{"id":13130,"date":"2021-10-07T23:09:18","date_gmt":"2021-10-07T19:39:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blue-subtitle.com\/blog\/?p=13130"},"modified":"2021-10-07T23:09:18","modified_gmt":"2021-10-07T19:39:18","slug":"how-daniel-craig-became-the-longest-reigning-james-bond-after-a-brutal-start","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blue-subtitle.com\/blog\/how-daniel-craig-became-the-longest-reigning-james-bond-after-a-brutal-start\/","title":{"rendered":"How Daniel Craig Became the Longest-Reigning James Bond After a Brutal Start"},"content":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0Daniel Craig\u00a0signed on as\u00a0James Bond\u00a0in 2005, he found himself under attack by snipers more vicious than any 007 had ever faced: the media.<\/p>\n

The naysayers immediately lamented the \u201cblond Bond\u201d and criticized his blue eyes. The London Daily Mirror on Oct. 15, 2005, ran his photo with the headline \u201cThe Name\u2019s Bland \u2026 James Bland.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two days later, the Mirror interviewed a man actually named James Bland. He had a statement for Craig: \u201cI\u2019d make a better Bond than you.\u201d Bland added, \u201cHe must be the most boring 007 ever.\u201d This was nearly three months before filming had begun.<\/p>\n

At Craig\u2019s first meeting with the press, he arrived via a speedboat on the Thames; he was wearing a lifejacket, which led to endless media mockery. Reporters were even more appalled that he chewed gum during the press conference.<\/p>\n

Websites immediately sprang up with names like DanielCraigIsNotBond .com, CraigNotBond .com and blondNotBond.com<\/p>\n

British tabloids and anonymous posters can be harsh, but even \u201crespectable\u201d news organizations picked up on the negativity.\u00a0Variety<\/em>\u2019s Ian Mohr wrote that Craig\u2019s \u201ccasting made him the target of grouchy bloggers \u2014 with the mainstream media giving a surprising amount of credence to a few noisy naysayers.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the actor started filming \u201cCasino Royale\u201d on Jan. 3, 2006, the hostility shifted into high gear. The British Sun said Craig was \u201chit by a nasty bout of prickly heat\u201d in the Bahamas, plus, he suffered sunburn \u2014 not too suave.<\/p>\n

It also was reported he didn\u2019t know how to drive a stick-shift. (Headline: \u201cCraig\u2019s 007 Can\u2019t Get in Gear.\u201d)<\/p>\n

\u201cCraig confessed he doesn\u2019t like guns,\u201d said one British tabloid, while another reported he lost two teeth in a fight scene with \u201cminor actors\u201d (apparently more humiliating than being punched by major actors).<\/p>\n

At another press conference, in Prague,\u00a0Variety<\/em>\u00a0reported that Craig \u201cfielded with good humor questions that became increasingly bizarre.\u201d One reporter asked if he was aware there had been an earlier film called \u201cCasino Royale.\u201d Another wanted Craig to address media speculation about his \u201corientation.\u201d Craig responded, \u201cI didn\u2019t know they had but thanks for the information.\u201d<\/p>\n

On March 6, 2006, in the midst of the six-month shoot for \u201cCasino Royale,\u201d\u00a0Variety<\/em>\u00a0countered the badmouthing. The\u00a0article by Nicole LaPorte\u00a0began with a quote from producer Barbara Broccoli: \u201cHis teeth are fine, he doesn\u2019t have heat rash, and he\u2019s not afraid of the water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Broccoli said she and producing partner Michael G. Wilson were \u201cdealing with around-the-clock Bond gossip.\u201d She added, \u201cWe\u2019re aware of it but it doesn\u2019t mean anything to us.\u201d<\/p>\n

There were bigger challenges facing Broccoli, Wilson, director Martin Campbell and new distributor Sony. As LaPorte wrote, \u201cA 20-film legacy must be simultaneously preserved and updated. Bond is at a critical juncture in its history.\u201d<\/p>\n

The film was promised to have \u201ca grittier, 21st century feel.\u201d The $100 million-plus \u201cCasino Royale\u201d was going to downplay special effects and gadgets. Wilson added that there would be no gimmicks like invisible cars, a reference to \u201cDie Another Day\u201d (2002).<\/p>\n

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The skeptics insisted that the Jason Bourne films had made 007 obsolete and that Austin Powers movies pointed up 007\u2019s absurdity.<\/p>\n

However, showbiz loves happy endings. \u201cCasino Royale\u201d premiered Nov. 14, 2006 \u2014 and audiences were wildly enthused about the new direction and about Craig.<\/p>\n

\u201cCasino Royale\u201d raked in $616 million worldwide, becoming the highest earning Bond film to date and regarded by many as Craig\u2019s finest Bond outing. (By comparison, the final Pierce Brosnan film, \u201cDie Another Day,\u201d had earned $431.9 million).<\/p>\n

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The 2012 \u201cSkyfall,\u201d Craig\u2019s third Bond film, broke all 007 records again, earning $1.1 billion worldwide. Of the 25 official Bond outings, Craig\u2019s quartet \u2014 also including \u201cQuantum of Solace\u201d and \u201cSpectre\u201d \u2014 are the four highest earners.<\/p>\n

Clearly, movie fans embraced Craig, and so did the industry. He was nominated for a BAFTA for \u201cCasino Royale\u201d and he proved his versatility with films like Rian Johnson\u2019s 2019 \u201cKnives Out,\u201d which made $311.6 million and has a sequel in production.<\/p>\n

Craig also earned strong reviews onstage, starring on Broadway with Hugh Jackman in \u201cA Steady Rain\u201d (2009), with his wife Rachel Weisz in \u201cBetrayal\u201d (2013) and with David Oyelowo in \u201cOthello\u201d (2016).<\/p>\n

\u201cNo Time to Die\u201d began its global rollout Sept. 29 and opens in the U.S. on Friday.<\/p>\n

Craig is the longest-serving Bond, at 15 years; that\u2019s partly due to the long gaps between films, including the multiple delays of \u201cNo Time to Die\u201d due to COVID.<\/p>\n

Craig has been so popular as Bond that it\u2019s easy to forget how much flak he got at the beginning.<\/p>\n

Back in 2006,\u00a0Variety<\/em>\u00a0quoted Broccoli as saying \u201cThere\u2019s always a heightened interest in Bond and every time we recast the role, there\u2019s even more. It\u2019s in keeping with what we\u2019ve been experiencing.\u201d<\/p>\n

So let this be a reminder for Craig\u2019s successor as 007: Everyone may learn to love you, but don\u2019t expect a warm welcome right away. The knives are indeed out.<\/p>\n

Source: variety<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When\u00a0Daniel Craig\u00a0signed on as\u00a0James Bond\u00a0in 2005, he found himself under attack by snipers more vicious than any 007 had ever faced: the media. The naysayers immediately lamented the \u201cblond Bond\u201d and criticized his blue eyes. The London Daily Mirror on Oct. 15, 2005, ran his photo with the headline \u201cThe Name\u2019s Bland \u2026 James Bland.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7036],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Daniel Craig Became the Longest-Reigning James Bond After a Brutal Start - blue subtitle<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blue-subtitle.com\/blog\/how-daniel-craig-became-the-longest-reigning-james-bond-after-a-brutal-start\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Daniel Craig Became the Longest-Reigning James Bond After a Brutal Start - blue subtitle\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When\u00a0Daniel Craig\u00a0signed on as\u00a0James Bond\u00a0in 2005, he found himself under attack by snipers more vicious than any 007 had ever faced: the media. 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