Official plot synopsis

CommanderBond.net has it here.

Cinema Retro has the synopsis, plus press conference photos and the cool new logo here.

I added QOS to the Shorthand page

I guess I’m obsessed.

QoS quotes from Craig and Amalric

Craig discusses the title: Fleming defined a quantum of solace – it means, roughly, a measure of comfort – as “that spark of niceness in a relationship that, if you don’t have, you might as well give up.” Bond in this film “is looking for his quantum of solace,” Craig said. “He wants his closure.”

On Vesper: “He had his heart broken at the end of the last movie and that certainly is a spur for him in this one.”

“I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t revenge in his heart. But it’s more than that. That spurs him on, but that’s not what the movie is. It’s not a revenge movie. It’s about him figuring a few things out.”

Amalric on his deformity-free villain: “That’s maybe what is horrible about today. We can’t guess who the villains are. The villains are invisible.”

Plot details for Quantum of Solace (fka Bond 22)

CBn says:

Producer Michael G. Wilson stated that the title was only decided a few days ago and added that Quantum of Solace would begin ‘literally an hour after the last film left off.’ ‘We thought it was an intriguing title and referenced what happened to Bond and what is happening in the film,’ he said.

Read the whole article, it’s loaded with news. In short:

More action, lots of gadgets. Barbara Broccoli says it’s not a revenge movie, but Olga Kurylenko says it is. “Camille” is after a different sort of revenge, and she teams with Bond.

Empire Online says:

The plot centres on an attempted coup in a South American country. Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), who works behind the cover of an organisation called Green Planet, wants to control one of the world’s most important natural resources and to aid in this he makes a deal with an exiled South American general to get him back into power.
—
Olga Kurylenko’s character, Camille, is half Ukrainian and half South American. She leads Bond to Greene in his effort to find out more about Vesper, the woman he loved and lost in Casino Royale.
—
“James Bond is after revenge, and Camille is after revenge,” Kurylenko said. “They have slightly different goals, but in the end they are going to have to collaborate”. Kurylenko is currently still in training for her role, but has yet to shoot any scenes. “I’m doing weapons training and body flight training for aerial scenes and stunt work for fighting,” she continued. “My days are so long, and it’s very physical. She’s a fighter. This girl is going to kick ass. She’s on her own mission and she’s driven by revenge
—
Gemma Arterton’s character, Agent Fields, is an MI6 agent working at the British consulate in Bolivia. Shooting will take place in Panama and Chile. Arterton has already shot love scenes with Bond. “I felt like a giggly girl, and I felt so young and inexperienced – but I kissed James Bond!” she said, adding that her character is “fresh and young, not sultry and a femme fatale”.
—
Mathieu Amalric says his villain will not be a larger than life figure. He said “He’s not an over the top villian…No scars, no metal jaw – he is nude”. We believe he meant no visual odditties, rather than Bond’s first all naked nemesis.

No Moneypenny, no Q

MI6 has the news, and commenter Peter will be crestfallen.

Producer Michael G. Wilson stated that in order for the characters to have appeared in the new film, moments would have to be carved out for them which would not have felt “organic”.

Boo fucking hoo. You’ve got an Academy Award winning writer, you’ve got a critically acclaimed director. You can make it organic! And a regular cast at MI6 (Bond’s HQ, not the fansite) makes the movie, and the franchise, more organic, whereas some anonymous guy who shows up, sticks a tracer in Bond’s arm, and then leaves, is artificial.

Wilson left the door open for the characters, saying that they may come back in the future, but only if the story demands it.

Don’t toy with me, Mikey.

Just a quick Quantum of Solace note

I changed the category “Bond 22″ to Quantum of Solace, so anything that was posted in the past few months about rumors, casting, etc. will now be found in that category.

Oh, one more thing. There is another Fleming story title besides the ones I listed: 007 in New York. Not much of a title, and the story itself, what there is of it, is kind of jokey. As a bit of trivia, the story does discuss a character named Solange.

And did I mention? Big news. So happy.

Quantum of Solace is title of Bond 22!

This is huge news. HUGE! I gasped.

The title is taken from one of a collection of short stories published by 007 creator Ian Fleming in 1960.

Quantum of Solace is a short story with no adventure in it. It is a tale told to Bond over drinks, about a marriage that falls apart due to the wife’s cruelty, and by the time she realizes how wrong she’s been, her husband, previously mild-mannered, is now doubly cruel to her. There is no “quantum of solace,” no small bit of comfort, in the marriage, and so they part. As Bond walks back to his Nassau hotel (and I’ve taken the exact walk) he compares the story he’s heard to his relatively adventurous life, and realizes he misses some of what’s important in life by rushing past these ordinary moments of kindness and cruelty.

There are only a handful of Fleming story titles (and no novel titles) that remain unused. Besides Quantum of Solace, there’s Risico, which has been rumored to be the title of at least the last three films. The entire plot of Risico is contained within the movie For Your Eyes Only, so there’s no story to use. In addition, the word “risico” is actually Fleming’s mockery of the villain’s accent; he’s saying “risk.” Two reasons why this title may never be used.

Another unused title is Property of a Lady, but again, it’s contained inside Octopussy. Not only is much of the plot there, but they actually use the phrase (it’s the auction scene).

The final unused title is The Hildebrand Rarity, which features the character Milton Krest and a scorpion tale whip, both of which are part of Licence to Kill.

At a press conference at the facility, reporters were shown a minute of footage from the new film, including Bond swinging on a rope after an explosion at an art gallery in Siena, Italy.

Big news! Big news! I’m going to be saying “Quantum of Solace” over and over to myself (and anyone who will listen) all day.

Producer Michael Wilson said the film would have “twice as much action” as 2006’s Casino Royale, which saw Daniel Craig debut as the iconic secret agent.

Big welcome (again)

Big welcome to new contributor Head of Section, who also owns the Being James Bond website/podcast/message board. HoS has a lot of expertise on the Bond films and the Bond lifestyle. He’s done significant Bond traveling, even going so far as to do the GoldenEye bungee jump in Switzerland! He’s a good writer and a good addition to the site and I’m pretty excited to welcome him.

…the pleasure I’m sure is all mine!

Hello all…

This is Head of Section, from the Being James Bond podcast!

Being James Bond is dedicated to learning and exploring all we need to know so that we can live life the way James Bond does. If James Bond can do it, we can do it! You can check out our podcast via iTunes, or through our site, BeingJamesBond.com.

I have known Deb Lipp for many years now! We’ve been chatting back and forth for years on various Bond related topics on several message boards, and forever battling over the merits of Diamonds Are Forever versus On Her Majesty’s Secret Service! We have even gone to several Bond functions together, and been front and center on opening night for Die Another Day and Casino Royale (where I had one martini too many).

When her book was released, I was thrilled for her. And when I grabbed my copy of The Ultimate James Bond Fan Book, I was absolutely taken away. It’s got to be one of the juiciest Bond trivia books I have ever seen. Any time I think up a question about the Bond films which I’m unsure about, I grab her book! It’s truly am amazing piece of work! (Though, I still haven’t fully forgiven her for giving OHMSS a score of 3 in her book!)

I’m thrilled she’s invited me to join her blog, and I’m looking forward to sharing ideas with other Bond fans, and other ‘Ultimate James Bond Fan Book’ fans!

Keep living like Bond,

Head of Section

Wow, I feel so abandoned (Open thread)

This blog was averaging a moderate amount of hits for the longest time, then it started climbing. And climbing until I doubled my average for a couple of weeks there, with spikes when casting was announced.

Now you’ve all left. What’s up with that?

I’ve got two new writers who will be joining us here. I’ve announced Matt but then I guess life got a little crazy. He’ll be back. My other writer I’ll announce when he’s actually here so as not to kill you with anticipation twice.

Anyway, with the sudden onset of quiet, now’s a good time to ask what you’d like to see on this site. Pictures are popular and always get tons of hits. I know trivia is often asked so I’ll keep up with that.

So let’s make this an open thread about what kinds of questions you’d like answered, what kind of content you’d like to see, and anything else you want.