The Name’s Campbell, Martin Campbell

For a medium sized island, New Zealand has contributed to the progress of filmmaking enormously. There is Peter Jackson, Jane Campion, Taika Waititi, Lee Tamahori, and Martin Campbell to mention a few. Yet, only Lee Tamahori and Martin Campbell have helmed a 007 movie. Martin Campbell has done two: GoldenEye and Casino Royale. Martin is a filmmaker with flair and skill for action and character. He has been in the unique position to launch two actors as 007. The first is Pierce Brosnan in GoldenEye (1995), and Daniel Craig in Casino Royale (2006). Although, he’d pass for an elegant, well-spoken character in a Bond film. You will actually find him on the other side of the camera. Martin Campbell also directed Dame Judi Dench and Eva Green in Casino Royale, the 21st “official” James Bond film.

Clearly, you’d notice that Martin’s style came in early in Casino Royale. It’s the only Bond film to have a black and white pre-title sequence. It did not begin with the gun barrel sequence. Plus, the first Bond film not to include both Q and Moneypenny’s characters. There are quite a number of first’s in the movie that are worth of mention.

The Official Trailer for Casino Royale Directed by Martin Campbell

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“I’m a New Zealander,” says Martin Campbell, without a trace of the accent. “And, it’s always nice to be back on this side of the world.” Campbell had moved to London in 1966 when he was in his 20s. He came looking for work as a cameraman, and rapidly ended up directing. “The first couple of films I made were not exactly big hits,” Campbell says with a knowing smile.

Actually, they were two low-budget and very satirical sex comedies called The Sex Thief (1973) and Eskimo Nell (1975). They were part of a trend of British films at the time pushing the boundaries on repressive censorship laws. The experience made Martin Campbell realize he needed to know how films were financed.

“I knew that I had to learn how to be a producer. I could tell that the money wasn’t ending up on the screen, and I needed to find out why.” As a result he spent the next few years producing two films. The first is titled Black Joy (1977) and Scum (1979). Black Joy was about an innocent yet unsophisticated Guyanese immigrant. Who is exposed to the hustling way of life in the Brixton ghetto. It entered into 1977 Cannes Film Festival.

The Official Trailer for Black Joy (1977) Directed by Anthony Simmons and Producer by Martin Campbell

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Black Joy as a film is a lightly ironic, culture-clash British comedy. Trevor Thomas is a youth who is under the delusion that life will be easier for him in London. No sooner does Thomas set foot in England than he gets entangled up in one disaster after another. The catalyst for Thomas’ travails is “assimilated” Caribbean Norman Beaton, who is a con artist.

The second film Martin produced is titled Scum (1979). It starred a young Ray Winstone as a brutal inmate in a British borstal. Scum was eventually banned, which Ray Winstone was happy with. It was directed by Alan Clarke, and Martin Campbell served as associate producer.

Now armed with an understanding of a bigger picture, Martin Campbell returned to directing. He made police and spy shows like Shoestring, The Professionals and Minder for British television. Then he cemented his reputation with two miniseries. Reilly: Ace Of Spies (1983) starring Sam Neill and Edge Of Darkness (1985) starring Bob Peck. The latter winning a BAFTA TV award for Best Drama. Then he took on the feature film Criminal Law starring Gary Oldman and Kevin Bacon.

Directed by Alan Clarke, with Ray Winstone, Mick Ford, Julian Firth and produced by Martin Campbell

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“Directing is what I always wanted to do. That’s where my passion lies,” he says. It was his work on Edge Of Darkness that brought him to the attention of Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli who chose him to direct GoldenEye. He reintroduced the character after a 6-year gap. And, delivered action with realism with an added panache different from other 90s cinematic heroes.

The cast of Casino Royale clearly agree. And, the word energy is often on the lips when people speak of Campbell’s influence on set. Martin fires everyone up, says Daniel Craig. “You obviously need that level of energy in the action sequences, but it’s equally valuable in quieter, dramatic scenes.” Dame Judi Dench, back playing ‘M’ for the fifth time, agrees. Martin is very enthusiastic and he knows the Bond scene very, very well. Martin Campbell returns the compliment: Judi is now so much a part of Bond, she’s a national treasure.

Dench and Campbell met on GoldenEye in 1995. It was his first Bond film as director and her first as the steely head of MI6. It was also the film that introduced Pierce Brosnan as the Bond to replace Timothy Dalton. And, many regarded it as the best Bond film since The Spy Who Loved Me. Perhaps it was no surprise when Campbell was approached to refresh the franchise with a new Bond once again.

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“After Die Another Day the producers were really keen to take Bond back to basics. And, that interested me,” says Campbell, who was brought into script development discussions very early. Die Another Day was not critically well received, and risked making the series a parody of itself. Influential Variety magazine reported at the time: “it feels like a betrayal of what the franchise has always been about“.

Four years went by Brosnan announced he wouldn’t do another film. The opportunity was there for a major re-think. “What was great was that I had a very free hand in Casino Royale,” says Campbell. “The producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson were very supportive of new ideas. Even when we started to explore Bond’s character in more detail, his darker side.”

Casino Royale is based on the first Bond book written by Ian Flemming in 1953. The film introduces Bond as a new, less sophisticated agent, explaining how he gets his “00” rating. Daniel Craig liked the new emphasis. “In this film, James Bond is a darker character, which is how Ian Fleming originally wrote him. We start right at the beginning of Bond’s career. When he has a lot of rough edges. He’s a loner, and he doesn’t like to get involved with people.”

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This wasn’t enough for Campbell. Who wanted the Casino Royale Bond to show some character development through the story. Rather than simply being a foil for the action. Oscar winner Paul Haggis (Crash and Million Dollar Baby) was brought in to re-write the already structured screenplay. “The scriptwriters Neal Purvis and Robert Wade had done a great job drafting the story,” explains Campbell. “And, Paul Haggis re-wrote the whole thing from a character perspective.

This is a common part of the process, and really helps with the dialogue.” It was the resulting emotional complexity in the script that attracted Craig. A highly accomplished stage actor, to the role of Bond. And Campbell was delighted with the result. “Daniel will be a revelation to the audience,” he says. “He combines toughness with charm and a sense of humour. And, because this is a much more character driven story. His depth and gravitas are a perfect match for the role.”

At the heart of the Casino Royale story is a high-rolling game of poker. In which Bond has to defeat his wealthy evil enemy Le Chiffre, played by Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen. In the story, the poker game has an entry fee of $10 million dollars. With play continuing until the winner takes all, so the pressure gets understandably high. Campbell explains that shooting the card-playing scene was more difficult that any of the action sequences. “You have ten people sitting around a table with drinks, playing Texas Hold ‘em. And, looking at their cards and at each other. Maintaining the tension and the continuity was a nightmare.” Campbell took nine days to shoot the scene. And, had multiple decks of cards specially organzsed so that the cast got the same hand each time they shot the scene.

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“It would be a very good test for film students,” says Campbell, who admits he’s not a poker player. “I was lucky that producer Michael Wilson is a genius at poker, and very good with numbers. He did all the rehearsals of the poker game, and I wouldn’t have been able to do it without him.” Campbell also got some help from previous movies. “I watched some famous card playing scenes from Maverick, The Hustler and The Sting. And realized that you have to focus on the people playing the game, rather than the cards. That’s where the drama is.”

For those who like their Bond films full of action, the drama is also in some spectacular action sequences. Shot all over the world – from the Bahamas to Lake Como, and from Prague to Venice. The film hits the ground running and, after a brief introduction to the new Bond. We find him in Africa, chasing a suspected terrorist through a massive construction site. First on foot, diving and sliding on cranes and scaffolding. Then in a huge truck, crashing into concrete barriers and fences. Craig embarked on a rigorous fitness regime in order to avoid using stunt doubles. “I wanted to do as much of the action work as I could. So, that the audience can see it’s me and its real,” said Craig. “That meant acquiring injuries and bashing through to the next level of pain. If you don’t get bruised playing Bond, you’re not doing it properly.”

Doing Bond properly also usually means finding beautiful women in your bedroom. Something that this ‘back-to-basics’ film plays down in favour of an extended relationship between Bond and the enigmatic Vesper Lynd. A Treasury official charged with looking after his $10 million gambling fund. French actress Eva Green plays Vesper. She says “she’s not the classic Bond girl, wearing a bikini, being sexy and firing guns. There is more to her than that, and she has a great impact on Bond’s life.” Campbell underlines the point; “the relationship between Vesper and Bond is the spine of the story. And, there’s no doubt that this is the best female role in all of Fleming’s books.”

The Making of “The Legend Of Zorro” – Stunts

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Bond in a relationship? Bond a darker character? There are clearly some changes at work in this latest 007 film. All aimed at clearing the past and reframing the world’s most famous spy as a more complex man. “This is more realistic and more emotionally involving than previous films,” says Campbell. “It’s Bond’s first 00 mission, and he has a lot to learn.” Eva Green, whose character Vesper gets closer to Bond than any other, puts it this way. “This is a different James Bond: raw and sensitive. You will see his flaws and watch him become the Bond you think you know.” Much of this transformation, this fresh start for Bond, comes from Campbell’s influence behind the camera. “He’s a different Bond, “ he says, “in every way.” Judging by the box-office results around the world so far, the difference has been truly appreciated.

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