How No Time To Die Director Convinced Daniel Craig To Shoot Long Takes

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No Time To Die director Cary Joji Fukunaga has opened up about how he got Daniel Craig to shoot long takes for the film. The story of the latest James Bond film revolves around a now-retired Bond, who has left active service and is living a peaceful life in Jamaica. However, he is contacted by an old friend who shows up and asks him for help in retrieving a kidnapped scientist. Needless to say, Bond finds himself knee-deep in a perilous mission against a new threat. The film also features returning cast members Léa Seydoux, Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Jeffrey Wright and Christoph Waltz, alongside newcomers to the franchise Lashana Lynch, Ana De Armas and Rami Malek, who plays the principal villain, Lyutsifer Safin.

Fukunaga announced himself as a director to watch after his work on the critically acclaimed HBO series, True Detective (starring Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson). He went on to make Beasts of No Nation and Maniac for Netflix, both of which were very well-received. In 2018, it was reported that he would helm the 25th James Bond film after original director Danny Boyle stepped down due to creative differences, making Fukunaga the first American filmmaker to direct a Bond film. Fukunaga is known for his unique visual style, which includes the frequent use of long takes, in which the shot is not cut, to enhance the impact of a scene. Having had the experience of using the method previously in projects like True Detective, Maniac and Jane Eyre, Fukunaga has brought his cinematography approach to the 007 series.

RELATED: Where To Watch Daniel Craig's Bond Movies Online Before No Time To Die

In a recent interview with SlashFilm, Fukunaga spoke in-depth about everything that went into including long takes in No Time To Die, which the director was very passionate about. Fukunaga said he didn't want to use the technique as a gimmick to distract viewers, but only "if it fit" naturally in the film. Ultimately, the director did find a moment to include a long shot in the intense third act of No Time to Die, but said this type of filming doesn't necessarily suit Craig's "perfectionist" style, and the actor would prefer scenes to be shot "in cuts" rather than an elongated, continual take. However, Fukunaga was able to sell Craig on filming a long take when the right opportunity presented itself, after discussing the approach "at length" with Craig, the producers and stunt coordinators. Read his comments below:

"Daniel's a perfectionist, so he wants every punch, every shot, everything just to be, on a physical level, flawless. And even just that early fight in Matera, where he does three or four combos with Primo (Dali Benssalah) before he wraps the laundry line around his neck, Daniel would have preferred to do that in cuts, just so he can make sure every punch looked good ... It comes from his desire, which I share, to make sure that when people watch, there's no suspension of disbelief issues, no doubts that those aren't real hits landing, or himself taking hits ... So to then pitch another single-take shot (that lasts even longer) later in the film, that was something that we talked about at length with the producers and the stunt coordinators, and discussed, 'Well, what could we do that no one feels like the performance is being sacrificed?"

This isn't the first time that the long take technique was used in the Bond series. It was most recently implemented in the previous James Bond outing by director Sam Mendes in the gorgeously-crafted opening shot in 2015's Spectre, which follows Bond through the crowded Day of the Dead festival in Mexico City. In No Time To Die, however, Fukunaga decided to utilize the take differently by focusing on the action sequences. Craig's commitment to the physical demands of the shot is there for all to see in the final cut, which includes a stunning and pulse-pounding stairwell fight that sees Bond single-handedly take on a myriad of Safin's goons.

The Bond franchise hasn't always been recognized for its technical mastery behind the camera, but since Craig's introduction as the charismatic spy in Casino Royale, the series has consistently attempted to push the boundaries and stay fresh in more ways than one. After several delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the long-awaited swan song from Daniel Craig as the beloved 007 agent finally arrives in U.S. theatres this week. Fans will no doubt be eager to see if Fukunaga has done justice to the character, but with a fresh Rotten Tomatoes score of 84% and glowing reviews from critics and audiences worldwide, viewers are likely to be very satisfied with No Time To Die.

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