Story Published: Nov 18, 2008 at 10:23 PM PST
Story Updated: Nov 21, 2008 at 4:56 AM PST
Quantum of Solace, the 22nd James Bond film, opened over the weekend to the tune of $70 million, following up a highly successful debut by actor Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.
And for the second time the most popular of the MI-6 agents takes advantage of some Valley handiwork.
"They knew me, and I worked with them for quite a few months, so they just called me up and said let's get some boats built," said Riddle Marine owner Doug Riddle.
Riddle has built boats for 30 years. Following his father Norm, who started in the late sixties. Doug built a jet boat for the 1999 Bond, "The World is not Enough." This time around, for a boat scene in Panama, Riddle built six from scratch.
"You want to make it neat as can be and do whatever you can,” Riddle said. “In a lot of ways it's out of your hands, because they just take it and remodel it anyway."
Remodeled is a nice way to put it, Riddle said those brand new boats were taken and literally beaten with baseball bats to make them look more authentic.
He was in Panama for months of shooting, but he wasn't in Hollywood for the big premiere. He was, however part of a sold out crowd on Friday night in Lewiston.
He said he was nervous, then excited, and finally happy with the finished product, even though he said his creations only play a small part in the film.
"It's a great feeling to be part of the Bond deal, because it's not something that goes away once it's filmed," said Riddle. "It just keeps getting bigger and bigger."
And that means Riddle's connection to Hollywood may not be over.
"The guys in the special effects said, alright man, you've got two bond films under you," said Riddle. "I'm sure you'll be the next one we call if we ever do it again."
