Trivia - Casino Royale

The "Vesper" that James Bond orders at Casino Royale is taken from the novel. It consists of three measures (9 ounces) of gin (Gordon's was Bond's choice), one measure (3 ounces) of vodka and half a measure (1.5 ounces) of Kina Lillet. The ingredients are shaken over ice until cold, served in a cocktail glass with a slice of lemon peel for garnish. Kina Lillet has not been made since 1985 and the modern substitute would be Lillet Blanc, made by the same company, Lillet, based in Podensac, France.

The third film incarnation of "Casino Royale" but the one closest to Ian Fleming's original story. The first was a CLIMAX! feature (made for TV movie) made in 1954, the second was a spoof film which starred Peter Sellers made in (1967). Casino Royale is also the name of the casino in "Never Say Never Again".

This is the first appearance of Rene Mathis, a recurring character of Fleming's who made his debut in the "Casino Royale" novel.

"Casino Royale" returns Bond to the Bahamas. Whilst this is a frequent filming location (used on "Live And Let Die" and "The Spy Who Loved Me", amongst others), the character of James Bond has set foot in the Bahamas relatively few times - notably in "Thunderball", "Licence to Kill" (only briefly in the Pre-titles Sequence) and "Casino Royale".

The first Bond film not to feature Moneypenny (in some guise).

James Bond's letter of resignation via the MI6 intelligence intranet read: "M - I hereby tender my resignation with immediate effect. Sincerely, James Bond". This is the third James Bond movie where James Bond has resigned. The first was "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) and the second was "Licence to Kill" (1989). In the latter, his license to kill was revoked and in "Die Another Day" (2002) he was temporarily decommissioned but never resigned.

This is only the second time that an M character's home has been shown in an official EON Productions James Bond film. The first was in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969). The unofficial James Bond film, the comedy spoof "Casino Royale" (1966) also showed M's home.

Daniel Craig is the first actor to play James Bond who is younger than the series itself. Additionally, he is the first actor to be under the age of forty and play James Bond since George Lazenby in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969) and the first Bond actor not to be approved by Albert R. Broccoli.

A Bond begins story had been rumoured since the mid-1980s and Roger Moore's retirement from the Bond film. It has been widely rumoured that Cubby Broccoli shot down such an idea.

The villain's name, Le Chiffre is a French phrase which translates into English as either "The Cypher" or "The Number" or "The Figure".

This is the first film since "Dr. No" (1962) which does not feature the customary titillating title-sequence Bond girls.

Venice is a major setting in this movie and it's the third time for it to do so in the EON Productions official James Bond series. The others were "From Russia with Love" (1963) and "Moonraker" (1979). However, it was never a setting in the original Ian Fleming novels of any of these three movies.

This is the first film since "Live And Let Die" (1973) to use the same Bond girl, villain and title as Ian Fleming's novel.

"Casino Royale" is the first Bond film not to open with the signature gun barrel motif - it is instead placed after the pre-titles sequence.

The title song, "You Know My Name", does not include the title of the film anywhere in the lyrics. This last happened in "Octopussy" (1983). Before that there had been title themes that included no lyrics at all - "On Her Majesty's Secret Service", "From Russia With Love" and "Dr. No".

For the first time in the franchise's history Sony Pictures had direct involvement in the film and its promotion. As a result the film is loaded with Sony products, including the Sony Ericsson M600i, the Sony Ericsson K800i, Sony Cybershot T-50 and Sony VAIO FG notebook.

With her appearance, Eva Green became the fifth French actress to play a leading Bond girl. The others were Claudine Auger in "Thunderball" (1965), Corinne Clery in "Moonraker" (1979), Carole Bouquet in "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), and Sophie Marceau in "The World Is Not Enough" (1999). None of girls played dominantly French characters. Bouquet is meant to be Greek and Marceau plays an Azeri.

Most of the cars seen in the movie are made by Ford Motor Company. In the scene where Bond acts as a valet the cars in the parking lot are Land Rovers, Volvos, Jaguars and other Ford Motor Company's cars.

The number on Dimitrios' key ring was 53. 1953 was the year of release for the original Ian Fleming source novel, and the magazine Playboy, a publication which has a long associated history with the James Bond film series. Furthermore, this film version was released 53 years after the novel's first publication.

The first EON Productions James Bond movie to feature the Columbia Pictures logo. Ironically, in 1967, Columbia Pictures produced the James Bond spoof "Casino Royale" (1966) and was attempting to remake the film before it took over MGM.

Changes in some regions' release-dates meant that some territories had this movie released in the year 2007, thereby supplying fans and some publicists a once-in-a-millennium marketing dream, to see a James Bond movie in the year Two Double-O Seven.

Most BAFTA Award nominations ever received by a Bond movie, totaling nine. The previous record had been two each for "GoldenEye" (1995) and "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977). The 9 Nominations were for Best British Film, Adapted Screenplay, Actor in a Leading Role, Film Music, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Sound and Special Visual Effects. It only won best sound.

The first James Bond film to feature a black and white sequence. The opening sequence required 6000 ft of RX-2222 black-and-white film stock.

Cameos include: Alessandra Ambrosio, Veruschka von Lehndorff, Martin Campbell (the director), Michael G. Wilson, Richard Branson, Diane Hartford and Tsai Chin.

The names of the deceased villains who were known associates of Dimitrios were Vanya Bor, Heni Marville-Beau and Izzie Sawakowa.

This is the second time that Felix Leiter has been portrayed by an African American, in "Casino Royale" it is Jeffrey Wright. Bernie Casey appeared as the CIA man in the unofficial Bond movie "Never Say Never Again" (1983)

The poker cards, chips, and plaques featured in the movie were manufactured by Cartamundi. Poker sets of cards & chips that are replicas of the movie props are available from Cartamundi.

Vesper's face can be seen in the opening credits when the cross-hair moves over the face of the Queen of Spades. This is the first time an image of the current Bond girl is used in the title sequence. Ursula Andress and others are seen in the title sequence of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".

When James Bond sends resignation letter there are several e-mail addresses are seen in his e-mail client. These addresses contain names of computers related personnel involved in making of the film (Anne Bennett, Chris McBride, Robert Wright, etc.)

The climatic Venice sinking sequence took three weeks of filming with an average of nine hours per day.

The license plate number of James Bond's silver birch 1964 Aston Martin DB5 is 56526.

This film replaces the high-stakes casino game of Baccarat / Chemin de Fer from the novel "Casino Royale" with the modern high-stakes card game of Texas Hold 'Em. In this game, a hand with a pair of eights is called an "Octopussy".

The movie was delivered to some theaters under the codename: "Rough Skins".

First James Bond film approved by Chinese censors. All other films in the series were available in China only as illegal bootlegs.

In one afternoon's shooting, three Aston Martin DBS cars valued at $300,000 each were destroyed for the car roll sequence.

The interiors of the Venetian sinking house were a rig built at the Paddock Tank at Pinewood Studios and it could be immersed in nineteen feet of water. It weighed 90 tons and used a mixture of hydraulics and electronics. A computer controlled the hydraulic valves as well as a third scale model of the building which was used for shooting exteriors. Water was pushed upwards by banks of compressors controlled by technicians. The set interior of the sinking house in Venice measured 45 ft by 40 ft and was 45 ft high.

Daniel Craig quit smoking and had Simon Waterson as a personal trainer to help get into shape for the role. He reportedly gained 20 pounds of muscle for the role.

The location used in the Bahamas as the Madagascar Construction site was an abandoned hotel site at Coral Harbour that was under construction 30 years ago. It was used to film hotel rooms for the 1965 James Bond movie "Thunderball" (1965) and it was also used for the 1977 Bond film "The Spy Who Loved Me" (1977) as a camera platform with models and workshops. It is now part of a military base.

The car barrel-roll stunt by the Aston Martin DBS broke the world record for the most barrel rolls assisted by a cannon. Originally, the racing specifications of the DBS meant that a standard ramp would not be sufficient to get the car to roll, so the special effects team were called in to install a air-powered cannon behind the drivers seat. This allowed the car to complete seven full rolls. The stunt was officially entered into the Guinness Book of World Records on 5th November 2006.

Solange's name is never mentioned in the film. The Bond girl character name of Solange in the film has previously appeared in two Ian Fleming stories. She was the name of the girl in the short story "007 In New York" and a girl named Solange was referenced in the short story, "From A View To A Kill". These stories are included in the "Octopussy" and "For Your Eyes Only" collections respectively. No character details were borrowed from Fleming.

First James Bond film since "The Living Daylights" (1987) not to be novelized into a book. The original Ian Fleming novel is to go into reprint as a tie-in for the release of the movie instead.

Authorities in Venice granted producers permission to sail James Bond's yacht, called Spirit 54, along the Grand Canal between the Accademia and Rialto bridges. No-one can remember exactly the last time a pleasure yacht sailed in the Grand Canal, but it's believed to have been several centuries ago.

The Casino Estoril of Lisbon, Portugal was the inspiration for the casino gambling scene and title for the Ian Fleming novel of "Casino Royale". This was a location where German agents would frequent during World War II. On his visit, Fleming banco-ed three times and lost three times.

The 2007 Ford Mondeo sport model used in the beginning of the film is a special, one-off hand-built prototype vehicle, constructed by hand at Ford of Europe's Design Studio in Cologne, Germany, in January, 2006.

Poker playing was a common pastime amongst cast and crew on the set, even after production had wrapped. "Casino Royale" was the first Bond film to depict poker.

One week after filming was completed, the 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios burnt down on 30 July 2006. This was the second time this had happened, the first being before filming on "A View to a Kill" (1985). The filmmakers had just finished using the stage for filming interiors set in Venice for the movie.

In 1999 MGM paid Sony $10 million for the rights to this film.

The announcement of Daniel Craig as the new James Bond was made on October 14th, 2005, aboard the HMS President, in London. On that same day, former James Bond Roger Moore was celebrating his 78th birthday.

Ulrich Matthes was offered the role of Le Chiffre but had to decline due to his commitment to a theatrical production of "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?".

Chris Cornell's title song "You Know My Name" debuted in the US Charts on 9 December 2006 where it went to the No. #79 spot. The song does not appear on the film's soundtrack. This is the first time in the history of the official series that the title song has not been included on the soundtrack.

The Skyfleet S570 prototype at Miami International Airport is meant to be a spoof of the new Airbus A380. The S570 was built off an old 747-200, which was originally used by British Airways (under the designation "G-BDXJ"), and had flown for both Air Asia and Malaysia Airlines before being retired from service. It was refitted with two mock-up engines on each inner pylon and external fuel tanks on the outer pylons, somewhat anachronistically resembling a B-52 Stratofortress.

There is a story visible on Le Chiffre's computer on the same page that has the story of Bond's latest mission at the Embassy. It states that a French football player called Neil Pinkawa has stated he is not retiring from the national soccer team. Neil Pinkawa is in fact Casino Royale's lead screen graphics artist, who would have been in charge of creating all of the mock web pages in the film.

James Ferguson, a physician in Aberdeen, Scotland, came up with the idea for the scene in which Bond is poisoned and is remotely diagnosed by MI6 experts. He is a Bond fan, and has been retained as a medical adviser on future Bond films.

Daniel Craig as James Bond uses a Walther P99 pistol in this movie.

Chris Cornell's performance of the opening credits song, "You Know My Name", makes him the first American male to perform a James Bond opening credits song.

Martin Campbell was inspired by film such as The Sting (1973), Maverick (1994) and The Cincinnati Kid (1965) when directing the card game.

The film's Royal World Premiere was held on Tuesday 14th November 2006 at London's Odeon Leicester Square Theatre in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of England. The Gala Charity Premiere Benefit was also the 60th Royal Film Performance and was held in aid of the Film & Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF).

Daniel Craig's suits and tuxedos were made by Italian fashion house Brioni (their logo can briefly be seen on the suit bag for the tuxedo that Vesper gives him). His shirts and neckties were made by the British company Turnbull and Asser. In addition, he wears a sunglasses by Persol, cufflinks by S.T. Dupont, braces/suspenders by Albert Thurston, polos & t-shirts by Sunspel, shoes by Converse, John Lobb, & Nike, Ted Baker pants, La Perla swim trunks, a Giorgio Armani leather jacket, & an Omega wristwatch. Brioni also dressed every player at the Casino Royale poker table.

The brown leather jacket worn by Daniel Craig in Miami was made by Giorgio Armani and was rumoured to cost $4,000 US each.