‘No Time to Die’ DP Linus Sandgren on Finding the “Soul of Bond” and Lensing “Heightened” Action Sequences
The Oscar-winning cinematographer describes lensing the 25th Bond film on location in countries including Italy, Norway and England.
No Time To Die
Courtesy of MGMWith Daniel Craig back for his fifth and final outing as 007 in EON’s 25th Bond movie, No Time to Die‘s Oscar-winning cinematographer Linus Sandgren describes his ambitious work in a new episode of The Hollywood Reporter‘s Behind the Screen.
Directed by Cary Joji Fukunaga, the film picks up the story just after the events of Spectre and was lensed on locations including in Italy, Norway, Jamaica and England, as well as on stages at Pinewood Studios in London.
Sandgren describes finding the “soul of Bond” and the “charm in Bond that has been throughout all of those films over time–and not being afraid of bringing in the romantic action that is rich and colorful and heightened, but still connected to reality.”
“Obviously Daniel Craig’s Bond has added a lot of realism, a more brutal type of action to his films, brilliantly so, and create great depth to the character. And yet is was important for us visually to always try to add to it,” he adds.
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He recounts filming scenes include an underwater sequence set in the interior of a ship’s machine room that constructed on the underwater stage at Pinewood by production designer Mark Tildesley with special effects supervisor Chris Corbould. “It was four pillars with an hydraulic rig that could descend this set into the water and rotate it upside down if you will, and tilt it up and down.”
Sandgren receive an Academy Award and the BAFTA Award for his work on Damien Chazelle’s La La Land. His credits also include Gus Van Sant’s Promised Land, David O. Russell’s American Hustle and Joy, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris’ Battle Of The Sexes and Chazelle’s First Man.