3 replies to this topic

[stamper]

Yeah, I'm asking the question. We all know it was Uncle Steven who convinced Craig to take on the role.

In the latest issue of Premiere Magazine, a sit-down with actor Daniel Craig reveals that he agreed to step into the shoes of James Bond after getting some helpful advice from his Munich director, Steven Spielberg. Craig, who was previously most known for his role as philandering poet Ted Hughes in Sylvia, was reluctant to step into the shoes of the legendary martini-sipper, and had a frank conversation with Spielberg about his dilemma. "You know the kind of films I do, Steven, they're not, you know, this," he told the director. Spielberg responded by telling Craig that if the script and the money were right, it was a no-brainer. Is this late revelation by Craig a way of sending a signal to the acting community that he still considers himself a thesp? Or is it standard publicity-tour stuff?
In the interview, Craig also reveals that he threw his weight around on the set, nixing a scene that involved a suicide bomber. He apparently believes Bond films are best when they exist out of time and have no bearing whatsoever on the real world. It's important that all the bad guys be trying to walk away with "a suitcase full of cash," Craig says. He also slides in a cryptic statement to the interviewer that seems to betray some animus towards Bondage in general: "There are certain things that Bond means to you that just don't mean anything to me."

I say it's obvious to all of us now that Craig have input in all the scenes in appears in, making suggestions and changing things, like the shower scene (deletion of the bikini, keeping the dress for Vesper), or as stated above, the airport scene. We know he asked for several rewrites in the script. Now, I'm sure he still talks to Spielberg. Could Spielberg have influence on Craig, and therefore, by ricochet, contributed to the success of CR ?

[doublenoughtspy]

I think you are playing up two things that aren't as huge as you claim.

Craig was filming Munich when the Bond deal came around, and the story that I read was that Craig asked Spielberg if he would ever hire him again if he took the Bond role - and Spielberg said that he would.

I've never heard reports of Craig (or anyone else from the Bond camp) asking Spielberg for advice on fight scenes, dialog, camera angles, costumes, or plot alterations that would indicate that Spielberg had any influence over the production.

And while Craig had input into the film, a costume alteration, and things like suggesting that the dinner scene not have extras (as reported by our own Ernie Cuneo) don't really qualify as earth-shattering in my view. Each of the previous Bond actors suggested changes to their films that were of equal significance.

And the whole "refused to do a scene with a suicide bomber" bit in that article is false.

They were filming some of the Mollaka chase scenes when the whole incident in Britain where an innocent man was thought to be a suicide bomber and was killed because of it. It caused an uproar because people thought they were doing the same thing in the film which was not the case at all.

[stamper]

Interesting. So we must assume Uncle Steven does not have any "ricochet" input via the main actor, which I'm willing to believe.

[dinovelvet]

And the whole "refused to do a scene with a suicide bomber" bit in that article is false.

They were filming some of the Mollaka chase scenes when the whole incident in Britain where an innocent man was thought to be a suicide bomber and was killed because of it. It caused an uproar because people thought they were doing the same thing in the film which was not the case at all.

In the original script, Carlos the airport henchman could be described as a "suicide bomber", as he drops his keychain detonator right into the gas tank, which would seem to indicate he plans to plow his truck straight into the plane, but in the film he clearly doesn't intend to blow himself up. I think that might have been what the whole suicide bomber story/rumor was all about.
Anyway, who the hell thinks of Craig as "most known for his role as philandering poet Ted Hughes in Sylvia", which earned a whopping $2.9 million at the worldwide box office? Has this guy not heard of Tomb Raider and Road to Perdition?

Interesting. So we must assume Uncle Steven does not have any "ricochet" input via the main actor, which I'm willing to believe.

On a related note, I think right now is the best chance of Spielberg ever directing a Bond movie, what with an actor he's apparently chummy with playing Bond, and EON's newfound willingness to hire quality/prestigious directors...