Daniel Craig to be James Beard

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/bizarre/3885253/Daniel-Craig-to-be-James-Beard.html

Quote :

The 007 star is required to have facial hair in the upcoming spy movie Skyfall, making him the first Bond to do so.
(Bond geeks will know, Pierce Brosnan did sport a beard in Die Another Day but that was because he had been held captive, not through choice).
It's not just growing whiskers Daniel's got to get used to, a dream compared to the tight blue trunks he had to wear in Casino Royale.
The film is going to be made on a shoestring budget in comparison to the last few.
A source said: "They've really scaled back.
The lavish production and locations have been cut.
There is only a reduced cast and crew travelling to the few overseas destinations.
"There's not so flash hand-to-hand fighting, it's gone back to blowing stuff up – including London's Vauxhall Bridge."
Going back to basics is not a bad thing. The classic car chases are what it's all about.
A lot of filming will take place in London and Scotland from next month.
Daniel will be grateful for the extra hair.

Could be possible given Craig saying awhile ago that Bond would be given a new look.

It's the Sun, I'm therefore calling probable bullshit.

I like how the supposed 'shoestring budget' still has enough money in it to stage the blowing-up of Vauxhall Bridge .

Yeah, as if hand-to-hand fighting costs more money than explosions.

Wasn't there a report months ago about a massive budget and product placement that seems way contradictory to this piece?

"I most heartily approve of this development."

WTF? A beard?

I like beards on men. Not sure James Bond shoudl have one though. Still, it´s The Sun so I shan´t get too excited yet.

I'm not really fond of beards. I know I don't stand hair on my face. It looks....dirty.

Disaproove.

Blunt Instrument wrote:

I like how the supposed 'shoestring budget' still has enough money in it to stage the blowing-up of Vauxhall Bridge .

ROTLMAO! I completely agree. Bond films can be described many ways, "but shoestring budget" is not one of them. Car chases are far more expensive than hand-to-hand combat, and a film taking place in South Africa, Turkey, as well as England, Scotland and maybe China is not being made on-the-cheap. Also, if your cast includes Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, and your director is Sam Mendes, it's safe to say they aren't working for scale.

A shoestring Bond? Sorry, but what a pile of utter bollocks.

who writes this stuff?

Journalists are generalists, not specialists. What that means is that they'll usually have only cursory knowledge of their subjects, including James Bond. When this guy talks about "shoestring" Bond, what he probably means is that it will be more inexpensively made than recent Bonds, but will still be quite extravagent compared to most modern films.

Though we should take it with a grain of salt, let's consider the use of a beard in society. I know in Afghanistan beards are a sign of respect and authority. Many U.S. forces have trouble connecting with tribal groups because of cultural difference such as facial hair. You do see some upper officers being allowed to grow beards in the forces though specifically for this purpose. Beards are also good for undercover work. The man is a spy. If he rocks a beard in the beginning I'm down. I don't know why Fleming wouldn't be either.

Chief of SIS wrote:

Though we should take it with a grain of salt, let's consider the use of a beard in society. I know in Afghanistan beards are a sign of respect and authority. Many U.S. forces have trouble connecting with tribal groups because of cultural difference such as facial hair. You do see some upper officers being allowed to grow beards in the forces though specifically for this purpose. Beards are also good for undercover work. The man is a spy. If he rocks a beard in the beginning I'm down. I don't know why Fleming wouldn't be either.

Here's John Travolta with a beard:

Bond w/ beard is a non-starter.

I can just hear the new Bond girl if she's got sensitive inner thighs....

"The stubbles, they tickle my....Tchaikovsky!"

Chief of SIS wrote:

Though we should take it with a grain of salt, let's consider the use of a beard in society. I know in Afghanistan beards are a sign of respect and authority. Many U.S. forces have trouble connecting with tribal groups because of cultural difference such as facial hair. You do see some upper officers being allowed to grow beards in the forces though specifically for this purpose. Beards are also good for undercover work. The man is a spy. If he rocks a beard in the beginning I'm down. I don't know why Fleming wouldn't be either.

The difference is, I thought we were talking about James Bond sporting facial furniture through choice as opposed to for a mission. If it's for a mission it doesn't really count, otherwise Moore would be "the Bond who had a moustache".

A Bond who grew a beard or 'tache off his own bat, just because he wanted to look that way, would be something genuinely new, which is why I can (almost) believe this rumour. It fits with Babs' and Craig's apparent fondness for sticking two fingers up at the hallowed formula.

Looks like my legendary thread on Old MI6 actually came to something.

Sharky wrote:

Looks like my legendary thread on Old MI6 actually came to something.

I'm expecting that Kaufmann bloke to pop in any minute now, a photo album of hideously-shaped moustaches under his arm.

Loomis wrote:

Chief of SIS wrote:

Though we should take it with a grain of salt, let's consider the use of a beard in society. I know in Afghanistan beards are a sign of respect and authority. Many U.S. forces have trouble connecting with tribal groups because of cultural difference such as facial hair. You do see some upper officers being allowed to grow beards in the forces though specifically for this purpose. Beards are also good for undercover work. The man is a spy. If he rocks a beard in the beginning I'm down. I don't know why Fleming wouldn't be either.

The difference is, I thought we were talking about James Bond sporting facial furniture through choice as opposed to for a mission. If it's for a mission it doesn't really count, otherwise Moore would be "the Bond who had a moustache".

A Bond who grew a beard or 'tache off his own bat, just because he wanted to look that way, would be something genuinely new, which is why I can (almost) believe this rumour. It fits with Babs' and Craig's apparent fondness for sticking two fingers up at the hallowed formula.

Agreed.

Don't know what to make of this, could be either horrible or genius. Makes me think of that Benson book where Bond has to climb in the Himalayas and probably also sported a beard for lack of opportunity to shave. But that would count as assignment-related IMO.

Chief of SIS wrote:

Wasn't there a report months ago about a massive budget and product placement that seems way contradictory to this piece?

The Sunday Times had a story (carried on the website of The Australian) which said MGM and Sony planned to raise $45 million, or one-third, of Bond 23's budget through product placement. Multiply $45 million by 3 and you get $135 million. That figure was cited by The Times of India (back when India was in the running to be a Bond 23 location), though The Times of India didn't say where they got it.

If $135 million is accurate, that's $95 million less than Quantum of Solace's reported $230 million budget. Still, $135 million is an ample budget. The reported budgets of Harry Potter movies is in the $250 million range.

Put another way, I don't think Bond 23 will be a "shoestring" budget, but I wouldn't be surprised if the budget is less than Quantum. MGM was in bankruptcy court not that long ago and Sony is going through its own rough financial times.

A bearded Bond? About time, I say. As long as it's not a Robinson Crusoe or Russian Orthodox priest beard.

Yes, Craig can look quite distinguished with a beard. Only they would dye the thing to cover the grey and that never does the job IMO.