007: Quantum Of Solace

Started by MacGuffin, May 21, 2007, 01:19:57 PM

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MacGuffin

Writer & Director Discuss Bond 22
Source: MI6

The Los Angeles Film Festival event last week was a meeting of minds for the 22nd James Bond film due out on 7th November 2008. Both the recently announced director Marc Forster and returning writer Paul Haggis were in town for the festival, and spoke to the press and fellow movie makers about Daniel Craig's second outing as 007. In separate interviews at the festival's Coffee Talk forum, Forster and Haggis discussed their respective workloads and how Bond 22 is shaping up.

Forster is not known for directing big action-packed blockbusters, but when asked whether this would be an issue for Bond 22, he said "I've been trying to look into it for a while and been looking for the right project, I just haven't found it until now so I always had the fascination. I just always enjoyed them very, very much, loved the whole Indiana Jones series, the old Bonds, all those movies."

Haggis, who directed the Oscar-winning picture "Crash" before coming onboard "Casino Royale" for a script polish, was offered the job of helming Bond 22 - but turned it down. "There are certain things you can write and there are certain things you can direct. I just felt that it takes a big commitment to direct a Bond film. It's a 120 day shoot. It's a two year commitment basically to do it. If you do that on top of writing, it's almost a three year commitment. So I just didn't want to dedicate that much time. It's going to take me six months to get the script into shape as it is. I think I'll do that and then I'll go off into the next project."

Although a mammoth 007 project is looming, both are busy completing their current projects: "The Kite Runner" for Forster and "In the Valley of Elah" for Haggis - both are directing.

Although Haggis is still busy with "In the Valley of Elah", he said he was scheduled to work on the Bond 22 script as soon as the event wrapped at noon. Several crew members have commented that the film will be a 'direct continuation' of Casino Royale, but Haggis does not deem it so black and white. "I wouldn't describe it as such," said Haggis. "I think it's going to stand on its own although it does follow right on the heels of Casino Royale". One of his tasks is to mould cutting-edge action sequences in to a character-driven script, like the construction site chase in Casino Royale. "I didn't come up with the chase sequence in the beginning. That was Martin Campbell who came up with that and it was presented to me. But just the stairwell scene and things like that, I'd come up with, so I've got a couple of those planned."

Forster explained he has not really addressed Bond 22 yet. "I'm just literally mixing The Kite Runner in July and then sometime in August or September, I start [Bond]," he said. "To be honest, I haven't put any thought because really, my mind is in The Kite Runner and scoring and finishing that up. I haven't really spent any time with that stuff. I wish I could tell you. Maybe in a later period." One of his first jobs will be to screentest the cast that will compliment Craig as 007. "Yes, I think finding Bond girls will always be an interesting task but again, not something I have dealt with at this point.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

DANIEL HINTS AT COMIC BOND 
Source: Daily Express

HAVING toughened up the character of James Bond for Casino Royale to huge critical acclaim, Daniel Craig has surprisingly revealed that the next Bond outing will mark a return to the comedy that Roger Moore brought to the franchise in the Seventies.

Craig, 39, says of his forthcoming second outing as 007: "They [the producers] just want more gags. The next one's going to be a lot funnier. Octopussy and Pussy Galore style gags. They're all great names – but that's the thing, the Bond jokes will be flipped on their heads."

The Cheshire-born actor is keen to make Bond his own creation and that will apparently mean showing a softer, less macho side to the character.

"Bond is supposedly the most male moment [in film] but to me he's never been macho. That Bond is something that Sean Connery created in Dr No," he says.

"I don't know Sean but I wouldn't want to meet him in a dark alley – he was a big strong guy and he had a big male presence about him.

"Everybody was in an uproar when he was going to be James Bond. He got flak because he was basically an Edinburgh bricklayer. And everyone who read the books thought how can he possibly do it? But he created a style that was unique and kind of sexy."

Not that Daniel wants to imitate Connery or any other preceding Bond, adding: "There's no point in trying to compete with every Bond that came before. You manage to make it your own."

Just as long as he dons those very fetching tight blue swimming trunks...
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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diggler

well, it was fun while it lasted
I'm not racist, I'm just slutty

MacGuffin

Paul Haggis Talks Bond 22
Source: ComingSoon

Oscar winner Paul Haggis is returning to the Bond series to write the 22nd adventure of Agent 007, starring Daniel Craig with Marc Forster taking the reigns as director. For the time being, the movie is being referred to merely as Bond 22.

During press for his latest film In the Valley of Elah, Haggis mentioned that writing Bond is very rewarding. "Bond is just pure imagination; you just get to have fun. It's escapism and it's fun, but I try to ground him as a human being."

But he does say that his version of James Bond is different than the others. "My Bond is an actual assassin; when he kills someone, he kills them with a knife, they're bloody and he pays a price. He denies that he pays a price, but he does. When he sees a woman who witnesses something horrific, and he sees her taking a shower, he doesn't just go in there and f*ck her, like the old Bond would have done. He sits there with her, and she says, 'I can't get this blood from my fingernails.' So he helps her get the blood from her fingernails; that's what he does, that's my Bond. So it's a different guy; it's a guy who's much more like these guys, these heroes (in 'Valley of Elah')."

As for the storyline, Mr. Haggis wasn't giving anything up including any possible shooting or setting locations, however he would say, "It picks up 2 minutes after the last one, and it's going to be fun."

He is sticking with the creation of Bond closer to the vision of author Ian Fleming, he said. "Yeah, I hope so because I really loved his books and his movies. That stuff was really close to his books, and most of them aren't."

He disproved the rumor about Carice van Houten, star of Paul Verhoeven's Black Book, being in Bond 22 as one of the vixens. "She's great, isn't she – but she's not going to be in this one."

He also added, "Everyone says they know what the ending is, and they're wrong. Everyone thinks they know about the Bond Girls, and they're wrong."

Bond 22 is scheduled to hit theatres on November 7, 2008.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Pubrick

Quote from: MacGuffin on August 25, 2007, 10:08:25 PM
He also added, "Everyone says they know what the ending is, and they're wrong. Everyone thinks they know about the Bond Girls, and they're wrong... I'm PAUL HAGGIS goddammit!" .

i wonder why they cut that part out.
under the paving stones.

MacGuffin

Bradley tapped to aid Bond stunts
Source: Hollywood Reporter

Ever since the "Bourne" movies have come on the scene, the makers of James Bond have been in the line of fire for having a dusty, lethargic spy on their hands -- "Casino Royale" notwithstanding.

But it looks like EON Prods. and Columbia Pictures might be kicking it up a notch for the next Bond film.

Taking a page from the "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em" handbook, the production has hired "Bourne Supremacy" and "Bourne Ultimatum" action designer Dan Bradley as the film's second unit director.

Bradley plotted out and directed the acclaimed fight sequences and car chases as the stunt coordinator and second unit director of the two Paul Greengrass-helmed "Bourne" sequels and will service the working-titled "Bond 22" in much the same capacity. The producers want him to continue and build on the more realistic and gritty approach to the veteran British spy begun in last year's "Casino Royale."

While no date has been set, "Bond 22" is eyeing a start date in the winter.

Bradley is coming off of working on the latest Indiana Jones movie. His recent credits as second unit director include the two "Spider-Man" sequels, "Superman Returns" and "Seabiscuit."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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pete

I thought jeff imada was the choreographer for the bourne movies, with bradley more as a stunt coordinator.  I guess they won't be using bourne choreography for bond though.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

MacGuffin

Daniel Craig boosts Bond franchise
Actor invigorates long-running action film series
Source: Variety

LONDON -- The name of the production company behind the phenomenally successful James Bond franchise, EON, is an acronym that stands for "Everything Or Nothing." Suitably, the inferred notion of huge risk was never more apparent than two years ago, when the legendary brand, then recently acquired by Sony after a long association with MGM, underwent a radical transformation.

Daniel Craig was cast as the sixth incarnation of the death-proof superspy -- replacing the popular (and profitable) Pierce Brosnan -- causing an uproar from hardcore fans who balked at the prospect of a Bond who lacked the suave, handsome elegance a la Brosnan and Roger Moore (and sports blonde hair, no less). Rumors that the franchise would also make a concerted withdrawal from its signature gadget-driven fantasy (which some critics saw as having reached its apex with 2002's "Die Another Day") caused further discord among the faithful.

However, the result, "Casino Royale" -- the series' 21st film and the first proper adaptation of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel that introduced 007 -- saw the gamble pay off in magnificent style: Critics hailed the grittier-than-ever, character-driven film as one of the very best of the series, resulting in nine BAFTA nominations; Craig was feted for his dynamic performance; and, most pertinently, audiences were enthralled, giving the film a franchise-best financial haul of just under $600 million worldwide.

Moreover, "Casino Royale's" success highlighted a valuable realization for production partners Sony and EON: "What we found is that you can strip away a lot of the bells and whistles, but it still feels uniquely like a Bond film," notes Sony co-chairman Amy Pascal. "Throughout the history of the franchise, the actors, tone and style of the films have changed, but the fundamental essence of what makes Bond endures."

Notably, Craig managed to capture that essence while radically departing from his predecessors. "He is a key factor in all of this," says EON head Barbara Broccoli. "We were very excited that the response to Daniel was so strong." Consequently, adds the producer, "'Casino Royale' has set a new standard, and it's now a question of meeting those expectations for the next one and delivering a film that is emotional and dramatic as well as action-packed."

Currently in pre-production for a December start date and a targeted November 2008 release, Bond 22 will retain "Casino Royale's" trio of scriptwriters -- franchise vets Neil Purvis and Robert Wade along with Oscar winner Paul Haggis ("Crash," "Million-Dollar Baby") -- who will fashion an original script that, according to Broccoli, "will continue the path of Bond trying to find out who was behind the Le Chiffre operation. That's as much as we're going to say."

Haggis elaborates, but only slightly: "I can tell you it starts right where 'Casino' left off. Yes, Bond will be going after the organization that we hinted at." So, Bond 22 will be part of an arc, but will the hero now be the fully fledged 007, or will he still be growing into it?

"It will be the same Bond you saw in 'Casino,' " Haggis says, "a very human and flawed assassin, a man who has to navigate a morally complex and often cynical world while attempting to hold onto his deep beliefs of what is right and wrong."

Craig, speaking recently to the Chicago Sun-Times, echoes Haggis: "He also has to deal with revenge because he has lost the girl. Bond is still maybe too headstrong, and he doesn't make all of the right decisions."

As with "Casino," the absence of traditional supporting elements like gadget-master Q and Miss Moneypenny will continue: "Certainly, there may come a point where those beloved characters return, but," Broccoli says, "at the moment, they're not in 22."

If original Fleming material has run dry, the author's spirit is very much present. "You're always looking back at Fleming for inspiration," notes Broccoli's EON partner Michael G. Wilson, "all the writers do. Without getting specific, maybe there will be references to certain episodes. The approach to it is that Fleming is very much in the fabric of it."

To shepherd the new installment, Sony and EON have settled upon Marc Forster, director of such intimate dramas as "Monster's Ball," "Finding Neverland" and the upcoming "The Kite Runner." "I've always been a fan of Bond," the filmmaker says, "so this has been a childhood dream of mine. Daniel Craig is a fantastic actor, and it becomes more character-driven just because of him. That inspired me to be part of this. It's important that the action is good, because I want it to be exciting, but it's important to me to never lose that connection to Bond and the emotional arc he goes on. "

"We have always believed that great filmmakers can always work in multiple genres," Broccoli says. "(Forster) is certainly a great filmmaker and a great storyteller. ... It will not only pack a dramatic punch, but also deliver on the action."

Adds Pascal: "Marc is an incredibly sophisticated filmmaker with great visual style and a lot of energy. The pairing of Marc and Daniel is very exciting, and it was in keeping with the new direction of the franchise to bring in a fresh and original talent like Marc."

Certainly, the pervading air of confidence confirms that the relationship between Sony and the world's most famous film franchise has started out on firm footing.

"What's great about Sony is that they are truly with you through thick and thin," Broccoli observes. "They really want to be partners and are a valuable part of the whole enterprise. They have the passion for it, but will also spend the time when it's needed and do whatever needs to be done. They are very committed to the partnership. We couldn't ask for anything better."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Pubrick

Quote from: MacGuffin on September 07, 2007, 11:52:50 PM
"It will be the same Bond you saw in 'Casino,' " Haggis says, 

stop saying "Casino". you've already ruined the title of one great movie.
under the paving stones.

Kal

Quote from: Pubrick on September 08, 2007, 12:45:03 AM
Quote from: MacGuffin on September 07, 2007, 11:52:50 PM
"It will be the same Bond you saw in 'Casino,' " Haggis says, 

stop saying "Casino". you've already ruined the title of one great movie.

If Bond was in Casino, Nicky Santoro would beat the shit out of him and bury him in the desert with his tuxedo. So... yeah

MacGuffin

Royale Return
Casino baddie to reprise role for Bond 22.

*CONTAINS SPOILERS*

Mr. Bond isn't done with Mr. White just yet. Danish actor Jesper Christensen, who played the mysterious Mr. White in Casino Royale, has informed the Danish press that he'll be reprising his bad guy role for Bond 22.

Both MI6.co.uk and CommanderBond.net point out that Christensen confirmed in an interview with Denmark's vip.tv2.dk that Mr. White will be back. Looks like 007 (Daniel Craig) didn't kill him at the end of Casino Royale after all.

Mr. White was part of the shadowy terror-funding network that Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) worked for. Mr. White killed Le Chiffre during Royale's infamous torture scene, and was later seen absconding with the British funds that Vesper Lynd had stolen. Casino Royale ended with Bond ambushing White at his lakeside villa, shooting him in the knee before finally introducing himself as "Bond, James Bond."

Bond 22 screenwriter Paul Haggis has revealed that the sequel will pick up mere moments after Casino Royale ended, while Daniel Craig and the filmmakers have acknowledged that Bond 22 will see 007 go after the head of the network that used Vesper and Le Chiffe. Filming begins this December.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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MacGuffin

Exclusive: Marc Forster Gives a Bond 22 Update
Source: ComingSoon

Director Marc ("Finding Neverland") Forster's sixth movie, an adaptation of Khaled Hosseini's The Kite Runner, is about six weeks away from being released, but he's already well into prepping to shoot his most ambitious project yet, the 22nd installment of the James Bond franchise, currently known simply as Bond 22.

He took a break from pre-production to do some press in New York for Kite Runner and when ComingSoon.net talked to him, we made sure to leave a bit of time to ask him about the upcoming Bond flick, which is scheduled for release in just over a year. Either Forster really doesn't have many answers just yet and has an insanely busy month of preparation ahead of him or he's just been trained well to keep everything a secret until the inevitable press releases from the Broccolis and Sony/MGM.

He told us why he decided to take on something as challenging as trying to follow-up the best-received Bond movie in many years. "After doing 'Kite Runner' and being in this world and being in tents in Western China in the hardest conditions where obviously, you don't have any stars, so you're limited with your budget and what you can do," he began. "Ultimately, the studio has to watch out for the commercial possibilities of the films, so doing a Bond film next is just a new challenge, something different. I always like—if you look at my films—I always like to do the opposite of what I just did."

It's surprising how little we've heard about casting for the movie, and when we asked him about that, he responded, "No, I still have to do it all. I've been really focusing on 'Kite Runner' as well, so there has been no casting news, nothing." He also said that they don't know where they're going to be shooting first, despite early reports of the movie shooting in Panama.

The budget for the next Bond film is likely to be a good deal greater than Forster's last few movies, even Finding Neverland, but that doesn't worry him. "I assume that probably with every movie and movies in general, you always have to deal with budgetary concerns, but we will see."

Despite the larger budget, Forster says he's approaching the movie like any other movie and he thinks it's hard to judge whether the impending guild strikes may have on the production of the movie. "I hope if there's a strike, it will be short," he said. "It'll be hard to judge if it's a long strike. It's all up in the air."
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Pubrick

Quote from: Marc Forster
"I always like—if you look at my films—I always like to do the opposite of what I just did."

so he only does two things.
under the paving stones.

MacGuffin

Daniel Craig Talks Bond 22
Source: ComingSoon

This weekend, ComingSoon.net has been in London for the international press junket for New Line's The Golden Compass based on the first book in Philip Pullman's "His Dark Materials" series, and we had a chance to talk to Daniel Craig, who plays the evil Lord Asriel in the film. Of course, talk quickly turned to Craig's more famous role as the newest James Bond 007, because everyone wants to find out what we can expect from the follow-up to the blockbuster Casino Royale, which is scheduled to start shooting very soon.

ComingSoon.net: How have you been coping with your post-Bond fame?
Craig: I run away. Having a sense of humor is really key. You have to have a sense of humor with these things and I've just tried to remain who I am. My life has changed. It's changed in the fact that I don't have the freedoms I did before, but I've also got a huge amount of other freedoms that have come along.

CS: How apprehensive were you to take Bond on originally?
Craig: Very resignated. I was against it, very much against it.

CS: What changed your mind?
Craig: The script and the fact that it seemed to me that I would be able to sort of dedicate and get involved with and make something of. I've always been a Bond fan. I've always wanted the films to be good. When it came along and I read the script I thought there was genuinely an opportunity to make a good movie with one of the most classic icon figures in movies.

CS: What sort of sensibilities does Marc Forster, a non-Brit, bring to the Bond franchise?
Craig: If you look at Marc Forster's current body of work, that in itself makes me very excited. If you look at "Monster's Ball," "Finding Neverland" and then "Kite Runner," which is just stunning, it's such a diverse look at the world, I'd want us to have that. Marc is very solid. That for me is crucially important because this movie needs to jump on from "Casino Royale" and take it somewhere else. Marc is totally inspired and is really just keen to get started.

CS: Is the next script based on Ian Fleming's work at all?
Craig: There's nothing left as far as I know.

CS: Have they decided not to adapt any of the John Gardner's novels?
Craig: I don't think they ever would, because they don't own them. I don't know what the deal is with that. We're taking the original idea. The funny thing is if you read Fleming's (novels), which I try to plow through occasionally, there's an awful lot of story lines that have never been used because obviously the films are based on the books. There are still ideas that we can sort of pluck from.

CS: This new movie starts right after "Casino Royale" ends?
Craig: That's the plan.

CS: How difficult is it for you as an actor to develop the character because of his iconic status?
Craig: Not difficult at all really. Paul Haggis is involved. We've got someone who can take on story and take on a character and take them to a different place. It's always a struggle, but you've got to find themes, you've got to find reasons for doing it and you've got to put them all in the right place. The same rules apply.

CS: Will the writers strike affect production on the next film?
Craig: We'd basically have to start now. The SAG strike starts in July. The writers strike doesn't affect us because we have a script. As it stands at the moment, it doesn't affect us.

CS: I read somewhere you're going to inject a bit more humor into the next movie.
Craig: I was lying. I said, "Yes, it's going to be funny." I don't remember saying that, but if I did, I'm not going to shy away from the fact the occasionally there should be humor. I just don't like gags. I don't like written gags. That's not the way I've ever liked working and I don't think that's funny myself.

CS: "Casino Royale" marked a welcome return to the style and sensibilities of the earlier Bond movies, rather than the jokey more recent movies.
Craig: The idea of having jokes in Bond I don't think is completely wrong, but I think the jokes to need to come out tension. There needs to be moments of humor because we've all been sitting on the edge of our seat. I don't think you should write gags in Bond.

CS: I understand there's already a script for a sequel to "The Golden Compass." Have you read it yet?
Craig: There's an outline. It's a pretty good outline. I haven't looked at it. I've seen bits of it, but haven't looked at it.

CS: Assuming "Golden Compass" is a hit and they make a second film, and you're already signed up to do the next Bond, are you looking ahead to work both into your schedule?
Craig: That will be the plan, but it just depends on how well we do here. I try not to count chickens. I really don't because there's no point. You'd go crazy. We're in good shape and I'm very happy with the way this is working out. I'd love to get involved with it. If they do another movie, I'd love to do it. We'll fit it in. It's not my job to make that work. I pay people fortunes to make that.

CS: How important is it for you to have the freedom to do riskier projects?
Craig: Oh, completely. I've completed a film this year with a close friend of mine called "Flashbacks of a Fool," a movie which he wrote about five or six years ago and we've been trying to get it off the ground. I play a movie star who goes through a huge change in his life. It maybe sounds a bit arrogant to sort of do something like that, but the story is about growing up and what we learn when we're children and how we formed as adults. We shot it in South Africa. It's a very simple story.

CS: What do you think will happen in July if SAG decides strike?
Craig: That's a good question. Really, good question. I don't know what the latest news is on the writers strike, but I know it's not settling. It needs to be sorted and people need to come to the negotiating table.
"Don't think about making art, just get it done. Let everyone else decide if it's good or bad, whether they love it or hate it. While they are deciding, make even more art." - Andy Warhol


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Gold Trumpet

Quote from: MacGuffin on November 26, 2007, 11:57:48 PM
CS: Will the writers strike affect production on the next film?
Craig: We'd basically have to start now. The SAG strike starts in July. The writers strike doesn't affect us because we have a script. As it stands at the moment, it doesn't affect us.

Not a completely done script....


Bond 22 - 22-11-07

Writer Paul Haggis reveals he was polishing Bond 22 second draft when strike started

Source: http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=5597&catid=106

Writer Paul Haggis has commented on the state of the Bond 22 script in a video interview with iKlipz. Haggis, who handed the first draft of the upcoming James Bond film to producers shortly before the Writers Guild of America kicked in, revealed that he was in the midst of polishing a second draft.

"I just finished the second draft of the Bond movie and was doing the polish when this thing stopped", Haggis said. "And I don't want that movie shooting where it says "something happens here." I'm sure they can figure it out for themselves. It sort of does that at one point. Whatever, I can't tell you what it is, but it says "something is like that," and I'm sure they can figure it out for themselves.

Haggis went on to say that he has been contacted by the production during the strike, but would not break picket lines to help out Bond 22. "I get calls from Amy (Pascal), I get calls from Michael (Wilson). They hope this thing resolves. They're really, really good people."