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innerSpaceman · 11-29-2006, 07:46 PM

I saw Casino Royale again the other night, and I guess I’m getting a little GeminiCricketish. I was kinda bugged by all the product placement this time.

Perhaps because I was looking at the displays on my first viewing, but I didn’t previously notice that every handheld device was a Sony Ericcson, the product name prominently placed above every cell phone and PDA screen -- projected, oh about 30-feet wide in a theater. I wouldn’t so much mind if all of Bond’s equipment was Sony. It could acceptably be the supplier of electronics to MI6. But why was Vesper’s cell a Sony, and the bad guys computer a Vaio? Bah.

I also wouldn’t mind product placement so much if the entire world being depicted had real brands. But in the airport scene, for example, the target airplane was from a fictitious airline, and the terrorist-hijacked fuel truck was from a phony oil company. I looked for real airline planes in the backgrounds of shots ... but only found Virgin Atlantic (presumably something to do with Richard Branson’s cameo - going through airport security).

(Actually, though I thought it was a fake airline - - there were lots of CSA planes visible. That’s a Czech airline ... that has no flights to Miami - - but lots to and from Prague, where the airport scenes were really filmed).

* * * * * * *

I suppose product placement goes hand-in-hand with James Bond. I picked up an interesting tidbit from the commentary on the Goldfinger DVD. Seems that the director, Guy Hamilton, showed up on set one morning to find producer "Cubby" Broccoli personally placing tons of Gillette products in the tiny aircraft lavatory set used for the scene where Bond freshens up on his been-kidnapped flight from Switzerland to Kentucky. Hamilton was a little peeved because the Gillette crap was all over the place, and was ridiculous.

Hamilton then made a deal with Broccoli ... the producer would present Hamilton with a list of all the companies he’d made product deals with for any particular film, and the director would fit in whatever he could without negatively affecting the story or the believability of the surroundings.
I’m not sure how successful that plan was for the remainder of the series, and certainly Hamilton was not the director on all the subsequent Bond films. Personally, I think they were pushing the credibility limit in Casino Royale with all the Sony crap. Then again, I certainly didn’t mind Aston Martins popping up all over the place.

11-29-2006, 07:46 PM	#65
innerSpaceman Kink of Swank Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Inner Space Posts: 13,075	I saw Casino Royale again the other night, and I guess I’m getting a little GeminiCricketish. I was kinda bugged by all the product placement this time. Perhaps because I was looking at the displays on my first viewing, but I didn’t previously notice that every handheld device was a Sony Ericcson, the product name prominently placed above every cell phone and PDA screen -- projected, oh about 30-feet wide in a theater. I wouldn’t so much mind if all of Bond’s equipment was Sony. It could acceptably be the supplier of electronics to MI6. But why was Vesper’s cell a Sony, and the bad guys computer a Vaio? Bah. I also wouldn’t mind product placement so much if the entire world being depicted had real brands. But in the airport scene, for example, the target airplane was from a fictitious airline, and the terrorist-hijacked fuel truck was from a phony oil company. I looked for real airline planes in the backgrounds of shots ... but only found Virgin Atlantic (presumably something to do with Richard Branson’s cameo - going through airport security). (Actually, though I thought it was a fake airline - - there were lots of CSA planes visible. That’s a Czech airline ... that has no flights to Miami - - but lots to and from Prague, where the airport scenes were really filmed). * * * * * * * I suppose product placement goes hand-in-hand with James Bond. I picked up an interesting tidbit from the commentary on the Goldfinger DVD. Seems that the director, Guy Hamilton, showed up on set one morning to find producer "Cubby" Broccoli personally placing tons of Gillette products in the tiny aircraft lavatory set used for the scene where Bond freshens up on his been-kidnapped flight from Switzerland to Kentucky. Hamilton was a little peeved because the Gillette crap was all over the place, and was ridiculous. Hamilton then made a deal with Broccoli ... the producer would present Hamilton with a list of all the companies he’d made product deals with for any particular film, and the director would fit in whatever he could without negatively affecting the story or the believability of the surroundings. I’m not sure how successful that plan was for the remainder of the series, and certainly Hamilton was not the director on all the subsequent Bond films. Personally, I think they were pushing the credibility limit in Casino Royale with all the Sony crap. Then again, I certainly didn’t mind Aston Martins popping up all over the place.
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