James Bond: Casino Royale

[femme01]

Directed by Martin Campbell

Starring Daniel Craig as James Bond

Plot Outline: James Bond must thwart a dangerous Russian spy from winning a game of cards worth millions.



Daniel Craig admits he doesn't like guns.

The 37-year-old actor, who was named as the sixth incarnation of the role a fortnight ago, said: "I hate handguns. Handguns are used to shoot people and as long as they are around people will shoot each other. That's a simple fact. I've seen a bullet wound and it was a mess. Bullets have a nasty habit of finding their target and that's what's scary about them."

Craig was also dismissive of Bond's preferred method for making a vodka Martini. The actor likes his neither shaken nor stirred and without ice. "I love a Martini straight up. I don't think anybody makes a Martini stirred any more," he told OK! magazine.

[MasterKyobi9d9]

Everything here: www.mi6.co.uk
A great site I go to regularly.

[hypertext]

He was awesome in Layer Cake. Could be one of the top bonds.

[Ayatollah Krispies]

I think just about any male actor of the appropriate age could be one of the top Bonds if he were allowed to be. But starting with Connery strapping himself into that goofy jetpack in Thunderball, each Bond actor has been called upon to do something asinine at least once in every film since. I think Craig will probably be pretty good, but I'm not expecting anything particularly special.

Damn shame they won't be releasing a Bond movie in 2007 though. How'd they manage to screw that up?

[Ayatollah Krispies]

Sounds incredibly boring.

That's the IMDB capsule synopsis of the book. The screenplay will probably have a lot more going on.

[femme01]

True. We're going to have to wait for more details to come out to get any real feel for this movie. I would like to know who the Bond girl will be in this one. So far I've read unsubstantiated rumors about Angelina Jolie, Sienna Miller and even Kate Moss.

[Ayatollah Krispies]

We're going to have to wait for more details to come out to get any real feel for this movie.

If the story for this one really does involve returning the series to its beginnings, as all the early news seems to indicate, then we have a lot more to look forward to than a new Bond girl. Every single role will be rewritten and recast. The Bond girl, Vesper Lynd, is the most important Bond girl next to the Countess in OHMSS, so she will actually have to possess acting abilities beyond smiling, pouting, posing and looking angry, unlike the last several actresses. Of course that also describes most of Pierce Brosnan's range.

This will either be the best Bond film in a long time, or a horrible mistake.

[femme01]

eonline

"We're trying to reinvent Bond. He's 28. No Q, no gadgets," Haggis said, adding the new installment is "trying to do for Bond what Batman Begins did for Batman."

Personally I like the thought of taking it back to the beginning. I always liked Bond but felt the whole formula has become tired over the years. Batman Begins made me love the Batman franchise again after Joel destroyed it.

Director Martin Campbell said that Casino Royale will reveal a darker, colder side of 007.

"I certainly think it will be a little bit darker--that's not to say it won't have its sense of humor, of course it will have that," the helmer said Friday.

Campbell said the film will explore the early roots of the Bond mystique.

"It is really the arc in which he becomes Bond," Campbell said. "He starts out just having earned his double-0 stripes and comes out at the end the Bond we know and love."

"A lot of the embryonic Bond things will come out in the film--how he gets the Aston Martin, how he mixes a martini."

[Ayatollah Krispies]

"We're trying to reinvent Bond. He's 28."

So why cast a 37-year-old?

Director Martin Campbell said that Casino Royale will reveal a darker, colder side of 007.

"I certainly think it will be a little bit darker--that's not to say it won't have its sense of humor, of course it will have that," the helmer said Friday.

Campbell said the film will explore the early roots of the Bond mystique.

"It is really the arc in which he becomes Bond," Campbell said. "He starts out just having earned his double-0 stripes and comes out at the end the Bond we know and love."

"A lot of the embryonic Bond things will come out in the film--how he gets the Aston Martin, how he mixes a martini."

These are the kinds of comments that worry me. In the book, Bond isn't "darker and colder," and hasn't just "earned his double-0 stripes" -- he's had them for a while and is jaded, arrogant and careless, and before the book is over has decided to resign. The resolution of the story is what changes his attitude. And he doesn't drive an Aston Martin in the book, but a Bentley.

There's no particular reason that the movie has to follow the book -- it's not like too many of them have. But if they're going to ignore the details, then what makes this one different from all the rest? Why bother with a "beginning" if they're just going to go down the same road?

Batman Begins made me love the Batman franchise again after Joel destroyed it.

Supposedly Schumacher takes the blame for ruining the franchise in his commentary on the new Batman And Robin DVD. That almost makes it worth buying. Or at least downloading.

[BrotherTheFirst]

this guy does not have the face of a 28 year old.

[femme01]

ok, Daniel Craig looks goooood!

I will see this.

Yes, me too. I really like the look of him in that official pic. He reminds me of Connery a bit with the craggy look, not as pretty as Pierce.

Supposedly Schumacher takes the blame for ruining the franchise in his commentary on the new Batman And Robin DVD. That almost makes it worth buying. Or at least downloading.

Now that is something to see.

[vmsns]

this guy does not have the face of a 28 year old.

To me he looks the right age (mid-30s). I really don't care what age he is *supposed* to be.

[foxbatkllr]

Daniel Craig is ugly and looks like a Bond villain. Worst Bond since George butt-chin Lazenby.

[Topeka]

This is a little old, but some may have missed it. Bond girl announced:

An Italian former beauty contestant is the first Bond girl lined up for Daniel Craig's 007 film debut.

Caterina Murino, who came fourth in the 1996 Miss Italy competition, is reported today to have landed a major role in Casino Royale.

The 007 producer is said to have been "delighted" with the screen test. A film source said: "Caterina has got dark, beautiful Latin looks and is stunning.

It is said that a number of major screen stars, including Angelina Jolie, Naomi Watts and Charlize Theron, have already rejected parts in the Casino Royale. Shooting begins at the end of the month.

[sultan bey]

this dude sure is getting static...wonder how the negative press will affect his portrayal of the character.

Angry Bond fans threaten to boycott film

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

NEW YORK -- They're shaken, stirred and just plain angry. And several months late with their response. A group of James Bond fans have launched a Web site, http://www.craignotbond.com , to protest British actor Daniel Craig replacing Pierce Brosnan in the 007 film franchise, and boycott the upcoming Bond movie "Casino Royale."

The fair-haired Craig, whose recent screen credits include "Munich" and "The Jacket," was tapped last October to play the secret-agent icon.

"EON Productions angered fans around the world when they fired Pierce Brosnan at the height of his popularity as Bond," said a statement on the site. "To add insult to injury, EON cast a short, blond, odd-looking Daniel Craig in the role of Bond."

"Craig, described by The New York Times as having a 'pale, flattened face and large, fleshy ears' is a terrible choice for Bond. If EON Productions and Sony Pictures will not accept they've made a big mistake, then Bond fans promise to boycott Casino Royale!"

Calls by The Associated Press to EON Productions and a representative for Craig were not immediately returned on Tuesday.

Brosnan stepped into the shoes of dashing predecessors Sean Connery and Roger Moore to play a blue-eyed, dark-haired Bond in "Tomorrow Never Dies," "The World Is Not Enough" and "Die Another Day."

In its statement, the Web site claimed EON did not want to pay for Brosnan or other high-profile actors Hugh Jackman and Clive Owen as replacements.

link

[Hade]

Casino Royale (2006)

Cast
Daniel Craig (James Bond 007)
Judi Dench (M)
Eva Green (Vesper Lynd)
Mads Mikkelsen (Le Chiffre)
Jeffrey Wright (Felix Leiter)
Giancarlo Giannini (Mathis)
Caterina Murino (Solonge)
Simon Abkarian (Dimitrios)
Tobias Menzies (Villiers)
Ivana Milicevic (Valenka)
Clemens Schik (Kratt)
Ludger Pistor (Mendel)
Claudio Santamaria (Carlos)
Carlos Leal (Croupier)

Production
Release Date: November 17th 2006
Produced By: Eon Productions
Distributer: Columbia Pictures
Shooting Locations: Pinewood Studios (UK), Prague (Czech Republic), Bahamas, Italy
Principal Photography: January 30th 2006

Crew
Director: Martin Campbell (He directed Brosnan in Goldeneye)
Producers: Barbara Broccoli, Michael G. Wilson
Writers: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and Paul Haggis (Haggis brought in to work on Purvis' and Wade's initial draft)
_____________________________________

Daniel Craig is ugly and looks like a Bond villain. Worst Bond since George butt-chin Lazenby.

I tend to agree. Bond is supposed to be a guy most women want and just about all men envy. Even in Britain polls are 70% against Daniel Craig. I've only seen him in Road to Perdition and Layer Cake. I refuse to watch Tomb Raider.

He was good in both of those films. He wouldn't have been my first choice (Hugh Jackman) or even my second choice (Clive Owen), but I'll give the guy a chance.

Most of my concerns are with the script. It's sort of a prequel in that we see him get his double 00 ranking by making his first two kills and yet Judi Dench is M? That's just ridiculous.

Go out and get an actor in his late forties to play a younger Bernard Lee (M in all of Connery's films, Lazenby's one film, and a few of Moore's as well). I can understand the need to modernize/update Casino Royale's storyline, but don't rape the already shaky Bond canon to do it.

Oh, and poker instead of Baccarat? If it's Texas Hold'em, I'm gonna hurl!

_______________________

Latino Review's Casino Royale script review
Casino Royale (2006)

IGN's Casino Royale script review
The Stax Report: Casino Royale script

------------------------------------------------

New Official Pictures

[Hade]

The French version of the new Casino Royale teaser trailer is now online!

The 21st James Bond movie is directed by Martin Campbell and arrives in theaters on November 17.

Direct Link.

Casino Royale Teaser Trailer (French)

The English version of the teaser is expected to be online and in theaters soon.

[JereWan]

The French version of the new Casino Royale teaser trailer is now online!

The 21st James Bond movie is directed by Martin Campbell and arrives in theaters on November 17.

Direct Link.

Casino Royale Teaser Trailer (French)

The English version of the teaser is expected to be online and in theaters soon.

New link here

Great teaser.

[Topeka]

Here's the high-quality teaser.

I must say this looks great so far.

[MasterKyobi9d9]

And here is the best you can get (Teaser Poster included) Click Here

Can't wait until November 17th.
[spoil]
[flash width=450 height=450]http://www.sonypictures.com/movies/casinoroyale/spinvision/trailer.swf[/flash][/spoil]

[Ayatollah Krispies]

Kind of a mixed bag here. Bond should look as he's just as likely to suddenly kill you as continue having a normal conversation with you, and Craig has that going for him, whereas only Connery had it previously. Unfortunately, in the last shot in this trailer, Craig looks like he's pushing 50 -- certainly not "28."

[Hade]

They've updated the official site and it is pretty damn sweet.

http://sonypictures.com/movies/casinoroyale/site/index.html

You start out with the red chips in front of you. Use the cards in the middle of the table to navigate. If you click on the button chip, you go from being the one with the red chips to the one with the black which allows you to access a new set of cards on the table which lead to the rest of the things on the site.

But there is a faster way to access everything by using the small red and black chips in the lower left corner. If you click on them, you'll see that they lead to everything on the site that the cards do.

Red chip
About the film
Downloads (A few nice wallpapers and a screensaver)
Yarborough blog (Two videos up thus far)
Mobile

Black chip
Mission
Dossier
Surveillance
Basic Training

The dossier is the best. Villiers reads Bond's whole jacket to you including his History, Military Record, Intelligence Service, Evaluations and Psychological Report. You can turn off the audio and read it on your own should you desire.

*Be sure to click on the martini to learn about the Vesper and on the pile of chips to play some poker.

A really nice movie website. I compliment Sony on this.

[Hade]

First, I want to stress that this is unconfirmed.

There's a rumor going around a few places that this is the new song for Casino Royale.

It's by some group called Wilss & Fry. I never heard of them, but the song mentions Casino Royale a few times by name. You can download it here. It's only 3mb at 96kbps.

http://rapidshare.de/files/23960081/Casino_Royale__2006__Title_Track.mp3.html

[Biggs]

..any chance on getting that as a non-rapidshare link, for those of us who are at work and have it blocked.

Megaupload is your friend! hahaha.

[Hade]

Here you go, Biggs.

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=X3JXMKZ6

[Biggs]

Thanks a tonne!

Here's hoping thats on the "music inspired by" album, and NOT the title track! Heh. It's pretty lame.

EDIT

Yup, sounds like Goldfrapp is doing it:

http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=3831&catid=2

[MasterKyobi9d9]

Not anymore! http://www.mi6.co.uk/news/index.php?itemid=3839&catid=2

[Ascovel]

A new, excellent trailer is out:

casinoroyale_trlr_02_bbhiq_56dsrjud_dl.mov

This link is for the 623x344, 167 MB version. I think, at the moment it's the max. res. ver. available.

[MasterKyobi9d9]

Yeah, it's an awesome trailer! Here is another link incase the AOL one doesn't work.

http://media.putfile.com/Casino-Royale- ... al-Trailer

[Biggs]

That is one KICK arse trailer...especially the beginning...and the music editing.

Woah.

I'm starting to feel a little more positive about this project...

[KneelbfZod]

That is one KICK arse trailer...especially the beginning...and the music editing.

Woah.

I'm starting to feel a little more positive about this project...

Definitely, trailers are supposed to sell the movie and I am now sold!

[The_Somnambulist]

The cinematography is refreshing. I thought they'd forgotten about wide lenses...

[Biggs]

...this is apparently 'the' Bond-Song for Casino Royale, by Chris Cornell.

http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?a ... 5E65EF98C2

I can't download it from yousendit, anyone wanna host it somewhere more work-accessable?

*coughmegauploadcough*

[Hade]

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6XGVRWT8

[Biggs]

Thanks dude, you rule.

Sounds like a decent enough track to me!

[Evil_Elvis]

I think the film looks really fresh but that song is just pure pish, Cornell has lost everything that used to make him awesome and I say that as a fan of his. The last decent work he did was Euphoria Morning, since then his vocals have sounded really strained and this Bond song is no different. He's lacking in range and struggles to keep in tune, hopefuly this isn't "the" finished version cos at the moment it's rivalling Madonna's abortion of a song for worst Bond theme EVAR to these ears.

[Biggs]

....keep in mind, it could also be the 'end credits' song - as with Tomorrow Never Dies and the KD-Lang track got pushed to the end credits (which, IMO was the better one to use than the shitty one they ended up using)

I must be alone in thinking the Madonna track wasn't all that bad?

[Hade]

A nice set of pics at Outnow. Some old ones along with several new.

Casino Royale Pics

[CloneCommander]

There's a New Trailer Out!!

[Hade]

That trailer has been out for about three weeks, CC.

[CloneCommander]

That trailer has been out for about three weeks, CC.

Bah! I blame Apple! They listed it as new as of 9/26.

[Biggs]

It's not "new" but there are a couple of slightly different edits in there, some new shots...thats about it.

The code is 1a on the trailer, so it's definatly edited.

[Hade]

Check it out. The first shot of LeChiffre torturing Bond!

Badass!


The official rating came down. It's PG-13. It's what was expected. Hopefully, Martin Campbell pushed PG-13 as far as it could be pushed.

EDIT: MPAA description is Casino Royale: Rated PG-13 for intense scenes of action violence, a scene of torture, sexual content and nudity.

[Topeka]

Here's hoping that the rating isn't just for male nudity.

Seriously, I'm pumped for this film. Looks great.

[Hade]

Clips from David Arnold's Casino Royale score are up at Sony's music store.

WARNING: If you've never read the novel, and you're planning on going into this movie not wanting to know much, then know that a few of the track titles reveal major spoilage.

Casino Royale soundtrack clips

[Topeka]

Variety has a pretty positive review up here.

Constrained nude to a bottomed-out chair, Bond is tortured by Le Chiffre who repeatedly launches a hard-tipped rope upon his nemesis' most sensitive area, and Craig once and for all claims the character as his own by virtue of the supreme defiance with which he taunts Le Chiffre even in vulnerable extremis.

[Hade]

Yahoo movies has posted 11 clips from the film on their website.
Casino Royale film clips

You can view Chris Cornell's music video for "You Know My Name" as well.

[CoGro]

I just came back from the movie....

Absolutely fantastic.

I was deeply entertained the whole way through. Great acting, great action, great script....I'm very excited for the future of this franchise. Best movie of the year.

[Topeka]

I agree. This is one of the best Bond films. It succeeded as a 'serious' action film with great scripting and acting.

It's one flaw I think is that the story is hard to follow at times. There were some quick plot jumps that didn't really get explained perhaps the way they should have, but maybe I missed something. Still was a really fantastic, beautifully shot film. Daniel Craig's darker, grittier Bond is great.

[Raveers]

Just as an FYI according to boxofficemojo Casino Royale as an estimate right now for it's opening weekend has racked in $82,800,000. It made $40,600,000 here in the United States. Else where in the world it made $42,200,000.