A look back at Quantum of Solace’s publicity

Bond 24 is expected to begin filming next month. If tradition holds, that also means they’ll be a press conference for the start of production.

These press conferences primarily are intended to promote the movie. That’s one reason why it’s a good idea to take some of what’s said with a few grains of salt.

We came across the video below at HAPHAZARDSTUFF.COM. It’s the first of three (and counting) videos that examine the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace in detail.

We bring it up because in this first installment, we see a lot of footage from the Quantum press conference as well as other press interviews. Some of what the cast and crew said doesn’t, well, quite hold up to scrutiny. For example:

10:42 mark: Daniel Craig says, “We don’t have shaky cameras.”

10:48: Barbara Broccoli says, “It’s not a revenge movie.” (Full quote played around the 1:18 mark, “It’ not a revenge movie, it’s much more complicated than that.”)

10:50: Olga Kurylenko describes her character. “She’s driven by revenge.”

11:10: Director Marc Forester says, “I’ve never seen a Bond film set in a desert.” (Haphazard Stuff uses this opportunity to show desert clips from The Living Daylights and The Spy Who Loved Me.)

11:20: Forester in separate comments from what appears to be the same interview. Comment one: “I can’t think about an audience, making the movie to please them.” Comment two: “It has to be commercially successful.”

Well, you get the point. In any case, fans view these press conferences more as a chance to celebrate a new 007 film starting production.

To access all three Haphazard Stuff videos, CLICK HERE.

Quantum of Solace Review Part One from HaphazardStuff on Vimeo.

It’s Double Double-O-Seven!

It’s Double Double-O-Seven!

Originally uploaded by Paul Baack

I’ve always loved James Bond movie double features, which is now pretty much a thing of the past. They had the coolest — and sometimes the dumbest — posters, combining key art elements from the relevant films. I think this is in the spirit of those pop culture gems from the 1960s and 70s.

Suitably abused and distressed — unfolded and re-folded too many times!

Eon gets casting suggestions for Bond 23

The Cinematical site has come up with seven suggestions for actresses for Eon Productions to consider when casting the female lead for Bond 23. Kevin Kelly, the author of the post, opines about Quantum of Solace:

I just found myself bored throughout it, except maybe during that opening car chase. Otherwise, it was snoozeville. I lay part of that blame on the fact that we didn’t get a decent Bond girl to go with it. Olga Kurylenko bored me to tears with her monotonal portrayal of a daughter seeking revenge, and I would have much rather seen more of the redhead who is all-too-briefly seen as another MI6 agent sent to guard Bond.

Among Kelly’s suggestions: Megan Fox and Carla Gugino. You can read the entire article by clicking RIGHT HERE.

Fans “review” Quantum of Solace

It’s actually quick cuts of fans being interviewed after a showing of Quantum of Solace. Most of the comments aren’t much more than a sentence or two. But take a look, anyway:

Preview of David Arnold’s QoS score

Kind of a static video, but you do get a 5-minute preview of David Arnold’s score for Quantum of Solace:

QoS: Daniel Craig’s publicity grind

To be honest, this first video is more glitzy than informative. This also looks like a typical movie promotional tour. Entertainment journalists get their five to 10 minutes with the star, act like they’re doing an “in-depth” interview. The actor, meanwhile, tries to get through as many of these in a day as possible.

But, heck, this is a James Bond weblog, so here it is:

UPDATE: This video looks features an interview with Daniel Craig that we suspect was taped the same day as the above interview. It runs a few minutes longer:

UPDATE No. 2: The guys from Sky News interview Craig the same day. Do you think he might have been tired of the grind by the end of the day?

CBS coverage of QoS royal premiere

“The Early Show” on CBS had a segment of the royal premiere of Quantum of Solace. Of course, at one point, reporter Sheila MacVicar asks Daniel Craig what the title means. There’s also a shot of Princes William and Harry arriving while the James Bond Theme is playing. MacVicar notes the Sunday Times in the U.K. didn’t like the film.

CBS supplied the segment for YouTube, so no copyright issues (for those who like to pure about these things). So see for yourself, it lasts 2:15:

UPDATE: Here’s ITN’s coverage of the same event. It has a bit more breathless quality. Also, based on this video, it appears the title song to “You Only Live Twice” was playing when the two princes arrived. Here it is:

QoS: More with Olga Kurylenko and Ford

Ford Motor Co., not content to just having Olga Kurylenko at the Paris Motor Show, issued a press release this week introducing us to the Quantum of Solace actress. Afterall, we’re reminded, Olga is the first person to drive a Ford Ka. And the redesigned Ka will be in Quantum of Solace.

You can read for yourself at the Ford media Web site:

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=29294

We’re guessing our friends at the Ian Fleming Foundation are already plotting to get their hands on the car.

Olga Kurylenko promotes QoS and Ford at Paris Motor Show

Back on Oct. 2, Quantum of Solace co-star Olga Kurylenko appeared at Ford Motor Co.’s news conference at the Paris Motor Show. Her purpose was two-fold: to promote Ford’s redesigned Ka (a subcompact not available in the U.S.) as well as the new James Bond film. You can take a look here:

She’s talking to John Fleming, who is chief of Ford’s European unit (and no relation to Ian). His official Ford biography and photograph can be found here:

http://media.ford.com/article_display.cfm?article_id=8585

Meanwhile, here’s a photo of someone Bond has encountered in the past:

http://film.guardian.co.uk/pictures/image/0,,-1060329617786,00.html