To the dulcet tones of Shirley Bassey’s greatest hits and among a cavalcade of video screens, screaming fans and a rather swanky Aston Martin DBS, the stars of James Bond’s 22nd adventure hit the red carpet in
In town to celebrate the Royal World Premiere of Quantum Of Solace, the likes of Daniel Craig, Olga Kurylenko, Gemma Arterton, Jeffrey Wright and director Marc Forster donned tuxedos and glad rags and genuflected for their royal highnesses Princes Harry and William at one of the biggest cinematic events of the year.
“It’s such an honour to be involved in this movie,” said Jeffrey Wright who plays Bond’s ally, CIA agent Felix Leiter. “There’s no bigger franchise in film but at the same time there’s a level of intelligence that audiences really appreciate.”
Fans who had queued for a good spot since the wee small hours were rewarded with a live performance from electro-classical quartet Escala and, despite the chilly conditions, basked in the starry glow of Bond actors old and new. One such attendee was one-time Miss Moneypenny, Samantha Bond. But what does she make of her former character’s notable absence from the reduxed 007 canon?
“They have made a very big point about her being in it and I don’t quite know why,” she said. “I’m sure Q will be back and I hope Moneypenny will make her return but I suppose it’s nice that it hasn’t happened immediately.”
Would she like to return to the role?
“Oh no my love. Next time she’ll be young and blonde and frothy. I’m done with her. But I would love to return as a villain, I’d die my hair black and be really evil.”
Another former Bond affiliate on the red carpet was Robbie Coltrane, who revealed that his aspirations to play a bad guy are not confined to just 007.
“I was going to play a gangster in a Martin Scorsese film,” he said. “He’s going to make a film about
A new addition to Quantum Of Solace is the lovely Gemma Arterton, who plays Agent Fields.
“It was very nerve-wracking but Daniel was fantastic and I had such an amazing time making this film,” she said before talking about her role in the upcoming video-game adaptation,
Talking of action, Quantum Of Solace is the first major blockbuster from respected director Marc Forster and his explosive vision has won him an army of new fans, does that mean he’ll want to return for another adventure.
“I was really happy to just make Quantum Of Solace, they asked me to return but I thought it best to move on to something else,” said Forster. “Would I return to 007? Never say never again.”
Glen Ferris
Leicester Square on Wednesday night.
