January 25, 2008

James Bond's Next Adventure Is On The Way; What Does Bizarre New Title Mean?

By Jennifer Vineyard (MTV.com)

The title of the next James Bond film, announced at a press conference Thursday (January 24) near London, might leave fans scratching their heads - Bond 22 is now called Quantum of Solace. So what does that mean?

"We could have gone for a snappier title, but that's not part of the deal," Daniel Craig told reporters. "It ties into the plot. It's not some random title."

The title, from one of Bond author Ian Fleming's short stories published in the For Your Eyes Only collection, actually has little to do with the plot on the surface, but everything to do with the secret agent's emotional state. The short story, which takes place at a dinner party, is a domestic drama of love, hate and revenge, during which Bond learns that though his adventures may be exciting, at the end of the day, no one truly cares about him. No one gives him "a quantum of solace." The movie Quantum of Solace hints at Bond's lesson in humanity but in a different context, since it picks up "literally an hour after the last film left off," co-producer Michael Wilson told the reporters gathered at Pinewood Studios.

"There are no flashbacks in the film, but [his recently departed lover Vesper Lind] is certainly on Bond's mind," co-producer Barbara Broccoli said.

In Quantum, due out November 7, Bond's mission takes him to Austria, Italy and South America, the latter because there's been an attempted coup by a businessman named Dominic Greene (played by Mathieu Amalric), who wants to control access to the world's natural resources. Greene is a member of a mysterious organization and is allied with an exiled South American general, General Medrano (played by Joaquín Cosio). "He's not an over-the-top villain," Amalric told reporters. "No scars, no metal jaw."

Giving Bond a hand will be a half-Ukrainian, half-South American woman named Camille (played by Olga Kurylenko). "James Bond is after revenge, and Camille is after revenge," Kurylenko told reporters, explaining that Bond needs Camille to get to Greene and learn more about who blackmailed Vesper in Royale. "They have slightly different goals, but in the end, they are going to have to collaborate." Camille will be "very different" from previous Bond girls, Kurylenko said. "She's a fighter. This girl is going to kick ass. She's on her own mission."

One of the other Bond girls, MI6 Agent Fields (played by Gemma Arterton), also said her character breaks from the Bond mold as well. Agent Fields, who gets a love scene with 007, is "not sultry or a femme fatale," Arterton said. She's "fresh and young."