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James Bond's latest adversaries
conspired to discuss how they face off against 007
in "Quantum
of Solace" during the shoot in Bregenz... |
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Production Diary (37)
29th August 2008
Back in
May, on the set of the gigantic production
of "Tosca",
the newest enemies of Bond - Mathieu
Amalric, Anatole Taubman and Jesper
Christensen - took questions from the press regarding their
highly anticipated characters. The shoot in itself was two years
in the making and this unusual staging of Puccini's opera
was the perfect backdrop for a villainous rendezvous in the
22nd James Bond production. Prior to the actors mingling among
theatre-goers,
the "Quantum of Solace" stunt
crew had been on hand, canning an action piece or two in which
a unknown goon takes a plunge.
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Jesper Christensen, who plays the Quantum deal
maker Mr. White, was on set with production in Austria. Although
he
has already shown his face in 2006's "Casino
Royale", he was as tight lipped as ever regarding
the fate of his character. He did explain that White would be
match Daniel
Craig's portrayal of Bond, for realism alone. "The
modern Bond is slightly dumb, very violent, very efficient and
very sort of going his own way. And you're not quite sure you
can trust him with anything because, obviously, he's not that
clever," Christensen reasoned. "So, if you compare
him to the Roger Moore version,
which was always sort of on top of everything carrying a drink,
Daniel's is a much more angry
person."
The brooding eco-terrorist Dominic Greene, portrayed
by Amalric Mathieu, is shaping up to be a stellar nemesis.
Amalric explained that he and director Marc
Forster were not afraid to paint this villain as a blank canvas.
The production team had discussed giving Greene
a secret skill, but quickly rejected this idea for the sake of
keeping the character plausible: "Why should I know kung
fu? He's just a guy who works in ecology," Amalric told
the press. "That's how I can surprise Bond, because he's
used to fighting people who are professionals. It's Tai [bo].
It's boxing. He knows how to deal with that, but a guy who
doesn't know how to fight? It's like a schoolyard brawl."
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One of the last characters
to come under mass-media scrutiny was Greene's sidekick,
the bowler-cut, evil-eyed Elvis. MI6
reported back in December 2007 that Taubman had landed
a henchman role but for several months the details of his
character were shrouded in mystery. However, at the
press call the German actor was happy let slip a few secrets.
"He's a Francophile. I wouldn't say he's French. We're family, Dominic Greene and Elvis. They're family so they speak French together. He's from Europe, really. No, he's not Algerian. He's definitely from Europe," explained Taubman, clearing up some of the confusion.
"Mr. Greene saved him really. He saved him from the streets. I would have gotten lost and maybe not even survived. Maybe have gotten killed. Elvis is a guy from the streets so at some point Dominic Greene said, "I've got to help my cousin, my relative and just take him along. Otherwise, he will not make it." So I've been enjoying life next to him, traveling the world and 'saving' the world."
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Taubman confirmed Amalric's statement that the
modern villain need not have any quirk or feature, yet still
be menacing indeed: "I think nowadays the real big, big,
big baddies are normal people, people you wouldn't tell are
villains. People from the farming lobby, people from the weapon
lobby, people from the oil lobby."
"I love my character. I love my Elvis," he said, explaining that in a modern Bond film there is less of a rift between the villain and his henchman. Confirming that in "Quantum of Solace" Elvis will have a significant amount of screen time. "He's
a funny character but it's not like a big, deep, soul-searching,
Stanislavski method acting journey I need to go on in order to
feel the dynamics of Elvis... He definitely has the potential
to be memorable, this Elvis."
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.
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