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AUTOS: Hollywoods Hottest Car Chases; Quantum of Solace (2008)
Actor Daniel Craig performed many of the driving scenes in Quantum of Solace himself.
David Harris  |  Posted November 10, 2010   Charlotte, NC
The chase was filmed around Italy’s Lake Garda, and through the mountainside of its western shores. (Photo: EON Productions)
This one was expensive. As with many James Bond flicks, a good chase scene is almost to be expected. But the most recent offering, which starred Daniel Craig’s portrayal of Bond in Quantum of Solace, may be the best one yet. And there’s no surprise that Hollywood’s hottest stunt coordinator and second unit director, Dan Bradley (Bourne films), was involved in the making.

This car chase hits you over the head. As soon as the opening credits fade, the audience is immediately transported behind the wheel of Bond’s brand new Aston Martin DBS as he’s being pursued by two Alfa Romeo 159s. The chase was filmed around Italy’s Lake Garda, and through the mountainside of its western shores. According to Director Marc Forster, the opening scene was placed about an hour after where the previous Bond movie, Casino Royale (2006), had left off.

One of the most interesting things about this movie was all of the back stories. For instance, six brand new Aston Martins were destroyed in the shooting, one via an Aston Martin employee who crashed into the lake while driving to the set. He was fined for reckless driving in the aftermath. Two days after that incident, two stunt men were seriously injured while shooting scenes, one spent time in intensive care before having a full recovery. At the time, stunt coordinator Gary Powell said that these injuries were a testament to the ‘realism’ of action.

What to look for… Actor Daniel Craig performed many of the driving scenes himself. It’s actually him behind the wheel on multiple occasions. The funny part, Craig learned his high-performance driving after working with ‘The Stig,’ the famous, ‘nameless’ driving impresario in an all-white driving suit from Jeremy Clarkson’s popular show, Top Gear.

Watch The chase

Daniel Craig’s Sweet Ride.

Everyone has their favorite car chase scene… and many have multiple ones. On Thanksgiving Night (Nov. 25), SPEED enters the conversation with a two-hour special called, Hollywood’s Hottest Car Chases, premiering at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

New York City’s Pangolin Pictures looks at the last 40 years of cinematic car chases, re-living many great scenes through the eyes of those who created, shot and played out what has become one of Hollywood’s greatest creative contributions. Broken out in themes, this feature presentation is produced to be the most comprehensive look at how this genre has evolved from Steve McQueen’s Bullitt to Matt Damon’s Bourne Identity.

Through Thanksgiving, SPEED will roll out some of our favorites from around the studio here in Charlotte. This not a countdown per se, and we want to hear from you, as we’ll introduce a new car chase scene every Monday through Thursday. Let the Chase Begin…

Here’s What They Are Saying over at Autoblog.com…
http://www.autoblog.com/2010/10/11/speed-announces-hollywoods-hottest-car-chases-with-mega/
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