
ISTANBUL
The leading actor of "007 James Bond: Skyfall" movie, some of whose scenes are being shot in Turkey, Daniel Craig said that Istanbul was a nice and magnificent city.
The director of the movie Sam Mendes, producers Michail Wilson and Barbara Broccoli as well as several actors and actresses, including Daniel Craig, held a press conference at Istanbul's Ciragan Palace on Sunday.
Speaking at the press conference, Mendes said that they had been in Istanbul almost for 20 days and have spent "great time".
Istanbul is a very special city. The residents of Istanbul have welcomed us warmly. We spent special time here. Istanbul is the most beautiful city of Turkey, Mendes indicated.
The leading actor Daniel Craig is a special actor and has the necessary traits to perform in a Bond movie, Mendes noted.
We have shot scenes of the latest Bond movie in Adana, Fethiye and Istanbul. The movie is being shot in beautiful locations, Mendes said.
Asked by a journalist if news reports on the Covered Bazaar and a damage that occurred there were true, Mendes said that "the damage there was minimum. Only glass we had produced broke there".
-"Istanbul is Istanbul"-
Asked by a journalist if this was his first time in Istanbul, Craig said that this was his second time in Istanbul.
Istanbul is a nice and magnificent city, Bond is related to Istanbul. We also spent great time in Fethiye, Craig stated.
Craig underlined that they used stuntman in several scenes due to concerns of security.
In response to a question if the movie would portray Turkey as Iran, Craig said that such arguments were not correct.
"Istanbul is Istanbul. We will portray Istanbul as it is. You need not have any concerns in this regard. This is a magnificent city," Craig stressed.
Past James Bond movies as "From Russia with Love" and "The World is not enough" had some of their scenes shot in Turkey.
With "Skyfall", Istanbul would be the scene of James Bond movies for the third time.