after the smash hit success of Casino Royale which saw his debut in the role in 2006. “It’s like I’ve never been away, I was involved for a little longer this time and was working on Quantum of Solace for about three months before we started shooting. A Bond film is a big piece of machinery, to get it going takes a lot of momentum and a lot of pushing. We kicked off straight away after Christmas and everything started falling into place.”

Following the record breaking success of Casino Royale, Craig is not under estimating the task ahead. “I don’t feel it is easier on this one, it feels harder. We have got expectation on us now which can be double edged, we have got to make this one better. People always talked about the fact that Casino Royale was a departure for Bond and this has to be a departure again. Having Marc Forster involved, who is very much a visual story teller, and getting Dan Bradley to come in and direct the second unit, who shoots stunts brilliantly and gets as much out of the action as possible, combining those two has been the name of the game; it’s getting the best talent we can to create the best Bond movie we can possibly make. Everyone is very psyched about it and very excited about the prospect of creating something different. We are taking the story on from the last film but we are exploring different things. Marc (Forster) has a very different way of looking at the movie and I’m personally very excited by that.”

Quantum of Solace represents the first direct sequel in the James Bond film series, Craig explains; “We felt we needed to tie up the loose ends from Casino Royale and make sure people realize we are back making Bond movies. For me it’s about creating something that is going to stand alone but if you put the two films together, you’re going to have an incredible experience because you will see one continuous story.”

Craig elaborates on his working relationship with Marc Forster. “Marc and I hit it off as soon as we met each other. I never doubted that, if we stuck together and pulled each others ideas and emotion on this, we would make a good film. That is really the bottom line, both of us keep talking about it and we are on the same wave length. Marc is obviously under a huge amount of pressure; the expectation, budget issues, locations issues, weather changes and the list goes on but we have to keep moving and we have to take this movie somewhere new and make this movie individual from the last. Not because we want to change anything but because it’s important to keep things alive and awake. Marc has been very strong about that and I’m incredibly happy with how he has thrown himself in to it.”

Director Marc Forster

Quantum of Solace promises twice as many stunts and Craig welcomes the opportunity to train for these with a view to doing as many of his own stunts as the production will allow. “We have hit the ground running. There are so many variables on a movie like this. In a way, it is still new to me but you have got to cover yourself and try to get as much rehearsal and stunt training time as possible. The sets are complicated and often dangerous so we have got to be on the ball all the time and, hopefully, it will all add to the finished product.”

Quantum of Solace was filmed in more countries than any other film in the franchise, Craig explains why; “I think the remit for the Bond movie is that we have to be taken somewhere. It is important that we see this character go places that excite you and make you look at the world in a different way. For me, as a kid, the Bond movies transported you to another world. It was important that it took you to different locations and showed you how wonderful, amazing and diverse the world is. If that was the only reason to make this film, we have fulfilled it.”

Daniel Craig was part of the casting process and remembers trying to find the right actress to play Camille; “Finding beautiful girls who can act can be tricky but we narrowed it down and Olga just nailed the audition, she was fantastic. She is a really good actress, plus she is beautiful, so it just fitted. She has this fantastic icy detachment about her, which is really essential for this part because both she and Bond are on this journey of revenge. They become reluctant partners and that makes for a very interesting relationship, especially because we are taking the story straight on from Casino Royale where Bond fell in love and had his heart broken. That had a very strong knock on effect and that’s what this next movie is all about, so meeting someone else and falling in love didn’t make any sense whatsoever.” That said, Bond still has a bit of fun with Agent Fields played by Gemma Arterton. “Gemma’s character is great and she plays it to the hilt. She’s an agent who seems clueless at first but she is smarter than we first think and she teams with Bond. He is hurt and damaged so thank god for Gemma!”

French actor, Mathieu Amalric plays Dominic Greene, the Bond villain. “Mathieu is a tremendous actor and Bond villains have to have an intelligence about them. He is not a mad scientist or some crazed egg head trying to take over the world through science. He is just an aggressive man with high intellect who is using his talent to manipulate people and grab as much of the world’s landmass as he possibly can in his lifetime, he doesn’t care who he hurts, no one will get in his way. Mathieu has just nailed it, he’s understood the part completely and he is going for it–that’s what you want in a Bond bad guy.”

Despite the hard work, or maybe because of it, Craig is enthused. “I’m incredibly excited about what we have done, I’m amazed how much we have crammed in. We have been to so many locations, the film looks stunning and I think we have got something really special, in fact, I know we have something really special.”

Stay tuned to CommanderBond.net for all the latest Quantum of Solace news and information.

'Quantum of Solace' Sydney Premiere

Quantum of Solace

The Quantum of Solace stars visited the James Bond fans in Australia for the latest stop on the film’s publicity tour.

Held at the Entertainment Quarter in Sydney, the premiere of the 22nd 007 film featured Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, director Marc Forster and producer Barbara Broccoli in attendance in addition to endless other celebrities.

Craig said that Australia–which has yet to be featured in the official series of Bond films–could possibly make for a perfect location stop in a future Bond entry.

‘Australia is quite exotic I think,’ he said. ‘I’d happily do that, very happily do that. I would love to spend some time down here.’

He continued: ”Doing these movies, they are incredible. It’s very rare air to make movies of this size and the locations we go to.’

Kurylenko shared Craig’s enthusiasm for the location. ‘I have never been to Australia so it’s really exciting,’ she said.

Describing the character of Camille, she stated: ‘She is strong and independent, but she is not perfect. She is just a normal person.’

Quantum of Solace – Sydney Premiere Photographs
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Visit Getty Images for an additional 160+ photographs from the Sydney Quantum of Solace premiere.

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