“The theory was, we make Casino Royale as if there had never been a James Bond movie made in the past,” said co-producer Michael G. Wilson, describing the creative process behind what’s quickly become a new generation of Bond films.
When Wilson visited Toronto to promote the latest Bond venture, Quantum of Solace, he brought to the roundtable interview director Marc Forster, new Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, and 007 himself, the steely-eyed Daniel Craig. Over a series of interviews at the Hazelton Hotel, the group discussed how they set out to dramatically change the Bond franchise.
While most fans have welcomed the bloody realist aspects of the new films, some mourn the loss of the larger-than-life technical elements that were Bond’s trademark for generations. “Hopefully through this process we’ll create the new icons rather than trying to just re-adapt the old icons,” said Wilson.
If, as Wilson implied, Casino Royale was the death of the old franchise, Quantum of Solace might very well be the funeral, paying respects to old spectacle while charting new terrain.
Marc Forster—whose previous work on Monster’s Ball and Finding Neverland made him a surprising choice for a Bond director—has introduced an unprecedented “art film” agenda into the new series. He also pays homage to past installments with retro visual cues, including one nostalgic set piece that will send audiences all the way back to Goldfinger.
“I felt it was an interesting era for Bond,” remarked Forster on the earlier installments, “so I wanted to bring that back into it and sort of juxtapose it to the modern look of MI6.”
Forster’s acknowledgment of the Bond tradition certainly doesn’t hinder him from taking bold artistic steps in Quantum. He gives the action sequences an elemental theme, played out over land, water, air, and blazing fire. Using abstract techniques for a gunfight that takes place during the opera Tosca, itself containing parallels to Bond, a massive blue eye onstage resembles 007’s ever-watchful peepers. That’s a lot to chew on for an action flick.
Another refreshing element is Bond girl Olga Kurylenko, who delights in the fact that her character Camille is the first in the series who doesn’t sleep with 007. “She’s different,” said Kurylenko. “She’s like Bond in a female body. She’s almost equal to him. What’s nice is that in this film, she has her own story. She exists without Bond—she has her own mission. Other girls, somehow existed [through] Bond only.”
While everyone celebrates the updated series, the film’s star is doing as much as he can to maintain the tradition.
“I haven’t done anything to modernize the character,” said Craig, speaking to his Bond’s harder edge. “If anything, I’m trying to cling onto the past.”
“There’s something archaic about him. I want him to remain misogynistic to a certain extent because I like the debate between him and M, because M is the balance there. He’s the one that’s sort of behaving badly as a man, and she’s the one that’s slapping him down.”
Craig had his arm in a sling, due to an old injury that hasn’t quite healed over the course of two Bond movies. But it doesn’t prohibit him from bouncing with enthusiasm while describing his onscreen persona.
“He likes fast cars, beautiful women, champagne. He likes all the things that James Bond has always liked. I tried to come at it from a new angle, to refresh it as opposed to trying to re-invent it.”
Another change that Quantum introduces is a direct engagement with current sociopolitical issues, concerning dwindling resources and the evil powers trying to control them. Craig insisted that such developments were plot choices that “just happened to get more and more relevant as the hours tick by.”
“Bonds have always been naturally apolitical,” the actor reminded us. “I’ve always maintained that it’s a Bond movie. We can’t go down the political road. We mustn’t because it’s not our job to do that. But ultimately, to comment on it and make it as pressing as possible is also very important because it’s a modern movie.”
Craig would rather see elements of the old series returned to the new films, particularly recurring characters like Q and Moneypenny. However, he recognizes that these additions can’t simply be thrust into the creative process.
“I don’t think you could offer a good actor a part and say, ‘The part’s Q, remember how it was played? That’s exactly what I want.’ I think that’s kind of offensive to give to an actor. I would love it to be properly written it and give it to an actor, saying, ‘What are you going to make of that? Invent something.’”
While Craig advocates for Bond’s old tricks to be retained, he won’t compromise the integrity of the story being told. In the new film, Bond doesn’t go topless (to the dismay of women everywhere), doesn’t bed the Bond girl, and doesn’t even utter such famous catchphrases as “Shaken, not stirred” and “Bond, James Bond.”
“It didn’t fit,” explained Craig. “Putting it in because it should be there just doesn’t make sense to me. It jarred in the final cut. It was something that didn’t fit in with the movie.”
But such an absence won’t be disorienting. There are still the exotic locales, beautiful women, luxury cars, countless martinis and the iconic music. As Craig assured, “You’re never in any doubt that you’re watching a James Bond movie.”
Quantum of Solace opens November 14.
