Stephanie Sigman and Daniel Craig in disguise at the Day of the Dead festival. (Image courtesy: @007)
The star-studded cast of
SPECTRE attended a skeleton-themed red carpet in Mexico on November 2 as the new James Bond movie, partly shot here, premiered in the city on the Mexican festival, Day of the Dead.
Actor Daniel Craig, actress Monica Bellucci and Austrian star Christoph Waltz, who plays the villain, were greeted by a jubilant crowd -some in the typical Catrina skeleton makeup -at the capital's National Auditorium.(Also Read:
Monica Bellucci: Soul Grows With Age, That's Sexy)
As Mexicans celebrated their traditional Day of the Dead holiday, giant skeleton couple and skulls towered over the red carpet.
The opening sequence of the movie is set during a celebration of the religious day in Historic center of Mexico City with a spectacular helicopter action scene.
"To have a movie premiere of a movie that starts at the Day of the Dead, on the Day of the Dead, is somewhat fitting, wouldn't you say," said Christoph.
Producer Barbara Broccoli said that the film's opening sequence "is one of the most important scenes in the film."
"It's the pre-title sequence. Traditionally, they are pretty tough to beat and I think we really have beaten all the ones before with this sequence," she said.
Actress Lea Seydoux praised the movie's global appeal.
"Because it's an iconic movie, known all around the world, it's nice to see this enthusiasm and to see that (the movie) touches, in a way, all cultures and all generations," she said.
Bad guy concernsDirected by Sam Mendes,
SPECTRE made its world premiere in London on October 26. It opens in the Mexican and US theatres at the end of the week.
"We filmed the
Day of the Dead sequence. It was a fantastic experience and now we come back on the Day of the Dead to have our opening and it's fantastic. It is just a great celebration," said co-producer Michael Wilson.
The filming of the Mexico City scenes was marked by some controversy. The government was reportedly worried that the villain would be Mexican, hurting the reputation of a country whose image has been hurt by drug violence.
Producers denied reports that the script was changed at the request of executives from Sony Pictures and MGM Studios, eager to save money after the government offered $14 million in tax incentives in return for a better image.
The website taxanalysts.com, citing leaked Sony emails, had reported that the changes included that an international leader should be assassinated instead of Mexico City's mayor, and that James Bond's nemesis should not be Mexican.
In a press conference held earlier this year, Michael said that the authorities had raised some concerns. He denied that the screenplay was changed because the bad guy was always going to be Italian.