Quantum of Solace

Quantum of Solace

Caption	American theatrical poster
Dond	Daniel Craig
Stars	Mathieu Amalric Olga Kurylenko Gemma Arterton Judi Dench Jeffrey Wright Giancarlo Giannini
Director	Marc Forster
Producer	Michael G. Wilson Barbara Broccoli
Writer	Ian Fleming (Characters) Michael G. Wilson (Plot)
Screenplay	Joshua Zetumer Paul Haggis Neal Purvis Robert Wade
Cinematography	Roberto Schaefer
Music	David Arnold

Composer	Jack White
Performer	Alicia Keys Jack White
Editing	Matt Chesse Rick Pearson
Distributor	Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Columbia Pictures
Released	31 October 2008 (UK, EI) 14 November 2008 (NA) 19 November 2008 (AUS)
Runtime	106 min.
Preceded by	Casino Royale
Followed by	Bond 23
Budget	£113.4 million (US$224.87 million)

Quantum of Solace (2008) is the 22nd James Bond film by EON Productions, due for release in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2008 and in North America on 14 November. The sequel to Casino Royale (2006), it is directed by Marc Forster, and features Daniel Craig's second performance as James Bond. In the film, Bond battles Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a member of the Quantum organisation posing as an environmentalist, who intends to stage a coup d'état in Bolivia to take control of its water supply. Bond seeks revenge for the death of Vesper Lynd, and is assisted by Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who also wants to kill Greene.

Producer Michael G. Wilson created the film's story while Casino Royale was shooting. Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis and Joshua Zetumer contributed to the script. The title was chosen from an unrelated short story in Ian Fleming's For Your Eyes Only (1960). Location filming took place in Panama, Chile, Italy and Austria, while the sets were built at Pinewood Studios. Forster aimed to make the film more modern yet classic: antique planes were used for a dogfight sequence, while Dennis Gassner's set designs are reminiscent of Ken Adam's work on several early Bond films, yet Forster rejected a grotesque appearance for Greene to comment on the hidden nature of the film's corporate villains.

Premise

Beginning almost an hour after Casino Royale, Bond is then involved in a car chase in Siena, Italy. The official synopsis shows that after his capture, Mr. White reveals to Bond and M that White's organisation, Quantum, has agents in Her Majesty's Government and the Central Intelligence Agency. Forensic evidence of an MI6 traitor leads Bond to Haiti, where he meets Camille, who then helps him find Dominic Greene, a ruthless businessman and chairman of Greene Planet, the legitimate cover for Quantum.

Greene intends to use his government contacts to help overthrow the current regime in Bolivia, and place the exiled General Medrano as the head of state. Medrano will in exchange give him a barren piece of land, which will actually give them total control of the nation's water supply. Bond travels to Austria and South America to unravel Greene's plan, staying one step ahead of the CIA, terrorists, and M whilst trying to keep his desire for retribution over Vesper Lynd's death in check.

Cast

Daniel Craig plays James Bond. Craig said Bond is "still too headstrong and doesn't always make the right decisions". Writer Paul Haggis added Bond will be "a very human and flawed assassin, a man who has to navigate a morally complex and often cynical world while attempting to hold onto his deep beliefs of what is right and wrong". The actor advised Haggis on the script and, as a fan of Marc Forster's films, helped choose him as the director. Craig's physical training for his reprise of the role placed extra effort into running and boxing, to spare him the injuries he sustained on his stunts in the first film. He also practised speedboating and stunt driving. Craig felt Casino Royale was [physically] "a walk in the park" compared to Quantum of Solace. While filming in Pinewood, he suffered a gash to his face, which required eight stitches, and a fingertip was sliced off. He joked that the latter incident would enable him to have a career in crime.

Mathieu Amalric plays Dominic Greene, a leading member of Quantum posing as a businessman working in reforestation and charity funding for environmental science. Craig confirmed "there is a connection" between Greene and Vesper Lynd. Amalric acknowledged taking the role was an easy decision because, "It's impossible to say to your kids that 'I could have been in a Bond film but I refused.'" Amalric wanted to wear make-up for the role, but Forster explained that he wanted Greene not to look grotesque, but to symbolise the hidden evils in society. Amalric revealed Greene "doesn't know how to fight, [so] James Bond would be more surprised. Sometimes anger can be much more dangerous. I'm going to fight like in school." Amalric modelled his performance on "the smile of Tony Blair [and] the craziness of Sarkozy," the latter of whom he called "the worst villain we [the French] have ever had [...] he walks around thinking he's in a Bond film." He later claimed this was not criticism of either politician, but rather an example of how a politician relies on performance instead of a genuine policy to win power. "Sarkozy, is just a better actor than [his presidential opponent] Ségolène Royal – that's all," he explained.

Olga Kurylenko plays Camille, a Russian-Bolivian agent and the lead Bond girl. She has her own vendetta regarding Greene and Quantum. The producers said Camille is someone "who challenges Bond and helps him come to terms with the emotional consequences of Vesper's betrayal". "At the beginning she is an opponent [of Bond], but they are going to have to collaborate," the actress further said. Forster chose her because out of the 400 women who auditioned, she seemed the least nervous. Kurylenko spent three weeks training to fight with weapons, and she learnt a form of indoor skydiving known as body flying. Kurylenko dislikes stunts, but overcame her fears because she found Craig helpful. She was given a DVD box set of the films since the Bond franchise was not easily available to watch where she grew up in Ukraine. Kurylenko found Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies inspiring "because she did the fight scenes by herself". The producers had intended to cast a South American actress in the role. Kurylenko trained with a dialect coach to perform with a Spanish accent, which was easy as "I have a good ear, so I can imitate people", and because her accent was not made heavy. When reflecting on her experience as a Bond girl, she stated she was most proud of overcoming her fears in performing stunts.

Gemma Arterton plays MI6 Agent Fields, who works at the British consulate in Bolivia. Forster found Arterton a witty actress and selected her from 7000 candidates. One of the casting directors asked her to audition for the role, having seen her portray Rosaline in Love's Labour's Lost at the Globe Theatre. Arterton said Fields was "not so frolicsome" as other Bond girls, but is instead "fresh and young, not [...] a femme fatale". Her character is a homage to the '60s Bond girls. Her hair in the film is modelled after Diana Rigg, who played Tracy Bond in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, who is one of her favourite Bond girls along with Honor Blackman.

Judi Dench plays M. She said M's relationship with Bond becomes "pretty prickly". M's husband, who was briefly seen sleeping next to her in Casino Royale, will also be heard off-screen in the film.

Jeffrey Wright plays Felix Leiter, Bond's CIA ally who aided him at Casino Royale in Montenegro. This will mark only the second time the same actor has appeared as Leiter twice since David Hedison played the character in Live and Let Die (1973) and Licence to Kill (1989). Early script drafts gave Leiter a larger role, but his screentime has been restricted by on-set rewrites.

Anatole Taubman plays Elvis, Dominic's cousin and second-in-command. He has a bowl cut. His name was chosen by Paul Haggis, which Taubman liked, though he said he avoided making Elvis Presley jokes to not lose the role. Taubman imagined Elvis once lived on the streets before being inducted into Quantum by Dominic, and he constantly discussed his backstory with Amalric. He called Elvis "a bit of a goofball. He thinks he's all that but he's not really. [...] He's not a comic guy. He definitely takes himself very serious, but maybe by his taking himself too serious he may become friendly."

Giancarlo Giannini plays René Mathis, a French double agent who helps Bond discover for whom Le Chiffre and Mr. White worked.

Joaquin Cosío plays General Medrano, who is Bond's enemy in Latin America. Greene is helping the exiled general get back into power, in return for support of his organisation.

Jesper Christensen plays Mr. White, whom Bond captured after he stole the money won at Casino Royale in Montenegro.

Rory Kinnear plays Bill Tanner, M's aide, and Tim Pigott-Smith plays the British Foreign Secretary. Glenn Foster plays Henry Mitchell, an MI6 double agent. David Harbour portrays Gregg Beam, a contact of Felix Leiter who speaks directly to 'M' in the film. The Bolivian Chief of Police is played by Fernando Guillén Cuervo while Medrano's Lieutenant Orso is played by Jesús Ochoa. Neil Jackson plays Mr. Slate, a henchman who fights Bond. Simon Kassianides plays Yusef, who has a confrontation with Bond in Moscow towards the end of the film, while Stana Katic plays his associate Corinne Veneau. Kiera Chaplin, granddaughter of Charlie Chaplin, cameos as a receptionist.

Production

Development

"If you remember in Chinatown, if you control the water you control the whole development of the country. I think it's true. Right now it appears to be oil, but there's a lot of other resources that we don't think about too much but are all essential, and they're very limited and every country needs it. Because every country knows that raising the standard of living (and populations are getting bigger) is the way we're all going." Michael G. Wilson on the plot.

In July 2006, as Casino Royale entered post-production, EON Productions announced Bond 22 would be based on an original idea by producer Michael G. Wilson. A back-story had been written for Casino Royale and its potential sequel, regarding Vesper Lynd and her Algerian boyfriend, who was intended to be one of the antagonists. It was decided beforehand the film would be a direct sequel, to exploit Bond's emotions following Vesper's death in the previous film. Just as Casino Royale's theme was terrorism, the sequel focuses on environmentalism. The film was confirmed for a 2 May 2008 release date, with Craig reprising the lead role. Roger Michell, who directed Craig in Enduring Love and The Mother, was in negotiations to direct, but decided not to direct the film. "I was very nervous that there was a start date but really no script at all," he said. "And I like to be very well prepared as a director." Sony Entertainment vice-chairman Jeff Blake admitted a production schedule of eighteen months was a very short window, and the release date was pushed back to late 2008.

In June 2007, Marc Forster was confirmed as director. He was surprised that he was approached for the job, stating he was not a big Bond fan as a child and that he would not have accepted the job before he saw Casino Royale. He felt Bond had been humanised in that film, explaining, "People travel a lot more now, and with the Internet they’re more aware of what the rest of the world is like. In a way the most interesting place for a James Bond movie to go is inward — deeper into Bond himself." Born in Germany and raised in Switzerland, Forster is the first Bond director not to come from the Commonwealth of Nations, although he noted Bond's mother is Swiss, making him somewhat appropriate to handle the British icon. The director collaborated strongly with Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, but they had to block two very expensive ideas he had. "Financially, there are limits — even on a Bond film," the director said, "otherwise, I have been able to realise my vision." Forster had the actors rehearse their scenes, as he liked to film scenes continually.

"Every corporation realized they can make money by being green so let's be green. So I think it's something one has to look at very carefully. Yes, I think we are going through an environmental crisis and if we don't wake up we're going to destroy ourselves, but I think one has to be really wary of people like Greene because they're pretending to be something they're oft-times not. Personally, I know a lot of people who say, 'I'm riding my bicycle.' But then they have their private jet at the airport. 'I have my Gulfstream, but I'm using my vegetable fueled Hummer.'" Marc Forster on Dominic Greene.

Neal Purvis and Robert Wade completed their draft of the script by April 2007. Wade said the film would continue Bond's arc from Casino Royale: "It can't just be he's tough and he's tempered steel and totally impervious. There are things he still has to resolve." The following month, Paul Haggis, who polished the Casino Royale script, began his rewrite. Haggis turned down directing the film because, "if you do that on top of writing, it's almost a three year commitment". Haggis, Forster and Wilson rewrote the story from scratch. Haggis completed his script two hours before the 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike officially began. Forster said he created Camille as a counterpart to Bond rather than a love interest: being a woman she would openly express similar emotions to that Bond was experiencing, but ones that he would not state because of his stoicness. Haggis located his draft's climax in the Swiss Alps. During filming, after the strike ended, Forster read a spec script by Joshua Zetumer, which he liked, and hired him to reshape scenes for the later parts of the shoot, which the director was still unsatisfied with. Zetumer rewrote dialogue depending on the actors' ideas each day.
Michael G. Wilson chose Quantum of Solace only "a few days" before its announcement on 24 January 2008. It was the name of a short story in Ian Fleming's anthology For Your Eyes Only (1960), although the film is otherwise unrelated. Daniel Craig admitted, "I was unsure at first. Bond is looking for his quantum of solace and that's what he wants, he wants his closure. Ian Fleming says that if you don't have a quantum of solace in your relationship then the relationship is over. It's that spark of niceness in a relationship that if you don't have you might as well give up." He said that "Bond doesn't have that because his girlfriend has been killed", and therefore, "[Bond is] looking for revenge [...] to make himself happy with the world again." Afterwards, Quantum was made the name of the organisation introduced in Casino Royale. Craig noted the letter Q itself looks rather odd.

Quantum of Solace marks the first time since 1967's You Only Live Twice that Bond does not introduce himself with "The name's Bond, James Bond." The line was shot for several different scenes but was completely cut out as Forster and the producers found it unnecessary.

Filming

Second unit filming began at the Palio di Siena horse race on 16 August 2007. From 23–29 August, they shot at Madrid. They spent three weeks (up until 15 February 2008) in Baja California, Mexico, for shots of the aerial battle. From 15–21 March, they filmed at Malcesine and Limone sul Garda in Italy, and at Talamone during the end of April. The main unit began on 3 January, 2008, and an MI6 safehouse hidden within the city's cisterns, while other stages housed Bond's Bolivian hotel suite, and the MI6 headquarters.

Marine shooting being carried out at Fort Sherman

Shooting in Panama City began on 7 February 2008 at Howard Air Force Base. The country doubled for Haiti and Bolivia, with the National Institute of Culture of Panama standing in for a hotel in the latter country. A sequence requiring several hundred extras was also shot at nearby Colón. Shooting in Panama was also carried out at Fort Sherman, a former US military base on the Colón coast. Officials in the country worked with the locals to "minimise inconvenience" for the cast and crew, and in return hoped the city's exposure in the film would increase tourism. The crew was going to move to Cusco, Peru for ten days of filming on 2 March, but the location was cancelled because of bad weather predictions. Twelve days of filming in Chile began on 24 March at Antofagasta. There was shooting in Cobija, the Paranal Observatory, and other locations in the Atacama Desert. Forster chose the desert and the observatory's ESO Hotel to represent Bond's rigid emotions, and being on the verge of committing a vengeful act as he confronts Greene in the film's climax.

Marc Forster chose the Atacama Desert to represent Bond's vengefulness in the climax

On 1 April, while filming in Chile, mayor Carlos Lopez (who was suspended from office five months beforehand) drove his car into the filming location in the village of Baquedano and almost ran over a policeman. He was angry at the filmmakers portraying Antofagasta as part of Bolivia, when Chile conquered it in 1883, and criticised security measures such as "special forces and water cannons preventing people from walking in the street" in the small town, which reminded him "of the worst of the Pinochet years". He was arrested, detained briefly, and put on trial two days later. EON dismissed his claim that they needed his permission to film in the area. Michael G. Wilson also explained Bolivia was appropriate to the plot, because of the country's history of water problems, and was surprised the two countries disliked each other a century after the War of the Pacific. In a poll by Chilean daily newspaper La Segunda, 75% of its readers disagreed with Lopez's actions, due to the negative image they felt it presented of Chile, and the controversy's potential to put off productions looking to film in the country in the future.

From 4–12 April, the main unit shot on Sienese rooftops. The next four weeks were scheduled for filming the car chase at Lake Garda and Carrara. On 19 April, an Aston Martin employee driving a car to the set crashed into the lake. He survived, and was fined £400 for reckless driving. Another accident occurred on 21 April, and two days later, two stuntmen were seriously injured, with one having to be put in intensive care. Filming of the scenes was temporarily halted so that Italian police could investigate the causes of the accidents. Stunt co-ordinator Gary Powell said the accidents were a testament to the realism of the action.

Preparations for the Bregenzer Festspiele's performance of Tosca

Filming took place at the floating opera stage at Bregenz, Austria from 28 April–9 May 2008. The sequence, where Bond stalks the villains during a performance of Tosca, required 1500 extras. The production uses a large model of an eye, which Forster felt fitted in the Bond style, and the opera itself has parallels to the film. A short driving sequence was filmed at the nearby Feldkirch, Vorarlberg. The crew returned to Italy from 13–17 May to shoot a (planned) car crash at the marble quarry in Carrara, and a recreation of the Palio di Siena at the Piazza del Campo in Siena. 1000 extras were hired for a scene where Bond emerges from the Fonte Gaia. Originally, he would have emerged from the city's cisterns at Siena Cathedral, but this was thought disrespectful.By June, the crew returned to Pinewood for four weeks, where new sets (including a replica of the ESO Hotel) were built. The wrap party was held on 21 June.

Effects

Dan Bradley was hired as second unit director because of his work on the second and third instalments of the Bourne film series, so the film would continue the gritty action style begun in Casino Royale. Fourteen cameras were used to film the Palio di Siena, footage which was later edited into the main sequence. Aerial shots using helicopters were banned, and the crew were also forbidden from showing any violence "involving either people or animals". To shoot the foot chase in Siena in April 2008 four camera cranes were built in the town. A cable camera was used for the first time in a feature film.

To film the aerial dogfight, a "Snakehead" camera was built and placed on the nose and tail of a Piper Aerostar 700. SolidWorks, who provided the software for the camera, stated "pilots for the first time can fly as aggressively as they dare without sacrificing the drama of the shot". The camera could turn 360 degrees and was shaped like a periscope. The crew also mounted SpaceCams on helicopters, and placed cameras with 1600mm lenses underground, to cover the action. Forster wanted to film the planefight as a homage to Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest, and chose planes like the Douglas DC-3 to suit that. To shoot a free-fall scene, Craig disliked the idea of being blown by a large fan, so stunt co-ordinator Gary Powell suggested filming the scene in a wind tunnel. Seventeen small digital cameras were used to shoot the scene, while Craig and Kurylenko wore wind-resistant contact lenses that enabled them to open their eyes as they fell. For safety, they only shot for thirty seconds at a time.

This film was the last in Ford's three-film deal that began with 2002's Die Another Day. Although Ford sold over 90% of the Aston Martin company in 2007, the Aston Martin DBS V12 returned for the film's car chase around Lake Garda; Ford GTs, and an Alfa Romeo 159 were also used.

Production designer Peter Lamont, a crew member on eighteen Bond films, retired after Casino Royale. Dennis Gassner, who worked on Road to Perdition (2002) and The Golden Compass (2007), both which also featured Daniel Craig, was hired in Lamont's stead. Craig said the film would have "a touch of Ken Adam," referring to the production designer most famous for creating the lairs of the villains in several of the early films. Michael G. Wilson also called Gassner's designs "a postmodern look at modernism". Forster said he enjoyed the clashing of an older style with his own, and in turn it created a unique look.

Michael G. Wilson said of the gadgets that "we've just used realistic things within the world". "We live in a gadget world, and unfortunately that means the stuff we use is applied technology that maybe Secret Services are using," added Craig. "The Aston Martin is still the best gadget around." The redesigned HQ has a touchscreen computer which keeps track of all their agents.

The film returns to the traditional gun barrel opening shot, which was altered into part of the story for Casino Royale. The opening credits sequence will be created by MK12, having worked on Forster's Stranger than Fiction and The Kite Runner. They are also working on scenes with graphical user interface, including the electronic table seen in the teaser trailer.

Music

David Arnold, who composed the scores for the previous four Bond films, will return for Quantum of Solace. He said that Forster likes to work very closely with his composers, and that, in comparison to the accelerated schedule he was tied to on Casino Royale, the intention was to spend a long time scoring the film to "really work it out". He also said he would be "taking a different approach" with the score.

Mark Ronson and Amy Winehouse recorded a demo track for the film, but Ronson explained Winehouse's well-publicized legal issues in the preceding weeks made her "not ready to record any music" at that time. It was announced Jack White of The White Stripes and Alicia Keys would collaborate on "Another Way to Die", which is the first duet in Bond music history, on 29 July 2008. The song was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee; White played the drums while Keys performed on the piano. The Memphis Horns also contributed to the track. White's favourite Bond theme is John Barry's instrumental piece for On Her Majesty's Secret Service, and he watched various opening credit sequences from the series for inspiration while mixing the track.

Release and marketing

The film will premiere at the Odeon Leicester Square on 29 October 2008. The Princes William and Harry will attend, and proceeds from the screening will be donated to the charities Help for Heroes and the Royal British Legion. The film was scheduled to be released in the British Isles and North America on 7 November. EON pushed forward the British date to 31 October during filming, while the American date was pushed back in August to 14 November, after Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince had been moved to 2009, thereby allowing the distributors to market the film over the Thanksgiving period. In Australia, the film was moved a week to 19 November, after 20th Century Fox chose to release Baz Luhrmann's Australia on its original date of 26 November.

Returning product placement partners from Casino Royale include Ford, Heineken Pilsener, Smirnoff, Omega SA, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Sony Ericsson. Avon are creating a fragrance called Bond Girl 007 with Gemma Arterton as the "face" of the product. Coca-Cola became a promotional partner, rebranding Coke Zero as "Coke Zero Zero 7". A tie-in advert featured the orchestral element of "Another Way to Die".

Although no release of a novelisation of the film's screenplay has been announced, Penguin Books has published a compilation of Fleming's short stories entitled Quantum of Solace: The Complete James Bond Short Stories, with a UK release date of 29 May 2008 and a North American release date of 26 August 2008.

Corgi International Limited will release 5-inch action figures and gadgets (such as a voice-activated briefcase), as well as their traditional die-cast toy vehicles. They will also release 7-inch figures of characters from the previous films. Scalextric will release four racing sets to coincide with the film. Activision will release their first James Bond game, also titled Quantum of Solace, which is based on both films starring Daniel Craig. It is the first Bond game to feature Craig's likeness and the first seventh generation console game in the series.

External links

The James Bond films

Unofficial films
Casino Royale (1954 TV) | Casino Royale (1967 spoof) | Never Say Never Again