April 4, 2008

As a globe-trotting secret agent, movie icon James Bond has no doubt been racking up the frequent-flier miles for decades. Yet, with the advent of new technologies and more adventurous tourists, it's harder than ever to impress audiences with destinations they've never seen before. That's all about to change with the latest Bond flick, "Quantum of Solace."

Video: Hear from "Quantum" stars Craig, Kurylenko, Amalric and director Forster

Completing an arduous two-hour bus ride from the Chilean coastal city of Antofagasta (itself a 90-minute flight from the capital, Santiago), a group of international journalists find themselves in the middle of the desolate Atacama Desert at the well-guarded European Space Agency Southern Observatory where "Quantum" is filming a number of crucial scenes. Ironically, while the decade-old telescope facility itself looks like the perfect James Bond set, it's the partially underground, domed dormitory and office complex that has attracted the "Quantum" production. It's all part of director Marc Forster's vision of returning to the iconic visual design of the original Bond films from the '60s.

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"Everything is isolation and loneliness, and I feel that is where Bond's psyche is at this moment," Forster says. "That's why I wanted to put it into the script and selected this part of the world."

With the breathtaking clear skies and the landscape's reddish tint as a background for one of the film's climactic sequences, current Bond Daniel Craig notes there is a reason why practical cinematography still outweighs the convenience of using a green screen.

"Coming somewhere like this you still get an amazing shot," Craig says. "And I would never come to a place like this. I don't think any of us would. Stunning."

Following Bond's emotional roller coaster in "Casino Royale," 007's latest adventure begins literally an hour later and finds the British operative on a mission to take down the clandestine organization that blackmailed Vesper (Eva Green, his fallen lover from "Royale") and is now plotting to take control of one of the world's most important natural resources. Craig describes Bond as a man possessed, saying, "This organization is responsible for killing the love of his life. There is vengeance in mind maybe."

And the title of the film is a clear reflection of the dramatic stakes involved for Bond this time around. "Solace" began as a short story Bond creator Ian Fleming wrote in his 1960 collection of 007 tales, "For Your Eyes Only" (not to be confused with the 1981 film). Producer Michael G. Wilson explains that in the original story, James Bond finds time at a boring dinner party to wax about a married couple whose relationship can't survive if neither one of them has a "quantum of solace for the other."

Wilson says, "In our film, it's probably what Bond is searching for. Some measure of comfort of what he's gone through. He was completely duped by [Vesper] and that's a very difficult thing for him because his instincts are the only thing that keeps him alive. Having that sense of who is dangerous and who to trust."

On this day, Craig and his stunt double are alternating takes as Bond runs across the roof of the complex in pursuit of the film's villain, played by Mathieu Amalric ("The Diving Bell and the Butterfly"), who is looking pretty roughed up after an earlier fight with 007. The explosions will be added in post, but that's to be expected when shooting at a government facility.

Afterward, Forster, Craig and the producers seem pleased and energetic as they speak to the press. They are about halfway through the shoot, having already spent a month in Panama, with extended filming in Austria, Italy and their home base of Pinewood Studios in England still to go. And with an early November release date looming, the production is working on a frenetic, six-day-a-week schedule. However, if they ever needed any inspiration to keep at it, they no doubt get it at the end of every day on their long drive back to the hotel in Antofagasta. Because, for all the scenic vistas on view during the daylight hours, you'll never see anything more beautiful than the thousands of stars that fill the desert's stark, night sky.

Now, that's something really stunning.

"Quantum of Solace" opens nationwide Nov. 7.

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