Director Marc Forster updates on the status of the 22nd James Bond film, plus MI6 reveals actress casting news from Brazil and Mexico...

Bond 22 Pre-Production Diary (16)
28th October 2007

Director Marc Forster, who will helm the 22nd James Bond film, has given an update of the production status to Coming Soon whilst on a press tour for his latest film "The Kite Runner".

Explaining why he took on 007 as his next project, Forster said "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."

"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."

 

When asked about the lack of casting news, Forster explained that "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." MI6 understands that the casting process for the Bond girls is still at the national level, with local agents providing tapes of screentests for consideration.

Forster added that he does not know where shooting will start yet, despite strong indications Panama and Italy will be key locations - aside from studio and backlot filming in Pinewood Studios in the UK. With the threat of a strike crippling Hollywood from 1st November and Paul Haggis still completing the script, Forster said "I hope if there's a strike, it will be short. It'll be hard to judge if it's a long strike. It's all up in the air."

Bond Girl Search Targets Mexico
Recently, casting agent Carla Hool - who specialises in South American casting for Hollywood productions - has scoured Mexico for talent that may play opposite Daniel Craig in his second outing as 007.

According to reports, actress Ludwika Paleta is leading the pack. Originally born in Poland in 1978, Ludwika moved to Mexico with her father, the famous musician Zbigniew Paleta. She has worked on the small and silver screens since 1989, and is fluent in English.

Other Mexican actresses being strongly considered are Luz Helena Gonzalez and Monserrat Olivier.

Earlier in the month, MI6 exclusively reported on the line-up of Brazilian actresses and models performing screentests in Rio for a possible Bond girl role. The early front-runners were Camila Alves and Juliana Paes and Fernanda Lima, but the latter had to pull herself out of the race after discovering she was pregnant with twins. The Brazilan beauties were then joined by Lívia Rossi, Juliana Galvão, Michelle Alves, Ana Paula Araújo, Fernanda Motta and Paula Franco.

 


Above: Mexican actress Ludwika Paleta

MI6 has learned that Cléo Pires, Giovanna Antonelli, Rita Guedes, Guilhermina Guinle, and Christine Fernandes are also under consideration. The roster of potential Bond girls were tested by local casting agent Ruy Brito in in Botafogo (a Rio de Janeiro district) last week, with the exception of Juliana Paes who had an early test in Los Angeles. After signing confidentiality agreements, each actress got to choose to either perform a long scene with heavy dialog, or four short scenes. MI6 understands that tapes are now being sent to the production team for consideration.

Tabloid Talk
UK tabloid The News Of The World claims that British singer Leona Lewis is being tapped to sing the theme to the 22nd James Bond film. The paper says, "the X Factor winner - whose single Bleeding Love is set to top the charts this week - is the girl with the golden voice and want her to perform the signature tune for the film." The 22-year-old's record company BMG said: "Leona's management are in talks with various movie producers at the moment for a number of projects."

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Briefing
Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli (Eon Productions), QUANTUM OF SOLACE was released in the UK on October 31st 2008 and is directed by Marc Forster. Principal photography started on January 3rd 2008 at Pinewood Studios and around the UK, and foreign locations including Italy, Panama, Chile, Peru and Austria. Paul Haggis completed the script based on a first draft screenplay developed by regular scribes Neal Purvis & Robert Wade, with later polish by Joshua Zetumer. The story is a direct continuation of the events of Casino Royale. 007 faces off against villains Mathieu Amalric (Dominic Greene), Anatole Taubman (Elvis) and Joaquin Cosío (General Medrano). Olga Kurylenko (Camille) and Gemma Arterton (MI6 Agent Fields) play the Bond Girls. Dame Judi Dench (M), Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter) and Giancarlo Giannini (Mathis) reprise their roles as Bond's allies. It is British actor Daniel Craig’s second outing as James Bond, following his debut film Casino Royale released November 16th 2006.