Hi everyone

I am writing this, my final QUANTUM OF SOLACE blog, from Charles De Gaulle Airport in Paris.   Last night was the Royal World Premiere of QUANTUM OF SOLACE at the Odeon Leicester Square in London.  Absolutely nothing could have prepared me for sheer size of the event.  When the chauffer opened the door to my car outside the cinema, the sound of hundreds of fans was tremendous, it was a wonderfully disorientating experience.  So many smiling faces screaming and holding their hands out, people who wanted autographs and people with cameras – I wish there was enough time to speak to every single one of them but I was ushered to the red carpet where the TV crews awaited a few words from each of the actors and film-makers.

The last time I wrote, I was trying to decide which dress I would wear to the premiere and the gown I settled on was simply beautiful.  It was a full length, bright red, chiffon dress by Valentino with a very low back – just perfect for such a prestigious event.  I loved it and didn't care one bit that it was freezing cold outside.  By the time I had met the fans, the media, the photographers and got into the cinema, I was absolutely frozen - I'm sure my lips must have turned blue!

My wonderful mother and father were with me all the way and I later learned that my mum kept trying to get someone to put a jacket over my shoulders.  I think it is so funny, such a typical mother trying to make sure her daughter is wrapped up warm, never mind that she is wearing Valentino!

Once we were inside the Odeon and the audience were seated, all the artists were lined up to meet Prince William and Prince Harry.  Both were delightful and very excited to be there on our big night. I was actually seated next to Prince Harry for the screening and he was totally blown away by the action sequence at the beginning of the film.  It was really nice to see someone react to our movie like that – especially a Prince.

When the film was over the entire cinema of guests were taken to the after party, which was held at an enormous marquee built outside Battersea Power Station.  I couldn't believe my eyes when I walked inside – it seriously felt like walking on to the set of a James Bond movie as waiters offered a martini or a glass of champagne.  Each table was decorated with impressive flower arrangements and fantastic sculptures hung from the ceiling.  All the guests looked the part too with the men in black tie and all the women in beautiful gowns and jewelry.  It was a truly amazing and overwhelming experience and one I'll treasure forever.

I have so enjoyed being a part of this extraordinary movie franchise, meeting and working with all sorts of talented people and visiting such curious and wonderful corners of the world.  Sadly, this is where I sign out but it has been so much fun to share all my experiences and memories with you. I sincerely hope you enjoy watching QUANTUM OF SOLACE as much as we enjoyed making it. 

Good luck and best wishes always

Olga x

Hello there

Now we are well underway with the promotion and publicity for the release of QUANTUM OF SOLACE and I have been traveling non-stop.  With a schedule as long as your arm, there is no time to relax - we have already been to eight different cities and I just landed back in London today.  I am very lucky to have the opportunity to visit so many countries – even if we just stop for one day, it is great to get a taste for each place as we pass through.

For me, one of the best stops on the tour so far has been Kiev.  I was born in the Ukraine and the reception when I arrived on home soil was the warmest I have ever known – it really was very special.  On one evening, I was honored to be personally invited to dinner by the President's wife.  Before we sat down to eat, she graciously gave us a tour of their home.  It was incredible and decorated beautifully with traditional Ukrainian artwork; carvings, drawings and pottery.  We learned that the President had made all of these beautiful ornaments and pictures himself – I had no idea he was such an artist.

Later, I was asked if I would like to try some honey beer, again, made by the President (he also keeps bees – so he made the honey too!)  I had never tasted honey beer before and it was absolutely delicious.  It was a really fascinating evening, and so interesting to learn what a creative guy our President is. 

Now that I'm back in London, my next focus is the world premiere to be held at the Odeon Leicester Square on Wednesday 29 October, and I have two days to choose the all important knock-out dress.  Whist I've been away, my stylist, Becky, has been very busy.  When I got back to my hotel suite this afternoon, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the rails of beautiful gowns, all different colours, some with sparkles, some plain, some with lace but all of them, without exception, created by the most prestigious, glamorous designers in the world.

I had to do something similar before our first lot of promotional tours and it is actually quite difficult, you can get blinded by so much choice.  In fact, I ended up traveling with so much luggage that, when I opened my suitcase in Kiev, I honestly couldn't decide what to wear!

This time, not only do I have to choose a dress for the London premiere, I have to choose nine dresses – one for each of the premieres coming up on the touring schedule.  I've never seen so many beautiful clothes in my entire life -  I can't describe how excited I am to live this, it's a once in a lifetime experience.

Until next time…..

Olga xxxx

Hello guys

My last day on the filming set of QUANTUM OF SOLACE was almost three months ago but I have not stopped working!  When I'd finished my work in front of the film cameras, I had two weeks of magazine photo shoots in London and Paris before I went to LA and New York to meet with the top US magazine editors.  When I got back from America, I arrived in Paris in the middle of the night and had less than 24 hours to re-pack before the flight left to take me to Israel to start work on an entirely different film.  It has been a crazy year! 

As we approach the release of QUANTUM OF SOLACE, I am back working with some of the old team, this time we are concentrating on the promotion and publicity of the film.  My first glamorous appointment was the world famous Motor Show in Paris.  As I mentioned before, Ford are a promotional partner for QUANTUM OF SOLACE and provided the eco-friendly KA car that I drive in the scenes set in Haiti.  Ford had chosen the Paris Motor Show event as the platform to unveil their brand new model of the KA car, and I was delighted to have been invited to take part.

I live in Paris so I got to spend two nights in my own apartment, something I hadn't done since last year! The Motor Show itself was an impressive event, set in a huge building with stages displaying every kind of automobile, from vintage to futuristic.  Ford had their own branded stage and in the centre was the KA covered by a black silk.  After John Fleming, the President and CEO  of Ford of Europe, had introduced me and asked about my Bond girl/daredevil driving in the film,  the silk was pulled away to reveal the gold KA, complete with the 'Greene Planet logo'.   Following the grand unveiling, they played a clip from the film where I drive the car.  It was so exciting, because it was the first time I had seen any of the film cut together and, I've got to say, it looked really impressive!  One of the guests even approached me afterwards and said he thought I should become a patron of his go-carting business in Switzerland – how funny.

Now that I've seen part of it, I am looking forward to seeing the whole film.  I'm told it is almost ready to be shown to the public, they just have to add the all important Bond music.  I know it is going to be stunning – when you think of all the incredible talent employed on a Bond movie, the exotic locations and that sprinkle of magic the film makers add to our work – I can't wait!

Until next time…..

Olga x

Hi there

I have got to say, I'm extremely proud of myself.  As the months have passed, I have built more and more confidence and so has everyone around me.  We are back at Pinewood Studios and I am working on my last week on the film.  It is very sad to think in a few days it will be over, but I am working on some incredible stuff right now.

This week we are filming the fight between Camille (that's me!) and General Medrano (that's the man who killed my family!).  It is all going on.  I've found him in his hotel suite and, whilst the hotel is engulfed in flames, Medrano and I have a fight to the death.  We are working in a very small set, it is just a hotel room, and the special effects team has gone to town.  The whole place is on fire, there are explosions going off, the ceiling falls in and Medrano and I are punching the lights out of each other.  Again, the stunt team have worked really hard with me on this, especially Nikki Berwick.  Every time we cut the scene, the entire crew has to evacuate the stage, its high drama, especially when you think I've been inside the actual set and so have the entire camera crew!

General Medrano is played by Joaquin Cosio.  He is a big guy – he could be three times the size of me.   We have rehearsed this fight sequence and we are doing it for as real as possible so I always walk away with bruises but I pride myself on the fact that he does too!

The fight is challenging not just physically but also mentally, I really have to build up my aggression and adrenalin to make this look the business. I am also determined, as these are my last scenes, that I get as much of the action as possible – I want to be in the inferno, I do not want my stunt double doing it for me.  Daniel is up for it too and every now and again, I look up and see his face and I just cannot believe what we are both doing.  Smothered in fire resistant gel, running through this set with explosions and fire everywhere.  Got to say, it's not that hard to muster the adrenalin.

Until next time…..

Olga x

Hi there

A few weeks ago, I had to leave the lovely cast and crew of QUANTUM OF SOLACE and head out to Canada to shoot 2 weeks on a different movie – I've missed everyone so much.  The team have been filming in Italy, doing the scenes between Mathis (who you may remember from CASINO ROYALE) and Bond, so I didn't need to be there. 

After Italy, the crew flew to Austria to film the night time scenes at Opera House where Bond tracks Dominic Greene and discovers the extent and power of his villainous organization.  Again, I am not involved in these scenes.  However, the producers are organizing another worldwide media event – when I said, working on a bond film was like no other, I wasn't kidding – so I'm here just for that.

I am staying in an amazing hotel in Bregenz.  It is renowned for it's fabulous spa.  I feel for the crew because I know, night-shooting means you have no time for such luxuries but I am not working nights so I fully intend on making the most of the amenities.

I started doing my interviews yesterday and I have more today and tomorrow.  When I arrived at the Bregenz Opera House yesterday, I was dumbstruck by its beauty.  It has a floating stage set on Lake Constance, with an open-air amphitheatre built into the side of the main Opera House building.

The scenery is stunning with the impressive Austrian mountains in the background and, as they only perform the opera 'Tosca' here, the backdrop for the stage has a huge blue eye, which is the eye of the love interest in the story.  It makes for a very impressive visual and, of course, that's what the Bond people are always after.

First stop on arrival at the Opera House was my trusted makeup artist, Naomi.  I'm glad she is always my first port of call because we joke and chat and she relaxes me.  Whilst I'm with Naomi, Anne Bennett (the head of marketing for the production company) comes to check in with me and talk me through the schedule for the day.  I have television interviews first, then a photocall (this time with only 15 local photographers) in front of the Tosca eye and print interviews last.  When I think back to that first media event at Pinewood, my mind boggles, I'm so much more confident now.  I can anticipate the questions and I'm learning to deal with inaccuracies in the media that follow.  I've spoken to other actors about it and I know it's just something I have to deal with. 

What I enjoy with these events is that, without blowing my own trumpet, I can speak 3 different languages, and I understand several others.  I love to surprise the journalists with that one – I think helps them to feel more comfortable asking more detailed and interesting questions – well, that's what I think anyway, lets see what the next 48 hours brings….

Until next time…..

Olga x

Hello guys

Last week saw the final part of my South American travel – it was hard work but brilliant fun – I would go any where in the world with this group of people.  I wish we could go and do it all over again!  Now we are back at Pinewood and I don't know if it really is minus 50 degrees, or whether it just feels that way because we have been in the sun for so long.  Either way, I'm freezing cold and we are filming outside for the next few days.  All the crew are wrapped up in full winter gear with hats, gloves, scarves and thick coats.  I, on the other hand, am wearing my dress from the party scene because we are filming the first part of my jump from the DC3 plane.

The DC3 is a really cool, retro looking silver plane.  Bond and Camille fly this plane over Bolivia but get attacked by Greene's men resulting in a dog fight in the air.  Ultimately we both have to bail and jump out of the DC3 as it plummets to the ground.

The special effects team have built a very clever rig of the DC3 outside at Pinewood Studios.  It has been erected in front of a big blue screen that will be used to help the visual effects department add the moving scenery by computer at a later stage.   This hydraulic rig is not only fitted with what they call 'squibs' which will look like bullet hits on film, but the rig is also capable of moving the entire plane to simulate the effect of it losing control.  The rig has the ability to go from horizontal to vertical and revolve around within it self – it's been a lot of fun working on there.

We filmed some of this scene already in Chile so my makeup artist, Naomi, has adjusted my makeup to suit the different climate and to take in to account what Camille has been through.  Also, even though she smothered me in sun block every hour, on the hour, in Panama and Chile, I still managed to get a deep tan.  We have been back in the UK for just under a week now and my tan is fading fast.  Naomi has been bronzing me up, applying makeup for my legs and arms so we keep the continuity of my look for the film – I have every faith in her.

Until next time…

Olga x

Hi there

Now I have often mentioned the Bond villain, Dominic Greene, who is played by Mathieu Amalric, but I've got to write a bit about Mathieu himself because I have a huge amount of respect for him and, over the past couple of months, he has become a really good friend of mine.  He is a very smart man, educated in many spheres of life, art, literature, politics and I think what he is doing with the role of Greene is fascinating.

Mathieu is best known for his more serious roles – he just won lots of prestigious awards for his work on 'The Diving Bell And The Butterfly'.  He thinks it's very amusing that he has been cast as the main villain in a James Bond movie.  I don't think he quite believes it but he, like me, is relishing the experience.

He and I share lots of scenes together.  In the film, Dominic Greene and General Medrano are forging a deal, so Camille reckons if she gets close to  Greene it will only be a matter of time before he leads her to Medrano, and the opportunity to avenge the murder of her family.  Working with Mathieu has been great because we have been exploring the characters of Greene and Camille together, working out how they feel about each other and what their individual motives are.  It is no surprise that Marc Forster (the director) was so keen to have him on board because Mathieu is exactly the kind of character actor that Marc appreciates.  He knows that Mathieu's villain will not be two dimensional and that he will play the role with great depth and thorough consideration.

In front of the camera, Mathieu is always trying new things, constantly changing and evolving with each take.  I just love watching what he is doing with the character.  He is going away from the cliché Bond villain and, by doing that, he is not taking the easy path.  Mathieu's villain is very understated.  Dominic Greene seems like the perfect gentleman but he is like a snake and when you least expect it, he snaps and sticks the knife in your back.  His approach is brilliant because it means Greene is actually terrifying – he is doing such great work.

This weekend Mathieu has his wife and little baby visiting.  I've not met them before so we are all going to go out for dinner, I can't wait.– dinner with him is always an interesting, fun and enlightening experience…. roll on Saturday!

Until next time…

Hi guys

There is something like 300 film crew who are all traveling around the world working on QUANTUM OF SOLACE.  I'm told, there are more locations in this film than any other Bond movie – we are filming in Panama, Chile, Austria, Italy, Mexico and the UK, it's incredible!  More incredible are the people that have to organize it. I take my hat off to them because it's a really hard job with people changing their minds on when they fly, to which airport, with which airline, and they still remain so courteous and helpful.

We have arrived in Chile and, although I was very sad to leave Panama behind, this location is just stunning.  We are staying in an old mining town called Antafogasta but we are filming in the middle of the Atacama desert.  It's a two hour drive from our hotel to the location each morning and then back each evening.  As soon as you leave the town, you hit desert and then there is nothing but vast, burnt red coloured desert.  The atmosphere is so dry up there and although the sun is shining it still feels fresh – it feels like we are filming on the planet Mars!  I have never seen anything like it and nor have most of the crew.  We are in awe at the scale and beauty of it.

Our first location is the ESO Paranal.  It is an astronomer observatory built into the crest of one of the Atacama's many mountains.  The building itself is exactly the same colour as the red sand and it is the perfect spot for an observatory.  Iit is set at an altitude of 6,000ft so, at night, there is absolutely no light or dust pollution.  You get the most incredible clarity for studying the stars so we have to be very careful not to disturb the atmosphere.  The ESO have invited some of us to stay the night so we can experience this and I for one will definitely be taking them up on their offer.  We are filming some of the climax of the movie at this location and, as it is a James Bond film, this scene actually needs lots of explosions and gun fire.  Obviously we can't film those segments here so the production team back in the UK is busily constructing the interior of this building so we can fill in the gaps when we get back. 

We have another international media event in Chile.  Tomorrow, sixty journalists from around the world will arrive at the ESO and it will be the same deal as the Pinewood media event with a full day of interviews.  The only difference will be that we will be filming at the same time so we have to squeeze these interviews in between takes - the marketing team certainly have their work cut out for them on this one! 

Until next time….

Olga x

Holla!

I've been driving my Ford KA this week.  The car is a brand new model so it's top secret – if anyone leaks pictures to the press it will ruin months of complicated planning by the Ford team for it's grand unveiling which will tie in with the release of QUANTUM OF SOLACE later in the year.

In the film, it's my 'Greene Planet' company car so it's gold with a large 'Greene Planet' logo embossed on the side.  The  KA is a hydrogen fuel cell car in line with Greene's bogus ecology organization and, I'm told, it's the first time a 'green' car has ever featured in a motion picture, so everyone is very excited about that.  If I have any kind of gadget in QUANTUM OF SOLACE – this is it.  This is the car I first meet Bond in and I drive at high speed down the narrow roads of Haiti fuming at Greene's betrayal. 

It has been cool, I've really been getting in to it, and some of the guys from the stunt team told me I was so good, I could do racing!  It is a huge compliment coming from them because they are all so skilled at what they do and they are perfectionists.  They have worked really hard to prepare me for these scenes.  It sounds so simple but it's not like popping out to the shops at home.  There is a rig on the car which holds the camera about 50cm away from my face, extras walking in the road, other action cars driving about and, whist all this is going on, I have to drive crazy fast, concentrate on weaving in and out of tiny streets, and deliver my lines at the same time.  I do love a challenge!

The scene we were filming today was tricky.  James Bond jumps in my car as I screech the tyres and drive away at high speed with him in the passenger seat.  Then I have to turn down a tiny Haitian street without really slowing down.  It is hard to get right because there are literally millimeters in it and I can't damage the car because it will hold up filming.  Daniel must have nerves of steel – he knows I'm not a stuntwoman and realistically, anything could happen.  He is showing a lot of trust and I'm having a ball - I've done lots of training for this so it's great to finally get behind the wheel and have some fun throwing the car around.

Until next time…

Olga x