S M G
S M G
Casino Royale – the first novel to include the character of James Bond, was first published back in 1953. It took about 2 months to write for Ian Fleming, and he even designed the cover for the book, which became the inspiration for Daniel Kleinman’s opening credits for the 2006 movie version. Back in the 50’s, critics liked the book, and it was a huge success in the UK, although it took a little more time for Bond to take off in the US. It’s worth considering the novel in its historical context, which is not long after WW II.. Britain was having a bit of an insecurity complex, still in the grip of rations for coal and clothing. Bond was an antidote – it showed that Britain, or indeed the Empire, could still punch above her weight. Even the character of Leiter, the American, was always subservient to Bond and never doing quite as well as Bond. It was essentially a piece of escapist wish fulfilment both for Ian Fleming personally, and the nation as a whole.
The year following the books release, CBS paid Fleming $1,000 to adapt it for television. Barry Nelson (who??) played “Jimmy” Bond, and Peter Lorre played Le Chiffre, in a live television production. Interestingly in this version, it is Leiter that is British, and Bond is American! While nobody much noticed the show, CBS did ask Fleming about 4 years later to produce a series of scripts for a TV series with the character.. nothing came of it however, and Fleming recycled three of the stories into his collection of short stories, “For Your Eyes Only” along with some other new material. The appeal of the story continued, being made into a comic strip in the Daily Express in 1958. Howard Hawks of all people played with making it into a movie in 1962, but at that time EON were kicking off Bond with Dr No. EON didn’t have the option of making Casino Royale, not having the rights – these were held by Charles Feldman. He tried to come to an agreement to co-produce it with EON, but they failed to come to terms. He knew he couldn’t compete, and so in 1967 he joined forces with Columbia Pictures to make Casino Royale as a big budget spoof of Bond. It was a disaster critically, with too many screenwriters, too many big ego-ed stars and too many directors (5 credited, one not) creating something incoherent and psychedelic – fascinating to watch in the same way a car crash is something you can’t stop watching.
Only in the late 90’s, as a result of the Kevin McClory lawsuits, did MGM acquire the distribution rights to this movie version of Casino Royale. That was 1999, when Sony traded the story rights for Casino Royale to MGM, for their partial rights to the Spider-Man franchise – making life easier for both studios.
And so we come to 2002, when Die Another Day had been released. Hugely successful in terms of box office, there was a strong feeling that the series had gone too far into the realms of science fiction, and much in the same way Moonraker was followed by For Your Eyes Only to bring the series down to earth, the producers knew they needed to bring Bond down to Earth once more. To emphasise this point to the producers, in 2002 Bourne burst on to the scenes, with audiences appreciating the sense of reality and ‘groundedness’, which had been noticeably lacking in the latest Bond movies. Several decisions were made – it was time to bring out the trump card, an original Ian Fleming story – Casino Royale. This would not just be the ‘next’ Bond movie – it was the first novel of Bond, and therefore not a huge leap to see this as an opportunity to restart the franchise.
Neither a prequel nor a successor, this was basically restarting a new timeline for Bond, written by returning screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, with a final polish by Oscar winning Paul Haggis who was hot off of “Crash” and also the two Clint Eastwood movies set in Iwo Jima. It was hard for the producers to see how to do this reimagining with Brosnan, and so a new actor was needed. Brosnan had fulfilled his 4 movie contract and was fairly unceremoniously dumped, even though he let it be known he was willing to carry on.
Daniel Craig fought off competition from Henry Cavill (who later became Superman, but considered too young then) and Sam Worthington and even ER’s Goran Visnjic, who just couldn’t get a British Accent and so failed to get the part. Choosing Daniel Craig evoked huge controversy at the time, with vitriol and internet campaigns to have him changed, before anyone had seen a jot of the movie.
The last 5 movies had 5 different directors, but it was important to have a sure hand on this bold new style and direction for the franchise.
Martin Campbell (seen below right, on location with Craig) had been so successful in rebooting Bond with Brosnan in Goldeneye, he was asked to return for Casino Royale. Casting continued, with the search for the most important Bond girl role since Tracy in OHMSS.. Vesper Lynd. Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron were considered, but the role ultimately went to Eva Green after the director saw her in Kingdom of Heaven. Caterina Murino played a secondary Bond girl, and Mads Mikkelson would play the key role of Le Chiffre, toning down any excesses and playing a believable foil to this new Bond.
Only in the late 90’s, as a result of the Kevin McClory lawsuits, did MGM acquire the distribution rights to this movie version of Casino Royale. That was 1999, when Sony traded the story rights for Casino Royale to MGM, for their partial rights to the Spider-Man franchise – making life easier for both studios.
And so we come to 2002, when Die Another Day had been released. Hugely successful in terms of box office, there was a strong feeling that the series had gone too far into the realms of science fiction, and much in the same way Moonraker was followed by For Your Eyes Only to bring the series down to earth, the producers knew they needed to bring Bond down to Earth once more. To emphasise this point to the producers, in 2002 Bourne burst on to the scenes, with audiences appreciating the sense of reality and ‘groundedness’, which had been noticeably lacking in the latest Bond movies. Several decisions were made – it was time to bring out the trump card, an original Ian Fleming story – Casino Royale. This would not just be the ‘next’ Bond movie – it was the first novel of Bond, and therefore not a huge leap to see this as an opportunity to restart the franchise.
Neither a prequel nor a successor, this was basically restarting a new timeline for Bond, written by returning screenwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade, with a final polish by Oscar winning Paul Haggis who was hot off of “Crash” and also the two Clint Eastwood movies set in Iwo Jima. It was hard for the producers to see how to do this reimagining with Brosnan, and so a new actor was needed. Brosnan had fulfilled his 4 movie contract and was fairly unceremoniously dumped, even though he let it be known he was willing to carry on.
Just because the movie was shying away from computer and digital effects however, didn’t mean that the producers wanted to shirk on the action. Parkour legend Sebastian Foucand was hired for the post credit scene in Madagascar, and the famous Aston Martin roll broke the Guiness record for most rolls in a movie stunt (see trivia). The climactic Venice scene involved the biggest rig ever built for a Bond film, with a simulation in a huge tank in Pinewood weighing 90 tonnes and operated by electronics and hydraulic valves closely controlled by computer. A similar system was used for the external model which was one third size. Producers took a hint from the derisory term coined for the previous movie – Buy Another Day, and minimized product placement – though imho, it is still pretty intrusive – the watch discussion, and Bond driving in his distinctly unexotic Ford while playing with his Sony Ericsson phone, for example.
On its release it hit the top spot in the charts for weeks, and the naysayers who had so vocally lobbied for Daniel Craig to be replaced before the movie came out were gradually silenced. Critics were generally positive – the return to a gritty Fleming-like Bond was appreciated, and Craig’s edgy take on the character was praised. Roger Ebert gave it 4 stars, the first time he had done so for any Bond movie, saying "Craig makes a superb Bond ... who gives the sense of a hard man, wounded by life and his job, who nevertheless cares about people and right and wrong," and that the film "has the answers to all my complaints about the 45-year-old James Bond series, "specifically "why nobody in a Bond movie ever seems to have any real emotions." Perhaps the most telling positive endorsement came from Roger Moore. "Daniel Craig impressed me so greatly in his debut outing, Casino Royale, by introducing a more gritty, unrefined edge to the character that I thought Sean might just have to move over. Craig's interpretation was like nothing we'd seen on screen before; Jimmy Bond was earning his stripes and making mistakes. It was intriguing to see him being castigated by M, just like a naughty schoolboy would be by his headmaster. The script showed him as a vulnerable, troubled, and flawed character. Quite the opposite to my Bond! Craig was, and is, very much the Bond Ian Fleming had described in the books – a ruthless killing machine. It was a Bond that the public wanted." It is fair to say that there were a few naysayers, who argued that when you strip Bond down to a nuts and bolts action film, something of the soul of cinematic Bond is lost. I for one have always felt that as good as the film is, it is sad to see the franchise following the trend set by Bourne, rather than setting the trend. Some also commented on the sluggish pacing – the original novel has been padded with extra scenes which make for a lengthy running time. So in hindsight is the film still a stunning debut by Craig which rejuvenates Bond while keeping the Fleming touch, or is it in need of tightening up, and an injection of levity? Try giving it another watch, and make up your own mind…
Trivia
• The three-piece suit worn by James Bond at the end of the film is a navy version of the gray suit worn by Sean Connery in Goldfinger (1964).
• In one afternoon's shooting, three Aston Martin DBS cars valued at $300,000 each were destroyed for the car roll sequence. The car barrel-roll stunt broke the world record for the most barrel rolls assisted by a cannon. The stunt was officially entered into the Guinness Book of World Records on 5th November 2006.
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Authorities in Venice granted producers permission to sail James Bond's yacht, called Spirit 54, along the Grand Canal between the Accademia and Rialto bridges. No-one can remember exactly the last time a pleasure yacht sailed in the Grand Canal, but it's believed to have been several centuries ago.
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Ian Fleming based the character Vesper Lynd on prominent WW2 resistance fighter Christine Granville (1915-1952) whom he met briefly in real-life. Apparently, she was nicknamed Vesperale.
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Ian Fleming celebrated the completion of the "Casino Royale" novel's first draft by purchasing a gold-plated typewriter. Former James Bond actor Pierce Brosnan reportedly bought the typewriter some years ago for $(US)52,000.
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Daniel Craig was the first actor to play James Bond who is younger than the series itself..
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The black-and-white opening of the film was an idea of Director of Photography Phil Meheux, who
conceived it so as to give a surprise to viewers as well as a nod to The Spy Who Came in from the
Cold (1965) and Reflections in a Golden Eye (1967).
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Although Judi Dench as M doesn't really sit with the chronology of a re-booted James Bond, Martin
Campbell was very keen to have her on board as he really admired what she had done with the character.
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Richard Branson's cameo in the film is cut out of the in-flight version shown in all the leading airlines, as indeed was a shot of the Virgin Atlantic aircraft that Branson supplied.
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Tsai Chin: As Madame Wu seen at the card table at Casino Royale. She has the second longest ever gap between appearances in Bond movies. She played Ling, the girl who helps set up Bond's 'death' in You Only Live Twice (1967), thirty-nine years earlier.
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