The 50th anniversary of 007 films happens to coincide with the release of the 23rd Bond film, Skyfall. Because of this wonderful alignment, we are being treated to a memorable year full of MI6 treats. Not only do we have the upcoming 23 disc Bond Blu-Ray set to look forward to, but the constant stream of Skyfall promotion has been enough to keep even the most demanding Bond fans satisfied.
The most recent promotional piece is Skyfall: Bond On Set, a 208 page book by photographer Greg Williams that takes you behind the scenes of the 23rd Bond film. Williams isn’t a unit photographer who shoots stills for the film, instead his focus is capturing the making of a film and sharing that experience with fans who aren’t usually privy to those moments. This will be the fourth Bond film that Williams has released this sort of book for.
The website 007 did an interview with Williams recently that provides some great insight into the book and the film.
When asked about the most exciting day on set, Williams had this to say:
The day they did the London Underground crash was awe-inspiring. The craftsmanship in that stunt is incredible. They had this camera that could shoot the train coming towards it and then if it was going to keep going they had an emergency release that could yank the camera out of the way. I think the train stopped four inches before the concrete wall so to have this enormous thing and to get it to stop in the right spot was quite amazing. No one was allowed to be inside the tunnel so my cameras were on remotes for those shots. We were in the stairwell watching it on TV screens firing off the camera remotely. With my shots you see bricks flying towards the camera and I’m sure they were bouncing off of the camera too. I used my cheaper camera for that one.
Williams also talked about Director Sam Mendes.
At the beginning I was scared of getting under his feet. The last thing anyone needs on a movie set is another photographer because you get in people’s eyeline and that can make some people uncomfortable but Sam was a jolly nice bloke, he obviously knows exactly what he wants and you can see why he’s at the very top of this game. There was such attention to detail. One day they were shooting a scene where a load of guns get fired into the roof of an office block but after they shot it Sam thought the way the plaster fell wasn’t quite right so they reshot it just so the plaster fell off the ceiling in a particular way. Other people might look at it and go, “That’s all right, move on’” but Sam wanted it to be perfect which is something I really admire. That’s an example of the meticulous attention to detail he brings to Bond.
Anything that delves into the making of quality films immediately sparks my interest, and it looks as though this book will be perfect for Bond enthusiasts and general film buffs as well. It will be a stylish souvenir honoring the seriously stylish Bond. I can’t think of a better way to commemorate this soon-to-be classic film. I’ve already cleared a spot on my coffee table, have you?
We’ve included some pictures from the book below. Check them out and share your thoughts in the comments below.
