I thought Girl with the Dragon Tattoo was intense and fantastic. Part of that was a great script based on an amazing book. Part of it was Rooney Mara who was just incredibly surprising and formidable. Then there's sexy Daniel Craig. We're so used to seeing him as the fairly cold-blooded 007. Bond would certainly never need a woman to come to his rescue! I love Craig as Blomkvist; he's just a bit more human, hence loveable. And still sexy as hell in his Euro garb!
I just saw this great little interview with Daniel Craig in the Calgary Herald. Apparently questions about his recent marriage to Rachel Weizs as well as the next Bond film, Skyfall, were off limits.
Here's what he did have to say about being Daniel Blomkvist to Bob Thompson, Postmedia
Q: What’s the key to taking on an iconic role?
A: The less you think about what other people think in this industry, the better, and the more original you can be.
Q: Was that your approach with Blomkvist and Bond?
A: You can’t go into a project thinking, “Oh, how would these people like it?” You must get on with what you want, and be single-minded about it.
Q: Blomkvist is not the macho Bond type, right?
A: I wanted to put a reality into (Blomkvist). He gets shot at, and he runs away — I mean, screaming, just like anybody else would. That was really the key.
Q: Did you portray him like an Everyman?
A: I believe I did. What I love about him is the connection with Salander. He doesn’t have to prove he’s a man. He doesn’t have to go around beating his chest. And he’s very happy to fall into this sort of relationship where she’s literally wearing the trousers.
Q: Did you feel the burden of great expectations filming the movie?
A: I think we have 65 million readers of the book. And we have lots of people who have seen the Swedish/Danish version of the movie. And we may get millions of other people to see this movie. Everybody will go back and read the book, and watch the Swedish version. It’s a win/win.
Q: Is the Blomkvist-Salander alliance the story’s main attraction?
A: Yes. They come from completely different social classes. But I think Salander’s never really learned to trust anybody. There are very few people in her life that are straight with her. And he is.
Q: What’s their connection?
A: Blomkvist walks into her life and says, “I think you’re great. I’d like to work with you. And I’ll walk away.” And I think it just appeals to her.
Q: What about the filming process?
A: We didn’t do one thing in sequence. We shot the end of the movie first, so you always had to know where you were, and had to make sense of it.
Q: Did Fincher include you and Mara in the creative development?
A: We all got involved with mapping out the complex film. And it’s a testament to David’s skill as a director that it all remains very interesting.
Q: Were the intimate scenes between Blomkvist and Salander difficult for you and Mara?
A: No.
Q: So sex scenes in movies aren’t difficult?
A: No, of course not.
Q: Really?
A: Intimate scenes on a movie set are just dry, bizarre things; people standing around. And I don’t make those other kind of movies. (Smiles.) Not for a long time, anyway.
