Casino Royale press conference scheduled for today in Prague

As the first phase of Casino Royale production wraps in the Czech Republic, a press conference is scheduled to be held today ahead of the move to the Bahamas.

A James Bond press conference is skedded today at Prague's Barrandov Studios, where the Martin Campbell-directed pic has been shooting - reports Variety.

Though Sony claims no casting will be announced, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson could use the occasion to unveil its long-awaited supporting cast. But the studio, along with some of the talent's reps, claim nothing's been decided.

Even so, the producers are apparently deciding on a short list topped by Eva Green ("The Dreamers") and Olivia Wilde, who had a steamy arc on "The OC" last season. The producers had earlier approached the likes of Charlize Theron, Thandie Newton and Kimberly Davies.

Even if the cast is not announced today, the villain role is expected to go to Danish thesp Mads Mikkelsen.

While scrutiny of Bond productions is always high, "Casino Royale" has been a particular object of curiosity in Hollywood because of how long it's taken to cast. Going into the third week of lensing, key roles were still up for grabs.

The entire casting process has baffled Hollywood. Expectations were that after replacing Pierce Brosnan with Craig, the producers would try to support him with a few well-known names. Unfortunately, the Bond system works against star wattage. On top of tight controls exercised by the producers, there is a longstanding refusal to award gross points to participants -- no actor playing Bond has ever received a gross stake.

Sony, which inherited the franchise from MGM, plans to release the film in November, which meant that shooting had to commence in January regardless of casting.

It's highly unusual to work so on-the-fly on a $100 million-plus tentpole pic.

But when it comes to Bond, things tend to be shaken and stirred. One reprep who's been involved in the production said, "There are a lot of cooks in the kitchen, a lot of people who need to approve things."

As for whether deadline pressure gave agents any advantage in crafting deals for their clients, the rep said: "Not necessarily, especially with the way the business is these days. You're lucky if you can make the deal."

Thanks to `harmsway` for the alert.

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