Marc Forster: MSN Interview

Could you describe the stage you’re at with the production?
We wrapped the film around a week ago and now I’m in post-production and have started the editing process.  We have four weeks to cut the film, then we have a preview, and then two more weeks and then we lock pictures. It’s a very tight schedule.

How much do you have to cut?
The movie will be just under two hours; it’s all the footage we shot since January third. I don’t know exactly how much, but it’s definitely a lot!

Quantum Of Solace has a far bigger budget than Casino Royale. Was it difficult to spend all that money?
All the films I’ve done until now we’re $40 million budgets and below. Making a movie for $200 million is a completely different scale, but at the same time you still have to watch the budget and make creative cuts to keep it in that range. You go to so many locations, six or seven countries. We’ve been to Austria, England, Mexico, Panama, Chile! Making it work when you’re constantly travelling with a crew and keeping it on schedule - and we wrapped on time - is pretty miraculous.

There have been a few mishaps, like Daniel Craig cutting open a fingertip and bruising a rib. Do you think he had a harder time with this than with his previous Bond film?

No, he had a few bruises in the last one as well. It just comes with the territory. Especially an actor like Daniel, who wants to do a lot of the stunts himself and is a very physical actor. That’s important to him, so you just run the risks - accidents can happen.

You’ve brought a lot of new talent into the franchise such as Olga Kurylenko.  There must have been a shock factor for the new people...
Not much. Olga was also very keen on doing stunts herself. They all went through vigorous training to get to a place where they can do the stunts. But they all seemed to really enjoy it and got a kick out of it. For me, it’s always hard when you use a real actor in a stunt scene. You’re slightly tense and you just hope it goes well. There’s always an element of danger.

 

What will surprise us about the film?

Stylistically, it will be very different. I approached the film very differently and it’s going in a different direction. There was more action in Casino Royale, but my goal was to bring it back to the 60s and early 70s. I was always inspired by the early Bond films – Dr. No, Goldfinger - and the sets designed by Ken Adams. I want to go back to the feel of the old set designs, which were incredibly interesting and ahead of their time. I felt the look of the Bond franchise was a little bit neglected in the last decade - to make a more stylish Bond is a little more interesting.

 

Will you bring back the humour of the old 007 movies - the suave, ladies’ man Bond?

The role of the woman has changed in our day. At that time, the role of the Bond girl was more as an object. Today, if you cast a Bond girl she has to be a three dimensional woman. She has to be smart and sexy. It’s not the suave humour in that sense, but the humour is important to me and it does go back to the traditional humour.

Michael G Wilson said the film was nearly twice as big on the action front as Casino Royale. Could you describe any particular action scenes that you think will be seen as groundbreaking?
There’s an airplane sequence that’s a real cat-and-mouse game. I think it’s really breathtaking and a lot of fun. Another scene is the finale of a foot chase in Vienna during which they crash into a cathedral and there’s a fight. I really like that sequence; I feel I haven’t seen it in any film before.

Finally, MSN will be hosting the new trailer exclusively on Monday 30 June. Could you tell us what we can expect?
It’s a teaser and I’m really happy with it. Even in a minute and a half, I think it captures the essence and the feel of the movie. I feel great about it and I have a really good feeling about the movie. I hope audiences will enjoy it as well.

 

The brand new trailer for Quantum Of Solace will be exclusively on MSN Movies from 5pm on Monday June 30.

 

 

Quantum Of Solace Video Homepage