Cover Story: Daniel Craig & Marc Forster
Now He’s Angry
Picking up just minutes after the end of Casino Royale, next month’s Quantum of Solace features a James Bond with revenge on his mind. Here star Daniel Craig and director Marc Forster explain how, despite all the explosions and effects, this one’s still about the story
By David Giammarco
Pinewood Studios is abuzz. Not only is the colossal 007 soundstage — the largest in the world — engulfed in flames and pyrotechnic explosions for the climactic sequence of the 22nd James Bond film, Quantum of Solace, but it’s the last day of shooting for what has been one of the most ambitious and tumultuous Bond films in the franchise’s 46-year screen history.
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Daniel Craig as James Bond in
Quantum of Solace
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Two years ago, Casino Royale gambled heavily by rebooting the
007 series — jettisoning both the trademark fantasy formula for
grittier storytelling, and the suave and sophisticated Pierce Brosnan
for the more rough and ragged Daniel Craig. The payoff was an
unexpected windfall, garnering not only critical raves but a box-office
jackpot of $600-million (U.S.) worldwide.
For Quantum of Solace — which will be released next
month, on November 14th — the bar must be raised. Having already proven
himself worthy of Bond’s iconic tuxedo and “00” license to kill, Daniel
Craig says that Casino Royale’s success is double-edged. “Now people may look back and say, ‘Oh, Quantum of Solace isn’t as good as Casino Royale,’” muses the 40-year-old Craig. “So now if this one goes wrong, it’s all my fault,” he adds with a huge laugh.
Becoming more serious, the actor stresses the need to push the series
forward. “We just can’t repeat what we did last time. Otherwise, we
really will fail,” says Craig. “I feel we owe it to the people who loved Casino Royale to give them something different, and something even better.”
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The heat is on. Quite literally. The special effects team reignites the flames for another take as Craig and Ukrainian-born actress Olga Kurylenko — playing the feisty femme fatale Camille — fight their way out of a collapsing building, dodging massive explosions and falling debris. The temperature inside the soundstage soars. But the only person not breaking a sweat is director Marc Forster. With three cameras rolling simultaneously, Forster is watching the pivotal sequence on multiple video monitors, studying the pair’s escape route through the crumbling smoke-filled set.
“Cut!,” he yells over the controlled mayhem. Breathless, Craig and Kurylenko return to Forster’s side to watch their manoeuvers on the playback monitors. If Forster strikes you as an odd choice to be helming a $200-million Bond thriller, you’re not alone. The soft-spoken, German-born, Switzerland-raised filmmaker was just as perplexed when Bond producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson first approached him with the unusual offer.
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Director Marc Forster
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Acclaimed for his low-budget, intimate character dramas like Monster’s Ball, Finding Neverland and The Kite Runner,
Forster admits that when he received the phone call he thought it was a
practical joke. “My first words were, ‘I think you’ve got the wrong
director,’” says the 39-year-old, laughing. Then, “Why me?”
“But Barbara said that, because they started taking Casino Royale
in a different direction with Daniel, they wanted to take it even
further with a real storyteller. And they offered me total creative
freedom... so I felt I could explore the fascinating psychology of the
beginnings of James Bond. Daniel is such an interesting actor, and I
had never done an action movie, let alone a movie with a budget over
$20-million, so I figured I could learn a lot from this.
“I mean, if you’re going to make a commercial film, then why not do the
crown jewel of them all,” adds Forster with another laugh. “And that’s
James Bond.”
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Picking up exactly 20 minutes from where Casino Royale left off, Quantum of Solace is the first of the 22 James Bond films considered to be a sequel. The title comes from an Ian Fleming short story that was part of his 1960 Bond anthology titled For Your Eyes Only.
The similarity between the film and novel are in name only, and the movie’s plot is being closely guarded. But the key to the story is Bond’s grief over the death of Vesper Lynd, his love interest played by Eva Green in Casino Royale, and her betrayal of him, which was revealed in the final scenes. Bond, broken, bent on revenge and determined to uncover the truth behind Vesper’s duplicity, discovers the mysterious organization responsible — QUANTUM (shades of SPECTRE) — is part of a larger conspiracy with tentacles stretching across the globe.
“There’s a real internal struggle within him,” explains Craig, “because
Bond soon finds that everything he understood about the world has been
turned upside down. What was set in motion in the last film escalates
much further.”
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Craig and co-star Olga Kurylenko
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Craig praises Forster’s ability to probe the darker recesses of Bond’s psyche, but also insists that Quantum of Solace “is not going to be some deeply disturbing psychological drama...
“After all, we are making a James Bond movie,” the
actor says. “But hopefully we’ve created something that is more a look
back at the earlier Bond films, with a real sense of style and romance.”
Indeed. A few weeks after filming wraps, Marc Forster screens a rough
assemblage of various scenes at a nondescript Soho screening room one
rainy evening. I had to sign a confidentiality agreement not to reveal
any spoilers, but can say that Quantum of Solace invokes a
glorious retro Bond style as the film traverses exotic locales,
including Panama, Peru, Chile, Italy, Austria and, of course, MI6 home
base in London. The action is intense, and the drama textured and
nuanced. And there are a couple of winks to past Bond hallmarks sure to
thrill the real fans.
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“I’m really glad I did the movie I wanted to do,” says Forster once the lights have come up. “So if it fails, it’s my responsibility. But I never approached this film as trying to top Casino Royale. I’ve never approached a film like I’m making it for millions of people. I had to approach it as a film I would love. If I set out to make a film for masses of people to love and be bigger than Casino Royale, it would be a failure.”
Pointing to the screen, Forster adds proudly, “I’m really excited about this...it feels right and truthful to me. And that’s the only way to make a film.”
David Giammarco is a print and broadcast journalist and the author of For Your Eyes Only: Behind the Scenes of the James Bond Films.
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No Solace for Winehouse
Poor Amy Winehouse. First the music world’s most glorious mess is asked
to create the Quantum of Solace theme song, and then the gig’s ripped
away because she and her producer Mark Ronson couldn’t record anything
good enough. (Ronson says Winehouse wasn’t ready because of her drug
problems.)
But isn’t imperfection what the new Bond is all about? Daniel Craig’s
rocky face in place of Pierce Brosnan’s slick puss? Raw, gritty
storytelling instead of a plot that could’ve been created by a computer?
We’re not saying Amy’s replacements — Jack White and Alicia Keys —
won’t create a worthy tune. And, yes, professionalism and sobriety are
important when dealing with a $200-million project. We’re just so
curious about the mixed-up song Winehouse was attempting to contribute.
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We may not remain curious for long. Winehouse recently told New
magazine she wants to “prove that [the producers] have made a big
mistake” and may release her Bond theme on the same day as the
White-Keys theme, adding her single “would be the bigger hit.”
The Quantum of Solace soundtrack hits stores October 28th.
—Marni Weisz