The DANIEL CRAIG Appreciation thread - Discuss His Life, His Career, His Bond Films

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  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    TripAces wrote: »
    Obanno wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    I don't need Craig gone to realise what we won't have any more.

    The guy is effortless, his natural charisma, the way he moves, there hasn't been an actor so comfortable in his own skin since Connery from the get go like Daniel.

    I hope the next guy can come out the gate like Craig, even Roger took 2 films to cement his take on Bond, from the moment Craig say "yes considerably" I was convinced.

    Moore's a weird one because I think he did actually come out of the gate really strongly. LALD is flawed as a film sure but I think it does confidently establish Moore's sort of Bond and gets rid of the ghost of Connery. It was just that was followed by a sort of confused regression in TMWTGG.

    Maybe Maibaum was the problem? There's an interview with him where he talks about not liking Moore's style as Bond, hating LALD, and says that a lot of that stuff in the Moore films he wrote was improvised by Moore himself. So maybe he wrote the harder Connery sort of stuff into TMWTGG to try to counteract what they did in LALD.

    I don't think that's too dissimilar to Craig actually. Brilliantly establishes his Bond in film one but film two feels like a bit of a confused regression (we've gone from the bitch is dead, Bond James Bond cue Bond theme, back to what still feels like an origin story) before film three returns to form and builds off film one.

    I'd love to hear this interview if you can find it. In fact I love hearing everything Maibaum has to say about Bond. And you are probably correct in saying that he felt more comfortable with the edgy Bond rather than the overly humorous Bond. Though I do think Maibaum would have been a perfect scribe for Brosnan.

    As for Craig, I'm a big fan but you can just tell (imo) he despises the character through every pore of his being. He's clearly doing NTTD for the money (a fact he clearly stated in the slash-my-wrist interview and is somewhat conveniently forgotten for the "taken out of context" excuse), and I really do not get a sense of enthusiasm from him at all considering this is his last hurrah. I currently don't see a general public sad that he's leaving the role, more a sense of pity because he clearly hates it.

    Yes, he's professional and he will deliver a solid performance but the glint in his eye just isn't there and I feel the performance will be forced in nature, to hide his lack of enthusiasm. Obviously, I hope I am wrong but only in April can the movie address this.

    The logic makes no sense, on multiple fronts. First, DC has plenty of money and though we don't know why he made the comment, money is not a serious factor at all in him returning. If he hates the character, he won't do it. Furthermore, if he hates it, why put the work in at the gym? Why do stunts that could (and did) result in a serious injury? Add to this: he has a new child. You think he wants to spend time away from his wife and baby for several months to make a movie he doesn't want to make?

    Thanks, @TripAces ... Well written logic.
  • Posts: 12,526
    Red_Snow wrote: »

    These would certainly be a novel thing to own! :))
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    peter wrote: »
    TripAces wrote: »
    Obanno wrote: »
    Shardlake wrote: »
    I don't need Craig gone to realise what we won't have any more.

    The guy is effortless, his natural charisma, the way he moves, there hasn't been an actor so comfortable in his own skin since Connery from the get go like Daniel.

    I hope the next guy can come out the gate like Craig, even Roger took 2 films to cement his take on Bond, from the moment Craig say "yes considerably" I was convinced.

    Moore's a weird one because I think he did actually come out of the gate really strongly. LALD is flawed as a film sure but I think it does confidently establish Moore's sort of Bond and gets rid of the ghost of Connery. It was just that was followed by a sort of confused regression in TMWTGG.

    Maybe Maibaum was the problem? There's an interview with him where he talks about not liking Moore's style as Bond, hating LALD, and says that a lot of that stuff in the Moore films he wrote was improvised by Moore himself. So maybe he wrote the harder Connery sort of stuff into TMWTGG to try to counteract what they did in LALD.

    I don't think that's too dissimilar to Craig actually. Brilliantly establishes his Bond in film one but film two feels like a bit of a confused regression (we've gone from the bitch is dead, Bond James Bond cue Bond theme, back to what still feels like an origin story) before film three returns to form and builds off film one.

    I'd love to hear this interview if you can find it. In fact I love hearing everything Maibaum has to say about Bond. And you are probably correct in saying that he felt more comfortable with the edgy Bond rather than the overly humorous Bond. Though I do think Maibaum would have been a perfect scribe for Brosnan.

    As for Craig, I'm a big fan but you can just tell (imo) he despises the character through every pore of his being. He's clearly doing NTTD for the money (a fact he clearly stated in the slash-my-wrist interview and is somewhat conveniently forgotten for the "taken out of context" excuse), and I really do not get a sense of enthusiasm from him at all considering this is his last hurrah. I currently don't see a general public sad that he's leaving the role, more a sense of pity because he clearly hates it.

    Yes, he's professional and he will deliver a solid performance but the glint in his eye just isn't there and I feel the performance will be forced in nature, to hide his lack of enthusiasm. Obviously, I hope I am wrong but only in April can the movie address this.

    The logic makes no sense, on multiple fronts. First, DC has plenty of money and though we don't know why he made the comment, money is not a serious factor at all in him returning. If he hates the character, he won't do it. Furthermore, if he hates it, why put the work in at the gym? Why do stunts that could (and did) result in a serious injury? Add to this: he has a new child. You think he wants to spend time away from his wife and baby for several months to make a movie he doesn't want to make?

    Thanks, @TripAces ... Well written logic.

    Thank you @thelivingroyale, @TripAces and @peter, I just put it a bit more crudely but all 3 bang on.
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,538
    How Daniel Craig saved new movie Knives Out
    https://news.com.au/entertainment/movies/new-movies/how-daniel-craig-saved-new-movie-knives-out/news-story/1a6a64c506826ee856be12a5a23542b0

    Yes. That’s Daniel Craig. And he’s having the time of his life in this film, a fizzy, fantastically unhinged whodunit from writer-director Rian Johnson, of The Last Jedi and Looper fame.

    “Daniel Craig signed up, he was the first piece of the puzzle,” Johnson tells news.com.au. Without him, Knives Out, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September and is released in Australia on November 28, would never have been made.

    “Once Daniel was playing the lead role, first of all, it meant we were making the movie,” Johnson explains. “Everybody wants to work with Daniel, and I think that’s part of why we got the cast that we did.”

    [...] But if this dream team has an MVP, it’s Craig’s cigar-smokin’, smooth-talkin’ detective. For his final scene, an epic monologue in which Benoit lays out how he “determined the arc of gravity’s rainbow”, as he describes the process of arriving at a murder suspect, Craig memorised all 30 pages of dialogue as if he was performing a Shakespeare soliloquy. “He could do the entire thing in one go,” Johnson recalls. “If I had set up one shot, he could have done it.

    “I think Daniel was having the most fun,” Johnson adds. “You know, having met him a few times over the years, I knew that he was a really fun guy. Like, I think just from knowing him from his James Bond performance you would think he’s a very intense, serious dude, and he’s actually a blast. He’s really funny and has a good sense of humour.

    “I could sense that he was really going to enjoy having a performance where he could cut loose and just let it rip like this. And he did, he had a lot of fun with it. I mean, he put a lot of work into it and we worked a lot on that, but it’s very different to the Bond character. I know he loves playing Bond, and he’s so good at it, but it’s always refreshing to do something different after you’ve been doing something for a while.”
  • edited November 2019 Posts: 12,466
    Didn’t Boyle’s departure from B25 directly lead to Craig’s availability for Knives Out?
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    FoxRox wrote: »
    Didn’t Boyle’s departure from B25 directly lead to Craig’s availability for Knives Out?

    Yes, without the delay KO would have to wait.
  • TripAcesTripAces Universal Exports
    Posts: 4,585
    Red_Snow wrote: »
    “Everybody wants to work with Daniel, and I think that’s part of why we got the cast that we did.”[/i]

    Maybe this statement can end the ridiculous discussion: the naysayers have been on these boards for years spreading nonsense that he's horrible and gets in fights on set. LOL.
  • ShardlakeShardlake Leeds, West Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 4,043
    TripAces wrote: »
    Red_Snow wrote: »
    “Everybody wants to work with Daniel, and I think that’s part of why we got the cast that we did.”[/i]

    Maybe this statement can end the ridiculous discussion: the naysayers have been on these boards for years spreading nonsense that he's horrible and gets in fights on set. LOL.

    It should but it won't, Craig haters gonna hate I'm afraid!

    I've championed him as much more a eclectic actor than he's sold by many for years now.

    Thankfully Knives Out will show that Daniel Craig can be much more than just James Bond 007.

    This is looking like a hit and if it scores the likelihood of another Benoit Blanc mystery is almost a definite.

    Can't wait to see this a week on Saturday.

  • HildebrandRarityHildebrandRarity Centre international d'assistance aux personnes déplacées, Paris, France
    Posts: 482
    Compared to his predecessors, Craig seems to be more of a character actor, who happens to have an idea of how to play Bond, rather than projecting himself into the character in some capacity. From his performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it would be hard to picture him as Bond, as his Blomkvist is anything but physical and relies on his intellectual skills.
    It's the same thing in Logan Lucky. Roger Moore could do some self-parody for films such as Cannonball Run, Pierce Brosnan was great as the manipulative agent who was way above his head in The Tailor of Panama, but in both cases their comedic performances benefitted a lot for the audience from their baggage of playing Bond. Craig, however, is a highlight of the movie, whether you know him from Bond or not. It's a totally giddy and joyful performance that has nothing in common with his characterization of Bond.

    Sean Connery was able to evolve with time into a character actor (as a lead, then in supporting roles). Craig was a character actor before getting the part, and he used a different approach, that carries different benefits. That's why I won't be surprised if his performance in Knives Out is indeed great, as so many people already call it, because he has a lot of range. It's just that getting cast as Bond gave him a lot of exposure, got him offers for some parts that were ultimately close to his take on Bond (Cowboys and Aliens, for instance), but also opportunities to display his other skills like in Logan Lucky.
  • Red_SnowRed_Snow Australia
    Posts: 2,538
  • Posts: 12,526
    Red_Snow wrote: »

    Great interview! Really chuffed for DC as he deserves success outside of the Bond sphere! :-bd
  • 00Agent00Agent Any man who drinks Dom Perignon '52 can't be all bad.
    edited November 2019 Posts: 5,185
    EoN should hire Jamie Lee Curtis to hang around Daniel for his NTTD press tour. She really helped loosen him up here .
  • SuperintendentSuperintendent A separate pool. For sharks, no less.
    Posts: 871
  • Compared to his predecessors, Craig seems to be more of a character actor, who happens to have an idea of how to play Bond, rather than projecting himself into the character in some capacity. From his performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, it would be hard to picture him as Bond, as his Blomkvist is anything but physical and relies on his intellectual skills.
    It's the same thing in Logan Lucky. Roger Moore could do some self-parody for films such as Cannonball Run, Pierce Brosnan was great as the manipulative agent who was way above his head in The Tailor of Panama, but in both cases their comedic performances benefitted a lot for the audience from their baggage of playing Bond. Craig, however, is a highlight of the movie, whether you know him from Bond or not. It's a totally giddy and joyful performance that has nothing in common with his characterization of Bond.

    Sean Connery was able to evolve with time into a character actor (as a lead, then in supporting roles). Craig was a character actor before getting the part, and he used a different approach, that carries different benefits. That's why I won't be surprised if his performance in Knives Out is indeed great, as so many people already call it, because he has a lot of range. It's just that getting cast as Bond gave him a lot of exposure, got him offers for some parts that were ultimately close to his take on Bond (Cowboys and Aliens, for instance), but also opportunities to display his other skills like in Logan Lucky.

    He's come a far way since appearing in an episode of ITV's Heartbeat!
  • AgentJamesBond007AgentJamesBond007 Vesper’s grave
    Posts: 2,632
    DC on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight.

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  • Posts: 12,466
    DC on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tonight.

    wsllkw265b041.png

    Fingers crossed for any kind of NTTD tidbit!
  • Posts: 6,709
    Anyone seen it?
  • Posts: 12,466
    I think it’s still like 2 and a half hours away. I really enjoyed the last get-together between Craig and Colbert!
  • edited November 2019 Posts: 4,044
    Knives Out
  • edited November 2019 Posts: 4,044
    Bond
  • Posts: 17,756
    Headlines featuring "I kiss all my leading men" incoming :))
  • Posts: 12,466
    More affirmation that NTTD is his last. He’s been such an awesome Bond and I can’t wait to see his final adventure. Hoping he lands many more great roles after Bond as well.
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    I imagine he will @FoxRox ... he's a man with a lot of swagger right now. He's got one hit on his hands with Knives Out, and another one soon to follow with No Time To Die. This will further his status as an actor (as if he needed anymore, but playing two completely different characters shines a spotlight on his talent), and he will get a desk-load of quality projects (directors/writers) to choose from. He's about to start a very exciting chapter in his life.
  • RichardTheBruceRichardTheBruce I'm motivated by my Duty.
    Posts: 13,789
    And imagine the media reaction for Daniel Craig coming back for a 6th.

    Just imagine.

  • DeerAtTheGatesDeerAtTheGates Belgium
    Posts: 524
    @peter Do you think he might possibly come back to do a sixth after some downtime and other movies in between? Say, in 2023 or 2024? He really sounds determined that this is the best he could give.
    And would EON try to ask him back or do they too know he won't, ever?

    It's so weird. I have always been in the "one final film, then move on" camp, but now I'm not ready to see him go...
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    Although it makes my heart heavy, my guess is, @DeerAtTheGates ... that this film will be the last for Craig. Any discussion of he doing more than one probably happened at the very early stages of this production-- two years ago.

    I have a feeling that the film will have a very thoughtful and subtle conclusion to it that will cement his legacy, era and closure to the arc.

  • Who else thinks Craig has that rugged quality akin to Russell Crowe or Richard Burton. A brutal brand of masculinity, but with that hint that he's necked a bottle of gin and on the verge of tears. Basically, there is a complexity to their looks.

    image.jpg?w=1920&h=1080
  • peterpeter Toronto
    Posts: 9,509
    as an add-on @DeerAtTheGates , if you watch the Colbert interview, DC was quiet yet firm that it's "done". Choice of words, said with conviction.

    I doubt very much he would have said it like this without also saying, with the same types of words, with the same conviction to Broccoli, at a very early stage of production-- she knows this was the last one too.

    My mother always taught me that anything can happen, but the chance Craig returns for one more go at Bond, I think, is an idea stuck between "never going to happen" and "wishful thinking".

    I'm going to miss him greatly in the role and, IMO, it will be a tough re-cast...

    I wasn't on this earth when Connery played the role in the Golden Era, but I certainly grew up with Connery as THE Bond-- care of my old man. So through the years, I gravitated greatly towards these films (I loved him as Bond, the style, the women, the music...), but still remained a Bond fan.

    The Bond's to follow all had their highlights for me-- but they really didn't come close to the original era. Not at all (I disliked Moore's fashion and his lack of athleticism, the music and songs were hit and miss; Loved Dalton's intensity, but he couldn't relax into the more hedonistic traits of the character; I did greatly struggle with Brosnan-- there were moments of "something" and I certainly saw the effort he put into the role, but in the end I accepted this was the Bond of least resistance, the safe Bond that would appeal to general audiences)....

    I was resigned to the fact that no one would command this role again, not in the same edgy, sexy and dangerous way that Connery did. So I went about re-watching the Connery films and reading the Fleming novels (as well as collecting each film and casually watching them).

    And then came along CR... I was blown away and saw some great elements in Craig that felt off the pages of Fleming, with a mixture of, if Connery-Bond had a child with Fiona Volpe, this is the bastard that would be unleashed to the world (and considering, as someone quoted today, Luciana Paluzzi saw her character and her lifestyle, exactly like James Bond's...)

    I found my Connery 2.0 in Daniel Craig (not saying he plays the role like Connery, but he certainly had a clear vision of how he wanted to play the role and went all in capturing the elements I love in this character (charismatic and sexy, dangerous, charming, but he's a lonely introvert...). As I have discussed with my wife, I presume I will settle back into the position I was in pre-Craig-- but only now I gravitate to two eras: Connery and Craig...
  • And imagine the media reaction for Daniel Craig coming back for a 6th.

    Just imagine.

    Especially if NTTD is a corker of a Bond.
  • Posts: 7,653
    shamanimal wrote: »
    And imagine the media reaction for Daniel Craig coming back for a 6th.

    Just imagine.

    Especially if NTTD is a corker of a Bond.

    To be honest after SP there is only a way up, otherwise we would all be terribly annoyed.
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