Saturday, August 12, 2006

Studio Briefing: Craig Admits, He's Reinventing Bond

Daniel Craig has clearly been stung by blogs that have criticized his selection as the new James Bond in the upcoming Casino Royale. "If I went onto the Internet and started looking at what some people were saying about me -- which, sadly, I have done -- it would drive me insane," the British actor told Entertainment Weekly in its latest edition out today (Friday). "They hate me. They don't think I'm right for the role. It's as simple as that. They're passionate about it, which I understand, but I do wish they'd reserve judgment." Nevertheless, Craig acknowledges that he has tried to take "Bond to a place he'd never been before." He told the magazine, "I watched every single Bond movie three or four times, taking in everything I could about how the character had been portrayed in the past, then threw all that away once I started doing the role." It was not clear why he had studied the past performances so diligently if he had intended to throw away all that he had learned about the character.

I'm not sure how much responsibility falls on Craig for reinventing Bond. He was cast because Bond bosses wanted to depict James Bond's first adventure. They couldn't do that with an aging Brosnan. And Craig can only take Bond to a new place if the writers do first.

Most viewers praise Christian Bale's Bruce Wayne in Batman Begins; however, his portrayal wouldn't have been possible were the role not written as well. And before the public had seen Bale as Wayne, was anyone sure he'd be good in the role?

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