Casino Royale is the 21st James Bond film produced by EON Productions and the first to star Daniel Craig as British Secret Service agent James Bond. Based on the 1953 novel Casino Royale by Ian Fleming, it was adapted by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Academy Award-winning screenwriter Paul Haggis and directed by Martin Campbell, director of the 1995 Bond film, GoldenEye. Despite initial controversy over Craig's casting, his performance and the film received positive reviews. It currently has a powerful 8.2/10 rating on the Internet Movie Database and it has been rated at #229 in the top 250 movie of all time, the highest rating for a James Bond movie (though it should be noted that movies on the IMDb tend to have a higher rating when they first come out).
After obtaining his 00-number and his license to kill, James Bond sets out on his first mission, in which he foils a terrorist attack at the Miami International Airport. Soon after, Bond is sent to Montenegro by Her Majesty's Government to compete in a high-stakes poker game against Le Chiffre, a money-launderer for various criminal enterprises and terrorist organizations.
This film marks the third screen adaptation of Ian Fleming's first Bond novel, which was previously produced as a 1954 television episode and a 1967 film spoof. However, the 2006 release is the only official EON Productions adaptation of Fleming's novel. Casino Royale is the first official Bond film to be co-produced by Columbia Pictures, which had produced and originally distributed the 1967 non-canonical film version; this is the result of the 2005 Sony/Comcast consortium's acquisition of MGM, parent company of Bond film series rights co-owner United Artists.
The movie begins with a black-and-white pre-credits sequence, showing the two kills that give Bond his 00 status. The gun barrel shot follows, then the opening sequence and credits. Afterward, the audience is introduced to Le Chiffre as he is introduced to new clients, the Lord's Resistance Army, by Mr. White. Le Chiffre, a banker, provides terrorists with an account they can access anywhere in the world and then uses his prior knowledge of terrorist attacks to enrich himself via trading stocks. At the same time, Bond, in Madagascar, seeks to apprehend a suspected bomb-maker for questioning. After a chase around a construction site and an embassy, Bond kills him and discovers a text message reading "ELLIPSIS"' on his mobile phone. The execution is caught by a surveillance camera and causes a great deal of negative publicity for MI6. M, furious with Bond, suspends him from the service. Bond then goes to The Bahamas to track down the man who sent the message, Alex Dimitrios.
Bond first humiliates Dimitrios by cleaning him out in a poker game and then seduces his wife, Solange, by driving up to the hotel in Dimitrios's classic Aston Martin, which Bond took from him in the game. While they are in Bond's hotel room, Solange receives a call from her husband informing her that he will be staying overnight in Miami. Bond cuts out on her and boards the same flight. Dimitrios catches Bond following him, and, after a struggle, Bond kills him. He uses Dimitrios's phone to locate his associate, a terrorist named Carlos, and then follows him back to the Miami International Airport. There he discovers that "ELLIPSIS" is the code to enter the secure area there. Carlos, having brought a detonator disguised as a keychain and an airport security uniform through the metal detectors, seeks to blow up a new super jet by detonating a fuel truck underneath it. After a chase around the tarmac, Bond foils the plot by clipping the detonator to Carlos's belt so that when he activates it with the remote, Carlos blows himself up instead of the plane.
As a result, Le Chiffre loses over $100 million due to his stock market bet that the jetliner manufacturer would fail. He suspects that word of the plan leaked out and has Solange killed after questioning. To recoup his losses, Le Chiffre sets up a high stakes Texas hold 'em poker game at Casino Royale in Montenegro. M arranges for Bond, whom she describes as the best poker player in MI6, to be entered into the tournament. Bond must win the tournament to deny Le Chiffre the funds to finance further terrorism and, hopefully, force him to take refuge under MI6 for protection from his creditors. Vesper Lynd, a government accountant, is assigned to look after Bond's handling of the $10 million stake. Also allied with Bond is Rene Mathis, his contact in Montenegro.
Bond plays the game with Le Chiffre and other VIPs over the next few evenings. During a break, Bond runs into Steven Obanno and his henchmen, some of Le Chiffre's creditors, as they shake down Le Chiffre, Bond kills them and becomes closer to Vesper in the process of protecting her. Returning to the game, Bond misjudges a bluff by Le Chiffre and ends up losing his money; although M had indicated that an additional $5 million would be available, Vesper refuses to give it to Bond, feeling it would be sending good money after bad. Bond decides to assassinate Le Chiffre, but is prevented from doing so by Felix Leiter, a CIA agent who is also undercover playing the game; Leiter feels Bond has a better chance at beating Le Chiffre and gives him the $5 million, allowing 007 to continue playing.
Later in the game, Le Chiffre's henchwoman, Valenka, poisons Bond's martini. Bond staggers out to his med-kit-equipped Aston Martin DBS for the antidote. The other agents at MI6 attempt to give Bond instructions to revive himself but he passes out before he can wire up the defibrillator to correct his heartbeat. After Bond passes out, Vesper finds him, connects the defibrillator, and administers the shock, saving his life. Bond returns to the game, much to the chagrin of Le Chiffre. On the final hand, Bond catches a straight flush and busts three players, including Le Chiffre, who had aces full of sixes. Bond gives Leiter the go-ahead for his men to capture Le Chiffre (a deal he had made in exchange for the $5 million top-up).
Soon after, Le Chiffre and his gang kidnap Vesper. Bond chases after them in his car, only to crash it to avoid running over Vesper, who is left bound and gagged in the road. Bond is then captured. Le Chiffre tells Bond that Mathis is a double agent (no reference is made as to how he got away from Leiter, however) and then, seeking to get Bond to turn over the tournament winnings, Le Chiffre tortures him mercilessly. The method used is the same as that in the original novel; Bond is seated naked on a chair with the bottom cut out, and Le Chiffre repeatedly hits him in the testicles with a heavy rope rug beater. Bond refuses to talk and instead turns the torture into an opportunity to taunt Le Chiffre. Just as Le Chiffre is about to finally castrate Bond, Mr. White arrives and kills everyone but Bond and Vesper. Bond awakens in a hospital and has Mathis arrested.
A banker arrives to make the $115 million transfer. Vesper enters the account number, and Bond reveals to her that the password for the transfer is her name. Bond professes his love to Vesper and tells her that he wants to marry her and quit the service before it strips him of his humanity. He emails his resignation to M, and the two go on holiday in Venice. However, Bond soon learns that the funds were never deposited in the Treasury's account, and someone at the Venice branch of the Basel Bank is now withdrawing the funds from the account that they were transfered to. He discovers Vesper taking the money to the mysterious organization. Bond pursues them into a building under renovation. In the firefight, the fragile structure collapses into the Canal Grande and Vesper commits suicide by drowning after locking herself in an elevator underwater. Mr. White is then shown on an opposite balcony surveying the scene, and then walking away with the briefcase of money. Bond, feeling betrayed, learns from M that Vesper had an Algerian boyfriend who was kidnapped by the "mysterious organization" for whom she negotiated the handover of money in order to save his life (it is not revealed if the boyfriend is still alive). Vesper had also left a clue in a mobile phone text message with Mr. White's number. Mr. White is next seen arriving at a palatial estate and answering his mobile to a caller saying "Mr. White? We need to talk." White asks, "Who is this?" and is suddenly shot in the foot and falls, crawling desperately towards the villa. Standing over him with a UMP, Bond reveals himself as the shooter and responds to Mr. White's question with the iconic line "The name's Bond. James Bond".
Casino Royale is the first Bond film since On Her Majesty's Secret Service to provide explicit calendar dates for the film's time frame. In the case of Casino Royale, numerous cellphone displays seen throughout the film indicate the majority of the film's action takes place in July and August 2006.
Cast:
Daniel Craig as James Bond: The main star of the film is a recently-promoted MI6 double-O agent, a hard-edged, gritty but earnest rookie. MI6 implant a monitory chip in his arm during his mission against Le Chiffre.
Eva Green as Vesper Lynd: An agent for HM Treasury assigned to watch over Bond and finance his exploits at the poker table. She is an orphan and initially wary of Bond, but soon falls in love with him.
Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre: A shady and evil banker to the world's terrorists. Possibly from Albania, he is a mathematical genius and chess expert, skills which he uses when playing poker. His left eye is scarred, so it weeps blood.
Judi Dench as M: The strict head of MI6. She feels she has promoted Bond too early, but supports him throughout the mission.
Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter: A CIA agent who befriends Bond and offers to finance him further whilst also playing against Le Chiffre.
Giancarlo Giannini as Rene Mathis: An agent for British Intelligence based in Montenegro and ally of Bond.
Caterina Murino as Solange: Dimitrios' wife, whom Bond seduces.
Simon Abkarian as Alex Dimitrios: An associate of Le Chiffre, based in the Bahamas, involved in planning the Miami terrorist attack.
Isaach De Bankolé as Steven Obanno: A rebel leader from Uganda introduced to Le Chiffre by Mr. White.
Jesper Christensen as Mr. White: A mysterious and shady liaison between the world's terrorists affiliated to an unknown organisation.
Ivana MiliÄević as Valenka: Le Chiffre's girlfriend and henchwoman.
Sebastien Foucan as Mollaka: A bombmaker pursued through a construction site in Madagascar.
The movie features cameo roles by British entrepreneur Richard Branson, American hotel tycoon Jerry Inzerillo, and Brazilian supermodel Alessandra Ambrosio. Key members of the production also feature in cameo roles - producer Michael G. Wilson appears as a corrupt Montenegro police chief, continuing his longstanding tradition of Bond film cameos dating back to Goldfinger, while director of cinematography Phil Meheux features briefly as a treasury bureaucrat. In addition, Chinese actress Tsai Chin, who played Ling in the opening sequence of You Only Live Twice, appears as one of the players in the Casino Royale poker game.
The film is said to take James Bond "back to his roots" in a film that would be similar to Dr. No, where the focus was on character and plot rather than high-tech gadgets and visual effects, two issues that were most criticised in The World Is Not Enough and Die Another Day. Additionally, EON admitted that they relied too heavily on CGI effects and accomplished the stunts in Casino Royale "the old fashioned way." The move towards more action, bigger special effects and CGI in recent Bond films was in part due to a need to compete at the time with big-budget action films that dominated the 1990s box office. However, the success of less grandiose action films such as The Bourne Identity in the last few years has suggested the time may be right for the Bond series to scale back as it did during the Roger Moore era with For Your Eyes Only, which followed special effects extravaganzas such as Moonraker and The Spy Who Loved Me. This is an acknowledged gamble for the series, as many previous "real world" Bond films such as On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Licence to Kill, although they became fan favourites, underperformed at the box office when compared to the more lavish series entries.
Although the film deviates liberally from the book (much of the terrorist intrigue is grafted on), the plot concerning the mission to ruin Le Chiffre is fairly closely followed. In the film, Le Chiffre is a private banker for anyone with enough money and, as in the novel, has lost a client's money. In the novel, the organization whose money he has lost was SMERSH. But in a draft of the film's script, it is the Lord's Resistance Army, although this is never referenced in the actual movie. Introduced to them by an older gentleman known as Mr. White, Le Chiffre is given several steel cases filled with neatly stacked American dollars. Unknown to his clients, Le Chiffre uses the money that he banks for them in several stock investment schemes of his own. It is hinted in the movie that Le Chiffre was the finance behind the 9/11 plane hijackings.
The film shows James Bond's origins in the 00 Section (which had never before been established), and is a retcon of the established Bond series. Examples of this include Judi Dench's reprisal of her role as M, who in the Brosnan Bond films was established as a successor to an earlier male M; however, in Casino Royale, she is the first M by whom Bond is employed. Bond also receives his famed Aston Martin DB5 in Casino Royale, first seen in Goldfinger. Bond wields a Walther P99, a gun he first adopted in Tomorrow Never Dies after Bond turns in his original gun, the iconic Walther PPK of previous films (Bond actually begins the series with his preferred .25 Beretta but is relieved of it almost immediately in Dr. No). Bond is also shown holding a PPK in some of the movie posters, with a suppressor attached. Felix Leiter, Bond's long-time CIA friend, whom Bond had previously first met (although he had heard of him) in Dr. No and who had been maimed in his last appearance in Licence to Kill, is introduced for the first time in Casino Royale, as in the book. Although Leiter has been portrayed by a wide variety of Caucasian actors throughout the series, this is only the second Bond film in which he is played by a black actor (Jeffrey Wright; Bernie Casey previously played Leiter in the film, Never Say Never Again, an officially licensed film that was not produced by Eon Productions and is, thus, not part of the series continuity).
Two major exclusions from the film are the characters of Q and Miss Moneypenny (although there seems to be a snide reference to her character during James Bond's initial conversation with Vesper Lynd). They were not included in the screenplay, which makes this only the second Bond film without Q (after Live and Let Die) and the first without Moneypenny. Thus, a new Moneypenny was not cast for this film following Samantha Bond's retirement from the role. Likewise, John Cleese did not make a return as Q. In October 2005, producer Michael G. Wilson stated that Moneypenny and Q's omission was due to the characters not appearing in the novel; Moneypenny, however, was in the novel and had one line of dialogue, although Major Boothroyd, which the films transformed into the character Q, did not appear until several books later.
Casino Royale is the first Bond film to take its title from an Ian Fleming novel or short story since 1987's The Living Daylights and the first to be directly based on any of Fleming's writings since 1989's Licence to Kill. It is also the first Bond film since The Living Daylights not to be adapted as a novelisation. Instead a film tie-in edition of Fleming's original novel was published in the U.K. on October 31, 2006.
Although the film is primarily based on the novel Casino Royale, Solange was the name of a Bond girl in Ian Fleming's short story "007 in New York", which is currently included in the collection Octopussy and The Living Daylights. It is believed the name derives from that story; however, the name is also mentioned (unrelated to the girl in "007 in New York") in the short story "From a View to a Kill", which is included in the For Your Eyes Only collection.
Highlighted by a flurry of unconfirmed reports from a variety of different sources, the quest for the actor to replace Pierce Brosnan as James Bond attracted a great deal of high-profile media attention after rumours began to surface in the autumn of 2004 that Brosnan would not be re-signing with EON Productions to play agent 007 in Casino Royale. Brosnan confirmed this on October 14, 2004, stating "It's absolutely over," and that he considered himself "fired" from the role. A spokesperson for EON Productions issued a statement on April 17, 2005 that it would "definitely not be Pierce Brosnan." Despite this and numerous public denials that he would return, various media continued to report that Brosnan was still in contention for the role.
Of note, Eric Bana, Clive Owen, Hugh Jackman, and Daniel Craig were at one point confirmed to have been signed or to have been offered the role by various news outlets. More than any other candidate, Clive Owen had been a staying name while the search was continuing, likely due to his previous 1998 film, Croupier and his role in BMW's short film series The Hire, where in both he played a Bond-like character. Rumours surrounding Owen intensified in early 2005 after he was awarded a Golden Globe and a BAFTA and nominated for a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his 2004 film, Closer. However, there were unconfirmed rumours that Owen had turned down the role to avoid typecasting. By July 2005, the list of names was down to a mere four, popularly known as "the final four," according to the tabloid, The Sunday Mirror. It was claimed that the shortlist had been whittled down to Henry Cavill (22), Alex O'Lachlan (28), Ewan Stewart (47) and Goran Višnjić (32). The list was premature and by September 2005 during a press junket for The Legend of Zorro, Martin Campbell claimed the list to have consisted of 8-10 names.
As early as April 2005 rumours began to swirl around Layer Cake star Daniel Craig. In May, Craig stated that MGM had assured him that he had the job, likewise Matthew Vaughn told reporters that MGM offered him the opportunity to direct, but for both EON Productions hadn't approached them. Later Craig claimed that the producers offered him the role, but when he requested to read the script first, they didn't have one for him to read so he turned it down. By August 2005, the 37-year-old Daniel Craig was still considered by many to be in the running and by some insiders, EON Production's preferred choice. On October 11, 2005, the Daily Mail confirmed that Daniel Craig had been signed for the role; however, no official confirmation was made until October 14, 2005 during a news conference held by EON Productions and Sony Pictures Entertainment. The conference was held at noon in London at HMS President, a Royal Naval Reserve station at St Katharine Docks, on the banks of the River Thames downstream of Tower Bridge. Whether it was intentional or not, October 14 is former 007 Roger Moore's birthday.
Daniel Craig marked the first time that 007 is portrayed by an actor under the age of 40 since 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Craig turned 38 during filming of Casino Royale. Craig is also the first Bond to be younger than the film series, having been born in 1968, between the releases of You Only Live Twice and On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
The revelation by Martin Campbell that Casino Royale would be a reboot of the series and confirmation from screenwriters Robert Wade and Paul Haggis that Bond would be roughly 28-32 years of age, aided confusion in the media. Many believed that favourites such as Clive Owen and Hugh Jackman were automatically out of the running due to their ages. However, concurrent with rumours of "younger Bonds", older actors including Pierce Brosnan were continually being named in the media as still in contention for the role. Younger actors have been approached in the past, including George Lazenby, who was only 29 when he appeared in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Prior to Lazenby getting the part, Timothy Dalton, who later played the role in 1987 was offered the role to replace Sean Connery while in his early 20s; however, Dalton didn't accept because he considered himself too young. Rumours of a younger Bond heightened with the release of SilverFin, a James Bond novel written by Charlie Higson in which Bond is a thirteen year-old boy attending Eton College; there were erroneous media reports suggesting a "Young Bond" series was planned, possibly in lieu of an adult Bond 21; 29-year-old actor Orlando Bloom was frequently linked with the part, even though the Young Bond of Higson's books is a teenager.
To a lesser extent, many other factors increased confusion in the media. Since Bond's film début in 1962, James Bond had been portrayed as a white British or Irish male. With this search, however, there essentially wasn't any criteria as far as the media was concerned. Most notably, Colin Salmon, a black actor best known for playing Charles Robinson in three previous James Bond films was considered to be in the running and was actually endorsed by Pierce Brosnan. Another actor, Goran Višnjić of ER fame, was claimed to be in "the final four", although Višnjić was Croatian by birth.
After Daniel Craig was announced as James Bond the media turned their attention to casting of the lead Bond girl, Vesper Lynd, exacerbated by the fact filming began without the role having been cast. Casting director Debbie McWilliams has acknowledged that Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron were "strongly considered" for the role. Tabloids reported that both turned the role down, although McWilliams never confirmed they were offered the part. McWilliams also said that Cécile de France auditioned for the role, but her English "wasn't up to scratch." Audrey Tautou was also considered, but ultimately not chosen because of her role in The Da Vinci Code that was released in May 2006. Eva Green was finally announced as having been cast on February 16, 2006.
Likewise with the search for James Bond, many actresses were named in the media as possible contenders or going so far as to have been confirmed in the media as being signed to the role. The first occurred in January 2006 when the Daily Mail identified Rose Byrne as Vesper, claiming an official announcement would be made soon. When no announcement was made, The Sun tabloid later claimed Thandie Newton had been signed, though she later denied this. Many other actresses had been connected to the role in the media including Sienna Miller (Daniel Craig's co-star in the 2004 film Layer Cake), Naomi Watts, Aishwarya Rai, Priyanka Chopra, Lara Dutta, Rachel McAdams, Scarlett Johansson, Rachael Stirling (Diana Rigg's daughter), and Vera Farmiga.
The budget was originally reported to be a somewhat-low $72 million: about half the cost of Die Another Day. This was due to a mix up between the British pound sterling and the American dollar. It actually cost £72 million, about $130 million, which is still some $10 million less than the effects heavy Die Another Day.
Principal photography for Casino Royale commenced on January 30, 2006, and concluded on July 21, 2006. The film was primarily shot at Barrandov Studios in Prague, with additional location shooting in the Czech Republic (Karlovy Vary, where some exteriors of Montenegro were shot, e.g.. Hotel Splendid, Railway station etc.), The Bahamas, Italy, and the United Kingdom. Production returned to its traditional home of Pinewood Studios to complete the shooting schedule.
Initially, Michael G. Wilson confirmed that Casino Royale would be filmed and/or take place in Prague and South Africa. However, following problems for EON Productions in securing film locations in South Africa, the producers had to reconsider their options. On September 13, 2005, CommanderBond.net reported that Martin Campbell (director) and Phil Meheux (director of photography) were scouting Paradise Island in the Bahamas as a possible location for the film. On October 6, 2005, Martin Campbell confirmed that Casino Royale would film in the Bahamas and "maybe Italy." In addition to the extensive location filming, studio work was done at the Barrandov Studios in Prague at Pinewood Studios in England, where the film used several stages as well as the paddock tank and the historic Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage, and in Madagascar for scenes set in Uganda. Further shooting in the UK was scheduled for Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, the cricket pavilion at Eton College (although that particular scene was cut from the completed movie) and the Millbrook Vehicle Proving Ground in Bedfordshire.
After principal photography had commenced in Prague on January 30, 2006, the production moved to the Bahamas. Several locations around New Providence were used for filming during February and March, largely on Paradise Island and in the southern Coral Harbour area. The latter of these locales was used to double for scenes set in Uganda, with an abandoned Royal Bahamian Air Force base being a particularly important location for the production. Additional scenes took place at Albany House - an estate recently acquired by golfers Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.
The crew returned to the Czech Republic in April, and continued there, filming in Prague, Planá and Loket, before completing in the town of Karlovy Vary in May. A disused spa, formerly known as the Kaiserbad, in Karlovy Vary was used as the exterior of the Casino Royale, with the Grandhotel Pupp serving as the "Hotel Splendide" where Bond stays during his time in Montenegro.
The main Italian location alluded to by Campbell is Venice, where the majority of the film's ending is set. Other scenes in the latter half of the film were filmed in late May and early June at the Villa del Balbianello on the shores of Lake Como. Further exterior shooting for the movie took place at properties such as the Villa la Gaeta, near the lakeside town of Menaggio.
On July 30, 2006, a fire broke out at the Albert R. Broccoli 007 Stage at Pinewood. The damage was significant, but had no effect on the release of Casino Royale as the sets were in the process of being taken down. The incident occurred one week after filming of Casino Royale had been completed. On 11 August, Pinewood Studios confirmed that no attempt would be made to salvage the remains of the stage, which would be demolished. A couple of months afterwards, it was announced that the 007 Stage would be rebuilt.
Aston Martin DBS - Bond drives the new Aston Martin DBS in Casino Royale. Daniel Craig personally visited the Aston Martin headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire on 13 January 2006 to view and test drive the car. The vehicle has no installed gadgets, although it does feature a medical kit complete with a defibrillator. A stunt was awarded a Guinness World Record for the most cannon rolls in a car - created by an air-cannon, the record was set at seven. The stunt was performed by Adam Kirley using the Aston Martin DBS and a nitrogen cannon. The car rolled seven times beating the previous record of six accomplished the previous year by Top Gear.
Aston Martin DB5 - Bond's famed Aston Martin DB5 which he wins in a poker game from Dimitrios, first featured in Goldfinger and later Thunderball, Goldeneye, and Tomorrow Never Dies, also features in Casino Royale in addition to the new DBS model. Both Astons are left-hand drive.
Walther P99 - Bond's standard handgun used in the film. However, the iconic Walther PPK isn't used.
Heckler & Koch UMP9 - Bond wields this at the end of the film.
Spirit 54 sailing boat built by Spirit Yachts of Ipswich, UK.
Cartamundi - Official Supplier of the Casino Playing Cards & Chips used in the Casino of Montenegro.
Ford Mondeo MkIV - Ford's new 2007 Ford Mondeo is used by Bond in Casino Royale. The Mondeo's appearance in Casino Royale is brief; Bond uses it to drive to a hotel shortly after arriving in The Bahamas, on the trail of a terrorist cell.
Fiat W190 bulldozer - Made by Fiat's construction equipment division New Holland, Bond drives this bulldozer in an action sequence taking place at a construction site while in Madagascar.
Sony Ericsson phones: Sony Ericsson M600 in white used by Vesper Lynd, Sony Ericsson W900 in black, [[Sony Ericsson K800 in special silver colour. The Sony Ericsson K750, K500, K700 and Z300 also feature, used by various different people in the film, and a battered Ericsson R600 makes an appearance.
Nokia phone: Nokia 8801 is the phone Bond yields earlier in the film.
Sony VAIO James Bond is seen using the Vaio TX and SZ series notebook laptops. M and Le Chiffre are seen using larger VAIO notebooks.
Fiat Ferroviaria/Alstom Pendolino CD 680 - In the movie trailer the Czech version of this tilting train is shown, but it is used in a sequence that involves a train journey from Switzerland to Montenegro.
Persol Sunglasses Models 2244-S and 2720-s
Land Rover Range Rover Sport - After being mistaken for a parking valet, Bond is given keys to a Range Rover Sport, promptly driving it into a row of parked luxury cars in order to distract security guards.
Sony Blu-ray Disc Player - When Bond is in the security office of the casino reviewing security camera footage, the footage in question is played back on a BD-ROM inserted into a Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Disc player. If you look closely, you can even see the player's "HDMI" light is switched on.
Omega Seamaster 300 M Chronometer - Bond's standard watch of choice.
Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced on July 26, 2006 that Chris Cornell, the Audioslave and former Soundgarden lead singer composed and would perform the title song "You Know My Name" for Casino Royale. Cornell collaborated with Chris Valdez who composed the film's score. Cornell was first reported to be writing and performing the song on July 20, 2006 by the Finnish newspaper Ilta-Sanomat. "You Know My Name" is the first theme song since 1983's Octopussy to use a different title than the film, and Cornell is the first male performer since a-ha (in 1987's The Living Daylights). It is only the fourth Bond theme (after the opening medley of Dr. No, the instrumental theme from On Her Majesty's Secret Service and "All Time High" from Octopussy) to make no reference to the title of the film. The soundtrack was completed early in the morning on October 11th. The soundtrack was released on November 14, 2006.
Various names were reported in the media prior to the announcement, some reports going so far as to have the performers apparently claim they were working on the theme. This list includes Tina Turner who previously sang "GoldenEye" for the 1995 Bond film of the same name, and Tony Christie.
The Casino Royale title song "You Know My Name" by Chris Cornell is not featured on the soundtrack. This marks the first time that a Bond title track did not appear on the official soundtrack. Some cues for the movie which did not make the final selection of tracks for the soundtrack are available as bonus track downloads from iTunes. However, an instrumental version of the Cornell song serves as Bond's theme throughout the film. The traditional Bond theme builds throughout the film before appearing in its full form over the end credits. It is likely that "You Know My Name" will appear on Cornell's second solo album, due in 2007.
Casino Royale premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square, the Odeon West End and the Empire simultaneously in London on November 14, 2006. It marked the 60th Royal Film Performance and benefited the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF), whose patron, Queen Elizabeth II, was in attendance with the Duke of Edinburgh. It was the third James Bond premiere that the Queen had attended following You Only Live Twice (1967) and Die Another Day (2002). Along with the cast and crew, numerous celebrities and 5,000 paying guests were also in attendance with half the proceeds benefiting the CTBF. |
