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Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli
discuss moving James Bond on from the events of "Casino
Royale" in the new adventure...
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Producing Bond 22
13th November 2008
Michael
G. Wilson and Barbara
Broccoli talk
about how the character of James Bond has developed since the
last film. “In "Casino
Royale", Bond was severely
emotionally wounded and he needs to find his way out of the experience
he had with Vesper. Bond has a recognition that he can’t
leave the service, he can’t really find love in a normal
sense of the word, have a family or anything like that. He is
bound to his job and it is too dangerous and violent a world
to share with someone. Bond doesn’t want to be open to
blackmail or put someone else at risk of being blackmailed.”
"Quantum
of Solace" starts one hour after the end
of "Casino Royale" and marks the first time the Bond
franchise has ever filmed two films in direct sequence. Wilson
comments, “We don’t think there are any rules about
how the Franchise is run. We have had references to one film
in another film but it seemed like the natural thing to do because
there are so many unanswered questions at the end of "Casino
Royale" and we think our audiences will be interested in
the answers.”
The producers talk about the success of "Casino Royale" and
why they felt the time was right to go back to the start of Bond’s
career and introduce Daniel Craig to the role of 007. “From
the first time Daniel [Craig] did the screen test for us we were
confident he would be a great Bond. First of all he was handsome,
very masculine and he keeps himself in tremendous physical shape - all
that is prerequisite for the job - moreover, he is a great actor.
That is the beginning and the end of it. He can pull it off.
He is probably the best actor of his generation in Britain, if
not the world, so we were very lucky that he saw himself in the
role and was willing to do it. Secondly, the story was right
out of Ian Fleming so it had a great structure. I think whenever
you make a new film with a new Bond or are taking the film in
a different direction, you are never quite sure how popular the
film is going to be. Of course it is gratifying when it is popular
but you just cannot know how successful it will be until it happens.
Now we want to duplicate the success of "Casino Royale" and
exceed it.”
Both Wilson and Broccoli enjoy working with Craig. “He
is charming, funny, loyal and passionate - all of the things
that you find in a great actor. Daniel really enjoys making these
films, he puts his heart and soul into it and is extremely studious
and serious about his work. In "Casino Royale" he was
exploring the character and he has gained a lot of confidence
since then, so he’s playing Bond with more confidence and
an assurance that comes with that confidence. He has a creative
input that we welcome, he understands the character very well
and therefore, when it comes to script and matters that effect
the James Bond character, he is very much involved, his contributions
are very important.”
It is the first time Wilson and Broccoli have worked with the
award winning director, Marc
Forster, and they have been impressed
with his methods. “Marc is the most prepared director we
have ever worked with. He has a plan of every set and location
and he works with the lighting cameraman [Roberto Schaefer] to
map out every shot detailing where the camera will go for each
sequence. That is all done right at the beginning of the film
for the entire movie and he sticks to it. His first assistant,
Michael Lerman, is likewise extremely prepared and takes the
shots and puts in how much time they will take hour by hour,
like the goal for each day. It is amazing to see them work together.”
The producers filmed the scenes set in Haiti and Bolivia in
Panama and Chile, Wilson explains, “Panama is easy to work
in - you can get to it easily, it works in the lifestyle,
the people speak good English and the infrastructure is good
in the country, not necessarily for filming, but every other
purpose; hotels, transport etc. With this particular film we
needed a couple of locations and it worked out that between Panama
City and Colon we could film both Haiti and Bolivia so it seemed
the most effective way to plan the picture.”
The producers explain the meaning of "Quantum of Solace" and
its relevance in the script, “The title originally comes
from an Ian Fleming short story and, in the context of that,
it means that a relationship cannot be salvaged unless there
is a ‘"Quantum of Solace"’ between the
two parties. ‘Quantum’ meaning ‘measure’ and ‘solace’ meaning ‘comfort’ - so
if they are not willing to share that then their relationship
is not redeemable. In our case, it is a couple of things; Bond
is looking for a ‘"Quantum of Solace"’ after
his experiences in "Casino Royale", and ‘Quantum’ also
happens to be the name of the villainous organization in the
film."
Thanks to Sony Pictures Releasing UK.