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MI6 reports on how Casino Royale made an earlier
than planned debut in Japan, plus news on Daniel
Craig's
scheduled
appearance
in Tokyo...
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Casino Royale Debuts In Japan
27th November 2006
Bond fans in Tokyo had a surprise this
week when Casino Royale was unveiled with a debut
screening in Japan two days ahead of schedule.
Casino Royale had its debut screening at Hall A of
Tokyo International Forum on Tuesday 21st November 2006. Sony
Pictures Japan used the same venue as the premiere of the previous
outing, Die Another Day. With little advertising and no cast
and crew in attendance, the event was populated by Japanese
celebrities with no connection to 007. As with Pierce Brosnan's
final outing, the screening was free of charge.
Above: Various celebrities
attended the debut screening
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As originally planned, Casino Royale
kicked off the Tokyo
International CineCity Festival on Thursday 23rd November 2006
at the Shinjuku Milano Theatre
1 - the
screen
with
the
largest
number of seats in any theatre in Japan. The festival, which
was held over four days, attracted more buzz than the free
debut screening two days earlier. On display were all the 007
film
posters from "Dr No" to "Die Another Day" along with the new
spin on the Casino Royale poster that has been released on
the Sony Pictures Japan website.
Prior to the film, one movie trailer from
each era
of the five
previous Bond actors
was shown on the big screen, and one lucky attendee won
a DVD box set of all 20 films.
Above: Casino Royale kicks
off the Tokyo International CineCity Festival in
the The Shinjuko Milano 1 theatre, Tokyo |
Daniel Craig will visit Japan on Thursday 30th November to
meet and greet the Japanese audience in Tokyo, a day ahead
of the film going on general release in the country. The event
is scheduled for 19:15 at Shinjuku Milano Theatre
1.
Above: The Shinjuko Milano
1 theatre in Tokyo, where Daniel Craig will meet
and greet fans a day ahead of the film opening nationwide. |
Release Date
Casino Royale was originally scheduled to open nationwide in Japan on 17th February
2007, but this was pulled forward to 1st December 2006. This has been
seen as a positive move from Sony, as this week is a popular winter holiday
week in Japan and should boost the box-office; the most important region for
blockbusters outside North America and Europe.
Casino
Royale Coverage
Previous PR
Actress Eva Green (Vesper Lynd), director Martin Campbell
and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli visited
Tokyo for a promotional press conference. Held on 17th October
2006, the brief visit also included a photoshoot for the local
press.
Trailer
Sony Pictures Japan released the first Casino Royale trailer for the region
in early September. It is mostly a 1 ½ minute edit of the second
English-language trailer released earlier this month, but it does include
a few new shots:
Vesper looking in the mirror, an aerial view of Montenegro and a couple
of fresh action shots.
Although the dialogue has been cut to the point where some of it makes little sense, the Japanese captions add more depth. The opening and closing lines read "This story tells how 007 is born" and "One love ends, and 007 beings" respectively.
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“
Welcome to Japan, Mr Bond
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Teaser Campaign
Sony Pictures Japan released their international teaser poster
back in September, featuring the in-shadow face of
Daniel Craig as 007 which appeared at the Cannes Film Festival
and
other
tradeshows. A flyer has also been distributed which includes
additional information on the film, and the "seven rules
to receive 00 status". Translations of the rules read "1)
You don't fear death, and won't give into torture 2)
You have Olympic level shooting skills 3) Even if you double-cross
your own parents, you will never double-cross the organization
4) You have knowledge that would surprise even a scholar, and
a sense of humour that would make even a bad girl grin 5) You
have the sociability of a lamb, but remain a lone wolf 6) You
have the highest level of experience with alcohol, gambling,
cars and food 7) You can fall in love but you can never love."
Related Articles
Casino
Royale Coverage
Casino
Royale World Premiere Report
Casino
Royale Swiss Premiere
Casino
Royale French Premiere
Casino
Royale Spanish Premiere
Casino
Royale German Premiere
Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara
Broccoli (Eon Productions) and directed by Martin Campbell,
CASINO ROYALE was released on November 16, 2006 in the UK. Principal
photography started on January 30th 2006, with locations in
the UK, Czech Republic (Prague), Italy, and the Bahamas. It
is British actor Daniel Craig’s first outing as James
Bond. He is the sixth actor to play the 007 role in the franchise.
The film also stars Judi Dench, Eva Green, Mads
Mikkelsen, Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, Caterina Murino,
Simon Abkarian, Tobias Menzies, Ivana Milicevic, Clemens Schik,
Ludger Pistor, Claudio Santamaria and Isaach de Bankole
Last Time Around...
A promotional press conference was held in Tokyo on 29th January 2003, attended by director Lee Tamahori and the two Bond girls - Rosamund Pike and Halle Berry. The trio were billed to attend the Japanese premiere a few days later.
The Japanese premiere was held in Hall A of the famous Tokyo International Forum building on February 2nd 2003, but Tamahori, Pike and Berry were nowhere to be seen. The impressive hall held a capacity of 5,012 people. To satisfy the demand for Bond, three premiere screenings were held during the day, and best of all, it was all free of charge.
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 Above (left to right): Rosamund Pike, director Lee Tamahori, and Halle Berry attend the Tokyo press conference for Die Another Day. |
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The Pantheon cinema in Shibuya, Tokyo opened at 10:45am for the first screening of "Die Another Day" on March 8th 2003 - almost four months after the
UK and USA release, and six weeks since the Japanese premiere.
Seven bikini clad "Bond girls" welcomed cinema-goers and handed out tickets to win a UK version of the "Die Another Day" poster (pictured opposite) signed by cast members Pierce Brosnan, Halle Berry, Rosamund Pike, Rick Yune, Toby Stephens, and director Lee Tamahori. |
Die Another Day Articles
"Die Another Day" Tokyo Press Conference
"Die Another Day" Japanese Premiere
"Die Another Day" Opens In Japan
