Thursday, March 28, 2024

The FilmStrip: Naomi Harris and Daniel Craig Bond in ‘Spectre’

naomi harris & daniel craig (spectre outtake)
Daniel Craig (James Bond) and Naomi Harris (Eve Moneypenny) in ‘Spectre’

*Naomi Harris, as Miss Moneypenny in “Spectre,” has taken a back seat to fieldwork but her relationship with James Bond (Daniel Craig) has moved forward.

“Moneypenny, in this, is behind the desk again,” she says. “She’s not out with Bond in the field, but she’s still assisting him. This time, however, she’s doing computer searches on people that he needs information on.”

“What is actually really great about this film in retrospect,” she went on to say, “is that their relationship has really developed. They’ve become a lot closer and they really trust each other. Bond is someone who doesn’t really have friends as such. I think he would consider Eve Moneypenny as his friend, which is a real honor for her. She feels really proud of that fact because he’s not someone that you get close to very easily.”

Audiences were introduced to Harris’ Moneypenny in “Skyfall,” and that film became the most lucrative in the 007 franchise, despite the rumblings of some because Harris was cast as Eve Moneypenny [See Exclusive interview with Naomi Harris at: https://eurweb.com/2012/10/the-film-strip-vitriolic-backlash-doesnt-deter-skyfalls-naomi-harris/]. “Spectre” earned $1.1 billion worldwide.

Besides being elated over the success of “Skyfall,” Harris is happy about her character’s development in “Spectre.” “Between ‘Skyfall’ and ‘Spectre,’ she’s grown up a bit,” Harris explained. “She’s learned a lot and she’s discovered what she really wants to do, which is to not work in the field. I think she’s stronger and more confident. She knows who she is and I’ve enjoyed playing that strength.”

daniel craig & naomi harris

Daniel Craig embraces his ominous task in ‘Spectre’

In “Spectre,” a cryptic message from his former boss, M (Judi Dench), sends super secret agent and icon James Bond on an unsanctioned mission not approved by the man who has taken her place, Ralph Fiennes. Although the allegiance to Dench is still strong, Craig says Bond has moved on. “He’s in a really good place,” he confirms. “I think the end of ‘Skyfall’ as sad as it was, was a new beginning.

“Having Ralph come in as M and say, ‘Look, we have a lot of work to do,’ it felt like a new opportunity to sort of look at it with fresh eyes. So I think he’s enjoying life. He still has a mission in his own head that he needs to sort of see through. He’s got a hunch about a number of things and he wants to [accomplish] whether he’s allowed to and given permission or not, and acts on [them].”

Craig talked excitedly about the intensive and elaborate “Spectre” shoot and how impressed he was about the cast, crew, and locations.

“I’ve been doing this for awhile and have seen quite a lot on these movies, but nothing as grand as this,” Craig allowed.

“Everybody had a desire to do a bigger and better movie,” he recalled, “and felt they had something special.” He emphasized how important the story is, but relishes in the fact that ‘Spectre’ has “more texture, color and atmosphere, more than we had in ‘Skyfall.’ We wanted to sort of expand everything and once that started to happen, we stopped hearing about ‘Skyfall.’”

Gadgets, action and nail biting stunts are very much a part of the James Bond series, however, there is much more to “Spectre,” Craig assures. “I always felt that we needed a really good emotional story at the heart of the movie and everything else would fall into place.”

Syndicated Entertainment journalist Marie Moore reports on film and TV from her New York City base. Contact her at [email protected]

Facebook.com/TheFilmStripTM

Twitter: @thefilmstrip

We Publish News 24/7. Don’t Miss A Story. Click HERE to SUBSCRIBE to Our Newsletter Now!

YOU MAY LIKE

SEARCH

- Advertisement -

TRENDING