Bond 23 Update - 25/09/11 - 1/10/11

New blog posts every week with the latest information on Bond 23.

Filming in India cancelled
It was recently confirmed by EON that Bond 23 will not be filmed in India, after the hassel they had trying to get permission to film there.

"We'd given them all the permissions. They wanted to shoot in the Sabarmati yard and had asked to shoot on two gauges - broad gauge and meter gauge - and they wanted these for seven-hour stretches every day for seven days in a row, and we'd agreed. All had been worked out. They also wanted to shoot between Mumbai and Goa on the hero train, and wanted a special shot where a motorcycle from a bridge would jump on to a train, and the coach on which he'd jump needed to be re-enforced, and we agreed."

"The matter was finalised by September 13. But a week later, we were informed that after an international discussion, the production team decided not to shoot in India. We've been very cooperative with them. We had ourselves hoped that the movie would be shot here,"

Instead of filming in India, the scenes will be moved to South Africa, which was a back-up for India. Filming is scheduled to begin there soon. Other confirmed locations include Istanbul and Pinewood Studios.

Ebru Akel rejected as Bond villainess
Ebru Akel is a Turkish actress who was going to acompany Daniel Craig in Bond 23. She auditioned for the role of a villainess (the villains daughter or girlfriend) weeks ago but unfortunatley she didn't get accepted. But, this has told us that it is very possible that there will be a villainess in this next movie.

Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem
Ever since the beginning of the year, Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem have been rumoured to play a role in the next film. Ralph Fiennes was rumoured to play a dark role in the film, whereas Javier Bardem was said to be playing the main villain. Recently, Daniel Craig let slip that these two are likely to be in the new film. "I hope so, I hope so,"
"We've got a great script this time. I'm as excited about this script as I was about the 'Casino Royale' script. I think in Sam [Mendes] we've got the perfect director. The cast is coming together now. I can't wait to get going on it."

With production starting soon, more and more roles will be confirmed.

Istanbul scenes
The producers of Bond 23 met with Tourist Minister Ertugrul Günay to secure the filming taking place in Istanbul this November.

"The opening scenes are planned to be filmed in Istanbul, but some other places will also be used outside Istanbul for the film,"

"Such is the appeal of the series that many of the locations where Bond films have been filmed in the past have continued to attract Bond fans to visit many years down the line. The fact that the opening scene of the film will be made in Turkey will contribute to Turkish tourism. The ministry has been providing big support to the film sector for five years. We have made a concerted effort in the past five years to support the film sector and our aim continues to be to welcome international film crews to our country for filming,"

To celebrate 50 Years of James Bond, there taking the film back to one of the most loved places. Turkey was one of the filming locations in From Russia With Love and The World Is Not Enough. This time, they are hoping to film some of the more historic locations in the area. "There are, however, a number of locations, including the waterside and shores of the Bosporus, in consideration for the 10-15 minutes of the movie that is to be filmed in Turkey,"

Berenice Marlohe Bond girl rumour
A French actress Berenice Marlohe has been rumoured this week to have got a part in the film. We already know that there is going to be at least two female characters (the main Bond Girl and a villainess), but no further information has been provided.

New look for James Bond
Daniel Craig has told interviewers that James Bond will be getting a new look for the new film. The costume designer is Tom Ford, who has worked alongside Louise Frogley for Quantum of Solace.

"Tom [Ford]'s doing the suits. In fact, I've spent a long time with Tom getting a very different look and he's been designing a new set of things [for the film]."

"It's great that he's doing it. It's going to be a new kinda look. It's a new feel. I'm very excited about that. I'm very excited about the suits."

"I'm really lucky to have a wardrobe with five or six beautiful suits done by Tom and some other people."

For Bond 23, Louise Frogley will be replaced by Jany Temime, who has worked on the costumes for the Harry Potter films.

Improvements from Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace
"Sam [Mendes] is a huge, huge Bond fan and has been all his life. He and I both said at the beginning to each other that the only thing we want to do is make the best James Bond movie we can. So therefore, we have to go back to what we know about the books, what we know about the movies and what we know about all of that... And improve upon it." "That's where we started off, and that's where we started with the script, and that's where we started from for the look and feel of it, the characters... It's how we're going to continue on the movie - doing the best that we can."

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