While most of Milicevic’s considerable acting experience has been in dramas and comedies, she says she felt right at home on the set of CASINO ROYALE. “In a way, it’s like working on the independent films I’m used to. We would discuss each scene, rehearse, discuss the details and all come up with ideas. I was impressed that this was the way Martin Campbell handled such a big movie. A Bond film seems like a family who know exactly how to bring out the best in one another. You feel comfortable that everyone is really focused on what they want, which is great.”
“I hope all the Bond fans are going to love CASINO ROYALE,” says Milicevic, “but I also hope people who have never seen a Bond film watch it as a great story and a great thriller.”
The astoundingly fleet and nimble bomb maker Mollaka, whom Bond pursues through the Nambutu Embassy, is played by Sébastien Foucan, the co-creator and one of the foremost practitioners in the art of Parkour. Also known as “Free Running,” Parkour first came to the attention of the U.K. public in 2003, when the BBC broadcast a promo featuring a man running, vaulting and jumping over objects in his haste to get home to watch TV. It was later featured in the French futuristic police action thriller District 13 starring David Belle, Foucan’s childhood friend and Parkour co-creator.
Based on the French word parcours, or obstacle, Parkour emphasizes the use of obstacles in the environment as props to help the runner move swiftly across the terrain. “It’s not just about running and jumping,” says Foucan. “It’s about adapting yourself within your environment to overcome barriers to your physical progress. It’s all about free-flowing movement. My character’s skill is that he can move swiftly to escape from Bond, so we tried to find a way to move fast and efficiently rather than do stunt tricks.”
Foucan, who often spends six or seven hours practicing Parkour on a special circuit in his hometown in France, adapted easily to the rigors of shooting CASINO ROYALE. Still, he appreciated the dramatic tips he received from star Daniel Craig. “Daniel was very helpful, giving me advice about acting with cameras. Although he doesn’t practice Parkour, he is very strong and finds it easy to run and chase. We spent three months working on this sequence which will be on screen for maybe five minutes, but I hope it will be an intense five minutes that people will enjoy.”
Parkour takes its inspiration from acrobatics, dance, martial arts and popular art forms including cinema and comic books, but it also owes a debt to ancient Asian schools of thought, says Foucan. “Without philosophy, action has no meaning. Life is made of obstacles and challenges. To overcome them is to progress.”
Martin Campbell, whose directing credits include action blockbusters The Mask of Zorro and The Legend of Zorro in addition to GoldenEye, says he was excited about taking the helm of CASINO ROYALE because of the transformation the secret agent character undergoes. “This is Bond’s first 00 mission, and he has a lot to learn. He makes mistakes early on and is reprimanded by M. He’s thinking more with his heart than with his head, and things go wrong. But by the end of the movie he’s becoming the man we know. We see Bond fall in love with Vesper, but he is also involved in some truly brutal violence. This is more realistic and more emotionally involving than previous films.”
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