The Hollywood Reporter stated
on Tuesday 4th September that Eon Productions were taking a page from the "If
you can't beat 'em, join 'em" handbook, by hiring "Bourne
Supremacy" and "Bourne Ultimatum" action
designer Dan Bradley as the film's second unit director.
Bradley plotted out and directed the
acclaimed fight sequences and car chases as the stunt
coordinator and
second unit director of the two Paul Greengrass-helmed "Bourne" sequels
and will service the working-titled "Bond 22" in
much the same capacity.
According to the report, producers want him to continue
and build on the more realistic and gritty approach to
the veteran British spy begun in last year's "Casino
Royale."
MI6 has learned that Casino Royale's stunt coordinator
Gary Powell is returning in the same role for Bond 22.
Powell and Bradley have worked together recently on "The
Bourne Ultimatum" and "Indiana Jones IV". |
|
Above: Dan Bradley picked up
a Taurus World Stunt Award in 2005 for Best Stunt Coordination
|
No sooner had 'Bourne' action designer Dan Bradley been announced
as the second unit director on the 22nd James Bond film, but
his first leaked tidbit hit the internet. When interview about
about his work on 'Ultimatum' and asked "You're going
to get to wreck an Aston Martin if you do Bond?", Bradley
replied, "I'm
hearing that there's Aston Martin and GT40s in the next Bond. I can't wait."
Above: A Ford GT40 - rumoured
to be pitted against the DBS in Bond 22
|
MI6 can confirm that the Aston Martin DBS,
as featured in Casino Royale, is planned to return in
Bond 22 despite Ford
selling
a large stake in the company. Last month, a worker at the Aston
Martin plant building the new production DBS tipped
MI6 that
Daniel Craig visited the
site recently and added that the car will return with some
'traditional' gadgets this time around.
Above: The production model of
Bond's Aston Martin DBS
|
|
Straight From The Horse's
Mouth
Following
the first report on comments made by Paul Haggis at the
press
junket
for
his new film "In
the Land of Elah", the Bond 22 screenwriter leaked
some further points to various media outlets.
When asked what
the current status of the script is, Haggis said, "I’m
on page 22. I’m not writing it today because I’m
here, but I was writing it up until 8pm last night. It’s
a lot of fun. It’s a whole different set of muscles."
"It’s something I was really concerned about
doing because I liked Casino Royale so much, I had such
fun
doing it and I thought I could only fail by trying to
do it again. But I’m giving it a shot and it’s
an original and it’s not based on any book or short
story or anything that Ian Fleming had done. Although
it is based on Ian Fleming ideas. And it starts right
after the last one, two minutes after Casino Royale this
movie starts." Haggis also shot down rumours that Bond
22 would be funnier, and said it would be in the same tone
as Casino Royale |
|
Above: Paul Haggis
|
When
quizzed
whether the plot revolves around a dark secret Vesper had,
involving her lover being tortured (as with the backstory to
the character in Ian Fleming's original 1953 novel), Haggis
was a little more elusive, "Oh, that would be cool, wouldn't
it?", but when
pressed further said, "It's not a denial and it's not
a statement. I'm not going to tell you anything!" He
did though confirm
the long running rumour that Bond
22 will be a direct continuation, "Two minutes after
['Casino Royale'] - boom - we're
into this movie," he explained. "That's where
we pick it up."
Location Round-Up
The same spokesman who leaked
the first story about possible Swiss shooting for Bond
22 told
local press this week some specifics of the offers given to
the production. Speaking to Zentralschweiz Online, André Brice
of the Swiss film commission (Film Location Switzerland) mentions
two key areas: Lucerne in the centre of the country, and Gotthard
which was previously used in Goldfinger.
According to the report, the chances of Bond 22 shooting in
the country "stand well". Director Marc Forster is
apparently impressed with the possibilities, but is not the
sole decider and many other locations are being considered
daily. The first Swiss rumours cited the Alps
and a ski sequence as potentials for Daniel Craig's second
outing as 007.
Spanish press report that after filming
in Siena, Italy, the production team then moved
to Madrid where they filmed between Thursday 23rd to Wednesday
29th August. Newspapers state that the action took place
around the city's historic quarter. Local media speculation
pointed to Madrid de Los Austrias and the nearby palace and
opera house. MI6 understands that filming was for background
shots and tests, and no cast were present. An opera
location has been previously touted for Austria, where
test footage was also filmed.
In Brief...
Pinewood Studios have confirmed that pre-production is underway
on the lot for Bond 22. Filming is expected to start in December
2007.
