Friday,
September
01,
2006
Los
Angeles
(Reuters):
Life
is
tough,
even
for
James
Bond.
Just
ask
actor
Daniel
Craig,
who
for
the
first
time
dons
the
British
spy's
tuxedo
for
autumn
film,
Casino
Royale.
Ask
him
what
is
the
coolest
thing
about
making
the
21st
movie
in
the
fabled
film
series
that
spans
more
than
40
years
and
five
Bonds,
and
he
responds:
''Finishing
probably.''
For
the
film,
which
opens
November
17,
he
was
beaten
up,
blown
up
and
hung
on
wires
on
the
back
of
a
fuel
tanker
by
director
Martin
Campbell's
(Die
Another
Day)
special
effects
wizards.
Craig
trained
five
days-a-week
to
get
into
shape,
but
he
couldn't
bulk-up
too
much
or
he
wouldn't
fit
007's
tux.
''You
just
look
like
a
doorman,''
he
said
in
a
recent
interview.
But
perhaps
the
most
emasculating
thing
about
playing
one
of
the
movies'
most
macho
of
men
is
this:
in
Casino
Royale,
James
Bond
is
awkward
-
a
rookie
agent
-
at
first.
What's
more,
he
gets
dumped
by
a
''Bond
girl.''
Yet
Craig
swears
007
regains
his
cool
by
the
end.
Casino
Royale,
is
based
on
author
Ian
Fleming's
first
novel,
penned
in
1953,
about
the
British
spy
with
a
licence
to
kill,
and
while
the
movie's
makers
stuck
close
to
the
original
storyline,
they
re-set
the
film
in
modern
times.
''We
have
an
opening
sequence
that
is
filmed
in
black
and
white,
which
is
not
to
say
this
is
old.
It
is
just
to
say,
'go
with
us
on
this
one'.
This
is
from
the
beginning,'''
Craig
said.
On
his
first
mission
for
Her
Majesty's
Secret
Service,
Bond
must
stop
a
Frenchman,
Le
Chiffre,
from
funding
the
world's
terrorists.
(In
the
novel,
Le
Chiffre
is
a
Soviet
agent).
Bond
confronts
Le
Chiffre
at
the
high
stakes
gambling
tables
at
Casino
Royale.
British
Treasury
agent,
Vesper
Lynd
(Eva
Green),
delivers
the
cash
to
fund
Bond's
game
and,
of
course,
action,
adventure
and
a
little
bit
of
loving
ensue.
Another
take
on
Fleming's
yarn,
1967's
Casino
Royale,
was
a
comedic
spoof
of
the
Bond
genre,
so
Craig's
film
becomes
the
first
Casino
Royale
of
the
type
the
film
icon's
fans
have
come
to
love.
Since
the
first
movie,
1962's
Dr
No,
the
series
has
sold
3.6
billion
dollars
in
tickets
at
US
and
Canadian
theatres,
adjusted
for
inflation.
Worldwide,
the
last
four
Bond
films
alone
have
grossed
nearly
1.5
billion
dollars
unadjusted,
according
to
boxofficemojo.com
That's
a
tremendous
box
office
record
to
maintain,
and
if
an
actor
screws
up
the
job,
he
is
unceremoniously
ousted.
Just
ask
George
Lazenby
and
Timothy
Dalton
--
two
previous
Bonds.
''It's
huge,''
said
Craig
about
taking
the
role.
''Of
course
there's
concern,
I'm
only
human.
I
want
to
get
it
right.''
Craig,
38,
may
be
unknown
to
US
fans,
but
he
is
no
stranger
to
acting
or
to
the
limelight.
The
British
actor
trained
at
England's
National
Youth
Theatre
and
graduated
from
the
Guildhall
School
of
Music
and
Drama.
He
has
appeared
in
movies
and
on
television
for
nearly
15
years,
most
recently
in
Steven
Spielberg's
Munich.
Bond
producers
Michael
Wilson
and
Barbara
Broccoli
liked
him
enough
to
sign
him
for
an
untitled,
22nd
Bond
flick
set
for
release
in
2008.
Craig
said
he
talked
to
Pierce
Brosnan,
who
played
the
super
spy
in
the
four
most
recent
Bond
movies,
''quite
a
few
times.''
''Pierce
said
'go
for
it,'''
Craig
said.
''So
I
did.''
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