007 gets licence to eat in Rome

Rome: Daniel Craig has been taking advantage of new James Bond movie "Spectre" being shot in Rome to sample the local cuisine in between high-speed car chases around the Eternal City.

The famously super-toned 007 star has reportedly been spotted in a number of the local eateries, whose menus rarely offer much succour to the diet conscious.

The British actor was snapped coming out of one of them, Dal Bolognese, with the button of his jacket apparently under some strain from a well-filled stomach, an image that helped win him praise from the Italian media for his "aBONDant" appetite.

On that occasion, Craig, 46, was joined by "Spectre" co-stars Monica Bellucci and Christoph Waltz for the trip to a Roman institution that specialises in the rich stuffed pasta dishes of Bologna.

Director Sam Mendes is due to spend just over two weeks shooting scenes in the Italian capital, including several in which Bond´s silver Aston Martin DB10 races around at speeds of up to 200 kilometres (125 miles) an hour in pursuit of a villainous character played by Dave Bautista.

The Filipino-American wrestler and actor gets behind the wheel of a red Jaguar C-X75.
It has not all been plain sailing for Mendes, who is directing his second Bond film in what is the 24th instalment of the franchise based on the novels of Ian Fleming.

According to media reports, producers failed to anticipate how noisy it would be driving on Rome´s ancient cobblestones.

As a result, dialogue recorded from inside the Aston Martin as it whizzes past the Colosseum was inaudible and will have to be corrected in post-production. (AFP)