Genuinely interesting new Casino Royale article

[Carlson2005]

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ ... rtainment/

Aside from busting most of the tabloid myths that have sprung up about the film, there are also three particularly interesting points:

1. The opening is planned to be in black and white
2. No CGI touching up of the stunts at all
3. In a nice touch, Barbara Broccoli acknowledges Harry Saltzman in the interview - something EON has very rarely done

[Eric Paddon]

Whoa! No Q and no Moneypenny? I'm sorry, but that is messing with tradition way too much. You can tone down the gadgetry, which I'm for, but to me the requisite scene with Q, even if Desmond Llewelyn is no longer with us, was always something to look forward to, as was the obligatory byplay with Moneypenny.

[Carlson2005]

Since neither is in the novel, and since they haven't had a decent Moneypenny since Lois Maxwell (Caroline Bliss was just inept while Samantha Bond is just an unpleasant Judi Dench impersonation), I really don't have a problem with that. Especially since Q isn't in a couple of the other movies at all and John Cleese, while not as disastrous as expected, is not someone I'm desperate to see in another Bond film.

[AndyDursin]

It sounds good to me. I hated Samantha Bond -- very brittle and too much like Judi Dench. Frankly I was hoping they'd dispose of Judi Dench herself -- why not just start anew?

The music is what excites me. Arnold clearly has the goods to deliver a really good score if the techno-pop aspect is thrown out. I'm hoping that proves to be the case. I still believe SURRENDER (from Tomorrow Never Dies) is one of the best Bond songs of the entire series -- incredibly under-rated, showing that Arnold is the only composer other than Barry I'd trust with this character! Now, if they'd just refrain from techno, we'd be all set

[Eric Paddon]

I didn't mind Samantha Bond. I didn't see her as replacing Lois Maxwell, who will always be the perfect Moneypenny, I saw her as replacing Caroline Bliss who was terrible and totally wrong in the part. Then again, I always considered the entire Dalton era to be the lowpoint in the series.

Moneypenny admittedly doesn't appear in the novel, but I don't think it would have required too much to work in a traditional office scene. And I would also agree that if this is a reboot of the series, then get rid of Judi Dench and make M someone in the Bernard Lee mold again.

[Carlson2005]

The music is what excites me. Arnold clearly has the goods to deliver a really good score if the techno-pop aspect is thrown out. I'm hoping that proves to be the case. I still believe SURRENDER (from Tomorrow Never Dies) is one of the best Bond songs of the entire series -- incredibly under-rated, showing that Arnold is the only composer other than Barry I'd trust with this character! Now, if they'd just refrain from techno, we'd be all set

Agreed - by pure coincidence I'm listening to his score to TND at the moment, and it would be great if they let him go back in that direction again, which is a possibility with this one from what the producers are talking about. That said, they still won't let him near the main title (they're apparently after U2 and Tina Turner again). He's certainly a better choice than the one the anti-Crag sites are lobbying for, that guy who ripped off old John Barry Bond cues note-for-note in The Incredibles.

[AndyDursin]

The music is what excites me. Arnold clearly has the goods to deliver a really good score if the techno-pop aspect is thrown out. I'm hoping that proves to be the case. I still believe SURRENDER (from Tomorrow Never Dies) is one of the best Bond songs of the entire series -- incredibly under-rated, showing that Arnold is the only composer other than Barry I'd trust with this character! Now, if they'd just refrain from techno, we'd be all set

Agreed - by pure coincidence I'm listening to his score to TND at the moment, and it would be great if they let him go back in that direction again, which is a possibility with this one from what the producers are talking about. That said, they still won't let him near the main title (they're apparently after U2 and Tina Turner again). He's certainly a better choice than the one the anti-Crag sites are lobbying for, that guy who ripped off old John Barry Bond cues note-for-note in The Incredibles.

Ugh! I am not sold on Michael Giacchino by a long-shot either. I enjoyed some of his video game scores, but most of them were intentionally written in the vein of John Williams. On THE INCREDIBLES he ripped off Barry -- oh sorry, that's what you call a "homage" when you're defending it -- but added nothing at all of his own voice. I didn't like the score at all in the film, despite hearing one person after another rave about it. They should have just hired Barry and paid him his ransom instead of having someone shamelessly rip off cues.

Even his music on LOST is very simplistic, and while effective at times on the show, does not make me instantly think he's the next Second Coming in film scoring the way some do. I've heard him write in the style of other composers but haven't heard anything distinctive that I'd stamp as a "Michael Giacchino" score to date.

[AndyDursin]

The music is what excites me. Arnold clearly has the goods to deliver a really good score if the techno-pop aspect is thrown out. I'm hoping that proves to be the case. I still believe SURRENDER (from Tomorrow Never Dies) is one of the best Bond songs of the entire series -- incredibly under-rated, showing that Arnold is the only composer other than Barry I'd trust with this character! Now, if they'd just refrain from techno, we'd be all set

Agreed - by pure coincidence I'm listening to his score to TND at the moment, and it would be great if they let him go back in that direction again, which is a possibility with this one from what the producers are talking about. That said, they still won't let him near the main title (they're apparently after U2 and Tina Turner again). He's certainly a better choice than the one the anti-Crag sites are lobbying for, that guy who ripped off old John Barry Bond cues note-for-note in The Incredibles.

Ugh! I am not sold on Michael Giacchino by a long-shot either. I enjoyed some of his video game scores, but most of them were intentionally written in the vein of John Williams. On THE INCREDIBLES he ripped off Barry -- oh sorry, that's what you call a "homage" when you're defending it -- but added nothing at all of his own voice. I didn't like the score at all in the film, despite hearing one person after another rave about it. They should have just hired Barry and paid him his ransom instead of having someone shamelessly rip off cues.

Even his music on LOST is very simplistic, and while effective at times on the show, does not make me instantly think he's the next Second Coming in film scoring the way some do. I've heard him write in the style of other composers but haven't heard anything distinctive that I'd stamp as a "Michael Giacchino" score to date.

As far as the themes go, I haven't liked any of them really in the Brosnan era. Madonna's was so schizophrenic and odd, though I didn't hate it any more than the hideous Sheryl Crow song for TND. The World Is Not Enough was forgettable and Goldeneye was too slow and poky for its own good.

TND was easily Arnold's best score of the lot -- it still holds up today and I love the k.d. lang song! If he can duplicate that kind of effort and dial down the techno (which wasn't so prevalent in that score) we'll be in for a treat.

[Monterey Jack]

2. No CGI touching up of the stunts at all

Let's hope so. One of the chief pleasures of "old-school" Bond movies was the fact that you were watching real stuntmen doing real stunts (like that amazing pre-credits ski jump in The Spy Who Loved Me), and seeing that CG Bond wave-surfing in Die Another Day took me right out of the film. I still can't believe Andy thought that swill was better than Goldeneye!

As for the lack of "Q" and Moneypenny, hey, I'm all for it in an "origin" 007 adventure. In fact, it'd be fun to see both characters show up in future Craig films for the "first' time. I still can't imagine "Q" not being played by Desmond llewyllen [sp?], though.

[AndyDursin]

2. No CGI touching up of the stunts at all

Let's hope so. One of the chief pleasures of "old-school" Bond movies was the fact that you were watching real stuntmen doing real stunts (like that amazing pre-credits ski jump in The Spy Who Loved Me), and seeing that CG Bond wave-surfing in Die Another Day took me right out of the film. I still can't believe Andy thought that swill was better than Goldeneye!

As for the lack of "Q" and Moneypenny, hey, I'm all for it in an "origin" 007 adventure. In fact, it'd be fun to see both characters show up in future Craig films for the "first' time. I still can't imagine "Q" not being played by Desmond llewyllen [sp?], though.

I didn't like Goldeneye...still don't, in fact....though I do admit the score is a major, major problem for me.

Again, I think the "origin" idea is fine.....which again raises what Judi Dench is doing in the film.

[Carlson2005]

Well, she's never exactly looked young so it's just possible that she could have had the job before Bernard Lee, gone off on maternity leave to give birth to Samantha Bond's demon seed Judi Dench impersonator and then returned to work several years later once Satan's spawn had left home. And yes, I am grasping at straws here...