Spectre (2015): The fourth James Bond film starring Daniel Craig

By: Anders Frejdh

Published:
2015-10-26

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ORIGINAL TITLE
Spectre

WORLD PREMIERE
October 26, 2015

AUDIO FORMAT
SR

SYNOPSIS
A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organisation. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

CAST
Daniel Craig, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Rory Kinnear, Christoph Waltz

DIRECTOR
Sam Mendes

SCREENWRITERS
John Logan, Neal Purvis & Robert Wade.

PRODUCTION NOTES
Daniel Craig is back as James Bond 007 in SPECTRE, the 24th installment of the longest-running film franchise in history. A cryptic message from the past sends James Bond on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the beautiful and forbidden widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of the sinister organisation known as SPECTRE. The film is from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Meanwhile back in London, Max Denbigh (Andrew Scott), the new head of the Centre for National Security, questions Bond’s actions and challenges the relevance of MI6, led by M (Ralph Fiennes). Bond covertly enlists Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) and Q (Ben Whishaw) to help him seek out Madeleine Swann (Léa Seydoux), the daughter of his old nemesis Mr White (Jesper Christensen), who may hold the clue to untangling the web of SPECTRE. As the daughter of an assassin, she understands Bond in a way most others cannot.

As Bond ventures towards the heart of SPECTRE, he learns of a chilling connection between himself and the enemy he seeks, played by Christoph Waltz.

Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions presents Daniel Craig as Ian Fleming’s James Bond in SPECTRE. The film also stars Christoph Waltz, Lea Seydoux, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Monica Bellucci and Ralph Fiennes as ‘M.’ Directed by Sam Mendes. Produced by Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. Written by Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and John Logan. Executive Producer is Callum McDougall. Director of Photography is Hoyte van Hoytema, FSF NSC. Production Designer is Dennis Gassner. Editor is Lee Smith, A. C. E. Costume Designer is Jany Temime. Music by Thomas Newman. Co-Producers are Andrew Noakes and David Pope. Sony Pictures Releasing is distributing with MGM handling select territories.

The film will be released on October 26, 2015 in the UK and on November 6, 2015 in the US.

ABOUT THE FILM
For SPECTRE, bringing it all together is Academy Award®-winner Sam Mendes. “I know that Sam always put everything behind it,” says Craig, who marks his fourth film as Bond. “He would put all of his knowledge of movie making behind it, but also his knowledge and love of Fleming and Bond.”

While Mendes might be best known for directing a different kind of movie, he says that high entertainment and artistic integrity are not mutually exclusive. “I have my own, personal relationship with Bond, which began when I was 9 or 10 years old – when Live and Let Die (1973) came out,” he says. “We happen to be living in a time when it’s possible to make a big, entertaining, glamorous, escapist movie that also says something about the world we live in. With Daniel’s performances in Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008) , James Bond feels like a real man in a real situation again. It reminded me of the way I felt when I watched the Sean Connery movies.”

Broccoli adds that Mendes’ relationship and history with the Bond films adds a personal element from the very start. “With his knowledge and history, he identifies with the audience – he knows what works and what an audience is expecting. And, frankly, that’s great to watch on set,” she says.

Throughout these 50 years, it has been the Broccoli family – first Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli and partner Harry Saltzman, and then Cubby’s children, Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli – who have been the overseers and caretakers of the James Bond film franchise. “Michael and Barbara are extraordinary because they work very well as a team,” says Mendes. “Barbara has a remarkable skill for making people feel like she knows their name and knows what their issues are, and if there’s ever a crisis, she’s the one who will handle it. Michael brings an enormous amount of experience and wisdom, combined with such a gentle presence on the set – he never bullies or lectures. If you have an idea and are wondering, ‘Has Bond done this before,’ ask Michael – he knows.”

It was Craig – with the support of Wilson and Broccoli – who invited his friend, Mendes, to direct the film. “When we started talking about it, I felt a connection with someone who had exactly the same enthusiasm and respect for the Bond films that I did,” says Craig. “And, of course, I deeply respect Sam as a director. I said to him, ‘This is going to be a new experience for you – trust me, because I made two of them and it was a very new experience for me. Nothing can quite prepare you.’”

SPECTRE welcomes back screenwriters Neal Purvis & Robert Wade and introduces Academy Award®-winner John Logan to the Bond writing family. Logan explains, “I felt greatly encouraged by Sam and Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson to make the screenplay as unique as I could, using my particular strengths as a writer. Coming from the world of theatre, for me, it has always been about character and dialogue. When you look over the vast panoply of Bond films, things tend to emerge, like a lightning bolt: great moments of dialogue, great moments of character interaction – whether it’s Bond and Goldfinger, Bond and Blofeld, or Bond and Vesper Lynd. Those are the amazing scenes that just stop your heart because they’re unexpected in what’s considered a genre movie.”

Of course, for each individual Bond film, it is the director who guides and shapes the picture. Mendes says he felt the freedom to put his own stamp on the legendary franchise. “I have been given an enormous amount of freedom – and I’ve never felt constrained or hidebound by the genre or the franchise,” he says. “Part of that is Daniel whom I know well. Frankly, I’d love him to be in any movie I directed. But part of it is also the enthusiasm with which the Producers greeted new ideas about Bond and M and the franchise as a whole.”

ABOUT CASTING
At the head of the cast of SPECTRE are, of course, Daniel Craig as 007, Ralph Fiennes as M, and Christoph Waltz as Franz Oberhauser.

Leading the way is Daniel Craig in his fourth film as James Bond. “Bond is actually remarkably difficult part to play, because he says very little, and the moment you make him say too much, it’s not Bond anymore,” says Sam Mendes. He operates on instinct a lot of the time. He has his own inner demons and he doesn’t reveal them to other characters, and yet the audience needs to be aware of them, especially in this particular movie. In SPECTRE the audience has got to see him, in a sense, fall apart and put himself back together again, but none of the other characters see what’s really going on behind the curtain. Daniel’s done that, I think, brilliantly.”

“Daniel’s one of the greatest actors that we’ve ever had,” says Barbara Broccoli. “He has inhabited the role of Bond and he’s pushed it in directions that one wouldn’t have thought possible. Starting with Casino Royale and going into Quantum, and certainly in this film, he really reveals Bond’s inner life in a way that we’ve never seen before, in a way that Fleming does in the books, where you really feel as if you understand the inner turmoil and complexity and conflicts. With this screenplay and with Sam, we’ve unearthed a lot of the emotion connected to Bond’s own past and mined the dramatic tension that stems from that.”

Surrounding the lead actors is an extremely accomplished and varied cast, and it was Mendes’ reputation as a filmmaker and background in theatre and film that attracted the finest actors in the business. Producer Michael G. Wilson credits Mendes: “It’s a great cast, and that’s down to Sam – he attracts really great actors, because they want to work with him.”

For Craig, the most important element he looks for in his fellow actors is commitment to the project. “You have to take the time and the effort to find the right people, enthusiastic people,” says Craig. “We’ve just been blessed with every character whether it’s Ben, or Fiennes, or Waltz. And then the casting of the girls: Lea and Monica – finding two exceptionally beautiful women who are very serious actresses and who are intelligent and work hard. For me, it has been a joy.”

Naomie Harris is back in the role of Moneypenny. “In recent years, the Bond films have featured two girls – one an exotic type and the other a home-grown type. Naomie manages to be both,” says Mendes.

Eve is very independent, intelligent, witty, fun and courageous,” says Harris. “She’s not afraid to stand her ground with Bond, and I think that makes her so much more interesting. Playing Eve really allowed me to highlight the more adventurous side of my personality, which was a lot of fun.”

The filmmakers were pleasantly surprised by the extra layers that Harris brought to the role of Eve. Wilson and Broccoli explain, “The character written was basically a field agent with a lot of sass, but it wasn’t until Naomie came in, that we really saw the potential that this character could be something entirely new in terms of a Bond film. She’s very resourceful, she gives Bond a really hard time, but you still manage to have a tremendous affection for her and there is a wonderful flirtatiousness between them. She can hold her own with Bond. We think that audiences are really going to relate to her. She’s an extraordinary actress.”

Casting director Debbie McWilliams officially started work on SPECTRE one year prior to filming, but she’s always looking out for new and interesting undiscovered talent. “I think I am in a unique position of being able to introduce new talent in leading roles without the usual commercial constraints,” she says. “Audiences want to be surprised and the expectation is always high. We have the world to choose from and it is my job to go out and find those special actors that people may not have heard of before. Submissions were received from all over the world with casting sessions taking place at different locations.“

Ralph Fiennes is back as M, a government official with oversight of the agency. Fiennes explains, “On the surface, M has a charm, an old-world courtesy, but underneath, there’s a steel there.”

Michael G. Wilson adds, “You’re not sure where Mallory’s loyalty lies in the film – whether he’s going to be a help or a hindrance to M and to Bond. He seems to ask a lot of difficult questions and be very critical. It’s a very ambiguous character.”

In Skyfall, Ben Whishaw became the fourth actor to play Bond’s quartermaster, affectionately known as Q, who makes a welcome return to the Bond franchise. The role began with Peter Burton as Major Boothroyd in Dr. No, followed by Desmond Llewelyn (in 17 Bond films between 1963-1999), and John Cleese who appeared as Q’s assistant, R, in The World Is Not Enough (1999) and was later promoted to Q in Die Another Day(2002).

Producers Wilson and Broccoli describe why Ben Whishaw was the man for the job: “When it came to trying to reintroduce the character of Q, it made sense that he would now be a young technical genius and the character was written with that in mind. Ben was the obvious choice because he has this wonderful kind of openness to him, and a real intelligence and wit.”

John Logan says, “When Bond meets Q, there’s initial suspicion of ‘Who’s this kid, with spots and why is he telling me about my job?’ But they quickly develop a mutual respect.”

Whishaw adds, “It’s a battle and a theme that runs through SPECTRE, between the way the world is going now and the way that the intelligence services are traditionally run.”

That’s especially true in an age when espionage takes place in cyberspace as much as anywhere else. “The new Q is a sort of computer genius, one of only six people in the world who has certain knowledge. He’s quite a mysterious person with a sly sense of humour,“ says Whishaw.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION DESIGN
Oscar®-winning production designer Dennis Gassner returns for his third Bond film and his fourth collaboration with Sam Mendes. “I believe that story always comes first when planning to design any given set for any given character,” he says. “Throughout the process of SPECTRE, I considered Bond’s emotional journey and how each environment affects him and vice versa. We built a number of sets, but the unsung environments are the locations and London.”

ABOUT THE STUNTS AND EFFECTS
Stunts always play a large role in Bond films and SPECTRE is no exception. Director Sam Mendes, Second Unit Director Alexander Witt and Stunt Coordinator Gary Powell worked closely together to create a physical and believable journey for Bond. It was important for both Mendes and Powell to approach the film from a more realistic point of view. The action started on the pages. “Writing action sequences is one of the great challenges and the great joys of being a screenwriter,” says screenwriter John Logan. “The challenge as a writer on SPECTRE was to find ways to make the action as ‘Bondian’ as possible – which to me means it’s tough, it’s real and it’s heightened.”

Of course, no actor had more stunts than Craig.

“Daniel’s an extremely hard working actor, probably the hardest working actor I’ve ever seen,” says producer Michael G. Wilson. “And it’s not only the mental preparation, but the physical preparation. He works out like a demon, like a professional athlete. He is really committed to the role, committed to being Bond.”

While stunt coordinator Powell appreciates the advance in digital technology and computer graphics, he prefers the action to be real.

Broccoli adds, “Daniel contributes a great deal to designing the action and the fights in particular and he’s the one who really pulls it off, because he wants to do as much of it as he possibly can. We were in Turkey for the train sequence and I had my heart in my mouth the whole time; he and Ola were fighting on the roof of a moving train and the moves that they were doing were just heart stopping. Daniel’s the reason why the action works as well as it does because he sells it, he’s up there and I think audiences know that.”

Although the opening sequence lasts only twelve minutes on screen, it took three months of rehearsals and two months of filming to produce. Powell enlisted motocross champion Robbie Maddison, former Top Gear’s ‘Stig’ Ben Collins and British rally car champion Mark Higgins to round out his stunt team. “It’s important to lock down the action step by step so my team can learn it like the back of their hand. After rehearsing for months on end, it gets ingrained in the memory, making it less likely to make mistakes,” says Powell.

Though the action is fast paced, Mendes says the filming process is not. “I’ll put it this way: editing action is a good deal more exciting than shooting action. Shooting action is very, very meticulous, it’s increments, tiny little pieces. To me, the challenge is to create parallel action so you’re never locked into a linear chase. It’s never just A following B, there’s something else going on simultaneously, so you’re following several overlapping stories at the same time.”

Writer Neal Purvis adds, “You can have as many explosions as you like but the dramatic core of it has got to work.”

Another undeniable element to the Bond franchise is Bond’s car. The Aston Martin DB5 has become synonymous with Bond over the years. Wilson says that when it comes to Bond’s wheels, there’s one car that says James Bond. “We’ve flirted with other cars from time to time, but we always do come back to Aston Martin,” says Wilson. “It’s a signature car for Bond and a classic one, his own personal one.” And there’s no Aston Martin more closely tied to Bond than the DB5, the 60s-era production model that Bond first drove in Goldfinger. For this story, this film, this nod to Bond’s history not only would appeal to the fans, but make sense for the story.

Writer John Logan was thrilled by the return of Bond’s most iconic car. “We’re in love with the DB5! When you think of Bond, you think of certain things very clearly and one of them is that particular car. It is Bond’s essential car and in a movie about reorienting Bond to his past and to his future, we just had to use it – beyond the fact it’s completely cool.”

Daniel Craig too, fell under the spell of Bond’s classic car, “I love them, and this story was the perfect platform to re-introduce the DB5. The film is about Bond returning to his roots and confronting old demons, so it felt right. We get some good use out of it, too.”

LOCATIONS

AUSTRIA
• SPECTRE marks Bond’s eighth film in the snow, following snowbound appearances in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1969), The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), For Your Eyes Only (1981), A View to a Kill (1985), The Living Daylights (1987), The World Is Not Enough, and Die Another Day.
• SPECTRE crew were only able to access the ICE-Q location in Solden by cable car
• Vehicles (Land Rovers and Range Rovers) were towed up the mountain by snowmobiles due to lack of access, which was over 3000 meters above sea level
• One of the Austria locations, the village of Obertilliach, has a population of only 700 people. Still, 50 locals joined the crew, included among 250 Austrians in the total crew of 480.
• Filming the Austria car chase required the use of 18 cars – 11 Defenders and 7 Range Rovers – which were all heavily modified in just 4 weeks
• The studded ice tires had to be studded by hand, with each tire taking over 1500 studs

MEXICO
• Bond returns to Mexico City, following his appearance in License To Kill.SPECTRE filmed in three Mexico City locations: Tolsa Square, the Zocolo, and the Gran Hotel
• For the Day of the Dead sequence, it took 3.5 hours to create the crowd of extras – from 25 minutes to create a Catrina or a skeleton, to the Paper Bride requiring 2.5 hours of hair and makeup. Costumes required 90 minutes – 350 at a time, 15 to 20 minutes each
• MAC kindly provided gave a huge range of products to help create the various looks/ characters
• To ensure that no time was wasted, the makeup team employed 187 mirrors and a red-and-green “traffic light” system to show which extras were ready and which needed additional work.
• 75 costumers (70 from Mexico and 5 from the UK) designed 1,500 original looks -- no two costumes are alike
• The team made 6 paper dresses, each one different. Each dress required three weeks to make, from a team of four people.
• Every costume was made or purchased in Mexico by Mexicans.
• Police escorted the 12 buses that transported the crowd to and from the set
• In total, the Mexico City scenes required five months of prep work, overseen by 27 locations personnel (25 of which were local)
• A night team of 20 cleaned and repaired costumes, to get them ready for the next day’s shoot
• The scene required two helicopters – one to film and the other to be filmed. The picture helicopter was painted and modified in Mexico City to give its evil look. Part of Zocolo Squre was turned into a heliport in order to refuel the helicopters.

MOROCCO
• Local nomads were hired as guides and security throughout prep and filming
• Due to the high temperatures, the production brought in shades, cold water, and cooling vehicles to the film unit in Erfoud

ROME
• SPECTRE marks James Bond’s first-ever film visit to Rome
• Both the Jaguar CX75 and the Aston DB10 were reengineered by SFX Vehicles to carry out the stunt work
• Blenheim Palace doubled as the location of the SPECTRE meeting in Rome. The Action Vehicles team dressed the parking lot with rare vehicles to paint a picture of the mafia types that would be attending the meeting, including a Porsche 956 Group B Homologation car, a full carbon fiber Bugatti, concept XJ Jaguars, a Lagonda from Aston Martin, and a wide selection of other supercars, including Ferrari 458 Speciales and Californias
• In total, the vehicle shoots in Austria, Rome and London required the use of more than 1000 tires, varying from full summer spec to winter. In preparing for the Rome car chase, the production used over 400 tires for testing – but only replaced 12 during filming

Principal photography of SPECTRE began on 6 December 2014 and was completed on 5 July 2015.

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