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How Daniel Craig Almost Ruined Skyfall With A Pair Of Leather Gloves

As the first James Bond film to enter Hollywood's exclusive billion-dollar club, coupled with the overwhelming critical acclaim, Skyfall stands as a bona fide success no matter which angle you take.

Skyfall

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As the first James Bond film to enter Hollywood’s exclusive billion-dollar club, coupled with the overwhelming critical acclaim, Skyfall stands as a bona fide success no matter which angle you take.

But mid-way through post on Sam Mendes’ triumphant actioner, a seemingly innocuous pair of gloves almost thrust production into turmoil. First spotted by film critic Charlie Lyne – and confirmed via video breakdowns of the scene in question – the blunder all revolves around Skyfall‘s casino scene. 

Then approaching the crunch time of production, Lyne notes that both Mendes and Daniel Craig became burdened with the weight of expectation and were, in short, “completely miserable” at certain stages. As such, during downtime, Craig tended to venture off set on shopping trips, and one day returned with a pair of leather gloves that he believed would be fitting for one James Bond.

And so, after getting permission from a Sam Mendes past the point of tiredness, Craig donned the gloves during the intense casino sequence, engaging in fisticuffs with henchmen, not to mention a close encounter with a komodo dragon. In true James Bond fashion, our 00 agent is saved by his technology, with the lead baddie realizing all too late that he can’t fire Bond’s pistol due to the fingerprint recognition. But surely our famed spy would have a similar problem while wearing gloves, no?

That’s exactly the problem that surfaced in the editing room and, after totalling up the cost of reshooting the entire sequence, MGM’s team opted to digitally paint over the leather gloves.

Here’s an extract from Lyne’s analysis: “If you watch the scene now…you can see that Bond has these ridiculously podgy hands because in every single frame he was wearing these thick leather gloves that have now been painted over with Craig-tone hands.”

In news relating to the world of James Bond, it was also revealed earlier today that The Neon Demon director Nicolas Winding Refn came close to helming Spectre.