Producers Reportedly Scouting Scottish locations for 23

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James Bond could be heading for Aberdeen area
Film bosses scouring Scottish locations for next 007 movie

Tourism chiefs have urged the James Bond movie team to film in the countryside around Aberdeen.A BID is being launched to bring James Bond’s latest mission to the Aberdeen area.

Film bosses are scouring Scotland for a key location for James Bond’s 23rd film outing, starring Daniel Craig.

Today Scotland’s tourism chiefs urged the team behind James Bond’s latest movie exploits to set their sights on castles such as Dunnottar, Craigievar and Castle Fraser.

http://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/Article.aspx/2404538

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The final scenes of the new James Bond film are to be shot at Duntrune Castle, near Lochgilphead in Argyll.
An "explosive" finale for Bond 23 will be filmed at Duntrune Castle, Argyll

Duntrune Castle>>>>>http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duntrune_Castle

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotlan...-west-15216159

Patricia Malcolm, who lives in the castle with her husband Robin, said several days of filming would start at the end of February 2012.

The 23rd Bond film, which will be Daniel Craig's third outing as 007, is rumoured to be called Skyfall.

It follows the shooting of two other Holywood films - World War Z and Cloud Atlas - in Scotland recently.

Mrs Malcolm said: "They are coming here at the end of February and are going to film for several days.

'Ancestral home'

"They are using the castle - just the outside - it's going to be used for the end of the film.

"I think it is meant to be James Bond's ancestral home - he will bring all the villains here.

"I believe it's mostly being filmed in China and Turkey. They want a winter scene, so they are going to bring their own snow."


The 23rd Bond film will be Daniel Craig's third outing as 007 Mrs Malcolm said fans could expect an explosive end to the latest instalment of the spy's adventures.

She said: "It looks as if they are going to construct the set and then blow it up.

"I think they are going to attack the castle from land and sea - there are going to a lot of bangs and explosions."

Builders are set to begin work on the site early in the new year - and boost the local economy by employing craftsmen from the area.

Cast and crew are also expected to stay in the area, generating business for local hotels, restaurants and bed and breakfasts.

The castle is about 95 miles from Glasgow, which has played host to two other major Hollywood films this year.

Scenes from Brad Pitt's zombie film World War Z were filmed in Glasgow city centre in August, while Halle Berry visited in September to shoot scenes for Cloud Atlas.

The city has also hosted Peter Mullan's film Neds, the forthcoming Perfect Sense with Ewan McGregor and Eva Green, and The Decoy Bride, starring David Tennant.

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Bond Producers Snub Scottish Castle Owners............................................ ....

Seems like the Bond producers are having a bad case of location troubles for 23 first India cancelled then South Africa now Scotland......WTF??????

Dr No show: producers snub castle as backdrop for latest Bond

http://www.scotsman.com/news/scottis...bond_1_1971936

AH, Mr Bond we’ve been expecting you. But rather prematurely, it seems.


In a surprising plot twist 007 has put the owners of a castle and several businesses in Argyll off his trail.

Just two weeks ago the red carpet was being dusted down when it was reported that part of Skyfall, the 23rd Bond movie, would be filmed at Duntrune Castle.

But in a move perhaps designed to throw people off the scent, the production team has now cancelled local hotel bookings and the castle owner has been told to no longer expect the secret agent.

Robin Malcolm said he received a letter saying the film, directed by Sam Mendes, would be partly shot at the castle near Lochgilphead in February.

However, he was visited this week by location manager Russell Lodge who told him there had been a change of plan.

“Its very disappointing, not just for me, but for others such as hoteliers who thought they were going to have a prosperous new year,” said Mr Malcolm.

“I don’t know if they just changed their mind or have changed the [film’s] story, but it’s a shame. It brought excitement for everyone for a while.”

Mr Malcolm said he was expecting a crew of about 200 to use the castle and holiday cottages on the estate where he farms.

“I’ll now have to go back to being a farmer and accommodation provider as usual.”

He revealed the production team made a considerable investment in the area: “They would fly up from London in a couple of helicopters and bring eight people at a time and then we had a much bigger visit, when they got about 50 of them up in a flight to Glasgow and then travelled here by car.”

The castle, on the north side of the Crinan Canal, is the family seat of Clan Malcolm.

Mr Malcolm, who is the clan chief, said: “They were going to build a false front for the castle, so they have had surveyors working here. Sam Mendes was keen but maybe, when he had all those people up from various fields, some of them said it wasn’t going to work here.”

Mr Malcolm said the film company had considered at least 50 sites before they confirmed to him that they were going to use Duntrune. Mr Malcolm said: “The letter says ‘We confirm’ – although I never received a contract – and at the launch in London they showed Duntrune Castle.”

He added: “They may well still do some filming in Scotland, I got the impression they wanted a Scottish element to the film and the site manager was going to look at some other areas.”

Heather Leighton, manager of the Grey Gull Hotel in Ardrishaig, confirmed that the film company had cancelled a booking for February.

She said: “The booking has been cancelled within the last two days. They were going to fill the hotel, which has 22 rooms.”

A spokeswoman for Eon Productions said no location was confirmed.

“Lots of locations have been scouted,” she said.

“We are looking at a number of different places.”

The film is Daniel Craig’s third performance as James Bond and features Judi Dench playing M for the seventh consecutive film. It will also star Ralph Fiennes, Albert Finney and Javier Bardem with French actress Berenice Marlohe and Naomie Harris as the leading ladies.

VisitScotland estimates one in five overseas visitors to Scotland is inspired by TV or film, while the productions themselves can add up to £25 million to the economy each year.

Brad Pitt, Scarlett Johansson and Halle Berry have all recently filmed in Scotland.

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WHEN Scotland appeared to have landed a starring role in the new James Bond film, businesses and tourism leaders predicted a much-needed boost for the economy.


But in a sudden plot twist, producers have revealed Skyfall, the 23rd Bond movie, will not be filmed at Duntrune Castle, in Kilmartin, Argyll and Bute, as had been widely expected.

Instead a yet-to-be-named Welsh castle looks set to play host to the star-studded cast, including Daniel Craig, Dame Judi Dench, Ralph Fiennes and Albert Finney

The film-makers reccied dozens of castle in Scotland and elsewhere in an exhaustive search lasting months, before appearing to settle on Duntrune as a location.

But within days of the press conference, director Sam Mendes had a sudden change of heart, and Duntrune’s owner was told they were no longer coming and hotel bookings for cast and crew were all cancelled.

Though sources within the film company could not confirm for sure, it appears that the production will be shifting southwards.

Robin Malcolm, owner of Duntrune Castle, said that local businesses had been looking forward to a prosperous New Year.

“I think it’s Scotland’s loss,” he said. “I knew they were looking at other venues, and I think they’re going to fake it that the Welsh castle is going to be in Scotland.

“The last thing I heard was that they were going to have some shots of somewhere like Rannoch Moor that’s pretty desolate and a few mountains – which Wales can come up with too.

“They haven’t lost sight of the thought that they want Bond to be an ex-pat Scot with roots in Scotland, and certainly the initial script was built around that premise and that he was kind of returning to his roots. But time will tell. I’ll be interested to see the results.”

Despite the cancellation, Mr Malcolm said that he had remained friends with the production team, adding: “It was fun while it lasted”.

And he said the castle is still in demand as location.

“Another film company has already said that they want to come and have a look at us. Their attitude has been, ‘if it’s good enough Bond, it’s good enough for us’ ”, he said.

Ian Fleming, who created the character, revealed Bond’s Scottish parentage in You Only Live Twice, one of his last books, when it looked like 007 had been killed and his obituary appeared in the Times.

The obituary read: “James Bond was born of a Scottish father, Andrew Bond of Glencoe, and a Swiss mother.”

Scotland has also been the backdrop to previous Bond movies. From Russia With Love used Argyllshire to double for the Balkans in climactic motorboat and helicopter chase scenes, while David Niven’s Sir James Bond visits Perthshire in the original 1967 version of Casino Royale.

Roger Moore visited Faslane submarine base in The Spy Who Loved Me. And Eilean Donan Castle was used as an MI6 base in The World is Not Enough, where Q demonstrated his new secret weapon – bagpipes that double as a flame-thrower.

A spokeswoman for Eon Productions, the James Bond film company, said. “I think maybe he [Mendes] was thinking at that time about Duntrune.”

However, she added that film producers changed their minds about locations all the time.

Belle Doyle, head of Scottish Screen Locations, which is now part of Creative Scotland, said: “Of course we’d be really disappointed to lose such a prestigious film from Scotland and hope that won’t happen, but, as ever, our negotiations with any production looking to work here are confidential.”

[ShakenNStirred]

Seems like they'll be following in the pirates of the Caribbean's footsteps by filming in Greenwich too. By the looks of it, Skyfall will have a much greater British focus than any other Bond film, but then again Fleming kept Bond in Britain for Moonraker so it's not too unorthodox. I like to see exotic new places, but then again I'll look forward to seeing a lot of familiar sights near me on the big screen, plus I think Bond's Britishness has wavered a bit in the Craig years (no Union Jack parachutes yet!) so it'll probably bring that into balance. Very appropriate for Olympic/Diamond Jubilee year anyway!