Two new bond girls keep James busy

French actress Eva Green ("Kingdom of Heaven") and Italy's Caterina Murino star as the new Bond girls opposite Daniel Craig's James Bond in Columbia Pictures' action-adventure "Casino Royale."

The 21st installment in the most successful franchise in film history, "Casino Royale" is based on the first Agent 007 book written by Ian Fleming which has never been told on film until now, and recounts the making of the world's greatest secret agent.

Eva Green plays Vesper Lynd, the alluring and enigmatic beauty who steals the heart of the seemingly impermeable James Bond. "The relationship between Vesper and Bond is the spine of the story, and we needed an actress who could hold her own against Bond," says director Martin Campbell. "Eva has all the qualities we were after: she's a terrific actress, she's gorgeous and she has an air of mystery about her, which is essential for the role of Vesper."

Green, who made her film debut in Bernardo Bertolucci's steamy 2003 drama "The Dreamers," explains what attracted her to the role of Vesper, the first woman Bond falls for: "Vesper is a complex person. She is full of secrets and I think that is why James Bond is attracted to her. She has many layers - she's sharp, sassy, quick-witted, but also vulnerable. She and Bond spark off each other."

"Vesper is not the classic iconic Bond girl, wearing a bikini, being sexy and firing guns," continues Green. "There is more to her than that. She is the first woman Ian Fleming wrote about and she has a great impact on Bond's life. She is the root of all the Bond women who follow and explains why he behaves the way he does with those women."

"Hypnotic and magnetic" are the words Green uses to describe her co-star Craig. "He's a gentleman and he's strong, and he's not mannered. That ruggedness is attractive, and probably quite dangerous. He is sexy and not self-conscious, which is very important for a man. I definitely feel there's chemistry between us on screen."

Meanwhile, Caterina Murino plays Solange, the beautiful but unhappy wife of Dimitrios, right hand man of Bond villain Le Chiffre. "When Solange meets Bond, her husband has just been very rude to her in front of the whole casino," explains Murino. "She decides to have some fun and get back at him, so she goes off with Bond. She doesn't know who he is. He's just a sexy guy who invites her for a drink. But she pays a high price for her fun." Describing Bond's near universal appeal to women, Murino says, "We always fall in love with the impossible man, the man you have for one night who never comes back. James is tough, dangerous, and smart, but he never gives his heart, only his body. You shouldn't fall in love with him. With Bond and Solange the energy is purely sexual."

Opening soon across the Philippines, "Casino Royale" is distributed in the Philippines by Columbia Pictures, the local office of Sony Pictures Releasing International.