Casino Royale production update - Bahamas wraps, filming in Prague set to complete end of May

Director Martin Campbell is scheduled to conclude principal photography on Casino Royale in the Czech Republic at the end of May. The final shots in the country will take place in Czech spa town Karlovy Vary, which will double as Montenegro - reports Screen Daily.

Bond franchise holders EON Productions are working with MGM and Columbia Pictures on the film, which started shooting January 30.

MGM executives toured the set of Casino Royale in Prague on April 6. In town to promote the planned launch of the MGM Channel in central Europe, MGM chairman and CEO Harry Sloan, COO Rick Sands, MGM Networks executive VP Bruce Tuchman and others toured Barrandov Studios sound stages where Campbell was filming a critical gambling scene between James Bond, played by Daniel Craig, and villain Le Chiffre, played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen.

Although Bond and Le Chiffre play baccarat in Ian Fleming�s 1953 novel, the game will be Texas Hold �Em poker in the 21st Bond film.

Casino Royale�s filming in the Bahamas wrapped April 5. The Caribbean location stands in for Madagascar, where Casino Royale begins with Bond chasing down and apparently killing a villain.

From Prague, filming will move to Venice for exteriors for five days, after which it returns to Pinewood Studios in the UK. The climactic action scenes will make use of the water tank on Pinewood�s 007 stage. The existing tank is being made deeper for Casino Royale, growing from a current depth of 8 feet to 20 feet.

Columbia will release the film on November 17.

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