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Batman Began and Superman Returned - but James Bond has a new face, a new approach and a back-to-basics style. Producer Barbara Broccoli and director Martin Campbell explain how they reincarnated 007 in Casino Royale...

Stark black and white. A manout to make his name, earn his status. To prove himself he must kill two men. The first is tough, messy and happens in a starkly lit public toilet. The second is smooth, easy and in a plush office building. The initiation ends with a spin towards the camera, gun in hand, vivid red blood spilling over the screen as we zoom backwards into a gun barrel.
Bond is back - but a little different...
The title of the 21st official Bond film was always a declaration of intent - Casino Royale, the first of Ian Fleming's 007 novels, written in 1953. It was serendipitous for the modern Bond machine that franchise grandaddy, the late Albert R 'Cubby' Broccoli, and his producing partner Harry Saltzman were unable to start their iconic, decade-spanning cinematic cycle with the spy's first outing.
"When they decided to make the film series they obviously wanted to start with the first one," explind producer, daughter of Cubby and current guardian of the franchise, Barbara. "But the rights weren't available, so they started with Dr. No."
The first Bond's screen rights were actually sold to CBS television for a televised play of Royale, headlining the American spy 'Jimmy' Bond.
"That bore little resemblance to the book," weighs in director Martin Campbell. "A television show starring Barry Nelson and Peter Lorre? Actually, Lorre was a terrific choice as Le Chiffre, the bad guy."
Then there was the notorious 1967 film with Peter Sellers, Orson Welles and Woody Allen acting for five (count 'em - five) directors...
"It was done as, well, a spoof - I think that's the only way you could describe it," laments Broccoli. "Cubby wanted to make the real story but I think he just accepted that it probably wasn't going to happen. I like to think that I'm doing it for him."
When the rights finally became available in 2000, Broccoli and fellow long-term Bond producer and half-brother Michael G Wilson realised they had a chance, like so many other recent franchises, to reinvent one of the biggest brands in the world, and at the same time rise to the challenge set by the gritty espionage antics of Matt Damon's Jason Bourne and start afresh.
"Cubby always said: 'When you're stuck, just go right back to Fleming - go back to the essence,'" says Broccoli. "So, instead of continuing on the path we were on, where the films were becoming more fanciful and effects-bound, we went back to the beginning."
But that decision heralded the quintessential 007 conundrum, one that has plagued the films since Fleming himself took offence at common Scot Sean Connery getting the role back in 1962... who exactly should fill Bond's iconic tux?
"The idea of doing Bond's first mission, where he gets his double-o status, just wouldn't work with someone established," says Broccoli. "So it was neccessary to recast if we wanted to go in that direction. It's very difficult - he's got to be all things. We were aware that Daniel [Craig] is probably the most distinguished and versatile actor of his generation, but after meeting him it was clear that he would recreate Bond in a way that would be individual to him."
"I wasn't prepared for how Daniel would play the role," Campbell reveals. "He's an actor who can do nothing but character, and it's a story that gives him the opportunity to do that. It's unlike any of the Bond series. It's edgy and emotional."
"The only thing we have to be careful of is that the last four films have been suitable for little children," says Broccoli. "This film isn't. Ten years old, 11 maybe... But it's too tough for kids, because we wanted to remain pretty much faithful to the book. We have scenes in there like... the ball-beating scene! That's been the biggest challenge: preparing people for the fact that it is darker. There's still a lot of action and a lot of fun in it, but it's not really a kiddie ride. It didn't feel like a leap of faith because we just felt Daniel was going to do something remarkable with it. And he has. From the minute the movie starts, you just accept him. You can't compare him to anybody else because he's so... himself. He's created the character again."

Going dark
"I didn't like License To Kill at alll," Campbell says of the last attempt to make a darker, dirtier Bind film back in 1989. "I didn't like the story. I also thought [Timothy] Dalton didn't make a good Bond. In this case I think that Daniel is not the traditional pretty boy, handsome Pierce Brosnan-type. He's good-looking, tough, darker, blond,and not the Roger Moore-type clothes horse. Connery always had this great sensibility, very good-looking but tough, wore a suit well. [George] Lazenby looked the part. Moore speaks for himself and his Bond was very amusing and watchable. But again, he was a bit of a pretty boy who fell into that category. Tim Dalton tried to change it a bit when he came in - he smokes in the film and he tried to get an element of the books into it but, for whatever reason, it didn't work."
Thankfully, this time around everyone's life was made easier by using Fleming's source novel as a stronger blueprint for the whole enterprise; Broccoli feels that Royale is as close to a faithful adaptation as you can get in the first decade of the 21st century.
"From Russia With Love and Goldfinger are pretty faithful adaptations of the novels." she comments. "But they were filmed very close to the time that the books were written. Casino Royale was written in 1953."
"Being based on the book is good, because it means you've got a template," adds Campbell. "Secondly, there's enough change in it, but it hasn't deserted what Bond's all about. He's relatively new. He fucks up. Daniel Certainly fitted the book and the more realistinc approach much better than anybody else. Casino Royale is a rather interesting book, set in the Cold War with Smersh involved - Fleming's version of the KGB.It doesn'tfeature outrageous situations, outrageous action and Bond is very real, too. He is not the tuxedo-wearing, womanising master spy that we have been given in the movies before. But by the end of the story he's become the Bond we all know. And it has one of the most horrendous torture scenes ever written. It gives Marathon Man a run for its money! Plus, the Eva Green part is terrific - it does away with the usual Bond girl cliches. H either screws them or he shoots them. Here, there's a real relationship between Bond and the girl."
"It was very difficult to cast Vesper [Lynd], because she's in Bond Jore," elaborates Broccoli. "She's the female icon - she's the one that has the largest impact on Bond's character. We wanted someone who was a fine actres but who could also be mysterious and alluring. Eva had all the right qualities, but it took us months and months to get her to read the script. She's so complex and the chemistry between the two of them is wonderful."
In amongst all these Bond newbies sits a franchise stalwart - Dame Judi Dench, stoic in her pithy presence as the head of MI6. But surelym given the shake-up that was going on, the production must have considered finding the franchise a new M?
"Never - she's just too bloody good," states Campbell emphatically. "Judi loves playing M. To be honest, it makes no sense on one hand, because she would obviously be much younger than she is in the previous Bonds. But the truth of the matter is, you've simply got to forget all that and say. 'Who better than Judi Dench? It's a different relationship. I mean, it's quite testy to start with."

Shaken but not stirred
So, what with casting a new Bond, ensuring a more emotional and gritty story and grounding the action in some semblance of reality, what was the single biggest challenge of all the production?
"Surviving it," laughs Bond vet Campbell, previously the director of Pierce Brosnan's first outing as 007, GoldenEye. "It was just a very tough shoot - good but physically very tough. We went to the Bahamas, we went to Venice, we went to Lake Como and the Czech Republic - all in 119 days, shooting non-stop, seven days a week. We would land in the country and start filming the next day, so there was no let-up. And these films are tough. It's hard to film action and they're hard in terms of their concept; they are gruelling - a war zone. And it's difficult to introduce a new Bond, for the obvious reason - you've got to start again. With Pierce and GoldenEye it was the same thing, but Pierce was much easier, because he clearly fitted in. He's terribly good-looking and fitted absolutely perfectly... I think people wanted him to be Bond. The story was very much along the normal Bond lines, except that in that story 006 was the bad guy, but you still had the bad guys trying to destroy the world, all the usual scenarios, whereas that is very much more down to earth. No more exploding control rooms, no more incredulous action sequences."
"We're a very lean machine," smiles Broccoli. "We have a very gifted crew who knows what they're doing, Martin knew exactly what he wanted, so the momentum starts and you keep moving forward. We are on a really tight schedule, so there isn't a lot of time for faffing around with lots of people who aren't neccessary."
So is that why Eon remains such a small company, despite the enormous size of the Bond Franchise? "Would you have somebody ele raise your children for you?" she smirks.
Campbell clearly did a good job of raising their last kid, introducing Brosnan's suave-but-steely take on Bond - good enough, thankfully to write his ticket with Eon when they needed to reinvigorate the double-o saga one more time.
"After GoldenEye we would have been happy for Martin to do any of the Bond films that followed," chuckles Broccoli. "But when we prestented him with this idea of reinventing Bond, it was enough of a challenge to get him back. He's great with action, he's great with character, he's got a lot of energy and he inspires the crew. He challenges people to do their best."
Does that mean Craig is Bond for the foreseeable future? "We intend to make several more films with Daniel and we see a long, healthy future." Broccoli smiles wistfully. "I'm going to get all emotional here, but I wish Cubby was here to see Daniel. I think he would really approve. The first time I saw him ont the screen, that's what hit me."

Q&A Daniel Craig

How to prove a point: be the best Bond in 30 years...
So, common consensus is that Casino Royale really delivered...
"Yeah. God, maybe that was sheer weight of will, but I like to think that it was the fact that we started with a great script. It's the obvious cliche, but films where suddenly there are rewrites invariably end up being shit. The stuff that got changed while we were filming were big stunt sequences that had to logistically change because it was a case of, 'We're not fucking doing that - it's impossible to do."

You were initially very circumspect about the Bond rumours...
"I tried to be as blase as possible about it! At first I was like, 'You've got to be fucking kidding me!' All that was important to me was that we weren't going to repeat what had been done before. If you are going to start it all over again then there's got to be a real sea change. What's been done is very, very different but it is religiously a Bond movie.It's the defining Ian Fleming book - it's Casino fucking Royale, for Christ's sake!"

Is it true your mum outed you as Bond?
"Oh, the press were twats. They did the classic one - they sucker-punched her the day before the announcement. They phoned her up and went'Ohhh, isn't it fantastic?!' she'd been holding it in for fucking months and she went. 'Oh I know, isn't it?' She was mortified, bless here."

Had you ever considered playing 007?
"Not really."

It's a job that only five people have ever had...
"Someone said there have been more men on the Moon that have played James Bond, but you can apply all sorts of analogies that aren't quite as nice! [laughs] It's timing, isn't it? Three years ago, I wouldn't have known what to do with it."

When do you think of James Bond, what pops into your mind?
"My first Bond was Diamonds Are Forever. Live And Let Die is a great one. What sums it up? He gets knocked down and he always fucking gets up. Always. And that is really fascinating. There's a reason that M trusts him; There's a reason that he's the top guy. But he does get fucking hurt. He gets his nuts banged up into his throat!"

What scene did they use for your screen test?
"The scene in From Russia With Love with the mirror over the bed, when he comes in with a very small towel, which I didn't have! [laughs] I hear a noise, the Walther PK comes out and there's a woman sitting on my bed. Then we did a scene from the new movie. If Barbara hasn't destroyed that piece of film yet, she will. I don't want anybody to ever see it!"

Was it better starting with the action sequences in the Bahamas rather than going straight into a heavy dramatic scene?
"Yeah. I learned from day one that it was gonna hurt, and the whole film hurt. Just... pain. And the stunt guys were hurting 10 times more than I was. You just had to suck it up and get it on with it. I think Pierce [Brosan] said it: if you're not getting hurt, you're not doing it properly. But if I'd had to say that line on the first day, I think I probably would have crumbled."

Which line?
"I'm not going to fucking say it. You know which one it is! I haven't seen it since!" [laughs]

Bond may be changing, but he's still got a way with the ladies...
"I got it all the time: 'Is he still a sexist pig?' Well, yeah, he's still a sexist pig. I approached it with the idea that his attitude to women is one of distrust. That's why it's so fantastic that Judi's still playing M, because that female figure is so important. She has him by the nuts, and she's the one person that keeps him alive. It was important that Eva [Green] got the part, because she did something unusual that was equal to him."

How was director Martin Campbell?
"The fact that Martin's still standing is incredible. He's put everything into this movie. We had our moments of attrition, but they were really defining in the process. By the end I had nothing but respect for him. The man never slept. I was at the gym every night, but he'd go off and reset himself for the followin day. Occasionally we'd fucking end up shouting at each other. I defy anybody in that situation not to lose it occasionally."

So you've signed up a second one?
"I'm signed up for three!"

Are there things you might do differently next time around?
"Differently isn't the word. More 'knowledgeably'."

So you think a character like Bond still has a place in the world?
"What's important is this - we are in a mess with the world at the moment and we really don't know who the good guys and who the bad guys are. It's not that he has relevance - the character of Bond is as acient as they come - but that he's somebody unflinching, who knows who the bad guys are and goes after them. That's refreshing at the moment."

Stunt 007

Making Bond bleed with Casino Royale's stunt guru...

"You might want to stand over this way a bit. When thise explodes, it's going to really go. Big." It's 3am at Dunsfold Aerodome in Surrey. The light's coming up and an assistant director on Casino Royale is anxious nothing goes wrong here tonight - and a lightly sauted journalist would be considered wrong. We move back behind the monitors to watch the action, as the stunt crew do a final prep of the main runway. This filming lark isn't all glamour. Dvd Review has so far consumed half an urn of tea and it's so cold, we're shivering like a shitting dog. Finaly, the oil tanker poised at the end of the runway splutters into life and begins growling like a pissed-off panther. We're going to see some action...
Next tp us, perched on a quad bike, is stunt coordinator and Action Man lookalike Gary Powell - one of the men who deserves the credit for bringing back cinema's most enduring icon in such brutal, bloody, bone-breaking style. Because while Martin Campbell may be the man who showed Bond how to bleed, Powell is the man who taught 007 how to fight; how to make the enemy bleed. Still, we're getting ahead of ourselves. Let's go back to March when Dvd Review first meets Powell. Somewhere a little warmer...