James Bond has a licence to thrill once more in new film "Spectre", which premiered at a glitzy event attended by Prince William, his wife Kate and brother Prince Harry. Broadly praised by critics, the film is directed by Sam Mendes and sees Daniel Craig play the suave, Martini-quaffing MI6 spy 007 in what is Bond's 24th outing since the first -- "Dr. No" -- in 1962.
"I hate watching myself on screen but I love playing James Bond," Craig said on the red carpet at London's Royal Albert Hall, where he was joined by co-stars Monica Bellucci and Lea Seydoux. "There's different sides of his character that we explore in this," said Craig, who was in black tie. He added that the film was intended to honour Bond classics while trying to "freshen everything up."
Mendes, who won an Oscar for "American Beauty" in 1999, said: "We sweated blood over it and I'm really, really thrilled and a little bit relieved". Asked about what it felt like to be a "Bond girl" -- a term that is sometimes seen as patronising towards the actresses who play the roles -- Seydoux smiled: "I don't know if I'm a Bond girl, I'm just a blonde girl." French Seydoux, who wore a gold lame dress, plays Madeleine Swann, the daughter of a former Bond villain. Italian Bellucci -- at 51, reportedly the oldest ever "Bond girl" -- plays Lucia Sciarra, a criminal's widow who warns Bond off his dangerous quest. Ralph Fiennes, who plays Bond handler and loyalist MI6 chief "M", said it was "a very well-crafted film."
The film's title stands for Special Executive for Counter-Intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion -- which last made an appearance in 1971's "Diamonds Are Forever". Craig said he had been "desperate" to face the shadowy organisation again. Its members include historic Bond villains Dr. No and Ernst Stavro Blofeld, but the group disappeared from the films for decades due to a legal rights dispute that was only resolved two years ago.
"Spectre" was filmed in Austria, Britain, Italy, Mexico and Morocco and includes the usual Bond ingredients: high-speed chase scenes, sultry female leads, exciting gadgets and witty one-liners. "I came here to kill you," Bond tells new bad guy Franz Oberhauser, played by Christoph Waltz. "And I thought you came here to die," Oberhauser counters. "Well, it's all a matter of perspective," Bond replies with a smirk.
There have been doubts over Craig's future as the sixth actor to play Bond after he voiced unhappiness at the prospect of doing a fifth film -- despite being contracted to do so. He told Time Out magazine he would rather "slash my wrists" than play the famous spy again, adding: "If I did another Bond movie, it would only be for the money." An online poll by Britain's Independent newspaper on who should play Bond in the next instalment of the franchise found that most respondents would pick Craig, followed by British actor Tom Hardy, who recently starred in "Mad Max: Fury Road". Under Craig, Bond has transformed from urbane and dandyish into a rugged and troubled intelligence professional, a change not all critics appreciate. "Daniel Craig, as Bond, looks like a security guard, not a man who moves easily at the highest levels of society," Telegraph columnist Charles Moore wrote.
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Bond trivia
He’s an orphan
James Bond creator Ian Fleming wrote the spy’s obituary in his 1964 novel You Only Live Twice. In it, we learn James’s Scottish father Andrew and Swiss mother Monique Delacroix both died when he was 11 in a mountain climbing accident. Following their deaths, Bond went to live with his aunt.
Most boring name ever?
The character was named after ornithologist Dr James Bond, who wrote a birdwatching book Ian was reading when he created his superspy in 1952. He chose the moniker because he wanted it to sound ‘as mundane as possible’.
00 stud
From Dr No to Skyfall, Bond has slept with a total of 55 women. But it’s not just his charm that gets them between the sheets/on the beach /in the space shuttle “ three quarters of the ladies he’s had sex with have tried to kill him, taking safe sex to a whole different level…
Everyone loves a Bond girl
The often scantily clad Bond girls are responsible for some of the films’ most iconic moments. From the oh-so-subtly named Pussy Galore, played by Honor Blackman, to Grace Jones’s eccentric and androgynous May Day, each adds a massive dose of sex, danger and glamour. Topping polls as everyone’s favourite is Ursula Andress, who played Honey Ryder in the first film Dr No.
Jaws’s sweet tooth
The franchise boasts some of the most sinister baddies of all time. Richard Kiel “ a huge 7ft 2in “ played Jaws in The Spy Who Loved Me and Moonraker, although not so petrifying is the fact he could only wear his metal teeth for 30 seconds at a time and the chain he bites through in The Spy Who Loved Me was made of liquorice!
The near misses
Cary Grant was offered the chance to become the first movie Bond, but turned it down and it went to Sean Connery instead. Liam Neeson rejected the role in 1994, saying he didn’t want to star in action movies, but later admitted it was because his wife-to-be Natasha Richardson said she wouldn’t marry him if he became Bond.
Serial killer
Bond has killed a total of 370 people. Sean Connery’s You Only Live Twice is the bloodiest film, with 196 deaths. The most deadly Bond is Pierce Brosnan, who killed 135 people over his four films “ an average of 33.8!
Adele bags Bond an Oscar
Despite being one of the world’s most famous franchises, Bond had to wait an astonishing 47 years between Oscars. In 2013, Adele scooped the Academy Award for Best Song with Skyfall and the film also picked up an Oscar for Best Sound Editing. Only two other Oscars had been won in the past “ one for Goldfinger in 1965 (Best Sound Effects) and the other the following year for Thunderball (Best Special Visual Effects).
Gadgets galore
From explosive toothpaste and jetpacks to deadly prosthetic arms and man-eating couches, there’s no gadget too ridiculous for technical wizard Q to invent for Bond.
Pearls of Bond wisdom…
When current Bond Daniel Craig was asked what advice he’d offer the next man to take on the role, his answer was simply: ‘Don’t be shit.’
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Spectre facts
• Spectre's opening sequence, set during Mexico's Day Of The Dead carnival, is getting rave reviews and understandably so. It features a stunning, single tracking shot that's several minutes long. 107 makeup artists were needed to get around 1,500 extras ready on time, while the props department had its hands full with 10 decorative floats topped with skeletons, the tallest being 36 feet high.
• Spectre marks the first time a Bond film has been shot in the snow since DIE ANOTHER DAY in 2002.
• The production team had to battle against unseasonal weather in Austria, which forced them to make 400 tonnes of artificial snow. They needed to cover a mountain which would normally have been blanketed in white.
• Monica Bellucci was first asked to appear in a Bond movie 25 years ago. Now, at 51, she's the oldest
• Sam Smith's title track Writing's On The Wall might have received mixed reviews, but it's the first Bond song to make it to No 1 in the UK.
• You'd think most people would jump at the chance to appear in a James Bond movie - but not Christoph Waltz, who plays the super villain Oberhauser. He took some persuading before signing the dotted line.
• When production moved to the African desert, film makers had to make sure that everyone within a 20-mile radius knew to expect loud explosions.
• On the first day of the shoot in Erfoud, Morocco, a huge sand storm with winds reaching 50mph halted production for the afternoon.
• The special effects supervisor, Chris Corbould, says the desert explosion, in which 2,100 gallons of kerosene was used was "definitely the biggest explosion of my career."
• Before completing the scene which features a speed boat and a low-flying helicopter chase along the River Thames at night, supervising locations manager Emma Pill had to send out 11,000 letters to residents.
• For the first time, Aston Martin built a car specifically for the film - the DB10. Mendes wanted a car that "had clean, clear lines. Something classic where it is almost impossible to place its year of birth."
• The sinister organisation, Spectre, has featured in six previous Bond films: Dr No, From Russia With Love, Thunderball, You Only Live Twice, On Her Majesty's Secret Service and Diamonds Are Forever.
• Production almost closed down when Daniel Craig suffered an injury. Director, Sam Mendes, credited him for his "heroic" attitude in soldiering on. That's a super-spy for you!
