By Kevin Sessums

Publication Date: 10/26/2008

Перенесла в статьи на английском

28/10/2008 06:01:01

A film studies professor has claimed that audiences for Quantum of Solace will see a James Bond markedly different to that created by Ian Fleming.

While Daniel Craig's portrayal of the character is close to that of Fleming's books in his lack of one-liners, the cold-blooded approach to violence seen in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace is unlike that of the novels, according to Professor James Chapman, of the University of Leicester's department of history of art and film.

"Craig is obviously a lot more physical, even brutish, than previous Bond actors," he explains in an article published for the university's online magazine.

"He plays Bond as a 'blunt instrument': he's not yet the polished article, he's still rough around the edges.

"Craig's Bond doesn't do the one-liners that others have done. In that respect - but that respect only - he's closer to the Bond of the books, who doesn't crack jokes and is a rather humourless character," he continued.

"But in other respects Craig's Bond is very unlike Fleming's Bond. Fleming's Bond did not enjoy killing; Craig's Bond seems almost to relish it."

Professor James Chapman also claims that in Casino Royale Bond's body was presented as much as an erotic object as the women's bodies with gratuitous shots of Craig in his swimming trunks.

"Fleming's Bond is not particularly presented as a sexual object: the emphasis in the books is very much on male desire rather than female desire, with the sole exception of The Spy Who Loved Me, in which Fleming experimented with writing from the perspective of a woman who encounters James Bond," he explained.

Professor Chapman's book Licence To Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films is out now.

Quantum of Solace is released on Friday October 31st.

Источник

The star-studded event is scheduled to kick-off around 7:00pm London-time this evening at London’s Odeon Cinema, Leicester Square.

Princes William and Harry will be in attendance with proceeds from the event going towards the Help For Heroes and The Royal British Legion charities.

Much of the film’s primary cast and crew will walk the red carpet, including Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Mathieu Amalric, Gemma Arterton, Dame Judi Dench, producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael G. Wilson, director Marc Forster, title song performer Jack White and endless other James Bond film alumni.

007’s Aston Martin DBS, featured in Quantum of Solace and Casino Royale will also be on display and assuredly a center of attention.

The public premiere of the film will take place at the 52nd London Film Festival (at the Odeon West End) immediately following the Leicester Square world premiere.

Bond fans who are not able to attend can still take part in the festivities by accessing the Radisson Edwardian Hotel Leicester Square Movie Premiere Live Webcam and catching all the Quantum of Solace coverage online.

Keep your browsers firmly locked on CommanderBond.net throughout the rest of today and all the upcoming weeks as Quantum of Solace goes on general worldwide release beginning this Friday, 31 October.

Источник: CBn

Смотрим во все глаза в веб камеру
http://www.radissonedwardian.co.uk/leicester-sq-webcam.html

The actor, 40, reprises his role as suave British spy James Bond in new movie 007 Quantum of Solace next month.

But he insists he can't be frightening on-screen - and always tries to just be himself.

Craig says, "There are people on this planet where you go, 'Oops, no, I don't even want to look that person in the eye

"And that real scariness is not something I'm capable of. That's something maybe Robert De Niro is capable of at his best. But that's not me.

"As tough a role as I have to play, I'm always just me," he adds.

"It's good to be in touch with as much of yourself as possible. Otherwise, you're a rather one-note performer. Who wants to be the tough guy and nothing else?"
http://www.showbizspy.com/10292008/Daniel-Craigs-Scary-Struggle

QUANTUM OF SOLACE
An Excusive Interview with Jeffrey Wright
by Wilson Morales

November 10, 2008

2008 has certainly been an exciting year for Jeffrey Wright. In three of his most recent films, Wright has played characters that we are familiar with, and two of them happens to be historical figures: Gen. Colin Powell in ‘W’ and Muddy Waters in the upcoming ‘Cadillac Records’. The third character is the role of Felix Leiter, who returns in the next installment of the Bond franchise, ‘Quantum of Solace’. This is the first sequel in the history of the Bond films, and the second time that Wright has played the role.

Taking place following where ‘Casino Royale’ left off, and seeking revenge for the death of his love, secret agent James Bond sets out to stop an environmentalist from taking control of a country's water supply. Leiter works for the CIA and comes through for Bond when he needs an ally he can trust.

In speaking with Wright, he spoke about coming back to the role, working with Daniel Craig, and his upcoming projects.

Are you glad to be back in this role?

Jeffrey Wright: I was excited to be part of the first one and then to carry on the role and pick up where he left off was just a pleasure.

What changes should we expect from Felix in the sequel?

JW: Well, ‘Quantum of Solace’ goes on to develop the relationship between Leiter and Bond.There is a kinship between the two of them that we continue to discover because they are similar in many ways. They are guys who are very much alone in their world. It’s a murky environment in which they operate and there are few people that they trust. They found a trust in one another and we try to explore that further. Outside of MI6, Leiter is Bond’s only consistent ally. He’s played a critical throughout the history of the Bond films.

Was there more to the development of Leiter than we saw on-screen?

JW: Leiter is a mysterious character and he moves in the shadows and I like that. The fact that the character is unknown gives him a mysterious quality. I enjoyed coming in during fragments of the film. It’s Bond’s story and Felix is supporting.

How was working with Daniel Craig again?

JW: This is the third film that Daniel and I have worked on together and I enjoyed working with him as an actor and I enjoyed his company. We both look at acting in similar. We’re serious about it and we enjoy it and when we work together, we try to create interesting scenes. People seem to respond to the friendship between Leiter and Bond and we try to build on that.

What do you think Marc Forster is doing different than what Martin Campbell brought to the first film?

JW: Marc comes from a different type of filmmaking to some extent with films like ‘Monster’s Ball’ and ‘The Kite Runner’ but he brings his own signature to the Bond franchise in a way that’s fresh and original. There’s a stylistic quality to this film that is contemporaryand edgy and that’s a result of Marc’s vision. At the same time, he was going for realism in the acting surrounded by the high flying action adventure in the Bond films and the combination is quite stunning.

What’s next for you?

JW: I play Muddy Waters in ‘Cadillac Records’, which comes out next month. There’s an exciting cast in the film with Adrian Brody, Beyonce, Cedric the Entertainer, Gabrielle Union, Eamonn Walker and Columbus Short. I’m also doing a play with George C. Wolfe called ‘Free Man of Color’, which is about New Orleans at the time of the Louisiana Purchase. It will be at the Public Theater in New York City.

Will you come back and play Leiter in the next Bond film. In doing so, you would be the only person to play the role three times.

JW: I enjoy doing these films. They are big budget films, but there is a quality of humanity on the set that I like. There are very little egos involved and it’s a very comfortable environment to work in; and I’ve been a fan of the Bond franchise since I was a boy. As long they want me to continue as Leiter, I’m open to returning.

Источник

By Simon Reynolds, Entertainment Reporter

Producer Barbara Broccoli has hinted that the next James Bond movie will complete a Daniel Craig trilogy.

Speaking to Coming Soon, Broccoli said that the 23rd Bond instalment is likely to finish the story started in Casino Royale and Quantum Of Solace.

She said: "Hopefully at the end of Quantum Of Solace, we have this 'whole' character. And now we can do what we want.

"I think in some way, he will go after the [Quantum] organisation. So in that sense, it may become a trilogy, but we haven't really structured it that way."

Broccoli noted that the next Bond movie will contain one of the hallmarks of the franchise's earlier films.

"The trouble is, everyone has gadgets," she commented. "We will need to come up with a few that have not been invented by the Sony Corp!"

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/movies....gy.html

Откопала опять же ИМХО почти лучшую и точную рецензию на Квант от Мориарти с AICN (Так расчувствовалась, что послала ему благодарственный e-mail )

Moriarty Is Baffled By People Not Digging QUANTUM OF SOLACE!!

Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.

As I was checking my e-mail and glancing at various sites this morning, I saw someone else echoing this complaint about QUANTUM OF SOLACE, the new James Bond film starring Daniel Craig and directed by Marc Forster, this same “it has no plot” complaint that I’ve been hearing since the night of that first preview screening in London a month ago, and I realized that I’m not only not in synch with this opinion, but I’m actively confused by it. Of course it has a plot. Things happen. By definition, that’s a plot. It may not dazzle you with narrative construction, but there’s absolutely nothing wrong with the story it tells. Maybe I'm over-simplifying it a bit, but let's take it character by character and see if there is or is not a plot.

Olga Kurylenko is perfect casting to play Camille, the Tilly Masterson/Melina Havelock role, gorgeous and bruised and burnt and absolutely ripe for revenge. There’s a dude, a General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio) who’s a really greasy sweaty scummy bad guy, complete with attempted rape scene, so you know he’s really, reeeeally bad, and he killed her family when she was a child and so now he’s going to die. They paint in broad enough strokes that you have to get the point. She tries to kill Medrano a few times. Maybe she does. Maybe she doesn't. That’s the plot for Camille. Seems solid enough to me.

And as for James... well, he’s got Mr. White (the outstandingly wormy Jesper Christensen), the dude we saw him shoot in the leg in the closing moments of CR, and he’s going to question him and find out who had Vesper killed. MI6 has considerably bigger plans for White, but the first interrogation goes... well, let's just say less than well, and after a brutal fight/chase sequence, Bond’s off and running on a search for these phantoms, these mysterious people who are in some alliance that no one knew about. No real solid leads. Just a few hunches and whispers...

... and then serial killer James Bond goes on a hilarious rampage across the globe, racking up a wicked body count in his effort to savagely strangle some answers out of the world at large. And despite his constant assurances that he’s not doing it for revenge, he is absolutely positively motherfucking sure doing it for revenge. And why not? He’s got a license to kill, right? Why issue you one of those if you’re not going to use it? The close-quarters fighting in the film is my favorite stuff because of the sheer animal savagery of the staging.

Mathieu Amalric, so brilliant in THE DIVING BELL AND THE BUTTERFLY, does hilarious and slimy work as Roman Polanski. Oh, sure, he’s using the nom de plume of “Dominic Greene,” but Amalric is playing Roman Polanski. And the idea of Roman Polanski as a James Bond villain is so epic and perfect that I salute all involved. He’s a hopped up little French turd, secure in his ability to slip out of any situation that goes south, manipulating power with glee. And his connection to Mr. White is what puts Bond on his trail, and that’s what eventually leads Bond to QUANTUM, the secret organization, in an opera sequence that is a stunning piece of physical staging for the opera combined with a clockwork-precise set piece of suspense, and for my money, it’s one of the most thrilling moments in the film. Bond stays on Mr. Greene for the rest of the film, enlisting the help of Mathis (Giancarlo Giannini), the man Bond wrongly accused of being a spy at the end of the first film, Felix Leiter (Jeffrey Wright), the CIA guy who helped Bond at a crucial stage in the poker game in CASINO ROYALE, and Miss Fields (Gemma Arterton), a rosy-cheeked English agent who ends up naked and homaged-to-death. Eventually, he does some crazy stunts, fights some bosses, and wins the game. And like I said... that’s a plot. I mean, this is the same series of films that includes MOONRAKER, A VIEW TO A KILL, and OCTOPUSSY. These are films that feature plenty of “plot,” but most of it is jaw-droppingly ridiculous.

QUANTUM OF SOLACE is a fairly sober, focused little film that plays out one character note, and the way Forster and his writers (Paul Haggis, working again with Purvis & Wade, the three of them all writers I’m not crazy about who seem to somehow combine into one serious James-Bond-writing-three-headed-badass) keep everything focused on Bond getting through this moment. The title, so roundly razzed since being announced, turns out to be a bit of a mission statement. Bond is looking for something very particular, and the moment he finds it, he’s done. He’s ready now to finally be the James Bond we are used to. He needs to know that something he trusted was, in fact, real, and until he knows it, he won’t stop killing and wounding and beating his way through as many people as he has to. Watching him piece together his penance, watching him work through it... that’s the movie. And that’s what makes this such a radical departure from any other Bond film before.

It’s not the plot that’s important, anyway... it’s how that plot is played out. And that's where Bond fans will never see eye to eye, because there are various schools of thought, as permanently divided as religious sects. Instead of Bond stealing space shuttles or wrestling giant snakes or running around a volcano hideout, this is about human-scale villainy as part of a global network. Mr. Greene’s big plan in this film has to do with cornering the market on a particular resource, and there’s just a hint of a political statement in what it is that Greene’s trying to control. In the next 50 years, that particular control is going to be very important around the world, and it may well be as big an economy as oil is now for the Middle East. It’s a real concern, and here’s this unctuous dwarf sneering down his nose at everyone as he uses an environmental warrior cover to justify his fairly amoral approach to resource management. It’s not the only thing he’s done... just the current one... but it gives Bond a good look at the way the guy operates. They’re not wrestling for control of the world in a “HA! HA! HA! I HAVE A DEATH RAY LASER THAT WILL DESTROY THE WHITE HOUSE!” way, but more in the way that whoever controls certain natural resources pretty much does rule the world. His plot’s not the most immediate threat to the safety of people around the world, but he gets in Bond’s way, draws his attention, and he’s dirty enough that Bond has a reason to go after him.

Uncovering QUANTUM is a bonus for Bond in this film, but it’s not his goal. As a result of doing so, though, the Broccolis may have just bought themselves another extension on the series, because I’m really curious now to see if they can play that story out. QUANTUM could be a great way to update SMERSH or SPECTRE, and the end of this film sets up a series, not just a sequel. To me, it feels like CASINO ROYALE and QUANTUM OF SOLACE are one movie. KILL BILL VOL. 1 and 2, if you will, for the James Bond series. And taken as one long ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE-length movie (that film, for those not up on their Bond trivia, is the longest of the series, clocking in just north of eleven and a half hours), I really dig it. I don’t miss the fetishistic museum piece touches of the series at all. I don’t miss Q branch. I don’t miss the Moneypenny banter. I don’t miss the breezy “let’s have a chat” style M briefings. Honestly... there are 20-something Bond films in that style, and like most Bond films, I've seen every film more than once. Some of them, I've seen many times. That adds up. I think it's safe to say if you count individual viewings, I've seen something like 180 James Bond films in my lifetime. All with that same rhythm and style and the same cast sadly growing older while James Bond mysteriously hovers around the same age in one of the weirdest continuity choices in franchise history. Like I said, I don’t miss the formula of it all. And frankly, if the Daniel Craig era never quite gets back to that, I’m perfectly happy. I wouldn’t mind at all. They made those movies. Lots and lots and lots of those movies. When I look over at the shelf of my office where every single one of those 20-something other Bond films are, the last DVD release that was the tricked-out-but-still-not-HD transfer, it’s this huge stack, all the same, all rigidly adhering to that formula.

And I enjoyed those films. Some more than others, and some much more than others, but I generally enjoy the Bond series. I prefer the Fleming novels, which are, of course, the source and the purest version of Bond, and I think Fleming’s Bond has still never truly been captured on film. I would enjoy a straightforward absolutely faithful take on the books someday down the road, almost as an arthouse experiment separate from the “money” franchise, but I doubt anything like that would ever be allowed. Instead, Bond is a blockbuster machine, and so maybe the reason so many people are so irritated with this entry in the series is that it’s more like the breath between the bigger stories. This is that moment of personal anguish that sometimes happens when an agent has a particularly personal or difficult field assignment, when things go wrong, when people die. This is the reaction to the last film’s action, and it has to happen for Bond to continue as Bond.

So relax... no one’s going to burn the franchise to the ground permanently. I’m sure the producers are going to eventually get back to movies so ridiculous that people just snicker when they see the posters... it’s just the nature of this property and these producers... from film to film, I think they basically just react to whatever’s happening in film at that time, whatever’s big and popular and interesting. I think they try to ride the zeitgeist, like when they totally revamped the direction of the series after THE SPY WHO LOVED ME and STAR WARS, bringing back one of the most popular villains of the series and totally ripping off the outer-space vibe of Lucas’s monster hit. Or when LICENSE TO KILL took a decidedly Joel Silverish turn in the late ‘80s, at a point where Roger Moore had burned the action-hero credibility of the series to the ground with his last few doddering effete grandpa performances in the series. For now, the thing they’re doing is imitating the more serious, hand-to-hand type of brutality that’s been dominating the last few years worth of big-budget action. And that’s okay with me. They're doing it pretty damn well. I like this style of action. I think it’s staged better than it’s shot in this film, and I think some of why it’s shot the way it is stems from Forster’s inexperience in this particular genre. And even so, even with the shooting and cutting of the action being the weak link in the film, I’m okay with it, because I like so much of the rest of it, and it is staged pretty well even if it’s not always clear what’s happening, and overall, the film works.

The reason these two films work for me is simple: Daniel Craig. For the first time since Connery, every element of Bond seems to be in place. He’s a cold-blooded killer, he’s a rugged action lead, he’s able to turn on the charm when he needs to, and he’s identifiably human and vulnerable. He doesn’t depend on the one-liners after every kill, but he’s got a dry wit that made me laugh out loud a few times. His skill set is extraordinary, but it seems possible as presented so far. I like the way he and Judi Dench have a tangible rapport that she never had with Brosnan, and their relationship is developing in some very interesting ways so far. Her chemistry with him is totally different than it was with Brosnan, and even though she’s a hold over from those films, the recasting seemed to have forced her to completely reinvent what she was doing, too.

Marc Forster’s work in the film is a mixed bag. Like I said, I don’t think he’s a confident action filmmaker, and much of his energy seems to be focused on getting in close to show you that Daniel Craig is really there in the midst of the action or really the one in the fights, but since we know that’s not really true, and there are plenty of stuntmen involved, I’d rather have a few choice “reality” shots and then action that is shot in a way that shows me the aggressive, dynamic staging by Dan Bradley and his stunt team. It’s not terrible, but it’s frustrating. When it all gels, though, it delivers because it feels personal, and that’s always more gripping to me in an action sequence. Everything else, Forster handles with aplomb, and I particularly like the small aesthetic choices, from the way the film just starts mid-car chase or the way he subtitles each new location they move to or the opening titles or the placement of the familiar James Bond gun barrel logo... it’s a very lean and clean Bond film, and I think the franchise is as healthy as it’s ever been right now. Can’t wait for the next one, and I hope Craig plays the character for years and years to come.

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39096

Добавлено (17.11.2008, 14:07)
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И еще с AICN
Гарри Ноулс тоже 'нас любит'

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39102

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А напоследок скажет Quint

The QUANTUM OF SOLACE [b]love train continues. Capone is quite fond of it!!![/b]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/39107

PS
А будете весить на главную стр сообщение о деньгах? Уже аж 322 млн заработали Надо же похвастаться.

Why Daniel Craig Must Get Naked In The Next Bond Movie
By Lauren Wissot

When I heard Quantum of Solace director Marc Forster say in the promo trailer that he tried to make the Bond film he always wanted to see, I thought “Uh-oh.” But my “Uh-oh” turned to “Oh, shit,” once I got to the screening and saw Paul Haggis listed in the credits as one of the writers, my distaste for Finding Neverland Forster trumped only by my loathing of faux-deep Haggis. And yet none of this mattered in the least because I was going to see Quantum of Solace for one reason and one reason only: to watch Daniel Craig get naked. (Heck, I’d have happily sat through Crash a dozen times if Haggis had tossed in a naked Daniel Craig every once in awhile!)

You see, ever since Craig’s debut in the remake of Casino Royale, the dusty old, 007 series was offered a prime opportunity to expand its audience for the first time in decades. Not only would hardcore Fleming franchise fans and massive car explosion enthusiasts be lining up for tickets; there was now a third audience of those like me, indifferent to the Bond legacy and shaky cam chases alike, but hot and bothered by Mr. Craig. And Forster and Haggis, not surprisingly considering their very un-sexy track record, blew it.

It’s not like I was expecting another gay S&M scene smack dab in the middle of the film (I realize a repeat of soft-core porn Casino Royale would have been too much to ask), but the makers of Quantum of Solace not only ignore Daniel Craig’s raging sexuality, they practically neuter him as well. A full hour goes by before Craig even so much as takes off his shirt – the only flesh he bares in the entire film! Instead he’s shown in a vast array of tuxedoes, suits and some ill-advised, Ralph Lauren-like leisurewear – as if he’s refined Roger Moore and not working class Craig. It’s like Forster has some cookie cutter image of a courtly Moore/Brosnan Bond stuck in his head, completely unaware that he’s dealing with a thug in a tux.

And yet this is precisely why Daniel Craig is the hottest Bond ever, the tension between his blue-collar physicality and the debonair restraints of the role are what makes him sizzle right off the screen. Closer in spirit to the rebellious Connery than to any of the suave and sophisticated Bonds to follow, Craig’s Agent 007 isn’t comfortable pent up in expensive duds. He wants to run wild on a beach half-naked (and I want to see him run wild on a beach half-naked). Sure, I’d be thrilled to attend the opera with Roger Moore or Pierce Brosnan on my arm. But I’d much rather skip Tosca and be locked in a hotel room with Daniel Craig.

In essence, Quantum of Solace is nothing more than a two-hour tease without the money shot. Even when Bond steals a tux at a luxurious party Forster frustratingly cuts away. In lieu of a hot shot of Bond changing into the suit, we inexplicably get some doughy, topless dude searching around for his pilfered threads! And Haggis’ script fares no better in understanding the allure of this particular Bond. For example, when Agent 007 eschews the down-and-dirty hotel in Bolivia for a five-star resort it makes total sense – for Moore’s proper Bond. But it makes absolutely no sense for the Bond character that Craig is playing! Craig’s Bond is rough-and-tumble like his C.I.A. counterpart Felix Leiter (played by always-at-the-top-of-his-game Jeffrey Wright), a warrior who only goes along with the snooty stuff because it’s part of his job. Watching Craig’s Bond one gets the sense he’d rather be talking football in the pub with the lads. (Besides, Craig’s Bond happens to still be in mourning for his beloved Vesper so he’s not focused on material comforts – only on revenge.)

For the makers of Casino Royale implicitly understood Craig, tailored the film around his sex appeal. For better or worse, the Fleming franchise belongs to the actor playing Bond and the filmmakers have to follow that lead. There’s downright arrogance in Forster and Haggis ignoring Craig’s enormous assets – as if they could care less who plays Bond (heck, it wasn’t up to them anyway!) Yes, auteur is king if you’re making a Hollywood boutique film – the actor must accommodate himself into the script. But this is the Bond series – thus the script must be tweaked to fit the actor playing the iconic agent!

For Craig is rightly reinterpreting the role – and Forster is not picking up on it. Craig’s been a stage and screen actor for decades so there’s a wealth of material Forster and Haggis could have studied to grasp Craig’s sensuous physicality. But I’d be surprised if they’d seen him in anything other than Casino Royale or Munich, if they’d actually done their homework. Craig was selected to play Bond for a reason – a different reason than Moore or even Connery was. The Bond role is evolving even as Forster and Haggis are stuck trying to repeat the past (evidenced by Quantum’s Bond-posing-with-a-gun retro opening).

It’s problematic that Mathieu Amalric as baddie Dominic Greene and Olga Kurylenko as Camille are the only actors who seem to be having a ball (probably because English is not their first language so they don’t realize how bloody awful their dialogue really is), but it’s unforgivable that these two are actually sexier than Bond. Haggis’ script just may be the worst Bond screenplay of all time, drained of all playfulness, the “wink” that is the key to the series’ longevity. Only when Bond responds “I sure hope so,” to the line “I do think she has handcuffs,” and “Not in the least” with a smile full of relish to Camille’s inquiry as to whether her use of sex as an infiltration tool offends him do Craig’s mischievous eyes light up. All other traces of witty, tongue-in-cheek, Bond double entendres are nowhere to be found. Sadly, even with the sexiest man alive in the lead, Quantum of Solace is far from titillating, as dry as the desert sand.

http://blog.spout.com/2008....d-movie

Добавлено (21.11.2008, 16:32)
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Еще забавное мнени
Quantum of Solace - A Review by an Unbiased Sassy Priscilla

http://sassypriscilla.typepad.com/sassy_p....la.html

Добавлено (21.11.2008, 16:34)
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+ тред CBn о женской натуре Кванта

http://debrief.commanderbond.net/index.php?showtopic=51720

да уж, поклонников у франшизы явно прибавилось, чему виной Д.К.

кто бы сомневался)))

да уж, это точно...этот форум - тому подтверждение

Stunt Coordinator Gary Powell talks about throwing Daniel Craig in to the thick of the action in "Quantum of Solace"...

Gary Powell On Putting 007 In Action
29th November 2008

The producers promised "Quantum of Solace" would have twice as much action as "Casino Royale", for Gary Powell that meant twice as many stunts. He talks about working with the director Marc Forster. “There is as much action in the opening sequence as you have in the whole of "Casino Royale". It has actually been good working with Marc because he comes to the table with a totally different thought process. In particular, it works because I want to do these stunts for real and he wants his film to look as real as possible. He wanted to use Daniel Craig as much as possible rather than use a stunt double. Then it’s down to me to say if that works or if we can use a double instead. There are certain things you can’t allow Daniel to do. ”

Daniel Craig is always keen to do as many of his own stunts as possible and Powell has always been impressed by his capabilities. “We had already worked with Daniel on "Casino Royale" so, when we got him back again, we knew what he was capable of and it made our training process much easier, we just carried on from where we left off and got straight in to it. I don’t mind Daniel doing the fight sequences himself, he knows there is a chance he could get punched in the face or he could punch someone else. When you are doing stunts at that speed there is always that risk. Daniel knows the risk and will decide if he wants to do it – 9 times out of 10, he does!

“Daniel did a lot of his own stunts on "Casino Royale" but on this, he is doing even more. He is in a building full of fire, there are fire balls exploding behind him, fire balls in front of him, he’s landing on fire, sliding across the floor on fire but you know he can do it, he is more than capable.”

Powell choreographed all the fights in "Quantum of Solace", he explains how the action has to suit the character so it is believable and assists the storytelling process. “When we first got Mathieu and started training with him we knew he had a big fight sequence with Bond at the end of the film, it was going to be a fight to the death. Very quickly we could see that he was not a technical fighter, he was a messy fighter, so we adapted the fight to suit his style and then fit that in to the character. When he is fighting now, he is getting the better of Bond, not because he is a better fighter, but because he is a maniac. He is coming at Bond in a frenzied attack, kicking, punching, screaming, hitting him with bars – he’s a dirty fighter.

“Olga’s [Kurylenko] character is an agent so she is military trained and we had to push her to that standard - it was tough for her but she really came up to the grade. In a way, she had the hardest fight to do because she fights General Medrano who is twice her size, if not more. Marc was concerned it wouldn’t work but we trained her hard and it does work. We are very proud of her progress.”

Working closely with actors who may not have trained before involves more than physical strength, Powell explains; “As well as physically, you have to prepare the actors mentally. We know at the end of their first month of training, if not before, they are going to wake up in the morning and not want to get out of bed, they will be aching and tired. We need to prepare them for that. When you are training actors, everyone has a bad day. We need to coach them and prepare them because it happens to everyone but the likelihood is, they will come back the next day and be twice as good.”

The stunt team need to work with every department on the film unit, Powell explains; “When we are designing stunts, we work with costume, hair and make up, special effects – everyone has to be involved and communicating from a very early stage. The costume department may want a certain look that I may have safety issues with, for example, if we are working in fire, I don’t want the actress in clothes that won’t work in that environment. With makeup, we need to tell them if after a fight, Bond would probably have a cut above his eye and a bruise on his left cheek.

“Stuntmen must have an overall sense of the film and work to eliminate as much of the danger and risk from a stunt as possible. When Daniel is running down a corridor with explosions and fire, I need to discuss with Chris [Special Effects Supervisor] where Daniel will be when the explosions are fired. The special effects team need to time everything exactly and Daniel needs to hit his mark exactly. If he over steps his mark he could end up in a fire ball – there is a massive amount of trust and hard work involved from everyone.”

James Bond’s car of choice, the Aston Martin DBS, makes a welcome return in "Quantum of Solace". In order to make the cars work in the Italian car chase sequence, Powell had some minor alterations made. “We have seven Aston Martins, they are rigged for two different surfaces; the road surface and the quarry surface which is loose gravel. We have stiffened the suspension and pushed the wheels out at an angle and used specific tires for each surface. We take all the traction control off the cars so, when we want to do a big wheel spin, the car will allow you to do it. That way the stuntman controls the car rather than the car controlling the stuntman. In the Aston we have put a hydraulic hand break in the car so the stuntman can use the hand break to spin the car round corners. The hand break is fitted in between the driver and the door so that it’s easy to reach for without looking down.”

To film Bond and Camille’s jump from the DC3, Powell chose to film the inserts of Daniel Craig and Olga Kurylenko at a training facility called Bodyflight. ‘Flying’ in the wind tunnel simulates the experience of freefalling, Powell explains; “When the idea first came about we were planning on having a parachutist do the actual freefall and insert images of Daniel and Olga’s faces with visual effects. I wanted to use Bodyflight rather than put the actors on wires with a wind effect so we went there and did video tests. Marc watched the tests and liked it so much he decided to do the whole parachute sequence in there. We filmed Daniel and Olga for a whole day and it looks really good, because it’s them for real doing the fall. You wouldn’t get the moves they were doing on wires so we were really pleased with the outcome.”

Another huge stunt sequence in "Quantum of Solace" is the boat chase, filmed in Colon, Panama. “The boat chase sequence got changed very late and Simon Crane [additional unit director] and me dreamt up a whole new sequence and rehearsed it very quickly. It was originally supposed to be quite a small set piece. We got there and decided to make it as big as we could with what we had, and that’s what we did. From one side of the Panama Canal to the other we shot the chase, ending up on an island for the finale. Working on the Panama Canal was difficult because it’s not a lake, it’s choppy with hundreds of 1,000ft long boats in your way and the water is changing all the time. You are trying to do precise turns and you are being dictated by the water so you can over shoot your mark by 10 or 12 ft. It was tricky, technical sequence to film.”

Gary Powell talks about working with the ‘The Bond Family’; “I’ve been lucky, I’ve worked on some great productions with some great producers, but Bond is a family business. When you are on the set, you are not just a crew member you are part of the family. Barbara’s [Broccoli] father started it all off with "Dr No" and she and Michael [Wilson] are carrying on his work. As producers, they have the job of keeping the film within budget but they trust their crew and will do their utmost to give you everything you need to do the best job you can for the film.”

Thanks to Sony Pictures Releasing UK.

Источник

A PROFESSOR from Salford University is squaring up to James Bond.

Professor Keith Ross from Salford University has been shaken into action over the climatic final scene of the latest Bond film where a hydrogen fuelled hotel is destroyed by an inferno after a vehicle crashes into it.

He fears that misconceptions about hydrogen - as shown in 'Quantum of Solace' starring Daniel Craig - could damage research into it being used as a low carbon free alternative to petrol and diesel.

Accusing the film-makers of 'irresponsible scaremongering', Prof Ross said: "I was perturbed to watch the James Bond film's climax. It was unrealistic and may perpetuate the fear that hydrogen should be avoided.

"Although potentially explosive in a confined space, the fuel can be handled quite safely. If released into the open air, hydrogen would only burn with a blue flame - a fact obviously of no interest to a film-maker.

"Like the famous photographs of the Hindenberg disaster, the scene's images could well stick in the public's consciousness."

Prof Ross said although the infamous German airship Hindenberg disaster in 1937 was widely believed to be caused by hydrogen, the fire has, in fact, been attributed to the flammable exterior paintwork.

He is leading a major research project into the viability of hydrogen as an economical, low carbon fuel, and a more environmentally friendly alternative to petrol and diesel-based engines.

He said: "The world needs a practical alternative to fossil fuels and I believe that hydrogen may be the way forward.

"The public needs to be reassured about its safety and scaremongering in the media will only set us back."

Two years ago he and his research team were awarded £500,000 from the European Commission to investigate ways of storing hydrogen in vehicles.

They designed a nine inch plastic model car model to show a possible way of how the gas could be kept.

http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news....d_movie

LOS ANGELES - The high-octane action of the world’s most famous secret agent continues when Quantum of Solace explodes onto Blu-ray Disc and DVD this March from MGM and Fox Home Entertainment.

A worldwide box office phenomenon, Quantum of Solace has broken countless records and scored among the top 20 film openings of all time in 67 international territories. Bond… James Bond remains one of the world’s largest and most successful film franchises with 22 films to date.

Starting shortly after Casino Royale ends, Daniel Craig returns as James Bond, betrayed by the woman he loved and determined to find those responsible for her death. His pursuit and determination lead him deeper into the criminal organization known as “Quantum” and into the company of Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), an environmentalist using his wealth and power to help overthrow a government in exchange for a barren piece of desert land that will allow him to control the country’s water supply. Forced to work without the help of MI6, Bond partners with Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a young woman on her own quest for justice, and together they travel across the globe in order to stop Greene and seek retribution.

The 22nd film in the James Bond franchise, Quantum of Solace features many familiar faces from 2006’s Casino Royale including Academy Award* winner Dame Judi Dench as Bond’s closest confidant, M; Giancarlo Giannini as René Mathis; and Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter. The Blu-ray Disc and two-disc Special Edition DVD contains special features including behind-the-scenes featurettes, crew files, plus a music video for “Another Way to Die” featuring Jack White and Alicia Keys.

*1999; Best Actress in a Supporting Role; Shakespeare in Love

Quantum of Solace will be available on Blu-ray Disc, single-disc DVD and two-disc Special Edition DVD as follows (product may vary by country):

AUSTRALIA – March 18
UK – March 23
NORTH AMERICA – March 24
NETHERLANDS – March 25
SWEDEN – March 25
SPAIN – March 25
ITALY – March 26
GERMANY – March 27
MEXICO – March 27
SWITZERLAND – March/May
FRANCE – May 13
JAPAN – June 16
BRAZIL – June 24 (retail) / March 23 (rental)
Synopsis
Daniel Craig returns as James Bond in this thrilling, action-packed adventure which starts shortly after Casino Royale ends. Betrayed by the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. On a nonstop quest for justice that crisscrosses the globe, Bond meets the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), who leads him to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a ruthless businessman and major force within the mysterious “Quantum” organization. When Bond uncovers a conspiracy to take control of one of the world’s most important natural resources, he must navigate a minefield of treachery, deception and murder to neutralize “Quantum” before it’s too late!

Single-Disc DVD Special Features:
“Another Way to Die” Music Video
Theatrical Trailers
Two-Disc Special Edition DVD Special Features:
Includes all of the above single-disc content plus additional bonus features:

“Bond on Location” 24-minute special feature
Start of Shooting
On Location
Olga Kurylenko and the Boat Chase
Director Marc Forster
The Music
Crew Files
Blu-ray DVD Special Features:
Includes all of the above two-disc special edition content in spectacular hi-definition.

http://commanderbond.net/article/5950

Добавлено (14.01.2009, 09:58)
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В этот раз 3 реально можем получить ИМХО, а вот наград не ожидаю, но всегда есть месть приятному сюрпризу

Кстати, оч рада за Джуди. Ах какая женщина

Hail Marys, bruises & blood: Craig ups 007 ante

Nearly three years ago, James Bond was revived in a way that completely redefined the decades-old British spy franchise. The new Bond was more morose, more intense and more cruel than we had seen since the days of Sean Connery--if even then. The actor portraying Bond--Daniel Craig--has even upped the ante by taking on his own, incredible stunts, including a foot chase across a 40-meter crane in Casino Royale.

"I admire him for wanting to do it," Bond producer Barbara Broccoli tells The Daily Yomiuri during a visit to Tokyo to promote Casino Royale's sequel, Quantum of Solace. "I think an audience can feel the difference.

"I get anxious...[and] I do a lot of Hail Marys."

The 22nd film in the Bond series, Quantum of Solace, may be the first true sequel, picking up soon after Casino Royale, and following Bond as he tries to resolve his feelings over Vesper Lynd, his girlfriend who died in the earlier film, while he tries to expose a previously unknown international conspiracy known only as Quantum.

Early in the film, Bond chases an assassin across the tiled rooftops of Siena, Italy. The stunts in the scene, which bares a striking resemblance to the Morocco rooftop chase scene in last year's Bourne Ultimatum, were performed mostly by Craig, with little more than a safety wire, according to an interview with the actor in Britain's Sunday Mirror.

"From the beginning, the whole rooftop thing is pretty scary," says Broccoli, daughter of Albert "Cubby" Broccoli, who was the original producer of the cinematic 007. "Everything is about training and rehearsing, everything is about precision. Fortunately, Daniel wants to do it, and he's a perfectionist, so he really believes he's got to give everything on the screen."

"If you don't get bruised playing Bond, you're not doing it properly," Craig was quoted as saying on www.mi6.co.uk, the official Bond Web site.

"[Daniel] pretty much took [his injuries] in stride, and he accepts that when you're doing close combat, fistfights and things like that, you're going to get punched, bruised and cut," Broccoli says. "You just sew him up and he keeps going."

The article on the Web site goes on to quote stunt coordinators for the series calling Craig the "toughest Bond" so far. Ian Fleming, the author of the James Bond stories, referred to the MI6 agent as a "blunt instrument." Craig's Bond is certainly that: With no qualms about killing or, at least, maiming, this newest Bond is an antihero in the truest sense.

"The hero has to meet the needs of the time...I think there's certainly a collective consciousness that heroes do not have to be super any more. A hero is someone who overcomes their fears, and it's not someone for whom everything comes easily," Broccoli says.

In Quantum, it is emotional control with which Bond struggles. Convinced from the get-go that Vesper had intentionally betrayed him ("She means nothing to me," he says at the film's start), he is out for vengeance, despite warnings and advice from those close to him, including his boss, M (Judi Dench).

Along the way, Bond becomes involved with Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a mysterious young woman with her own vendetta. However, unlike the more traditional Bond films, there is little sex: This relationship is one of mutual benefit, with Bond offering advice on how to commit a personal act of murder.

With such a dark turn over the previous Bond films, and the lack of any gadgets, or characters such as Moneypenny or Q (though, watch the credits for "Fields" full name...), there has been mixed fan reaction over the new, critically acclaimed Bond.

"We feel very confident that this is the right direction, for now. The thing is, people say, 'They're formula films,' and then you make a film like this, and they say, 'Where's Moneypenny? Where's Q?' You can't win," she laughs.

Certainly this new approach won't lead to Bond's death?

"It's a tough one; I think it's kind of like killing Santa Claus, you know? You realize [Bond] may die, but you don't want to be the one to do it."

"Quantum of Solace" is now playing.

http://www.yomiuri.co.jp/dy/features/arts/20090123TDY16003.htm

The name's Cooke, Ben Cooke - and as the man charged with keeping Bond fans on the edge of their seats, he's most definitely licensed to thrill - reports the New Zealand Herald.

The British-born, Kiwi-raised stuntman has been Daniel Craig's double for the past two 007 films, picking up an international award for a death-defying jump between two cranes in Casino Royale.

He got his break in the business after moving to London about seven years ago.

Since then he's worked on blockbusters such as Batman Begins, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull and Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, with stars such as Matt Damon, Harrison Ford, Ewan McGregor and Catherine Zeta-Jones.

"They're all really cool, just normal, regular people," says Ben, 34, who rates being Bond's double as the ultimate job in his line of work.

"It doesn't get much better than that."

Despite the success of the latest Bond hit, Quantum of Solace, the movie's Kiwi link is little known.

After leaving Britain aged five, he was enrolled on a martial arts course three years later to "get him more co-ordinated", says father Brian.

The sport became a passion, with Ben being crowned a New Zealand martial arts champion before entering the film industry.

Brian, who works at an Auckland store selling British food imported for ex-pats, says he loves telling people about his son's work.

Although Ben and Craig are similar, as you might expect for a stunt double, he can usually spot the difference between his son and the big name star he's standing in for.

"As a kid he dreamed of being a James Bond stunt double. His mum (Lesley) said 'follow your dreams' and he did."

Speaking from America, Ben seemed embarrassed rather than shaken or stirred by his parents' pride, telling the Herald on Sunday he preferred to avoid the limelight.

The former St Kentigern College student said Craig was a perfectionist who was great to work with and they've had the odd drink together - beer rather than martinis.

Ben says Craig even gave him an Omega watch, with a thank you message inscribed on the back, for his work on Quantum of Solace.

He loves his work but admitted to being a little scared about the award-winning jump - from a 46m crane to a 40m one.

In an overseas interview, Craig described the jump as "magnificent, beautiful, and still now when I look at that I think how the f*** did he do that".

Ben had picked up a few injuries and bruises ("if you're not getting beaten up, you're not doing Bond right") but tries to stay focused and professional.

Returning to see his parents and sister when he can - he owns homes here and in London - Ben returned for Christmas, attending a wedding and relaxing on Waiheke Island.

He manages visits here only every 18 months or so.

отсюда

Sales of Lewis Hamilton and James Bond Scalextric help the model train maker to buck the high-street malaise
A late surge in sales helped Hornby, the model train and Scalextric maker, to buck the high-street malaise and 'significantly' outperform on last Christmas.

The group, which also owns Airfix and Corgi, said that demand took off in the run-up to Christmas and continued immediately afterwards with children using Christmas vouchers and money to spend on its sets.

Best-sellers included Lewis Hamilton and James Bond Quantum of Solace Scalextric.

In a trading update, from October to January, the group said it expected "a strong finish to the financial year."

However problems including glitches in its supply chain and muted demand from its retail clients earlier in the year would put overall sales for the year at the "lower end" of analysts' expectations.

Frank Martin, chief executive, said that he was "very pleased" with the group's current position. He added that the tendency of consumers to hunker down at home during a recession could help to boost sales.

Hobby enthusiasts, he said, tended to stay loyal to the company whatever the climate. "They might not take a foreign holiday or buy a new car but if they are used to spending on their model collection they wil continue to do so."

Hornby, most famous for its toy trains, has undergone a transformation in recent years after switching the manufacturing of its model trains to China and introducing more modern versions of classics such as Scalextric.

Last year the group added Corgi, the brand famous for die-cast models of the Batmobile and James Bond's Aston Martin DB5, to its collection.

It has also increased sales by targeting younger customers through licensing deals.

One of Hornby's bestsellers has been a version of the Hogwarts Express, which has featured in the Harry Potter films.

Altium Securities described the results as a "mixed bag."

Other analysts highlighted the group's exposure to the weak pound - it sources most of its products in dollars. The group has already sought to offset the effect of the weak pound by increasing its prices and is considering further hikes.

http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol....770.ece

Добавлено (09.02.2009, 11:20)
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Special effects expert up for top film awards

5/ 2/2009

MILLIONS of moviegoers saw The Dark Knight and Quantum of Solace but few of them could have known just how much both films owed to a special effects guru from Little Bookham.

Chris Corbould has been nominated for special visual effects Baftas for his work on the Batman sequel and the 22nd Bond movie.

His work on The Dark Knight, which was the second highest grossing film in history, has also earned him a trip to Hollywood later this month after he was nominated for an Oscar.

The Bafta ceremony on Sunday at the Royal Opera House in London marks the fifth and sixth nominations for the 50-year-old, who has worked in the film industry for 35 years.

“I started straight from school when I applied for a job at the bottom level and my first job was on Tommy,” he said.

“I was really into The Who at the time. That was my first job in the film industry and I got the bug from there.

“It’s quite bizarre because I started out to be a scientist. When I went onto a set I got a buzz and I spent the next eight years learning to be an engineer.”

As special effects supervisor, Corbould takes charge of a team of technicians producing effects such as explosions, weather conditions and other stunt sequences.

The father of two, who lives in Little Bookham with his wife Lynn, has worked on 12 Bond films, the first of which was 1977’s The Spy Who Loved Me.

“Bond is always a challenge because they do everything for real,” he said. “The toughest part of Quantum of Solace was probably the final climatic destruction of the villain’s lair where Daniel (Craig) was very much in the thick of the explosions and fire.

“I’m very respectful of Daniel and his abilities,” he added.

Much of Corbould’s work involves mechanical engineering or hydraulics and his knowledge in this field was crucial when it came to constructing one of The Dark Knight’s standout sequences.

“The scene where the truck flipped over was the most challenging because we were right in the banking district of Chicago, so it was quite confined,” he admitted.

The Baftas take place this Sunday, February 8, while the 81st Academy Awards will be held on February 22 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.

http://www.getsurrey.co.uk/enterta...._awards

10. Quantum of Solace (2008)
The sequel to the Best Bond Movie Ever™ (discuss) was released last week in the UK, and as yet I haven’t had a chance to see it. The film has been fairly well-received by critics though; and exceptionally well-received at the box-office.
Cost: $230m (£145m)

Why? The usual culprits are to blame for the 22nd Bond film’s budgetary explosion (estimated to have cost almost twice as much as Casino Royale); namely, huge action set-pieces and a variety of exotic shooting locations. It’s a good job that Bond sold out to product placement a long time ago – the innumerable big brands attached to the film will have helped foot the massive marketing bill.

Less expensive than: Bond’s annual Chlamydia prescription.

http://blog.knowyourmoney.co.uk/index.p....ll-time

Добавлено (24.02.2009, 16:56)
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Уроки, полученные Бондом в процессе КР и Кванта

Until you've killed at least a couple of people, you can only see in black and white. It's just like dropping acid, only a lickle bick more anti-social.

A Sony Ericsson Mobile phone works wonders.
Always keep your sense of humor - especially when someone is busting your balls

When to open your parachute - just 2 seconds before impact

Saying your Last Name first, and First Name last makes the crowd go wild
Keep a defibrillator handy as we dont know who might poison you

Puny little Frenchmen can create problems with an axe

Henchmen who wear a toupee can be killed by blowing their pants off in an explosion

Never stay in an hotel powered by Hydrogen Fuel cells

Quantum has people EveryWhere ™

Felix is a cool brother

M treats him as if she was his mother

When someone hangs on a ledge with your tie, then shove them over

Death by motor oil is a good way for terrorists to die

Dont sleep with pissed off gals on a vendetta, even if they are hot as Camille

How to pull a woman even though one's testicles have been smashed into a horrible meaty goo.

How this tune seems to follow him around whenever he does something cool.

How to perform a really quick funeral.

How to wear a cardigan without looking utterly ridiculous (albeit slightly ridiculous).

http://debrief.commanderbond.net/index.php?showtopic=53407

What: Variety screening of "Defiance"
Where: ArcLight Cinema, Hollywood

Who: Director Ed Zwick, producer Pieter Jan Brugg, co-writer Clayton Frohman and cast members Alexa Davalos and Mark Feuerstein

"Defiance" director Edward Zwick eloquently introduced his new film before Monday night's Variety screening at the ArcLight by relating the personal journey the filmmaker went through in discovering the story in a 1995 New York Times obituary.

The obituary related the story of Zus Bielski (Liev Schreiber), who along with his brothers Tuvia (Daniel Craig), Asael (Jamie Bell) and Aron (George MacKay), survived the Nazis and their local collaborators by escaping into the Belarusian forest. In the woods they joined other partisan fighters who helped them resist the Nazis and save 1,200 Jews from extermination.

"What I learned is that victims could have strength; that they could define themselves and the word 'defiance' not with revenge but rather with a refusal to let go of those things that make us human -- whether that's love, sexuality, humor, brotherhood, family or community," said Zwick.

Following the screening, Variety's Brian Lowry moderated a discussion with producer Pieter Jan Brugge, co-writer Clayton Frohman and cast members Alexa Davalos and Mark Feuerstein.

The film was shot in Vilnius, Lithuania and the forests surrounding the city that was once a center of Jewish life before the Germans came. Lensing on the soil where so many were slaughtered was a moving experience for the cast and crew.

"Vilna was called the Jerusalem of the north and it was pretty powerful to be shooting in what was the great center of learning for the Jews," said Feuerstein. "There's these monuments -- literally a block from where we were living for 2Ѕ months-- where thousands of Jews were killed and it was just a bizarre experience to be shooting this movie about this story in a place that is just fraught with history."

The reason Frohman felt compelled to write this movie was because the story of the Bielski Brigade and other Jewish partisans is such a unique and mostly unknown part of Holocaust history.

"We knew the history of the European Jews and we grew up with it. It's a tragic story of powerlessness and passivity," said Frohman. "So with this story, just from the photograph in the obituary, here's a guy who clearly was wearing a captured (German) outfit. That was a new thing. The idea of a Jew who picks up a gun and fights back against what we all know to be the enemy."

http://www.variety.com/index.a....7997081

Фото с показа

http://www.variety.com/index.a....id=2385

Добавлено (22.12.2008, 11:10)
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'Defiance' tells tale of Jewish resistance
Zwick's WWII drama offers a fresh point of view

When Ed Zwick appeared at a November screening of his new film, "Defiance," he quoted some lines from a poem by W. H. Auden called "September 1, 1939":
"I and the public know

"What all school children learn,

"Those to whom evil is done

"Do evil in return."

Those lines are particularly relevant to the film, which is based on the true story of the Polish Jewish Bielski brothers, who saved dozens of other displaced Jews by offering them a kind of sanctuary and began a brutal fight against the Nazis in the forests of Eastern Europe during WWII. Indeed, the characters as portrayed in the film are heroic but also violent -- sometimes murderous -- in taking revenge against the Nazis and even each other. It's that duality that pulled Zwick into the story.

"People tend to describe history in monolithic terms," says the helmer regarding some of the film's unsettling depictions of retaliation. "But when you break it down, you discover there are complexities throughout, and the Jews are not immune to that."

While some attending the screening reacted with quiet gasps to one scene in which a Nazi soldier is cornered and beaten by members of the encampment, those moments seemed especially honest to one reporter in attendance whose father had survived Dachau by escaping the camp and living in the nearby forest and later told stories just as harsh about what it took to survive there.

Coin hunt

Finding the money to tell that kind of story wasn't a simple process -- but not an unfamiliar one for this writer-director-

producer.

"This is typical for me with my movies. The studios didn't want the film, but we were able to go to Cannes and get European financing because my last few films had done well there," says Zwick, who completed the 60-day shoot on a $35 million budget, fully financed by Grosvenor Park. "Then we brought it back here (to the U.S.) and got domestic distribution from Paramount Vantage, and even then it was only possible if I and Daniel (Craig) took a very small portion of our salaries."

Zwick's passion for the material was evident in his commitment to the shooting location, Lithuania, which offers no tax incentives like some neighboring Eastern European countries.

It wasn't an easy shoot," says Dan Weil, "Defiance" art director, who adds that the country's and miles and miles of diverse forests were key to the film. "The forest was a character in the movie," he explains.

Composer James Newton Howard also found himself moved by Zwick's commitment to and passion for the material.

"His energy never lags," says Howard. "He was always so involved in the story."

The struggle to get the story onscreen was worth it, says Zwick. "With these kinds of subjects, it never gets easier, but the reason to do this is that there's a story that's worth telling."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997658.html?categoryid=3383&cs=1

Добавлено (22.12.2008, 11:12)
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Big canvases perfect for last classicist
Zwick's pics a throwback to serious post-War dramas

The helmer of "The Last Samurai" and the forthcoming "Defiance" is the last classicist, defiantly bucking the popular appetite for frat-boy comedies and comicbook stunts in favor of epic dramas with something to say.

If you were to pin him down within the Hollywood tradition, you could say he combines the left-wing/humanist leanings of Stanley Kramer with the visual sweep and thematic ambition of Otto Preminger -- two giant but often underappreciated filmmakers.

For instance, 1989's "Glory" -- celebrating the all-black 54th Massachusetts Civil War regiment -- relates to the films of Kramer, the fighting liberal who examined race relations in dramas ("The Defiant Ones") and comedies ("Guess Who's Coming to Dinner").

Zwick's films eagerly take on imposing institutions threatening individuals' honor and freedom, from a U.S. Army cover-up in "Courage Under Fire" to the international jewel cartel's exploitation of Africa in "Blood Diamond." Kramer and Preminger did likewise, of course, the former filing a brief for open scientific inquiry in "Inherit the Wind," the latter challenging religious orthodoxies in "The Cardinal."

All three filmmakers dove into a paramount issue of our times -- the prospect of peace in the nuclear age -- though Kramer arrived early with "On the Beach," and Preminger late in his terrorism thriller "Rosebud."

Neither film possesses the power of Zwick's 1983 pic "Special Bulletin," depicting live TV news coverage of a terrorist group threatening to detonate a nuclear bomb in Charleston, S.C. With startling realism, the pic juggles live handheld feeds with fact-based essays on the impact of a nuke on American soil, leading to a sobering finale.

Even more chillingly, Zwick's 1998 feature "The Siege" presciently addresses the dilemma of Arab-Americans during multiple domestic terrorist attacks, creating a Ground Zero at Manhattan's FBI headquarters disturbingly close to the real-life images that would haunt us three years later.

But Zwick, creatively, has taken many a break from life-and-death concerns with such projects as TV's baby-boomer chronicle "thirtysomething," co-created with Marshall Herskovitz; ably taking on contemporary sexual politics in adapting David Mamet's "Sexual Perversity in Chicago" as "About Last Night ... "; exec producing teen angst diary "My So-Called Life"; and helming American epic "Legends of the Fall."

What Zwick lacks -- and in fairness, so do most other filmmakers today -- is the ambiguity of which Preminger was a master. He produced a courtroom drama ("Anatomy of a Murder") in which the crime's truth is left open, and a political thriller ("Advise and Consent") in which the politicians' parties are never named -- all are tarred with the same corrupt brush. Though a Jew and staunch supporter of Israel, in "Exodus" he laid out the Palestinian position with fair-minded lucidity. A Preminger widescreen frame encompasses a set of disparate characters and challenges us to sort out our own sympathies and alliances.

Critical response

By contrast, both Kramer and Zwick have been taken to task for moral certitude and one-dimensional characters. Just as Pauline Kael criticized Kramer's "Ship of Fools," a panorama of pre-WWII attitudes, for being "brutally sure how everyone should have acted," surely "The Last Samurai" could profitably have admitted more Westerners (other than its hero) who weren't mere martinets or fools.

Yet Zwick may be moving in a Premingeresque direction in his new film "Defiance," which pits two brothers -- leaders of Jewish resistance in war-torn Belarus -- in an incisive dialectic over means and ends.

Each makes a passionate, plausible case -- Tuvia Bielski (Daniel Craig) arguing for saving as many people as possible through mutual defense; Zus (Liev Schreiber) opting just to kill Nazis, every man for himself -- and the debate goes unresolved as the film ends.

It's exciting to imagine more Hollywood films willing to let an audience draw its own moral conclusions, and Zwick may be the man for the job. Surely he possesses the taste and intelligence to leave complex questions unanswered, even as his characters live up to the idealistic Emersonian code quoted in "Glory" and echoed throughout his movies: "A deep man believes that the evil eye can wither, that the heart's blessing can heal, and that love can overcome all odds."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997661.html?categoryid=3495&cs=1

Добавлено (22.12.2008, 11:13)
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Edward Zwick: The defiant one
Director toils on tough topical tales

You can easily forget that it's a cold, rainy, late November afternoon in Santa Monica if you're inside the warm, earth-toned offices of the Bedford Falls Co., the production shingle launched by Edward Zwick and his partner Marshall Herskovitz after they met as film students at the American Film Institute.
In the helmer's own inner sanctum, there's a large, plush, chocolate-brown leather sofa; at the far end of the room, there's a portrait of Richard Nixon drawn by Ralph Steadman for Rolling Stone's Watergate coverage, a memento of the director's days with the magazine as a writer and editor.

"The idea was that people would feel comfortable here and come and hang out at the offices, and they often stop by because they know there's stuff in the fridge," says Zwick, smiling. "This has been a significant source of a cash-flow problem over the years."

Zwick and Herskovitz just barely secured the name of their production company, Bedford Falls -- named after the town in the Frank Capra classic "It's a Wonderful Life" -- in 1985 ahead of another filmmaker.

"About a week after we registered the name Bedford Falls, we got a call from Rob Reiner who said he'd wanted to name his company the same thing," says Zwick. "But he seems to have done all right with Castle Rock, so I think he's forgiven me."

Bedford Falls has certainly gone on to success, too. The company's produced such zeitgeisty TV series as "thirtysomething" and "My So-Called Life," and critically lauded, bankable films like Oscar winners "Shakespeare in Love" and "Traffic." There are also the Internet series "Quarterlife" and films directed by Zwick: "Legends of the Fall," "The Siege," "Glory," "The Last Samurai," "Blood Diamond" and this year's "Defiance."

Despite the large slate of projects, the writer-director-producer has kept Bedford Falls small and intimate.

"I know people who have these huge infrastructures in their companies that they have to keep going," says Zwick. "Having money from television (come in) and (structuring) our offices this way means that we've only done things we wanted to do. I could hold out because I didn't have to take something just to pay the mortgage."

Both Zwick and Herskovitz admit they're often attracted to characters that are in transition, openly ambivalent or highly conflicted in some way. They are also entrenched in the idea of richly personal filmmaking, something Herskovitz believes they learned at AFI.

"They taught us filmmaking in the way that a European conservancy teaches something, with the idea that there were masters who came before us and that we could learn from them," says Herskovitz. "We looked at the films and got the idea that we should make films that are worth seeing and mean something to us."

That perspective hasn't made it easy going for Zwick, who, after years pushing to get edgy dramas like "Traffic" and socially provocative works like "Glory" made, wonders what it would be like to bring a project to a studio that it actually wants. His latest pic, the $35 million, WWII-set "Defiance," was entirely financed by Grosvenor Park.

"Really, Bedford Falls is as much a state of mind as anything else," says Zwick, who believes producing means just as deep an investment as directing. "We still have to raise money from people who have it. It has been a magnet to certain kinds of people who want to work with us and a center from which other things have emerged."

While Zwick and Herskovitz have worked closely on most of Bedford Falls' projects, it's Zwick who has often done the traveling for them.

"Ed has more of a taste for going on location than I do," says Herskovitz. "Every time he comes back from something like 'Blood Diamond,' where it was such a physically demanding shoot, he says he'll never do that again. Then what does he do? He goes and shoots 'Defiance' in Lithuania in the middle of winter."

That kind of determination and focus is something you hear about from many of Zwick's collaborators -- though they all say he's awfully nice about asking them to do things over again.

"You know, I save his emails because they're so wonderful to read," says composer James Newton Howard, who worked on "Blood Diamond" and "Defiance." "He's always so encouraging and supportive, but he's never afraid to tell you what he wants. He'll reject something he doesn't want and he'll be very charming and kind when he does it. He wants you to do the best work for the film, and he'll work with you to get there."

Whether producing, directing or writing, Zwick believes there's a similar level of emotional energy involved.

"Producing is just a different kind of a role in the process," says Zwick, who, along with Herskovitz, is now writing and developing new projects for Bedford Falls. "Ultimately everyone is invested in the movie -- the key grip, the costume designer -- and all of you go out each day and leave everything on the field together."

The duo are reluctant to talk specifics about upcoming projects: Zwick is not sure which ones will come together first.

"Marshall and I are writing again and we're looking at both film and television," says Zwick. "It's like beating things in a mixing bowl. You're never sure when something is going to quicken."

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117997666.html?categoryid=3495&cs=1

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http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news....2520711

A story of courage, hope
'Defiance' recounts tale of Bielski brothers, the uncles of Freehold Twp. resident
BY CLARE MARIE CELANO Staff Writer

When Lola Kline sits in a movie theater and watches "Defiance," she will not just be a face in the crowd. Kline, 67, of Freehold Township, will actually be witnessing her family's history as it comes alive on the screen.

Kline is a survivor of the World War II-era Holocaust and said actor Daniel Craig, who will portray her uncle Tuvia Bielski in "Defiance," is her "new hero."

Tuvia Bielski was one of three brothers who were part of an effort to save a large number of Polish Jews during World War II by hiding them in the deep woods of Belarus (once considered Poland, then Russian territory, now an independent country).

"Defiance," which will be released Dec. 31 in select theaters and in general release Jan. 16, is based on a true story written by Nechama Tec and directed by Ed Zwick of "Blood Diamond" fame. The film depicts the struggle of the Jews of Eastern Europe as they are being massacred by the hundreds of thousands by Hitler's Nazis.

The Bielski brothers took refuge in the dense woods they had known since childhood and began their battle against the Nazis. The Bielski brothers, Tuvia (played by Daniel Craig), Zus (played by Liev Schreiber), and Asael (played by Jamie Bell), were Kline's uncles.

According to Kline, the small group that went into the woods grew as people learned about the effort to hide Jews. Their efforts to "save every Jew," according to Kline, created an entire community. In all, more than 1,200 Jewish people were kept in hiding. She said the community in the woods eventually became a village that included a hospital and a jail.

According to the Holocaust Research Project, "By the spring of 1942, the brothers managed to form what was called an otriad (a partisan detachment) which initially consisted of their immediate surviving relatives and close friends. During the next three years, approximately 1,200 Jews came into the otriad.

"At its height, the otriad camp consisted of long, camouflaged dugouts for sleeping, a large kitchen, a mill, a bakery, a bathhouse, two medical facilities, a tannery, a school, a jail and a theater. Tailors, seamstresses, shoemakers, watchmakers, carpenters, mechanics and experts in demolition provided the 1,200-member community with necessary skills, while about 60 cows and 30 horses provided food and transportation."

Kline said, "When the rumors came in that the Germans were killing men, the men went into hiding in the woods. There were incidents of killing between 1938 and 1941 and men went into hidingwhile their families stayed on their farms. The men would come back to check on their families periodically."

Kline said the Bielskis' effort was the only all-Jewish group that would take men, women, children and the elderly.

"Other groups would only take those who could handle a gun," she said. "The big killings, which I think took place in the winter of 1941, then started."

As Kline sat among family photo albums, pointing out family members, the Bielski homestead in Stenkevich, and other historically significant photos, she revealed the details of the deaths of her relatives.

Listening to her describe the events of those years was touching and frightening as she spoke about unimaginable occurrences.

"My uncle Aron, who was around 10 years old at the time, was at home with his parents, David and Bella Bielski, when he saw the truck coming up to his farm," Kline said. "He was on the farm and managed to hide as he saw his parents, being placed in the truck. They were collecting Jews, you know. That was the last time Aron saw his parents. He took off into the woods where his older brother Tuvia told him to go tell my mother and my other grandparents to get out and quickly."

Kline said her mother, Taube Bielski Dzienciolski, wrapped her in a blanket and took off for the woods.

"I was about 6 months old," Kline said.

Kline was kept in the woods for only a few months because it was too dangerous for an infant to stay there. In addition, she said she kept getting sick. It was arranged that she would live with a Polish couple in Hutaskellana, which was near the Bielski homestead. The couple would raise her as their own child. She explained the elaborate ruse needed to bring this idea to fruition.

"I was left outside a window of their home with a cross necklace on and a note asking that someone take care of me. My mother and uncles hid and waited for someone to come out and get me. The couple had to make sure their neighbors would hear me cry and know that I was left there," she said.

She stayed with that family until she was about 4 years old. After the war ended, her parents came back to get her and that was something for which she was not prepared.

"I was raised by this couple and thought they were my parents," Kline said. "I was very frightened of these new people (her biological parents) and didn't want to go with them. I didn't know who they were, and I had been taught to hate Jews. I was raised as a Christian and attended church."

Kline said it had to be that way for her own protection in order for her to survive.

In the beginning, living with her biological parents was not easy for Kline.

"I remember crying every time I heard church bells. I wanted to go to church," she said. Eventually, Kline, her fatherAbe Dzienciolski and her mother Taube traveled to the Fohrenwald Displaced Persons Camp in Germany. Kline's sister, Bella, was born in the camp in 1945. The family was eventually able to emigrate to the United States in 1949. They settled in New York City where her father worked in the plastics industry. Kline's youngest sister, Charlotte, was born in New York in 1949.

Asael Bielski died after joining the Polish army in 1945.

Tuvia Bielski and Zus Bielski emigrated to the United States from Israel in the mid-1950s, coming at different times but eventually settling in New York City. Tuvia died in 1987 at the age of 81. Zus died in 1995 at the age of 83.

Aron, 78, is the only survivor of the 11 Bielski siblings. He lives in Florida.

Kline said, "I dreamed of those Germans and the things they used to do to women and children for years and years. I would wake up crying and screaming hysterically."

Reflecting back on that time, Kline gently turned pages in photo albums that contained bits and pieces of her life and her heritage. She remembered the horrors of that time in her life and the lives of those she loved as well as those who were lost.

Kline made a trip back to Belarus about 10 years ago with her son, Jeff, (her daughter, Jacee Slatnick, could not attend. Both children live in California) and other family members, some who came from other states and countries around the world.

A total of 18 members of the Bielski family traveled back to their homeland, back in time, returning to their roots.

"It was an amazing experience," Kline said. During the interview in her home, Kline shared some of the photos she took on that trip, including pictures of the home where she was left as an infant and pictures of the mass graves where Jews were buried.

"Some of those graves were moving for days," she said, "because some were buried alive."

Returning to Belarus, the area that is now the subject of "Defiance," was an important event in her life, she said.

An avid photo collector, she considers the memorabilia precious.

"We lost everything back then," she said.

Her photo albums, which total about 30 right now, are irreplaceable treasures.

Kline has seen "Defiance" twice, including once at the Museum of Jewish Heritage in New York. She said about 150 members of the Bielski family were in attendance at the screening. Kline said the movie is "fabulous" and believes it demonstrates the strength of the Germans and "what the Jewish people were up against."

"These Jews were courageous," she said. "There were not that many that fought back in those days. The fight had been bred out of them. Many were passive. These Jews, my uncles, were the ones from the Bible — the fighters. It was the return of the fighting Jew, just like Israel is now. They are no longer leaving and allowing other countries to take them over."

Kline said she is planning to attend the red carpet premiere of "Defiance" on Jan. 12 in New York.

"How many chances do you get to do something like this?" she said.

Источник

Tec makes it to the big screen with 'Defiance'
By Carol King
Posted: 01/09/2009 03:45:34 PM EST

Nechama Tec, of Westport, is renowned as a Holocaust scholar whose research and publications relay the history of Jews in the last century.

Though most of her work can be found on the printed page, movie-goers will soon have the opportunity to see her carefully constructed research make it to the big screen.

Tec is the author of Defiance: The Bielski Partisans, which will be released next week as a major motion-picture, titled Defiance, starring Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell.

The film, distributed by Paramount Vantage, is directed by Edward Zwick, who also directed Glory, Blood Diamond, The Last Samurai, Courage Under Fire and Legends of the Fall, among others.

Published in 1993, Defiance tells the true story of a great leader, Tuvia Bielski, as well as of a neglected aspect of World War II.

In the book, Tec recounts how Bielski's strategic leadership formed the largest armed rescue operation of Jews by Jews in World War II. Beginning in 1941 in Nazi-occupied Poland. Bielski created a forest-dwelling community in western Belorussia that would number more than 1,200 Jews by 1944.

"Not only did Bielski who lost his wife and two brothers to the Nazis, aid fellow Jews, he never wavered in his
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conviction that it was more important to save one Jew than to kill 20 Germans," said Tec. "Under his guidance, the partisans smuggled Jews out of heavily guarded ghettos, scouted the roads for fugitives and led retaliatory raids against Belorussian peasants who collaborated with the Nazis."

Herself a Holocaust survivor, Tec told the Westport News that she is grateful to Zwick for putting his spotlight on Bielski's accomplishments.

"This story is of an unusual historical event that is not well known," she said. "This is an important part of history and I am happy that Mr. Zwick was interested in this group of people who lived in a forest under harrowing conditions yet became rescuers and fighters. They saved more than 1,200 people many of them women and children who had no hope for survival."

She and her husband, Leon Tec, traveled to Lithuania during the filming of Defiance to see the work in progress. Since then, she has seen the movie three times and will see it again at its New York premiere next week.

"Mr. Zwick is a brilliant man," Tec said. "I am delighted that a director of this stature was interested in my work. While we watched the filming, he encouraged the actors to speak with me."

Craig, in particular, was interested in hearing Tec's take on his character, Tuvia Bielski. "I was amazed by his devotion to his craft," Tec said. "I watched him go over his lines. He was so critical of his work. He would do scenes again and again and again, long after I thought they were already perfect. He gave this role as much as he had. He is a very accomplished actor."

She added that she is pleased with Zwick's treatment of her book. "He had to compress characters and events to fit the story into a two-hour time period," she said, "but I am so pleased with the end result."

Tec noted that the upcoming movie has introduced her book to a brand new audience. "The publisher has re-released the book, with Daniel Craig's picture on the cover," she said. "I signed books at the Holocaust Museum and they sold out right away."

In the forward of the newly released version, Zwick wrote, " To read of the Bielski brothers and their fight to create a safe haven in the midst of a hell-on-earth evokes in me something utterly primitive and deeply personal, a roiling wave of fear, awe, humility, and admiration. And outrage, too that such a story was not better known...

"In an age when the term 'hero' has been so overused as to become meaningless, the Bielskis remind us that real heroism is not the stuff of comic books. Rather, it is a set of decisions, sometimes impulsive, often made by simple men of whom nothing of the sort could ever have been expected. Their story is not simply one of courage or fortitude in the face of adversity; it includes any number of daunting moral decisions whether to seek vengeance or to rescue, how to re-create a sense of community among those who have lost everything, how to maintain hope when all seems forsaken."

In his review, published in The New Yorker (Jan. 12), David Denby wrote, "Defiance is a Hollywood product, with decades of storytelling know-how behind it, and Zwick and the film's screenwriter, Clayton Frohman, have compressed and transposed events, defined and sharpened tensions, and, in general, shaped the material for emotional effectiveness and suspense."

He added, "Daniel Craig, it turns out, can embody a Moses figure without losing his sex appeal, which may be the highest compliment I've ever paid an actor."

Defiance also is available as a book on tape, with the story read by Stefan Rudnicki.

Tec is currently working on a new book, which is a comparative of Jewish and non-Jewish resistance during the Holocaust. Her book In the Lion's Den: The Life of Oswald Rufeisen was recently released as a paperback. This book tells the story of a Jewish rescuer who passed as a Christian in occupied Poland during World War II.

Over the years, her historical research and publications have concentrated on the intricate relationships between self-preservation, compassion, altruism, rescue, resistance, cooperation and gender.

Her books have investigated such areas as Christian rescue of Jews (When Light Pierced the Darkness), Jewish and Christian identity (In the Lion's Den) and, most recently, gender and survival (Resilience and Courage). Her fascination with the unexplored began with her own memoir (Dry Tears) which is a candid exploration of the ways in which a false identity can become all-consuming.

She is the recipient of two honorary degrees of Doctor of Humane Letters: one from Seton Hall University and the most recent from Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. In 2002, she was appointed by the president to the Council of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Washington D.C.

Tec's son, Roland, co-produced Defiance. A writer and director, Roland's 1997 film, All the Rage, is considered a hallmark of the Queer Indie Film Movement of the 1990s for what was then its unprecedented critical view of A-list gay male culture of perfection. His latest directorial effort in film is We Pedal Uphill, a tapestry of Post-9/11 America.

For information on Nechama Tec, visit www.nechamatec.com

Источник

Рецензия на норм 2х дисковое издание Qos

Quantum of Solace: Two Disc Special Edition
MGM // PG-13 // March 24, 2009
List Price: $34.99

Review by Nick Hartel

THE MOVIE

SPOILER WARNING: This review assumes the reader has seen the predecessor to this film, "Casino Royale". If you haven't, it is highly advisable that you do so as this film only works fully if you come into it with the back-story.

Without a doubt, "Quantum of Solace" was one of the most anticipated film releases of the 2008 holiday season. It would be Daniel Craig's second outing as Bond and audiences were eagerly awaiting to see more of the magic from Craig and company that made "Casino Royale" one of the best received Bond films in decades. Marc Forster ("Monster's Ball", "Finding Neverland", "Stranger Than Fiction") would take the directors chair from two-time Bond director Martin Campbell. Forster seemed an odd choice for such an action packed series, considering his dramatic background.

"Quantum of Solace" would also mark a first in the Bond series: the first direct sequel to a previous film. The film's opening moments establish this point immediately, as Bond engages in a high-speed car chase, on his way to deliver Mr. White to MI6. What follows next is a steady stream of action set pieces interspersed with just enough exposition and dialogue to give you a chance to catch your breath, the problem is, the action scenes, while top notch, not the style most Bond fans may have expected. They are obviously the work of Dan Bradley, second unit director and stunt coordinator; his style is very apparent, having been seen before in the latter two Bourne films. The Bourne films have arguably had an influence on the Bond reboot, but the last thing this revitalized series needs is to come off as an imitator of another franchise

My other biggest complaint with the action is the lack of brutality; the fights in "Casino Royale" were intense and the physical effects of violence were in your face; here Bond walks away with little damage to himself and feels more like a superhero than a super spy, for a film trying to show a larger than life character with emotional weight, this type of no consequence violence does a great disservice.

"Quantum of Solace's" main problems arise in the first act; the main villain, Dominic Greene (played very confidently by Mathieu Amalric) is introduced with side-villain General Medrano; alongside these two scoundrels, Camille (Olga Kurylenko) is thrown into the mix as the lover of Greene who is using him to extract revenge on Medrano, the man who killed her family. Bond is pulled into the mix while on an official mission to find more information on the Quantum organization; unofficially, Bond is still on a personal mission of revenge, as the same organization is responsible for the death of the woman he loved, Vesper Lynd. Hardened by her death, Bond struggles to remain a constant professional, claiming hatred of Vesper, but at the same time killing almost any thug who crosses his path.

All of this exposition is spread over the course of forty minutes and the previously mentioned action scenes feel like they are there simply for the sake of masking the limited plot. When action scenes in a Bond film become tedious, there is something wrong. These problems are especially detrimental as they set-up an expectation of disappointment for the viewer. This DVD marks the third time I've seen "Quantum of Solace" and while I am still frustrated by the first act, I'm able to enjoy the film more knowing, the latter two acts are rewarding.

It's not until the around the 40 minute mark that the film finally feels like a Bond film, and takes the very light plot and begins to advance it at a steady pace. It's easily arguable that the plot of the film isn't as important as the journey of Bond, but at the end of the day this is a James Bond film, and if you want to have a deep look at the character, then the story driving his actions needs to have more depth itself. When Camille finally returns to the limelight to set up the film's finale, the emotional weight of the film is allowed to shine. Daniel Craig's performance is nothing short of spectacular; he is cool and suave, while at the same time, deadly and vulnerable. In one of the film's best scenes, Bond comforts a dying man, showing a touching humanity; in the blink of an eye, Bond is dumping the man's body in the trash. His body and voice are one hundred percent professional, but Craig's expressive eyes still show a hint of hurt and a feeling of responsibility for getting the man involved in the first place.

The acting of this film, led by Craig, is the film's strongest point. Despite the thin plot and somewhat clichéd dialogue, every actor plays his or her part with excellence. Craig is kept in check by his boss/mother, "M", once again played by Dame Judi Dench. Dench's performance is very much in the same league as Craig's. She must officially, keep the leash on Bond, but deep down, she knows Bond deserves his revenge. Dench has talked about leaving the role many times in the past, only to be pulled back into the newest film; I strongly hope that she continues with the series for at least a few more films, as her chemistry with Craig is one this film's great assets.

Mathieu Amalric also does a fine job as Dominic Greene: he strikes a good balance of power, sophistication, and ruthless greed. In many ways, I think Greene is a better villain than Le Chiffre, despite Bond never truly getting to match words with Greene as he did with Le Chiffre.

No Bond film would be complete without a Bond girl and this film comes with two: the previously mentioned Camille, who like Bond needs revenge, but while just as unstable and emotional, hasn't hardened her heart to keep up appearances, like 007. Gemma Arterton plays Strawberry Fields and is fine in her role to advance both the plot and the emotional journey of James.

Last but not least are Jeffrey Wright, Giancarlo Giannini, and Jesper Christensen, as Felix Leiter, Rene Mathis, and Mr. White respectively. Leiter is little more a plot device in this film, while Mathis is a crucial character to Bond's development. Jesper Christensen's limited screen time is highly memorable and hopefully, he'll show up in a larger role in the next Bond film, as he evokes the classic Bond villain, we know and love.

As a whole package, "Quantum of Solace" is very entertaining, if you can get past the overly long feeling first act. Once it hits its stride, it's an engaging film and the action settles down a bit. Upon repeat viewings, the emotional journey of Bond becomes more apparent and this is where the talent of Marc Forster as a dramatic director shines. "Quantum of Solace" isn't Casino Royale 2.0. It's flaws keep it from being a great Bond film, but aren't so much, that it makes it a bad Bond film. The weak story is what will frustrate most people, and from those expecting something on the level of "Casino Royale", it's a justifiable complaint. For the Bond fan, at the end of the day, Greene's rather cheesy plot isn't what's important; what is, is the shaping of James Bond into 007 and by the film's final scene, Bond fans should be smiling.

M: "Bond, I need you back."
Bond: "I never left."

THE DVD

The Video
"Quantum of Solace" is presented with a 2.35:1 anamorphic transfer. Fox/MGM has provided DVD Talk with a DVD-R screener and the transfer is not representative of final quality. It is overly compressed and features watermarks throughout. Should Fox/MGM provide a final product at a later date, then a thorough review and rating of the video quality can be provided.

The Audio

"Quantum of Solace" features an English DTS 5.1 track, as well as Dolby Digital 5.1 tracks in English, Spanish, and French. While the DTS track was rich, lively and seemingly well balanced, because this was a screener, I am hesitant to make a final judgment on the audio of the disc until I can compare it to the final product.

English and Spanish subtitles are also included.

The Extras

Extras are limited to the film's two theatrical trailers on the first disc as well as a music video for the film's title song. "Quantum of Solace" is available as both a single disc and double disc special edition. The extras on the second disc consist of a series of featurettes covering the making of the film that total approximately 40 minutes. It's typical "here's what we did" talking head style stuff, featuring clips of the movie; in my opinion, it's hardly worth devoting an extra disc to. There's also a Crew Files section, but instead of your generic text cast list, each name plays a short video with the cast or crewmember and they talk about their role in the film. This stuff might interest some, but there's no real substance and the replay value of the extras are nil. It seems that a double dip of this film is almost a given, considering the lack of substantial extras.

Final Thoughts
While it is nowhere near the level as its predecessor, "Quantum of Solace" is a middle of the road Bond film, which still puts it leaps and bounds above the absurdity of most Roger Moore era films. Any interested parties must watch "Casino Royale" first if they haven't already done so, since this film falls apart without the context from Craig's first outing as Bond. I can't recommend a purchase of the two-disc edition over the single disc unless the price difference is nominal, as the extras are nothing special. Huge Bond fans will definitely be revisiting this film on DVD. Recommended

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews....edition

'Defiance' sees dip in Warsaw
Daniel Craig starrer tanks at Polish box office
By NICK HOLDSWORTH

Daniel Craig starrer "Defiance," a true story of Jewish resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied wartime Poland, has tanked at the Warsaw box office after months of criticism over what many Poles see as Hollywood rewriting history.

Directed by Edward Zwick, Craig stars as Jewish partisan leader Tuvia Bielski, one of four Jewish brothers who escaped the Nazis to establish a secret village refuge deep in the Polish forests that saved the lives of hundreds of followers.Based on Nechama Tec's 1993 book "Defiance: The Bielski Partisans," the pic -- called "Opor" (Resistance) in Poland -- opened Jan. 29.

It came in ninth at the box office in its first week, selling an average of 366 tickets per copy in a 35-print release, before dropping off the chart a week later.

"Defiance" had been criticized in the local press in the months before its release for simplifying a complex story. The film makes heroes of the brothers but does not address allegations that their band mistreated local Poles and the anti-Nazi resistance Polish home army.

In a statement to the Times of London in December, director Zwick countered the building protests, saying, "The Bielskis weren't saints. ... They faced any number of difficult moral dilemmas that the movie seeks to dramatize: Does one have to become a monster to fight monsters?"

However, the publicity did not draw auds to the pic in Poland.

"It seems the controversy was more interesting for the press than for the general audience," Zdzislaw Pietrasik, chief film critic for Polityka, the country's largest circulation weekly, told Daily Variety.

"When the film came out, it became a non-event," Pietrasik added. "But perhaps the appalling number of tickets sold also shows that the story is simply not that interesting, at least in its current version."

Distributed by Paramount Vantage, the pic has made $41.3 million worldwide. It is due to open in the Netherlands this month and in Germany, Australia, Norway and the Czech Republic in April.

(Michal Chacinksi in Warsaw contributed to this report).

источник

007 director Marc Forster talks Quantum Of Solace

Russell Clark

The deleted scene from Quantum of Solace. The car chase. The songs. Why he nearly turned 007 down. Plus the status of World War Z. Marc Forster tells all…

Published on Mar 9, 2009

With the upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray release of Quantum Of Solace just around the corner (read our review here) Den of Geek were lucky enough to see a special HD presentation of Bond's latest escapade, followed by a Q&A with the movie’s director, Marc Forster.

Regardless of your opinion of the movie (I've sure you've all seen it by now), it looks fantastic on the big screen. The opening shot just feet above the water with the oncoming car chase looks magnificent in HD, the quality is impeccable. It manages to hit a balance between a traditional film look but with stunning detail and clarity. Marc Forster is a surprisingly visual director for someone so grounded in character and emotion.

When Forster takes to the stage the first thing you notice about the guy is his large forehead, but I guess that holds the wealth of information he will talk at length about during the course of the next hour and a half. This guy can talk... and when he does it's instantly apparent that the emotional side of story telling is where his (unsmall) head is at.

Although being a self confessed Bond fan, at first he didn't want to make the movie, he wanted to film something on a smaller scale. "My agent called me and said ‘are you interested in the next Bond film?’ I said not really."

It was, in fact, his meeting with Daniel Craig that convinced him otherwise "he comes from a similar background that I do, he comes from independent film, we have similar sensibilities".

Eventually Forster decided "this could be interesting, I never made a big commercial movie".

Big and commercial it certainly was.

The director of the last year’s biggest action movie is a softly spoken, well educated, good humoured German born Swiss dude. And although his English is fantastic, the quotes below aren't quite perfect. But here are his most interesting comments of the night:

On his history with Bond:
"When I was studying in New York I took a week and just watched all the Bond movies. I really loved all the ones from the 60s with Sean Connery like Doctor No and Goldfinger. But I also loved the George Lazenby 'On Her Majesties Secret Service', I though it was an underrated movie"

"When I made this movie (QoS) I wanted to throw in elements of the 60s, reminiscent of nostalgia but at the same time making a movie that is modern."

On the script:
"What scared me a little bit when I first signed on was that there wasn't really a script but there was a release date. I can't recommend it."

"It needed more development. I worked on it myself at one point with another uncredited writer. I wanted a realistic portrayal of a secret agent".

On the title:
"One day Barbara and Michael bought me into this office and there was this board that said Quantum of Solace, they said what do you think about this as a title? At first I said "Ooh, what am I supposed to do with this!"

But I was also happy it didn't have 'Die' in it or 'Dying'! I went back and read the short story and liked it. I felt the title had meaning, it actually grew on me and I thought it was a good title for the journey that Bond was on"

On directing action movies:
"Making an action film is a challenge. A lot of action scenes came out of visiting the locations and being inspired by them."

"I'm pretty organised, I do most of the work in pre-production for all my movies, and I make it very clear to everybody, all my department heads. There are electronic previews and storyboards. I don't story board the movie entirely, I only storyboard action sequences or visual effects sequences"

"I wanted to set the four big action scenes around the elements, earth, fire water and air."

"I haven't ever worked before with a second unit director, it was very hard for me to let control go and say okay, you need to deliver exactly what is in my head. I hired a person I had a lot of trust in, I liked his previous work."

"We only had five weeks to cut the movie"

"Broccoli told me "you know you're the first non-Commonwealth director we've hired and the youngest one" I said thank you for letting me know it just adds to the pressure!"

On the opening car chase:
"I'm not really a car man, but I thought if I have to do a car chase I want it very disorientating and confusing. I wanted to set it in a quarry I found on location, I thought I haven't seen it done this way."

“Most of that my second unit director did, that's why I employed him, he's a car specialist. And we just went though it step by step what I had in my mind and when I found the location I said that's where I really want to shoot it".

"It's very hard because you can't drive these cars more than 30mph on the roads because it's so steep there, but you still have to make it look like they're traveling at very intense speeds."

On the opera sequence:
"In the script it was written as a kind of UN conference setting and I thought visually it's not that interesting. When I came across the opera location and I saw that eye on the lake I though that screams Bond location! The symbolism of the blue eye is so Bond and the metaphor made it a perfect location".

On the producers:
"I was expecting; here is the bible of Bond but it wasn't like that at all. The only thing they asked for was we don't want Bond to kill anybody innocent. I found that to be completely reasonable".

"At one point in one of the story lines there was a car on the road being repaired and I thought it would be interesting if we took the car off the cliff. And they said we shouldn't do that because they're just innocent bystanders. I think it’s a good thing".

"We worked together on the script until they signed it off, but on the set, in the execution of Bond I never had them ever tell me one note or say anything, I had a free hand. I showed them scenes as we went along and I felt that they really liked what they saw but you're always nervous every time. They liked the film and embraced it."

On Daniel Craig:
"I couldn't have done this movie without Daniel, he was really my partner. He has the true passion of this character, and he's studied all these characters and he watched every mannerism of all the Bonds and he read all the books and he understands Fleming's writing and where he came from. I think his interpretation of Fleming's character is closer than anyone before."

On Judi Dench:
"I felt like I wanted to bring Judi Dench in as much as possible, I think she's one of the greatest actresses alive. I've always felt she was a little underused."

Likes and dislikes about QoS:
"I like the opera sequence very much. The only scene I had problems with was the sequence when we introduced Camille when she pulls up in the car. I have a little issue with the colour of the car and it's too clean, I'm not happy with my directorial choices."

"I changed the dialogue in that scene like fifty times, it was just never totally smooth and then you have to make these decisions so fast, suddenly the car is there. Then of course later on she pulls up in the Bug in front of the hotel and there I think the car works and her line is funny, the two of them work well together."

On the Bond fans:
"I show an audience the film; even if you say, okay one half of the audience don't like the movie and the other half love the movie, that's how it is with every film, you can’t please everybody”.

"There are millions and millions of fans, I couldn't possibly cater to all of them"

On reviews:
"Some people seem to really love it, some seem to hate it, I think discussion is always good. It's not the last Bond film ever made, I think there will be many more."

On the famous line "Bond, James Bond":
"There was a scene after the movie ended, it was sort of a hanger on, we had this little hang on between Bond and Mr White, a very short scene. I felt though it was forcing the producers to almost make a trilogy out of it, but now they have a choice of opening it up or starting new, whatever”.

"I felt the scene didn't really add anything to the story, unfortunately the famous line was in that scene as well. Everyone said you didn't shoot that line "Bond, James Bond" but I did shoot it. I didn't cut the scene because of the line. I watched the movie with and without the scene, I just liked it better without it so we just decided to leave it out. It’s not on the first DVD, I don't know if the scene is going to be on the second."

On the movie's theme:
"I had this issue I wanted to bring in. I said to [Paul] Haggis (co-screenwriter) I'm really concerned about the water, oil is a thing of the past. I thought it's going to be a huge issue. Water is timeless, I thought it would be something that would be interesting and current for a while, I thought that theme would not be quickly outdated."

On the song:
"The song was a little bit last minute, I actually do like the song. Originally it was Amy Winehouse, I did meet with her as well, I think she’s really wonderful. Because I didn't hear anything I eventually had to move on. And then Jake White came out of the blue and said I love Bond, which surprised me. The song sort of emerged. When I heard the song I thought too many people might not be pleased with it. It's not your typical song I agree. I thought it was an interesting song for this movie."

On watching his own movies:
"I cant. Once I've seen it at a premiere its too painful, I have to let go!"

"Certain things stick out or I don't like this scene or that scene. For instance I just did the commentary for the Bond DVD the other day and I watched it for the first time again. It was interesting, I was trying to focus on the commentary and not get to engaged in the movie, it's hard for me to watch."

On Yodelling:
"Before you actually talk in Switzerland you start to yodel."

On The Kite Runner:
"It was emotionally a more difficult experience for me. It sold ten million copies worldwide, everybody told me it's their favourite book, don't ruin it! At first they told me to shoot it in English, I said I can't do it then, it's an immigrant’s story, it didn't really make sense to me."

On Monster’s Ball:
"I was very non judgmental , I was just trying to observe what was going on. I spent three months in files investigating, I realised there's a very powerful racism that I wasn't aware of before, which was highly disturbing so I felt I just tried to observe the culture and make a statement about it."

"I remember with Monster’s Ball, me and my First AD we were shooting this sequence where it was sunny and suddenly the next day it was raining, he said to me "What are you doing, we're shooting this and its raining, it was sunny before it's never going go cut." I said it doesn't matter, we don't have a choice, we don't have the money let’s just shoot. And he said you're crazy but he agreed with that. It did cut, it went from sun then to rain and it doesn't really matter ultimately you just go along with it."

On previous offers:
"I was offered Brokeback Mountain and they offered me one of the Harry Potters. They offered me Juno too."

On World War Z:
"It's still a development project, the script still needs work. It’s an interesting project and things to offer and I like the book a lot."

On the future:
"They did ask me to do another one, but you know, at this point I need to do something smaller, then, you can say never say never again!"

"I would do another Bond because I think Bond has reached his Quantum of Solace, it's time to bring in more women, you know all those things people seem to miss. I created Camille as an alter ego to him, it's interesting that she's the one woman he doesn't sleep with because he sympathised."

"I would hope on the next one more humour can be bought in and the character can be developed further. I think the things people were craving for can be bought back, it’s not a lost case but at this point in time I felt this was the Bond film I wanted to make."

"I've been looking to create a franchise of my own, I've been looking for the right material, the right books."

So there you have it. Will Marc Forster one day take the helm of another bit of Bond, or will he head towards pastures new? Either way, Quantum Of Solace can be found on the shelf from March 23rd.

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A quick word with villain Mathieu Amalric

To celebrate the release of "Quantum of Solace" on DVD & Blu-Ray this week, Moviehole caught up with actor Mathieu Amalric, who plays the villainous Dominic Greene in the flick. Greene, part of the same organisation that Le Chiffre and Mr. White work for, also runs a shell corporation called Greene Planet. Greene is tasked by the organisation with securing a piece of land in Latin America that is rich in natural resources. Greene also has a connection to Vesper Lynd, and may have been one of the men who were blackmailing her prior to the events of ''Casino Royale''.

How do you think ''Quantum Of Solace'' is different from other Bond films?

This has to deal with feelings. James Bond is almost a broken heart in this film and he has the good and the bad that are almost struggling inside himself. Sometimes we were trying to forget that we were doing a Bond film.

What’s your take on Dominic Greene?

Marc [Forster] told me, “Your eyes are enough to be a villain.” So you try to find moments in your life where you’re a monster. And as there is in this film something about a relationship with a woman, that helped to find moments where you get crazy and that can explain then why you need power. You have to find intimate stuff, not just that I want to conquer. Power is not enough – it doesn’t help you to act. If you need the power, it’s because you have a problem.

How did you find Marc Forster as a director?

Marc’s always trying to grab things that you’re not conscious of, doing two takes in a row which is a technique to make the actor unaware of what he’s doing. He wants things to happen in the moment on set. He just wanted my face – no scars, no metal jaw, no white cat, no accessories, nothing. I just had my face. With Marc, you always work on the moment.

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