Don't Call Him Bond, James Bond

Tue., Sep. 23, 2008 11:28 AM PDT by Josh Grossberg

Sony Pictures

The James Bond brain trust has given itself a license to kill 007 catchphrases.

After dispatching gadgetmeister Q and flirtatious secretary Moneypenny from Casino Royale, the filmmakers behind the revamped franchise have decided to eliminate two of the spy's most famous lines— Daniel Craig won't proclaim himself "Bond, James Bond" or order his preferred vodka martini "shaken, not stirred"—for the upcoming Quantum of Solace.

Say it ain't so.

Speaking to London's Independent, director Marc Forster says the reason for dropping the lines was partly practical and partly an attempt to shake up stale dialogue.

"There was a 'Bond, James Bond' in the script. There are several places where we shot it as well, but it never worked as we hoped," he told the newspaper. "I just felt we should cut it out, and [Bond producers] Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson agreed, and Daniel agreed too. It's nice to be open-minded about the Bond formula. You can always go back to them later on."

The move is a further attempt to reboot the Bond series by bringing the character more in line with creator Ian Fleming's original novels—which depicted an often ruthless and unforgiving government enforcer with a license to kill.

Quantum of Solace is expected to pick up where Casino Royale left off, with Bond setting out to avenge the death of lover Vesper Lynd at the hands of a secret terrorist organization responsible for blackmailing her into betraying him.

And in another first, Forster told Cinematical that 007's new mission will be his shortest ever—clocking in at 1 hour and 40 minutes. (Casino Royale lasted a comparatively marathon 2 hours and 24 minutes.)

"It's much of a more compact emotional journey than Casino," the director said. "I don't know if [the action scenes] top Casino Royale, but I think they work for Quantum of Solace, and throughout there's a certain intensity that's created that the movie I feel is really a ride, and it's a ride with Bond, and it's I think an intense one."

Returning to the series is Judi Dench as Bond boss M and Jeffrey Wright as CIA pal Felix Leiter. Mathieu Amalric plays the new bad guy, Frenchman Dominic Greene, a purported environmentalist who hatches a devious plot to take over Bolivia's water supply by staging a coup. The film's Bond babes will be essayed by newcomer Gemma Arterton and Olga Kurylenko.