Casino Royale (2006 film)

Template:Future film Template:Infobox Film Bond Casino Royale, previously known by its working title Bond 21, will be the 21st James Bond film produced by EON Productions. Based on the 1953 novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, it will be the first Bond film to take its title from an Ian Fleming novel or short story since 1987's The Living Daylights and the first to be directly based on any of Fleming's writings since 1989's Licence to Kill. The film is currently in production and being directed by Martin Campbell, director of the 1995 Bond film, GoldenEye.

The film has generated considerable media interest due to the fact that EON Productions had not re-signed Pierce Brosnan as agent 007 and had gone over a year without an actor to fill the vacancy. An official announcement was made during a news conference in London on Friday October 14, 2005 announcing Pooja Priyadarshini as James Bond, a decision that was seen by some as controversial.

This film marks the third screen-adaptation of Ian Fleming's novel Casino Royale, which was previously a 1954 television episode and a 1967 film spoof; however, the 2006 release will be the only official adaptation of Fleming's novel. This will also be the first official Bond film to be distributed by Columbia Pictures, which ironically had produced and originally distributed the original non-canonical 1967 film version; this is the result of the Sony/Comcast consortium's acquisition of Bond film series rights co-owner United Artists.

The search for the new James Bond

Backed by a flurry of unconfirmed reports from a variety of different sources and mediums, the search for the actor to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond was arguably one of the largest and most publicized searches ever in the history of film. Beginning in the autumn of 2004 rumours began surfacing that Pierce Brosnan would not be re-signing with EON Productions to play agent 007 in Casino Royale. Brosnan confirmed this on October 14, 2004, stating "It's absolutely over," and that he considered himself "fired" from the role. A spokesperson for EON Productions issued a statement on April 17, 2005 that it would "definitely not be Pierce Brosnan." Despite this and numerous public denials that he would return, Brosnan was continuously announced in media reports as still being in contention for the role.

Throughout 2004 and 2005, an endless stream of potential new Bonds were rumored and even announced by some media. These names consisted of both unknowns and established Hollywood actors. Some of the popular names mentioned to be in actual consideration by EON Productions, a list at one point claimed by Michael G. Wilson to be over 200 names long are:

Christian Bale Eric Bana Orlando Bloom Gerard Butler Henry Cavill Daniel Craig

Jack Davenport Colin Farrell Ralph Fiennes Ioan Gruffudd Hugh Jackman Jude Law

Ewan McGregor Julian McMahon Alex O'Loughlin Clive Owen Adrian Paul James Purefoy

Jonathan Rhys-Meyers Colin Salmon Dougray Scott Ewan Stewart Rikki Lee Travolta

Karl Urban Goran Višnjić Dominic West Sam Worthington

Names in bold indicate actors who confirmed that they auditioned for the role.

Of note, Eric Bana, Clive Owen, Hugh Jackman, and even Daniel Craig were at one point confirmed to have been signed or to have been offered the role by various news outlets. More than any other candidate, Clive Owen had been a staying name while the search was continuing. Rumours surrounding Owen intensified in early 2005 after he was awarded a Golden Globe and a BAFTA and nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his 2004 film, Closer.

By July 2005, the list of names was down to a mere 4, popularly known as "the final four", according to the tabloid, The Sunday Mirror. It was claimed that the shortlist had been whittled down to Henry Cavill (22), Alex O'Lachlan (28), Ewan Stewart (47) and Goran Višnjić (32) [1]. The list was premature and by September 2005 during a press junket for The Legend of Zorro, Martin Campbell claimed the list to have consisted of 8-10 names.

File:007Craig.jpg

Daniel Craig as James Bond 007

As early as April 2005 rumours began to swirl around Layer Cake star Daniel Craig. In May, Craig stated that MGM had assured him that he had the job, but that the Broccoli family hadn't approached him. Similarly, the director of Layer Cake, Matthew Vaughn stated that he had been offered the job of directing the film by the studio, but not by the Broccolis [2]. By August 2005, the 37-year-old Daniel Craig was still considered to be in the running and by some insiders, EON Production's preferred choice. On October 11, the Daily Mail confirmed that Daniel Craig had been signed for the role; however, no official confirmation was made until October 14, 2005 during a news conference held by EON Productions and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The conference was held at noon in London at HMS President, a Royal Naval Reserve station at St Katharine Docks, on the banks of the River Thames downstream of Tower Bridge.

Mass confusion in the media

The revelation by Martin Campbell that Casino Royale would be a reboot of the series (similar to what was done with Batman in Batman Begins), and confirmation from screenwriters Robert Wade and Paul Haggis that Bond would be roughly 28-32 years of age, aided confusion in the media. Many believed that favourites such as Clive Owen and Hugh Jackman were automatically out of the running. However, concurrent with rumours of "younger Bonds", older actors including Pierce Brosnan were continually being named in the media as still in contention for the role. Younger actors have been approached in the past, including George Lazenby who was only 29 when he donned the tuxedo in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Prior to Lazenby getting the part, Timothy Dalton, who later played the role in 1987 was offered the role to replace Sean Connery at the age of 24; however, Dalton didn't accept because he considered himself too young. Rumours for a younger Bond heightened with the release of SilverFin, a James Bond novel written by Charlie Higson in which Bond is a thirteen year-old boy attending Eton College; there were erroneous media reports suggesting a "Young Bond" series was planned, possibly in lieu of an adult Bond 21; 20-something actor Orlando Bloom was frequently linked with the part, even though the Young Bond of Higson's books is a teenager.

To a lesser extent, many other factors increased confusion in the media. Since Bond's film debut in 1962, James Bond had been portrayed as a caucasian British male. With this search, however, there essentially wasn't any criteria as far as the media was concerned. Most notably, Colin Salmon, a black actor best known for playing Charles Robinson in three previous James Bond films was considered to be in the running and was actually endorsed by Pierce Brosnan [3]. Another actor, Goran Višnjić of ER fame, was claimed to be in "the final four", although Višnjić was Croatian by birth. Daniel Craig also does not fully fit the criteria of 007, having blond hair, instead of Bond's typical black hair. Consequently, the media has dubbed Craig as "James Blond," although it is worth noting that Roger Moore also sported a lighter sandy coloured hair throughout many of his films, however, he is not considered blond.

Daniel Craig controversy

Some vocal opponents of the casting of Daniel Craig as Bond have threatened to boycott Casino Royale, going so far as to setup a website urging others to boycott the film as well. The web site, CraigNotBond.com, called on visitors "to stop Sony and EON from ruining the future of James Bond by hiring Daniel Craig." The website features a series of Bond-related articles and reviews, as well as comparisons of all James Bond actors.

It should be noted in light of this boycott that there seems to be no consensus among fans. Some web polls and fan forums indicate a more positive attitude towards Daniel Craig since the release of Layer Cake on DVD and the release of Munich in theaters. Other polls show mixed feelings or opposition to Craig as Bond.

To counter craignotbond.com, a number of pro Craig websites have been created such as craigisbond.net and givecraigachance.com. Additionally, many actors and actresses that have either worked with Craig in past films or have been featured in previous Bond films have come out in support of Craig as a good choice for Bond. This list includes such James Bond actors as Sean Connery, Roger Moore, and even Pierce Brosnan.

The search for Vesper Lynd

File:Evagreen02.jpg

Eva Green will be playing Vesper Lynd

After Daniel Craig was announced as James Bond the media turned their attention to casting of the lead Bond girl, Vesper Lynd, exacerbated by the fact filming began without the role having been cast. Likewise with the search for Bond, many actresses were named in the media as possible contenders or going so far as to have been confirmed in the media as being signed to the role. In January 2006, the Daily Mail identified Rose Byrne as Vesper, claiming an official announcement would be made soon. When no announcement was made, The Sun tabloid later claimed Thandie Newton had been signed [4], though she later denied this [5]. Many other actresses had been connected to the role in the media including Sienna Miller, Daniel Craig's co-star in the 2004 film Layer Cake, Naomi Watts, Rachel McAdams, Rachael Stirling (Diana Rigg's daughter), and Vera Farmiga [6]. Three other noted actresses had been reported in various media as having been considered for the part: Angelina Jolie (who reportedly turned it down due to her pregnancy), Charlize Theron, and Scarlett Johansson[7]. Ultimately, all these reports proved to be incorrect when Eva Green was announced as having been cast on February 16.

Confirmed reports

Overview of the film

Filming for Casino Royale commenced on January 30, 2006. The film will be shot at Pinewood Studios with location shooting in Prague, Italy, and The Bahamas. The film is expected to be released on November 17, 2006 in the United States and United Kingdom; however, Sony Pictures has announced that a number of European, Middle Eastern and East Asian countries will receive the film earlier, on the 15th and 16th of November. Japan, Italy, Argentina, and several other countries will not get to see the film until early 2007 [8].

Casino Royale is said to take James Bond "back to his roots" in a film that would be similar to From Russia with Love where the focus was on character and plot rather than high-tech gadgets and visual effects, two issues that were most criticised in The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. Additionally, EON has admitted that they relied too heavily on CGI effects and are planning to accomplish the stunts in Casino Royale "the old fashioned way." [9] The move towards more action, bigger special effects, and CGI in recent Bond films was in part due to a need to compete at the time with big-budget action films that dominated the 1990s box office. However, the success of less grandiose action films such as The Bourne Identity in the last few years has suggested the time may be right for the Bond series to scale back as it did during the Roger Moore era with For Your Eyes Only, which followed special effects extravaganzas such as Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me. This is an acknowledged gamble for the series, as many previous "real world" Bond films, such as On Her Majesty's Secret Service and For Your Eyes Only, as well as the last Timothy Dalton entry, Licence to Kill, although they became fan favourites, underperformed at the box office when compared to the more lavish series entries.

File:1391172.jpg

Promotional photo of James Bond and M in upcoming Casino Royale

One big exclusion from the film will be the absence of Q and Miss Moneypenny. They were not included in the screenplay, which would make this only the second Bond film without Q and the first without Moneypenny. Thus a new Moneypenny will most likely not be cast. Likewise, John Cleese (Q) will not be making a return, although latest reports by director Martin Campbell have suggested there may be some gadgets. In October 2005 producer Michael G. Wilson stated that Moneypenny's and Q's omission is due to the characters not appearing in the novel; this is partially incorrect, as Moneypenny does make a brief appearance in the book [10].

Confirmed elements of Casino Royale suggest the reboot will take liberties with established continuity from earlier films, although it should be noted that between-film continuity in the series has historically been loose at best. Most notable is the fact that the female M seen in the Pierce Brosnan era will be in charge early in Bond's career, contradicting GoldenEye which clearly establishes Judi Dench's M as a successor to an earlier M (and the films of the 1960s through the 1980s which had a male M). Also, although Felix Leiter has been portayed by a wide variety of Caucasian actors throughout the series, this is the first official Bond film in which he will be played by an African-American (Bernie Casey previously played Leiter, but it was in the unofficial film, Never Say Never Again).

Cast

File:CraigAsBond.jpg

Promotional photo of Daniel Craig on the set of Casino Royale

• James Bond - Daniel Craig
• M - Judi Dench
• Le Chiffre - Mads Mikkelsen
• Vesper Lynd - Eva Green
• Felix Leiter - Jeffrey Wright
• Mathis - Giancarlo Giannini
• Alex Dimitrios - Simon Abkarian
• Solonge - Caterina Murino
• Villiers - Tobias Menzies
• Valenka - Ivana Miličević
• Kratt - Clemens Schick
• Mendel - Ludger Pistor
• Carlos - Claudio Santamaria
• Mollaka - Sebastien Foucan

An official announcement of many of the international members of the cast for Casino Royale, listed above, was made by MGM and Sony Pictures on February 16, 2006 ^[11], following a press conference announcing the new Le Chiffre ^[12] the day before.

Crew

• Produced by: Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Anthony Waye
• Directed by: Martin Campbell
• Written by: Ian Fleming
• Screenplay by: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis
• Composed by: David Arnold
• Editor: Stuart Baird
• Production design by: Peter Lamont
• Director of Photography: Phil Meheux

Vehicles & gadgets

• Aston Martin DBS - Aston Martin confirmed that Bond will be driving the new Aston Martin DBS in Casino Royale. Daniel Craig personally visited the Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire on January 13 to view and test drive the car. [13]
• Aston Martin DB5 - Bond's famed Aston Martin DB5 will be featured in Casino Royale in addition to the DBS.

Plot

Template:Spoiler The plot of the novel and the plot of the film are said to be similar. In the novel, the villain Le Chiffre goes to the casino Royale-les-Eaux in an attempt to recover SMERSH's money he lost in a bad investment. There, however, he was prevented from obtaining this goal by James Bond who beat and bankrupted him in a series of games in Chemin de Fer. Due to Le Chiffre's inability to pay back the money he had lost, he was subsequently killed by SMERSH.

The film is believed to be similar to this; however, two major changes are known. First, the villain Le Chiffre is a banker for terrorists and similar to the novel has lost his client's money, although not in a bad investment, but because of Bond's intervention in a terrorist plot. Because of this, Le Chiffre goes to the Casino Royale in Montenegro where he attempts to win back the money he lost. The second major change is the centerpiece card game being changed from Chemin de Fer (Baccarat) to no-limit Texas hold 'em poker [14]. Additionally, in a casino scene in The Bahamas between Bond and Dimitrios, Bond wins an Aston Martin DB5.

Casino Royale will be a reboot of the franchise with James Bond starting out as an agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service. The director Martin Campbell states:

"In the new film, Bond is essentially starting out in his career, and has just recently become part of the double-O section. The idea is to put a bit of the dash back in Bond. By the end of the movie, the character will have been forged into the wiser, harder Bond we know."

Indeed the pre-title sequence is known to be Bond undertaking a mission in which he earns his stripes in the double-O section. According to Fleming, Bond obtained his double-O number by completing two tasks. The first, an assassination of a Japanese cipher expert on the thirty-sixth floor of the RCA Building at Rockefeller Center in New York City. The second, an assassination of a Norwegian who became a double agent and betrayed two British agents. In the film, Bond supposedly kills an MI6 Section Chief and his contact in Pakistan for selling secrets. The entire sequence is said to be filmed in black and white and is rumoured to be followed, untraditionally, by the gun barrel sequence and the title sequence.

The writers, as well as Michael G. Wilson and Martin Campbell, have confirmed that a good portion of the film (reportedly the latter half) will be a faithful adaptation of Fleming's novel including the infamous violent torture scene.

Unconfirmed reports

The following is a list of current unconfirmed reports that have been covered by the media since the release of Die Another Day. Template:Spoiler

Casting and characters

A number of seemingly original roles were identified by various news outlets. The first is a villain named Dimitrios who will be played by Simon Abkarian. According to a review of the script 'Alex Dimitrios' is supposedly a government contractor in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Rwanda, Nicaragua, and El Salvador. He is also an arms dealer with ties to death squads and right wing paramilitary groups. This character is supported by his girlfriend, named "Solonge", who will be played by Italian actress, Caterina Murino.

A number of other characters were mentioned in a script review of the first act by LatinoReview or have been announced by other sources.

• Carlos - Minor villain Bond encounters in Miami.
• Steven Obanno - A feared leader of the Lord's Resistance Army. In early drafts this character was known as Solari. Singer Seal was at one point identified as being attached to the role, however, more recent reports indicate the role will be played by Seydina Balde [15].
• Valenka - Female bodyguard of Le Chiffre.
• Mr. White - Associate of Le Chiffre, could recur in future Bond films à la Blofeld.
• Mollaka - Terrorist who is chased and then killed by Bond at an embassy in Madagascar. [16]
• Kratt - Henchman of Le Chiffre.
• Carter - Teammate of Bond on a mission in Madagascar.
• Villiers - An aide to M. Notably, it is possible that Villiers is a replacement for M's longtime serving Chief of Staff Bill Tanner or her aide in the Pierce Brosnan films, Charles Robinson.
• Bliss -
• Croupier - Carlos Leal, a Swiss actor and rapper, announced he had been hired to play the role of a croupier [17].

Crew

• On July 18, 2005, the CommanderBond.net website reported that Stuart Baird, director of Star Trek: Nemesis and a noted film editor with a career going back to the first Christopher Reeve Superman film, is the "top candidate" for the Editor position on Casino Royale, although the report suggests that Christian Wagner, editor of Die Another Day, is still considered a possible candidate, too [18].

Vehicles and gadgets

Although at a news conference on October 14, 2005, the following was claimed to be merely rumour, a number of sources have claimed that a SUV/off-road vehicle will make an appearance in the film. In mid-2004 TheLandRoverChronicle.com published a story claiming that the Bond producers were interested in the Range Stormer from Land Rover [19]. On July 28, 2005 it was reported that the Fiat Panda was going to make an appearance in Casino Royale [20], a report later apparently confirmed on August 3, 2005 by Fiat itself [21].

Locations

Initially, Michael Wilson confirmed that Casino Royale would be filmed and or take place in Prague and South Africa. However, following problems for EON Productions in securing film locations in South Africa [22], the producers had to reconsider their options. On September 13, 2005 CommanderBond.net reported that Martin Campbell (director) and Phil Meheux (director of photography) were scouting Paradise Island in The Bahamas as a possible location for the film [23]. On October 6, 2005 Martin Campbell confirmed that Casino Royale would film in The Bahamas and "maybe Italy." Studio work will be done largely at the Barrandov Studios in Prague with a few days work on the historic Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage at Pinewood Studios in England [24]. The Italian location alluded to by Campbell is believed to be Venice, where the film's ending will be set. Reports suggest that filming will also take place in the Villa del Balbianello on the shores of Lake Como[25].

Video game adaptation

To coincide with the release of the film, Electronic Arts is currently developing a video game for next generation video game consoles that will follow the plot of the film closely. The game will feature a third-person perspective similar to that found in EA's more recent games, Everything or Nothing (2004) and From Russia with Love (2005). Similar with those games, players will be able to take on the role of Bond with the character modeled after Daniel Craig. [26]

Trivia

• In 2004, American Quentin Tarantino was said to have lobbied EON to let him do a "proper" film adaptation of Fleming's novel, based on a screenplay he had written that would have starred Pierce Brosnan as James Bond and Uma Thurman as Vesper Lynd. Ultimately, the company assigned the film to someone else, and Tarantino claims his pursuit ended when he learned that Brosnan would not be playing Bond. Tarantino's proposed version would have been set immediately after the death of Bond's wife Tracy in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. [27]. However, as Tarantino does not belong to the DGA, he is unable to work with Sony or MGM/UA, so many see this as a publicity stunt on Tarantino's part.
• According to a September 2003 article in the Daily Record, the title of Bond 21 was at one point going to be The Man with the Red Tattoo and be based upon Raymond Benson's final Bond novel from 2002. It is not known whether EON ever seriously considered this.[28]
• Daniel Craig will mark the first time that 007 is portrayed by an actor under the age of 40 since 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Craig turned 38 during filming of Casino Royale. Craig is also the first Bond to be younger than the film series, having been born in 1968, between the releases of You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

References

• "Sony Pictures Daniel Craig Press Release". Daniel Craig cast as James Bond in Casino Royale. Retrieved October 14. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "Sony Pictures Cast Press Release". Eva Green, Mads Mikkelsen and Jeffrey Wright Join Cast Of Casino Royale. Retrieved February 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "LatinReview Act 1 Script Review". LatinReview Casino Royale Script Review. Retrieved February 10. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• "IGN Filmforce Script review". The Stax Report: Script Review of Casino Royale. Retrieved February 17. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• ^ "Casino Royale cast announced". Green & Wright Join Casino Royale!. Retrieved February 16. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
• ^ "Casino Royale press conference in Prague". Danish thesp named nemesis for Bond. Retrieved February 15. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

• Official Sony Casino Royale Site
• Casino Royale at IMDb
• James Bond official website
• MI6.co.uk (James Bond fansite)
• CommanderBond.net (James Bond fansite)
• Daniel Craig introduction press conference (video)
• Angry Bond fans threaten to boycott film
• On set footage from BBC News