When asked about the "very real" physical challenges of the new movie, Craig laughed and said, "There were more. I think last time round, I was being tested out a bit to see whether I could do things and this time they've decided that I could."
Apart from taking his first shot at reprising a character (although "critics have said my performances are alike, but that's something else," he said, slyly), Craig was delighted to work with Forster.
"He's a fantastic director and has a great eye for detail," said the actor. "Those were the things that always fascinated me about the early Bond movies: the details. The marrying of big set pieces and the finer things in life -- the beautiful hotels and cars and women and watches. Marc wanted to bring that sort of [Ian] Fleming feel back to it. It's going to look fantastic, I know that."
The evildoers' goals, however, have changed from the series' Cold War heyday. Gone are the orbiting laser beams and hijacked nukes. In fact, the lust for gold has been replaced by greed for . . . green?
"Casino Royale" writers Paul Haggis, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade have returned with new twists on plausible scares.
"The villains in this story are a corporation trying to monopolize the world's scarce resources," Broccoli said. "It's a real worry for all of us, that we have a limited amount of natural resources and that people are trying to gobble them up."
"During the Cold War, in a Bond movie, it was very clear who are the good guys and who are the bad guys," said the director. "I think today, in our world, it isn't that clear anymore."
Forster, whose eclectic resume also includes "The Kite Runner" and "Finding Neverland," was initially reluctant to take on the film despite being impressed with producers Broccoli and Michael Wilson at a meeting.
"A few days later, I read this interview from Orson Welles: What he regretted most in his life -- he never made a commercial movie. And then I thought, 'Hmm, that's an interesting thought. Nor did I,' " Forster said with a mischievous laugh. "I thought, 'Maybe if you make a commercial film, it should be Bond.' "
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