Quantum of Solace: Bond 22

Production of the latest Bond movie is now well underway; in fact, it is almost half finished, and there shouldn't be any problems with its projected release date of November.
The title "Quantum of Solace" may seem a little strange, but it makes sense. And I particularly like it because it comes from my area of expertise, namely quantum physics. Anyway, Bond is out for revenge and is wasting no time (a "Quantum of time" is a very very short period of time). Actually, the title is based on a short story by Ian Fleming (author of the Bond books), but the only thing from the story used in the movie is the title. This is remniscent of "The Spy Who loved Me;" in that case the only thing used from the book was the title, and it was perhaps a good thing. The movie was much better than the story; in fact, at the time it was one of the best Bond movies ever. Let's hope something similar happens this time.
The scenes that were just finished were filmed in the Atacama desert of Chile, one of the most barren and desolate regions of the world. It consists of rolling red hills of sand, dirt and rock. The only thing around for miles is an astronomical observatory -- one of the largest in the world. It's domes can be seen dotting the peak of a nearby 8700 foot mountain (but I doubt that they're seen in the film). At that altitude the air is pretty thin, and it took a toll on the actors, as the action scenes filmed here were quite intense.
Earlier sequences were filmed in Panama and at Baja, California, and they're now moving to Austria and Italy. So all in all there will be some very exotic locations in the film.
Quantum of solace is said to be the first Bond sequence, but this isn't strictly true (maybe that's why they are referring to it as the first "true" sequence). In the earlier Bond film "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," Bond gets married at the end, but it wasn't a long marriage. His new wife was killed in the last scene. In a later film he visits her grave and vows revenge.
Anyway, I'm sure that Bond fans can't wait for the new film, and it promises a lot of action and excitement.
Barry Parker website:BarryParkerbooks.com. Author of Bond book "The Fantastic Physics of Film's Most Celebrated Secret agent."