Michael Wilson Discusses CR
Willie Garvin
Posts: 1,412MI6 Agent
From Starlog # 351,December-2006.
An interview with Casino Royale producer Michael Wilson.
=============
A Beautiful Killing Machine
by Joe Nazarro.
"The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nausiating at three in the morning.Them the soul-erosion produced by high gambling--a compact of greed and fear and nervous tension--becomes unbearable and the senses awake and revolt from it.James Bond suddenly knew that he was tired.He always knew when his body or his mind had had enoughand he acted on the knowledge.This helped him to avoid staleness and the sensual bluntness that breeds mistakes."
That was the opening of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel,Casino Royale,featuring a then unknown spy named James Bond.Half a century later,that book is providing the basis for what promises to be a brand new series of big-screen adventures starring Daniel Craig as the eponymous hero.And according to longtime 007 movie series producer Michael Wilson,this Bond is very much in keeping with Fleming's original concept of the iconic character.
"That's the idea,"he affirms."I think James Bond is described in the book as,'a beautiful killing machine,' and that's the way he starts out.If you read Casino Royale,Bond seems like he knows everything and has it all worked out,so he's pretty confident.But then he goes through this torture and a love experience that ends up in betrayal,and he comes out of it a different man.I guess he grows up or matures emotionally.He's certainly emotionally uninvolved with women when he starts out and then he totally falls in love,which gives him a completely different way of looking at things--and in a way,that undermines him."
ROYALE FLUSH
Casino Royale marks one of the most significant makeovers in the popular film series' history.Gone are the outlandish gadgets,bizarre villains,and over-the-top situations that have increasingly become a major part of the Bond world.But this wasn't a change that was made without some reservations.After all,the previous film,2002'sDie Another Day,grossed more than $400 million worldwide,so it was difficult to ignore the "If it ain't broke,don't fix it" school of thought in favor of pushing the cinematic reset button.
"There was certainly that feeling," admits Wilson,stepson of the franchise's founder,Albert "Cubby" Broccoli,who currently produces the series with his half-sister Barbara Broccoli,"but we finally decided to make a change while we were at the top.Creatively,it was difficult figuring out where to take the series.We decided to approach it as if there had never been a James Bond movie made before,so how would you go about it if you were starting with the intial Bond book?We only got the rights to Casino Royale in 2000,so this was really our first opportunity to film that book.And since this is Bond's 'first' mission--and the first novel describes him on his first mission--it seemed like a good fit."
In the new film,Bond's mission to investigate a terrorist cell leads him to the Bahamas,where he encounters Le Chiffre(Mads Mikkelsen),a banker for some of the world's leading terrorist organizations.After Secret service intelligence reveals that Le Chiffre is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game,MI6 dispatches Bond to play him,knowing that if Le Chiffre loses,it will help bankrupt his organization.When Bond is placed under the watchful eye of Vesper Lynd(Eva Green),the duo faces increasing danger and even torture as the stakes are raised far beyond mere money.
Considering that Fleming's novel was published more than 50 years ago,a number of alterations had to be made in order to update the story into the 21st century--such as replacing the game from baccarat to Texas Hold 'Em poker.Says Wilson,"Also,in the book,Le Chriffre is working for the Russian Communists and setting up the French Communist party.He takes the money that he's supposed to spend on interfering with the labor unions and organizations and diverts it to houses of prostitution,which the French then close down,so he loses all of the money.But we had to change that because it's a little dated.We use the same thematic ideas,but we've updated them so that Le Chiffre is now a money launderer for terrorist organizations,and he uses their money to play the stock market.But that comes a cropper,and he has to win the money back immediately through this poker tournament that he sets up."
POKER FACE
The problem with retooling an entire franchise from square one was the big question of who would play James Bond.With four adventures under his belt,Pierce Brosnan was still the incumbent 007,but the producers decided that a new start required a new leading man.As Wilson explains,"After four films,it would have been hard to make Bond's first mission with Pierce.It just did not seem possible,and that was emotionally difficult for us and traumatic for him."
"When we started working on the script for Bond 21",Wilson continues,"it was going to be in the vein of Pierce continuing on from Die Another Day.But we were having creative trouble finding our way as far as where to go with that.Moonraker took place in outer space,and with this last one,we had gotten ourselves into ice palaces,invisible cars and all of that.We began to think,'What are we going to do now?'We had this whole world set up,and we couldn't tear it down,so we had to follow what we'd done before.But we didn't feel good about that,so after almost a year,we decided to try Casino Royale and go in that direction.
Unfortunately,that necessitated recasting.Pierce was a good Bond and we certainly enjoyed working with him,but we had just stalled."
With the producers looking for a new Bond,the rumor mill kicked into high gear with numerous high-profile names getting attention,including Hugh Jackman,Orlando Bloom,Colin Farrell and Clive Owen,to name a few."There were plenty of false rumors,says Wilson."Some of it came from certain agents who wanted to publicize their clients,but most of it was made up by the press or people who like to start rumors.There was one television station here in London that I watched the news on and every single time this guy had something to say about Bond,he was totally wrong."
Like it or not,the endless rumors and speculation are all part of the process of casting a new Bond."It's always difficult and we look at everybody possible,especially since the studio wants to be certain that we haven't missed anyone,"Wilson notes."We tested lots of people,but Barbara was very focused on Daniel,and I thought he was the one,too,but Daniel was a little hesitant.He wanted to see what we were going to do with the character and the script,and the studio wanted to make sure that we did not miss anyone,so that took extra time."
Craig has a reputation for playing edgy characters in mostly independent projects,but he gained a higher profile through such films as Tomb Raider,Layer Cake, and Munich.
"From a British point of view,he's an actor of his generation,but he has been careful to build up a career that is well-respected among actors and directors,and he's also extremely dedicated," says Wilson."Daniel spent two months preparing himself physically for the part because he felt it was necessary to look as though he could do the job.
"He trained for several hours every single day,and then he worked on shooting techniques and all that stuff to become familiar with it.Even during production,Daniel would get up early,do a full day's filming and then go out and spend an hour and a half at the gym,eat a measured amount of food that was given to him by his trainer and go to sleep.He was totally dedicated and focused on the job,and very interested in making the script and the character work.He was fantastic that way,and I think that shows in the movie."
Maybe so,but the intial reaction to Craig's casting was less than ecstatic.Websites began springing up decrying everything from the actor's height to his hair color to his supposed inability to drive Bond's trademark Aston Martin."All of those things are a reflection of the great interest that the public has in Bond and who plays Bond,and that's fantastic",Wilson observes."If we didn't have that interest,we would have trouble marketing the films and getting the budgets together that we need to make them good.Another thing is how much they enjoyed Pierce.He was a good Bond,and people are sorry to see him go.And so they said,'You're not going to get someone as good as Pierce!'"
With Craig in place,the producers began assembling a top-notch international cat that includes Mikkelsen,Green and Dame Judi Dench reprising her role as M(the only actor from the previous films to return)."We got our first choices,which is always nice on these things,"Wilson remarks."Mads has done lots of movies in Denmark,and he has an international following because of King Arthur and things like that.He's one of the top actors in his country.
"And Eva is one of the top leading ladies in her country[France].She,too,has done big international pictures like Kingdom of Heaven.What I like about both of them is that they're excellent actors,but they're also unknown quantities--at least to Americans,and audiences outside of their native countries.So people aren't quite sure what to expect from their performances.There's a freshness to Mads and Eva that allows people to wonder what's going to happen next."
HIGH STAKES
Behind the scenes,Wilson and Broccoli enlisted veteran action director Martin Campbell,who had previously helped reignite the franchise with GoldenEye,a decade earlier."Martin is an excellent director for anything,but especially for Bond,"Wilson declares."He understands this franchise and did a great job with GoldenEye,so this was a challenge that he relished taking up again.It was a good comfort level for us,and I believe it's one of his best films so far.And I think he's very happy with it,too.We also had Phil Meheux shooting the picture.He was the director of photography on GoldenEye,and he works with Martin on many of his motion pictures.Casino Royale is a little more on the gritty side than,say,Martin's Zorro films.It's sort of like GoldenEye,but not quite.This one has more of an authentic feel to it."
One of the biggest decisions the producers had to make was moving their longtime base from England's Pinewood Studios to the more economically friendly Prague,following the lead of many other big-budgeted studio films in recent years."It was a matter of cost,"Wilson explains."There was some question about what the British government was going to offer as incentives,and London is currently the most expensive city in the world right now for visitors.So we had to make a calculation based upon what was the best place--both artistically and financially--to shoot this film.
"We had a chance to go to Prague and we realized that many of the locations around the Czech Republic could be adapted for the movie,so that seemed to be the way to go.As we usually do on these films,we went to different places.Besides Prague and the Czech Republic,we shot in the Bahamas and around London.Now,under the new British government regime,it's a more favorable deal than what we got on Casino Royale,so that's something to consider next time."
While it remains to be seen what the worldwide reaction to Casino Royale(which premieres in the U.S. on November 17),the producers are already looking ahead to Bond's next adventure."We've just met with [Casino Royale screenwriters]Neal Purvis and Robert Wade today," Wilson discloses."we've been talking to them for months,trying to come up with the story for the next film."
But in the meantime,Wilson believes that moviegoers will enjoy the newest Casino Royale incarnation."It's difficult to be objective right now,but there's a real balance between the story,romance,and character development.And it's punctuated by some exciting action.
"So many people worked on this film--designers,special effects people,stunt arrangers,wardrobe department and set decorators,"Michael Wilson notes."And when all of those elements start to come alive and you see things turning out better than you imagined when you were writing it,that's when you know that the movie is singing.And I'm always pleased to see that!"
An interview with Casino Royale producer Michael Wilson.
=============
A Beautiful Killing Machine
by Joe Nazarro.
"The scent and smoke and sweat of a casino are nausiating at three in the morning.Them the soul-erosion produced by high gambling--a compact of greed and fear and nervous tension--becomes unbearable and the senses awake and revolt from it.James Bond suddenly knew that he was tired.He always knew when his body or his mind had had enoughand he acted on the knowledge.This helped him to avoid staleness and the sensual bluntness that breeds mistakes."
That was the opening of Ian Fleming's 1953 novel,Casino Royale,featuring a then unknown spy named James Bond.Half a century later,that book is providing the basis for what promises to be a brand new series of big-screen adventures starring Daniel Craig as the eponymous hero.And according to longtime 007 movie series producer Michael Wilson,this Bond is very much in keeping with Fleming's original concept of the iconic character.
"That's the idea,"he affirms."I think James Bond is described in the book as,'a beautiful killing machine,' and that's the way he starts out.If you read Casino Royale,Bond seems like he knows everything and has it all worked out,so he's pretty confident.But then he goes through this torture and a love experience that ends up in betrayal,and he comes out of it a different man.I guess he grows up or matures emotionally.He's certainly emotionally uninvolved with women when he starts out and then he totally falls in love,which gives him a completely different way of looking at things--and in a way,that undermines him."
ROYALE FLUSH
Casino Royale marks one of the most significant makeovers in the popular film series' history.Gone are the outlandish gadgets,bizarre villains,and over-the-top situations that have increasingly become a major part of the Bond world.But this wasn't a change that was made without some reservations.After all,the previous film,2002'sDie Another Day,grossed more than $400 million worldwide,so it was difficult to ignore the "If it ain't broke,don't fix it" school of thought in favor of pushing the cinematic reset button.
"There was certainly that feeling," admits Wilson,stepson of the franchise's founder,Albert "Cubby" Broccoli,who currently produces the series with his half-sister Barbara Broccoli,"but we finally decided to make a change while we were at the top.Creatively,it was difficult figuring out where to take the series.We decided to approach it as if there had never been a James Bond movie made before,so how would you go about it if you were starting with the intial Bond book?We only got the rights to Casino Royale in 2000,so this was really our first opportunity to film that book.And since this is Bond's 'first' mission--and the first novel describes him on his first mission--it seemed like a good fit."
In the new film,Bond's mission to investigate a terrorist cell leads him to the Bahamas,where he encounters Le Chiffre(Mads Mikkelsen),a banker for some of the world's leading terrorist organizations.After Secret service intelligence reveals that Le Chiffre is planning to raise money in a high-stakes poker game,MI6 dispatches Bond to play him,knowing that if Le Chiffre loses,it will help bankrupt his organization.When Bond is placed under the watchful eye of Vesper Lynd(Eva Green),the duo faces increasing danger and even torture as the stakes are raised far beyond mere money.
Considering that Fleming's novel was published more than 50 years ago,a number of alterations had to be made in order to update the story into the 21st century--such as replacing the game from baccarat to Texas Hold 'Em poker.Says Wilson,"Also,in the book,Le Chriffre is working for the Russian Communists and setting up the French Communist party.He takes the money that he's supposed to spend on interfering with the labor unions and organizations and diverts it to houses of prostitution,which the French then close down,so he loses all of the money.But we had to change that because it's a little dated.We use the same thematic ideas,but we've updated them so that Le Chiffre is now a money launderer for terrorist organizations,and he uses their money to play the stock market.But that comes a cropper,and he has to win the money back immediately through this poker tournament that he sets up."
POKER FACE
The problem with retooling an entire franchise from square one was the big question of who would play James Bond.With four adventures under his belt,Pierce Brosnan was still the incumbent 007,but the producers decided that a new start required a new leading man.As Wilson explains,"After four films,it would have been hard to make Bond's first mission with Pierce.It just did not seem possible,and that was emotionally difficult for us and traumatic for him."
"When we started working on the script for Bond 21",Wilson continues,"it was going to be in the vein of Pierce continuing on from Die Another Day.But we were having creative trouble finding our way as far as where to go with that.Moonraker took place in outer space,and with this last one,we had gotten ourselves into ice palaces,invisible cars and all of that.We began to think,'What are we going to do now?'We had this whole world set up,and we couldn't tear it down,so we had to follow what we'd done before.But we didn't feel good about that,so after almost a year,we decided to try Casino Royale and go in that direction.
Unfortunately,that necessitated recasting.Pierce was a good Bond and we certainly enjoyed working with him,but we had just stalled."
With the producers looking for a new Bond,the rumor mill kicked into high gear with numerous high-profile names getting attention,including Hugh Jackman,Orlando Bloom,Colin Farrell and Clive Owen,to name a few."There were plenty of false rumors,says Wilson."Some of it came from certain agents who wanted to publicize their clients,but most of it was made up by the press or people who like to start rumors.There was one television station here in London that I watched the news on and every single time this guy had something to say about Bond,he was totally wrong."
Like it or not,the endless rumors and speculation are all part of the process of casting a new Bond."It's always difficult and we look at everybody possible,especially since the studio wants to be certain that we haven't missed anyone,"Wilson notes."We tested lots of people,but Barbara was very focused on Daniel,and I thought he was the one,too,but Daniel was a little hesitant.He wanted to see what we were going to do with the character and the script,and the studio wanted to make sure that we did not miss anyone,so that took extra time."
Craig has a reputation for playing edgy characters in mostly independent projects,but he gained a higher profile through such films as Tomb Raider,Layer Cake, and Munich.
"From a British point of view,he's an actor of his generation,but he has been careful to build up a career that is well-respected among actors and directors,and he's also extremely dedicated," says Wilson."Daniel spent two months preparing himself physically for the part because he felt it was necessary to look as though he could do the job.
"He trained for several hours every single day,and then he worked on shooting techniques and all that stuff to become familiar with it.Even during production,Daniel would get up early,do a full day's filming and then go out and spend an hour and a half at the gym,eat a measured amount of food that was given to him by his trainer and go to sleep.He was totally dedicated and focused on the job,and very interested in making the script and the character work.He was fantastic that way,and I think that shows in the movie."
Maybe so,but the intial reaction to Craig's casting was less than ecstatic.Websites began springing up decrying everything from the actor's height to his hair color to his supposed inability to drive Bond's trademark Aston Martin."All of those things are a reflection of the great interest that the public has in Bond and who plays Bond,and that's fantastic",Wilson observes."If we didn't have that interest,we would have trouble marketing the films and getting the budgets together that we need to make them good.Another thing is how much they enjoyed Pierce.He was a good Bond,and people are sorry to see him go.And so they said,'You're not going to get someone as good as Pierce!'"
With Craig in place,the producers began assembling a top-notch international cat that includes Mikkelsen,Green and Dame Judi Dench reprising her role as M(the only actor from the previous films to return)."We got our first choices,which is always nice on these things,"Wilson remarks."Mads has done lots of movies in Denmark,and he has an international following because of King Arthur and things like that.He's one of the top actors in his country.
"And Eva is one of the top leading ladies in her country[France].She,too,has done big international pictures like Kingdom of Heaven.What I like about both of them is that they're excellent actors,but they're also unknown quantities--at least to Americans,and audiences outside of their native countries.So people aren't quite sure what to expect from their performances.There's a freshness to Mads and Eva that allows people to wonder what's going to happen next."
HIGH STAKES
Behind the scenes,Wilson and Broccoli enlisted veteran action director Martin Campbell,who had previously helped reignite the franchise with GoldenEye,a decade earlier."Martin is an excellent director for anything,but especially for Bond,"Wilson declares."He understands this franchise and did a great job with GoldenEye,so this was a challenge that he relished taking up again.It was a good comfort level for us,and I believe it's one of his best films so far.And I think he's very happy with it,too.We also had Phil Meheux shooting the picture.He was the director of photography on GoldenEye,and he works with Martin on many of his motion pictures.Casino Royale is a little more on the gritty side than,say,Martin's Zorro films.It's sort of like GoldenEye,but not quite.This one has more of an authentic feel to it."
One of the biggest decisions the producers had to make was moving their longtime base from England's Pinewood Studios to the more economically friendly Prague,following the lead of many other big-budgeted studio films in recent years."It was a matter of cost,"Wilson explains."There was some question about what the British government was going to offer as incentives,and London is currently the most expensive city in the world right now for visitors.So we had to make a calculation based upon what was the best place--both artistically and financially--to shoot this film.
"We had a chance to go to Prague and we realized that many of the locations around the Czech Republic could be adapted for the movie,so that seemed to be the way to go.As we usually do on these films,we went to different places.Besides Prague and the Czech Republic,we shot in the Bahamas and around London.Now,under the new British government regime,it's a more favorable deal than what we got on Casino Royale,so that's something to consider next time."
While it remains to be seen what the worldwide reaction to Casino Royale(which premieres in the U.S. on November 17),the producers are already looking ahead to Bond's next adventure."We've just met with [Casino Royale screenwriters]Neal Purvis and Robert Wade today," Wilson discloses."we've been talking to them for months,trying to come up with the story for the next film."
But in the meantime,Wilson believes that moviegoers will enjoy the newest Casino Royale incarnation."It's difficult to be objective right now,but there's a real balance between the story,romance,and character development.And it's punctuated by some exciting action.
"So many people worked on this film--designers,special effects people,stunt arrangers,wardrobe department and set decorators,"Michael Wilson notes."And when all of those elements start to come alive and you see things turning out better than you imagined when you were writing it,that's when you know that the movie is singing.And I'm always pleased to see that!"
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