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A look back at the Danish premiere of Casino Royale,
when Mads Mikkelsen made a special appearance for
a group of dedicated Bond fans...
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Casino Royale Danish Premiere
17th December 2006
On Thursday 23rd November 2006, the Danish premiere
of "Casino
Royale" was held at Imperial Cinema in the centre of Copenhagen.
The "Double-0 Club", a group of devoted Bond fans in Denmark,
report on the event for MI6.
The city of Copenhagen was buzzing. It was oozing
Bond everywhere. Expectations were high for the new Bond film,
and this particular outing received special treatment
in the Danish press ever since it was announced that not just
one,
but
two Danish actors were hired to play baddies in the next Bond
film - Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre and Jesper Christensen as
Mr. White. It was big when Cecilie Thomsen was part of "Tomorrow
Never Dies", and even bigger when Ulrich Thomsen played
Davidov in "The World is Not Enough", but this is better
than ever for the Danish Bond fans!
The Double-0 Club had been warming up throughout
the year. The monthly get-togethers had focused a lot on "Casino Royale",
the new Bond, and the Danish bad guys. The members
of
Double-0
Club have code names in the club, names of Bond Villains, and
they have made costumes representing their character.
On the night of the premiere, the Double-0 Club went to town
dressed up as Blofeld, Jaws, Oddjob, Largo and Zukovsky. When
arriving
at
the
Imperial
Cinema, the press goes crazy... The Bond fans in the Double-0
Club get a taste of being celebrities, as cameras flash and photographers
shout; "look over here, look over here!". The costumes
are appreciated. The club members smile, but mostly because
of what happened 30 minutes ago...
Earlier, at the bar next to the cinema - the rendezvous point
- the club members teamed up before going to the premiere. A
bunch
of dressed up guys among a lot of "standard" evening
gowns and tuxedos. Suddenly, a stranger sits himself down in
the sofa between Blofeld and Oddjobb. It seems he wants to join
our club of bad guys. He looks a lot like Le Chiffre...! It
is Mads Mikkelsen, the REAL Le Chiffre! "I've GOT to sit
here! You boys have really done something special" he says.
Cameras are out, flashing. Mads Mikkelsen knows how to make our
day. He seems very on top of things... Happy, kind, open minded...
A nice moment to remember.
Later, after the film, Mads Mikkelsen went on stage to receive
a large round of applause from the Danish audience. He talked
a little about the film and the world premiere,
including his experience of meeting the Queen Elizabeth II.
Everybody in the theatre seemed very happy with the film, the
actors, and the new
style.
At the after party, the group me Mikkelsen again for
a short chat and a few more pictures. Time to brush up some old
memories... One of the members of Double-0 Club, "Largo",
is a stuntman and he worked with Mads Mikkelsen several years
ago,
in a short film where Mads had to get shot. On that same note, "Largo" has
also performed as a stunt double for both Jesper Christensen
and Ulrich Thomsen on other film productions. Ironically, eleven
years ago - in the very same theatre as the Danish premiere
of Casino Royale - "Largo" was on
stage performing as 007 himself in an action-filled stunt and
dance
show for more
than a thousand
people, including Pierce Brosnan, at the Danish premiere of "Goldeneye".
Brosnan actually came up afterwards to shake "Largo's" hand...
But that was then...
For Double-0 Club, Casino Royale's premiere in Copenhagen came
to an end after enjoying several hours of Vodka-Martinis, Bond
talk, a nice jazz band performing Bond songs, and a lot of well
dressed
men and beautiful women, all having fun - Bond style... For Double-0
Club, it was an evening that will be fondly remembered
for a long time.
Until then, keep an eye on Double-0 Club and their upcoming "Bond-trailer" on www.007jamesbond.dk
Many thanks to Klaus Hjule and Chleve Hansen,
and the rest of the Double-O Club.
The views of this columnist
and those expressed in this article are not necessarily those
of mi6-hq.com or its owners.
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