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| Total Film, December 2013 (Issue #213) |
I purchased the December issue (#213) of Total Film
this past week because of a short article on the upcoming series, Fleming, starring Dominic Cooper. The four part Bio-drama
places Ian Fleming in World War II London at the time of his recruiting into
Naval Intelligence. The series will broadcast next month on Sky Atlantic (UK)
and BBC America (US).
As I perused the rest of the magazine, I came across two
additional articles of Spyfi & Superspies interest. The first one reported
on a "first look" at the rebooted 1960s American television series The
Man From U.N.C.L.E. currently filming in
Rome under the directorial vision of Guy Ritchie (Snatch and Lock, Stock & Two Smoking Barrels). Henry Cavill (Man of Steel) and Arnie Hammer (The Lone Ranger) star as agents Napoleon Solo and Illya Kuryakin
originally made famous by Robert Vaughn and David McCallum respectively. The
film is set in the 1960s and does not have a release date as yet.
Villain regular Javier Bardem was featured in a lengthy
interview to discuss his role in The Counsellor directed by Ridley Scott. Naturally, Bardem's role of the villainous Silva
in Skyfall came up when he was
asked about how he balances his characters so they don't come off to the viewer
as over the top. Of course the suggestive dialogue and touch Silva engages in
with Bond at their first meeting was brought up. Here is an excerpt from page
114:
Film Interview: Talking of Silva, was it your idea that he should
flirt with Bond and rub his thigh?
Bardem: It was there on the page but it was not really there. Sam and I got
together. He said, "Did you read that thing, that possibility?" and I
said, "I fucking love that possibility." He said, "I agree, so
let's work in that direction and see what comes."
FI:
It was brave of Daniel Craig to go along with it....
Bardem: The brave part of that scene was James Bond saying, "Who told
you it was my first time?" That's a brave line, and a fucking great line.
Whether it's true or not, who cares? Bond is Bond because he knows how to fight
the enemy, and the only way to fight Silva is with that line. It dismantles
him.
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| Photo from Google Images |
Bardem was then asked if it was true he had been offered the
role of Renard in The World Is Not Enough
that would be portrayed by Robert Carlyle. Bardem could not recall if that was
the role or not but he did express that it was not the right time for him, not
until he he was offered Silva. Personally, I think that Silva was the better
choice for Bardem because it was a more complex character to get inside of -- it was the
role to showcase Bardem's acting skills and innate ability to physically embody
a character as well.
And, what was the first Bond film that Bardem saw? It was Roger
Moore's Moonraker (1979), which just so
happened to feature his favorite Bond villain: Richard Kiel's Jaws.
