US showbiz media have visited the set in Panama City to interview key cast and crew members. MI6 rounds-up the behind the scenes intel...

Production Diary (13)
26th February 2008

Entertainment Tonight (video) and The Insider (video) visited the set of "Quantum of Solace" in Panama City. A derelict building has been converted in to a party venue with hundreds of lights and glamorous extras. The crumbling structure actually used to be the club house of former Panama dictator General Manual Noriega. Craig explained, "I'm sure there are some bad ghosts in here, but it was where he partied and we're using it as a location for a fund raising event".

Filming took place over four very long night-shoots, with action taking place up until 4am. Over 700 local extras were cast and dressed as glamorous party guests. The night-time party scene, where Dominic Greene is hosting a fund raising event, takes place about half-way through the movie. The climax of the confrontation between Bond, Greene, Fields and Camille takes place at the top of a stone staircase. One of the foursome ends up taking a long tumble down the steps. "In the Bond scheme of things, it's not such a big stunt, but that doesn't mean the guy who's going to do it isn't going to get hurt", Craig said.

Above: Lara Spencer from "The Insider" on set with Daniel Craig

Tom Ford has designed all of Daniel Craig's suits for the film. Craig talked about the fate of some of the costumes made specially for the film. "One of the things for me was that he wears great suit, but I wreck about 30 or 40 of them through filming. It's really a crime - it makes me weep every time! I take a suit home sometimes."

ET confirmed that the production looked at over 7,000 actresses and models for the two Bond girl roles. When Craig was asked about his involvement in the process, he said "I'm involved all the way all the way through - or they pretend to involve me. I mean, they ask my opinion and I have my say."

Director Marc Forster explained how they came to pick Gemma Arterton. "The thing is with Gemma is that she's funny, she's witty, she's gorgeous, she's smart...", Forster said. "She has every quality I was looking for and I thought 'that's it, that's her!'" Gemma talked a little about what it's like becoming a Bond girl. "There's a lot of pressure when you're a Bond girl because you get compared to all of the previous ones. Does Bond fall in love with her? I can't say. Maybe he does. I'd love if it he did! I had to jump in to bed with [Daniel Craig] for a love scene on day one of filming. That's why it was such a wonderful first day!" Olga Kurylenko also spoke about becoming a Bond girl. "Training was amazing. It was so intense, much more so than for any movie I've done before." When asked about her 'rival' for Bond's attention in the film - Agent Fields - she teased with another question, "can you get any idea of who is the bad one and who is the good one by looking at us?"

French actor Mathieu Amalric, who plays the villain Dominic Greene, did not feature much in the report, but he talked about his appearance in one short clip: "I don't have something on my head, or a metal jaw, or an eye that bleeds, or anything that says 'oh, he's the villain'. I just have my naked face." In one snippet of a scene, Camille is seen kissing Greene before pulling away when Bond approaches.

Daniel Craig Sound Bites

• So I'm swinging on some ropes, way up high again. I can never get away from it! It's always safe but it feels kinda hairy at times.
• Will you see flesh this time around? I can't say!
• I've been driving the Aston Martin DBS on a test track, so I can go as far as I like... I've been up to 155mph.
• Does James Bond find love again? Maybe. Soon... Is he ready to have sex again? Of course, he's always ready to have sex!
• I get to go to places I've never been to before, so they are some of the best experiences of my life.
• He’s lost the love of his life and he’s angry about it. But he’s also got a job to do so he’s got to keep it under control.

The production heads next to Chile, Austria, Italy and finally Pinewood Studios in the UK.