SPECTRE Bond is Back
Behind the Scenes with Sam Mendes and Daniel Craig

The wait is finally over and the filmmakers are guaranteeing you the ride of your life. When approaching the 24th James Bond movie, SPECTRE, they were keen to ensure that the film followed on closely from its predecessor, the $1.1 billion global smash Skyfall. Daniel Craig, of course, is back for his fourth outing as 007, while the characters of Q (played by Ben Whishaw) and Moneypenny (Naomie Harris) both return after their reintroduction to the series in Skyfall. The new M (Ralph Fiennes) also returns.

The chance to explore all these characters’ stories was of vital importance to Sam Mendes, who is back for a second stint in the director’s chair. “It all starts from character with me,” says the Academy Award®-winner, “and I wanted to explore all sorts of different aspects of the characters that I’d left behind in Skyfall. We had populated MI6 with a whole new generation of people — a new M, a new Moneypenny and a new Q. I wanted to let those relationships develop and grow.”

For Daniel Craig, who is arguably the best incarnation of 007 since Connery, it was simply wanting this installment to be even better than Skyfall. “It is as simple as that. We didn’t have a choice; we had to be bigger and better. With Skyfall, we set something in motion and we wanted to go a bit further with it and experiment a bit more.”

Bond was rejuvenated at the end of Skyfall. “He had a sense of new beginnings,” continues Mendes, "and this had a profound effect on SPECTRE. In the new movie, the world’s most famous secret agent is an entirely proactive character, in control of his own destiny. He has a focussed mission from the outset and nothing, and no one, is going to stand in his way...Skyfall was an entirely reactive movie as far as Bond was concerned. In the first sequence he was pursuing somebody with all his old focus and drive, but he gets shot before the credits even roll and for the rest of the movie he is one step behind Javier Bardem’s character, Silva. You could even argue that at the end of Skyfall he has failed. He has not kept M alive, and though Silva’s death is a victory for Bond, there are other elements that are failures. Hence, with SPECTRE, I wanted to give him a chance of redemption.”

Here's the premise: A cryptic message from the past sends 007 on a rogue mission to Mexico City and eventually Rome, where he meets Lucia Sciarra (Monica Bellucci), the widow of an infamous criminal. Bond infiltrates a secret meeting and uncovers the existence of a sinister organization known as SPECTRE, an infamous organization that 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 — introducing a whole host of villains. The latest film, however, sees the organization reimagined for the 21st century. 

“What we’ve got here is a kind of creation myth at play,” says Mendes. “We are not adhering to any previous version of the SPECTRE story. We are creating our own version. Our film is a way of rediscovering SPECTRE and the super villain, setting him up again for the next generation.”

Craig concurs. “Having SPECTRE in the film opens up lots of avenues for us to explore,” the actor says. “Having this organization allows us to be both traditional while also bringing in something very new.” The filmmakers were also able to move a little closer to the Bond films of old in other ways. “We could work with a slightly different style from the other Bond films I’ve done,” says Craig. “This film is very individual but also harks back a little to what has gone before in the Bond films of the ’60s and ’70s.”

According to Mendes, SPECTRE recalls the classic Bond films in terms of the cars, the tone, the lighting and even the cut of 007’s suit. “Also, I wanted to get back to some of that old-school glamour that you get from those fantastic, otherworldly locations. I wanted to push it to extremes.”

There is also much more variety and a far greater physical and geographical journey in this movie than in Skyfall. “We couldn’t really do that in the last movie,” he adds, “because we were very London-based. Yes, there were sequences in Shanghai and Istanbul but the second half of the film took place almost entirely in London and Scotland.” The filmmakers wanted to immerse Bond in a magnificent festival in a Latin American city. “And it doesn’t get any bigger than Mexico City and the Day of the Dead,” says Mendes.

The filmmakers also wanted to send Bond to one of Europe’s great cities at night. They chose Rome, says Mendes, because of “the history and an atmosphere of darkness and foreboding — particularly if you’re dealing with 1920s and 1930s Fascist architecture. There is something dark and intimidating.”

When developing the romantic aspect of the film, the filmmakers opted to have Bond’s most intimate relationship blossom in North Africa, in Tangier and the Sahara desert. “If you want this incredible immense landscape, this emptiness, then where better than the Sahara?” asks Mendes. “So with all these locations you have these tones that are quite different, and quite extreme.”

--Special thanks to Sam Mendes, Daniel Craig and EON Productions.

-- GD

EVENTFUL 2015
A roundup of the best this year...

	JEFFREY SANKER'S WHITE PARTY A perennial favorite with us, this year's edition consisting of nine events helmed by A-List DJs, recording artists and more than 30,000 attendees continued its reign as the largest gay dance music festival in the world. Guests were treated to an all new "Wet 'n' Wild" daytime water park event, signature pool parties, evening events and performances by Grammy-winning superstar LeAnn Rimes, Jordin Sparks and "Queen of the White Party", fashion icon, Kelly Osbourne. Like every year, the legendary Sunday T-Dance, was a highlight made extra special by the relentlessly impressive music of DJ-duo, Rosabel. Preparations for WP 2016 are only underway so book now! www.jeffreysanker.com
	BAFTA BRITANNIA AWARDS The term A-list gets thrown around loosely nowadays, but nothing comes close to the roster of awardees and guests at this top notch annual awards ceremony at the legendary Beverly Hilton Hotel. This year, the honorees included Harrison Ford, Meryl Streep, Sam Mendes, Orlando Bloom, Amy Schumer and James Corden. A pre-event cocktail party was followed by an awards dinner and finally, an after party where everyone got to get loose. www.bafta.org/los-angeles (For Members and sponsors)
	AN EVENING ON THE BEACH Celebrating 6 years, the celebration of food, libations and good company, took over the beach sands outside the Jonathan Club in Santa Monica to benefit St. Vincent Meals on Wheels. Chefs, baristas, live musicians, mixologists - all converged to ensure that guests had a memorably elegant evening. Watching the incredible sunset as you sipped caviar kissed Chopin martinis and relished gourmet food by such master chefs as Alex Ageneu (Aestus), Gino Angelini (Angelini Osteria) and Ray England (Craft), it became clear that this was as good as it gets...while still doing something charitable for those in need. www.eveningonthebeach.com
	OUTFEST LEGACY AWARDS As if honoring actor Tom Hanks with a Trailblazer Award and Lisa Cholodenko with a Visionary Award isn't reason enough to go, a cocktail party and sumptuous 3-course dinner by Redbird Chef Neal Frasier crowned the event at Vibiana Cathedral in DTLA. The event raises funds to support the Outfest UCLA Legacy Project, the only program in the world devoted to preserving LGBT moving image media. Did we mention a special gift from Louis Vuitton for all attendees? www.outfest.org
	CHARMAINE BLAKE ULTRA GOLD EMMY SUITE Awards season comes with the added bonus of gifting suites and swag bags. This year, Charmaine Blake's Emmy Suite at the Mondrian weaved an exciting Indian theme that set it apart from the rest thanks to the presence of luxury "gifters" like Shahnaz Husain herbal skincare, O'Harani Luxe Experience for travelers to India, Forever Rakhi bracelets and Fashion by Rohini. Guests included former Miss World and Bollywood actress - Pooja Batra and Novelist & Filmmaker (and our editor) - Ghalib Shiraz Dhalla whose guests included actors Ajay Mehta (Mindy Project), Anoush Nevart (Grandfathered) and legendary UK Singer/Songwriter, Julia Fordham. Invitation Only.