Eva Green: Her Casino Royale logbook

In 2006, the interpreter of Vesper Lynd agreed to tell the inside story of his adventure on this film – rebroadcast this evening on France 3 – which would change his career. Flashback.

Casino Royale will return to France 3 at 9:05 p.m. At the same time, her actress Eva Green will also be in Dark Shadowson TF1 Séries Films. At the editorial office, the choice is quickly made: we recommend Martin Campbell's spy film, rather than Tim Burton's horror comedy.

To wait until this replay of Casino Royale, First invites you to reread the logbook of the interpreter of the unforgettable Vesper Lynd.

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ARRIVAL ON THE PROJECT

When the cast of Casino Royale started, I knew the producers wanted to see me, but I had some reservations. I don't want to be a James Bond girl, for example… But when my agent managed to obtain the script, I immediately shared his enthusiasm. In fact, I was very surprised because, generally in Bond films, the role of girls is confined to the cliché of the submissive Barbie doll. This glamorous aspect makes people dream. Upon reading Casino RoyaleI feel a new tone. The character of Vesper Lynd is anything but a bimbo. Paul Haggis' remarkable script reminds me of the world of films with Spencer Tracy and Katherine Hepburn in the 1940s. It's human and romantic without falling into sentimentality.

I get an appointment for a casting. And, from there, everything goes crazy. The tests take place the next day in Prague, where filming has already started! I have to learn a block of text in less than 24 hours. Panicked, I can't sleep at night! And a few hours later, I find myself face to face with Daniel Craig… In the room, I am greeted by the producers Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, apparently very happy to see me. I came away with the feeling that everything had gone well and I left for New York, where I was living at that time, with a light heart. But as soon as I set foot at JFK, I get a phone call. I have to take the first plane back to Prague for new tests. So I get back on the plane and go through the casting again, this time with a scene on a train. The atmosphere is extremely professional, all filmed in 35 mm. I admit that, here again, I'm freaking out a little. Barbara and the team do everything to put me at ease. Daniel also supports me as much as possible. But that's not enough for me. I'm nauseous, I feel bad. Daniel then takes my hands and says to me: “Don’t worry, I’ve been there too and I know how terrible it is.” And there, I gradually understood, given the profligacy of the means used, that the tests carried out two days earlier must have been technically of poor quality: because of the sound and the light, they had not been able to judge me! Not to mention that they also want to make sure that my level of English is sufficient.

The result comes three days later. The answer is positive… So I have to fly the next day to the Bahamas, where filming continues. The prospect of this new adventure both delights and stresses me. I'm starting to tell myself that I will never have time to prepare properly, given the amount of dialogue to be performed.

THE PREPARATION

Here I am in the Bahamas. It's the end of February and my first week there is devoted to costume testing. At the same time, I am also working hard on English with my coach. Kingdom of Heaven. Vesper Lynd being English, my accent must be perfect, with specific intonations and phrasing. And my coach is ideal for that: very precise, very boring in the good sense of the word, intuitive about acting, she knows how to adapt. She is anything but a frustrated actress.

This week of work also confirms my first impression: what immediately appealed to me when reading the script was the role. Vesper's dialogues are full of puns. In this respect, she is truly Bond's equal. Like him, she plays heavily on irony. They almost look like twins. When one starts a sentence, the other finishes it. This is the first Bond where the dialogues are so important. Bond is still as intelligent and charming as ever. But we discover a new side of him: his emotional side. He is suddenly human. And Vesper, while glamorous, is not an icon. They both have their feet on the ground. The love story that unites them will build the Bond that we have known through the other films, the seductive, flirtatious Bond, very little invested in his relationships with women.

THE FILMING

After a week of intensive work, the day of my first scene arrives. It is supposed to take place in the city of Venice… therefore recreated in the Bahamas! Bond tells Vesper of his desire to give up everything for her. And a love scene follows. Not the easiest way to take the plunge! When I arrive on set, I am shocked by the number of paparazzi present who try to shoot me in a swimsuit.

In the Bahamas, we don't live behind closed doors. Daniel, like me, has heard what the press has been reporting about us for several months. Daniel is very affected by this. It puts additional pressure on his shoulders: Bond is like the Queen in Great Britain, a national monument! For my part, everything that is written seems stupid to me. He is criticized for being blond and not knowing how to drive a car… I'm sure it will all seem surreal after the fact but, at the time, he has difficulty taking it.

For my part, I learned quite early from my mother (Marlène Jobert) that, shortly before my first shoot, this same celebrity press announced that the studios wanted to fire me while giving precise details on how I was playing, even though I hadn't filmed a single shot! That’s also Bond. It attracts gossip! It's the circus games arena!

After three days of filming in the Bahamas, we leave for Prague where we will stay for two months, with a few visits to Karlovy Vary. In this city, the whole team is gathered in a hotel similar to that of Shining smaller and not recommended for claustrophobics. But it brings us closer together. Because Bond is also a family with Barbara Broccoli in the role of the mama! She doesn't just have a financial connection with this project. She puts her blood into the fight! And probably because she's a woman, I ultimately talk to her more than to Martin (Campbell)!

In terms of the game, I have a lot of fun. I, who am not at all physical, find myself running in high heels, I handle a gun and I am also entitled to underwater sequences for which I took diving lessons and learned to hold my breath. breathing. But Vesper is, however, more of a brain than a action girl. So there are a lot of actual gameplay scenes. And there, Martin completely trusts Daniel. He lets us do it. Before each scene, we agree on the intentions of the game, especially since Martin is above all an action director. He knows exactly what he wants and how to do it. On set, behind the monitor, he looks like an overexcited child.

From day one, Daniel is very “fatherly”. He keeps asking me if everything is okay and I barely dare answer him because I'm so shy. Our report describes the friendly and family atmosphere of the shoot. The big machine aspect of Bond, I discovered it especially with the promotion. I have never done so much press during a shoot. On the set, the journalists keep parading with one question on their lips: “So what’s it like to be a James Bond girl?” » Each time, I explain again who Vesper Lynd is. But it's part of the game

After Prague, we leave for Lake Como. A magical place. At the precise location of the scene Attack of the Clones where Natalie Portman walks in a Pre-Raphaelite setting. This house that seemed fake actually exists. It belonged to an explorer without an heir and was transformed into a museum that looks like it came straight out of a dream

Once the Como scenes are in the box, we go to Venice to shoot an action scene outdoors. And, of course, the paparazzi are back! As we are on a boat, they machine-gun us from the bridge. It feels like a photocall in Cannes. It’s really nonsense! Obviously impossible to stop them but it makes concentration difficult

On set, I often ask for additional takes. And, each time, Marin grants them to me. He does a lot himself because he multiplies the camera angles. Sometimes 30 or 40! This shoot allows me to learn how to keep my acting fresh. And, as the days go by, I feel more and more comfortable. I know myself by heart. Each time, at the start, I am always very stuck, anxious about not being up to the task. It's quite masochistic, I admit. But the adrenaline of these moments boosts me. I need to work a lot, like I'm taking exams every day

Once the shooting in Italy is finished, we leave to finish filming in London on location and in the Pinewood studios: scenes where a “nice” gentleman throws me in an elevator, locks me in a leaking Venetian house and where Bond tries underwater to save me. It is in this final stretch that it is most difficult to maintain your momentum. We're late, there are more action scenes than pure gameplay. We are often summoned for a whole day without ever setting foot on set. It's only human that the team loses a little of its energy during such a marathon shoot. But not Martin! I don't know what he eats in the morning but he never weakens. He really is an army general!

Throughout the filming and even in this final stretch, every day, I rehearse with my coach. This work is solely focused on the dialogues and the rendering of a very snobbish English accent. She is also a voice teacher thanks to whom I learn to control my breathing. Playing in English requires very different music from French. And for that, we even work on Shakespeare whenever we have free time. However, the doubts do not leave me and it is my coach who will see the rushes for me and note the takes where the result is the best. She will then even work hand in hand with the editor and I can never thank Martin enough for accepting this situation. I actually have a lot of trouble looking at myself on the control screen. It paralyzes me in my game. It's negative narcissism, I know. But I can't do anything about it. The total trust I have in my coach allows me to avoid this torture

And then the last day arrives. And as in all shoots that go well, I am sad to leave those with whom I had created bonds.

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EPILOGUE

As I finish this diary, I have not yet seen the film. I only hope that it will be faithful to the scenario and that the action will not prevail over the rest, even if it will inevitably occupy a significant place. In any case, the mere presence of Daniel Craig reassures me. Being in the front row, I found him incredible and so invested in his character that we felt very well on set that Bond was dangerous and sexy at the same time. An explosive mixture which is the best response to all the bullshit we have heard

Even before the film came out, I felt a renewed interest in myself. There, I'm going to go filming At the crossroads of worlds, the northern kingdoms by Chris Weitz. I will play a good witch. And since this witch is flying, I'm going to have to work on her gestures. I think I'm having a lot of fun. Once again!

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