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Sebastien Foucan, star of the free-running action
scene in Casino Royale, made a special appearance
in London to sign copies of the new DVD...
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Sebastien Foucan DVD Signing
20th March 2007
Free-running extraordinaire Sebastien Foucan
made a special appearance at HMV on Oxford Street in London,
UK yesterday to
mark the DVD release of Casino Royale
and sign copies for fans.
The astoundingly fleet and nimble bomb maker Mollaka, whom Bond
pursues through the Nambutu Embassy, is played by Sébastien
Foucan, the co-creator and one of the foremost practitioners
in the art of Parkour - also known as "free running". Based on
the French word parcours, or obstacle, Parkour emphasizes the
use of obstacles in the environment as props to help the
runner move swiftly across the terrain. “It’s not
just about running and jumping,” says Foucan. “It’s
about adapting yourself within your environment to overcome barriers
to your physical progress. It’s all about free flowing
movement. My character’s skill is that he can move swiftly
to escape from Bond, so we tried to find a way to move fast and
efficiently, rather than do stunt tricks.”
Above: Sebastien Foucan and Daniel Craig shooting part of the crane sequence |
Foucan, who often spends six or seven hours practicing
Parkour on a special circuit in his home town in France,
adapted easily to the rigors of shooting Casino Royale.
Still, he appreciated the dramatic tips he received from
star Daniel Craig.
“Daniel was very helpful, giving
me advice about acting with cameras. Although he doesn’t
practice Parkour, he is very strong and finds it easy to
run and chase. We have spent three months working on this
sequence which will be on screen for maybe five minutes – but
I hope it will be an intense five minutes, which people
will enjoy.”
Parkour takes its inspiration from acrobatics, dance,
martial arts and popular art forms including cinema and
comic books, but it also owes a debt to ancient Asian schools
of thought, says Foucan. “Without philosophy, action
has no meaning. Life is made of obstacles and challenges.
To overcome them is to progress.” |
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Meanwhile down the road, Virgin Megastore was hit by a group
of free runners who performed breath-taking
displays for
customers. Urban Freeflow are the outfit responsible for Daniel
Craig's spectacular opening sequence in the latest and biggest
007 film.
The crew were responsible for helping Daniel Craig perfect
his moves for the opening chase sequence, and the team put on
a demonstration at the store showcasing some spectacular moves.
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Thanks to Sony UK and DNA
