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MI6 reports on the latest casting news, with Israeli
actress Moran Atias and Swedish actor Rafael Edholm
linked to roles in the 22nd James Bond film..
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Bond 22 Pre-Production Diary (17)
30th October 2007
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Villain Wanted - Apply
Within
Following Danish actors Mads Mikkelsen and Jesper Christensen playing villains
Le Chiffre and Mr White respectively in Casino Royale, it appears that casting
for the 22nd James Bond film is passing a searchlight over Scandinavia again.
Swedish actor Rafael Edholm (pictured
opposite) is in contention for the role of the villain
in Daniel Craig's
second outing
as 007,
due out November 7th 2008. Edholm confirmed that he will
be screen testing for the part. |
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The 41 year-old actor, who was first discovered
by director Oliver Stone, recently moved to Los Angeles and signed
a new
contract with a Hollywood agency. Edholm said landing the role "would
be really cool" and joked that he would love to shave his
head and get a cat.
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Above: Israeli actress Moran Atias
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Bond Girl Hopefuls Narrowed
Down
According reports in Israel, out of the six finalists competing for the role
of James Bond's girl, one is an Israeli: model and actress Moran Atias. Atias
is the only one who made it through the earlier stages, during which several
other local beauties were considered but all were dropped.
Atias, who currently resides in Italy,
has been spending a lot of time in Los Angeles. Last Sunday,
she was called to the Sony Studios for a meeting with director
Marc Forester. Five latina actresses were also invited.
Atias is scheduled to soon begin shooting her part in Adam
Sandler's "You Don't Mess with the Zohan".
Other actresses in the mix for the role
have included early
front-runners Camila Alves and Juliana Paes and Fernanda
Lima from Brazil, who were later joined by Lívia
Rossi, Juliana Galvão, Michelle Alves, Ana Paula
Araújo, Fernanda Motta and Paula Franco. Casting
agent Carla Hool tested Ludwika
Paleta Luz Helena Gonzalez and Monserrat Olivier in
Mexico. Cléo
Pires, Giovanna Antonelli, Rita Guedes, Guilhermina Guinle,
and Christine Fernandes were also linked to the role
in Brazil.
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Location Round-Up
According to press reports, Lake Garda in Italy is likely to
be a shooting location for the 22nd James Bond film. Known locally
as "Lago di Garga", the lake in the
north of the country is said to be under consideration for scenes
early in the film. Writer Paul Haggis has stated previously that
Daniel Craig's second outing as 007 will take off "two minutes" after
Casino Royale, which finished at a house on a lake in Italy...
Locals have tipped the Grand Hotel Gardone and Locanda Punta
San Vigilio Hotel as possible attractions for the location scouts.
Italy seems to be a hot favourite for several scenes in Bond
22, including
the Stelvio
Pass in the Italian Alps, the Basilicata
region in the south, and the Palio
di Siena horse race (of which
background shots have already been filmed).
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Haggis Wraps Script
One sigh of relief went up over at Sony
late last week: Paul
Haggis delivered his draft for the 22nd
Bond installment to Columbia execs.
With the writers guild expected to strike
as early as November 1st, writers are furiously
trying to get scripts completed
for big projects, said The Hollywood Reporter. Haggis,
who polished the script for Daniel Craig's blockbuster
debut outing Casino
Royale, worked on the Bond 22 first draft
prepared by regular 007 scribes Neal Purvis and Robert
Wade.
The work had been far from straight forward though, as Haggis
told Esquire magazine in early September, "I
thought I had come up with a terrific plot, and we'd worked
it all
the way through,
and yesterday
we
tossed it out." Comparing this latest 007 outing to
his first, Haggis said "this
one's tougher than Casino Royale, which wasn't a small amount
of work, but there was an existing book."
Haggis traveled
to Italy to concentrate
on completing the script. |
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Above: Writer Paul Haggis
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Tabloid Talk
As MI6 reported earlier in the week, Daniel Craig has signed a record-breaking
deal to play James Bond for a further four films. According
to the Daily Mail,
Hollywood studio MGM has tied the 39-year-old actor into a deal which could
make him £30
million ($60 million USD) over the next decade. The contract
will incorporate a sliding salary based on how much each consecutive
film makes at the box office and, importantly,
in merchandising. A further four films are likely to tie up Craig
for the best part of a decade. It will mean that by the time
he comes to the end of the contract, the actor will be pushing
50.
Daniel Craig may be keen to expose less
skin than he did in Casino Royale but his producer Barbara Broccoli
has other ideas - reports
the Daily Express. “I think Barbara
is going to have a word about that,” says
Craig, before mimicking a whinier version of himself in conversation
with his boss. “‘I’m not going to take my top
off.’ ‘Yes, you are.’” Craig adds: “We’ll
see. There are no plans. Bond might have to take a shower, what
can I tell you?” The 39-year-old doesn’t think he
will be quite as buff as he was in his first 007 outing when
his appearance
in skimpy blue swimming trunks raised pulses. “I’m
probably not going to bulk up as much as I did last time,” he
tells GQ magazine. “It was an
exercise that worked and I’m very happy we did it.”
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