document_title: 2018 Formula One World Championship

question_text: who won the first f1 race of 2018

question_tokens: who won the first f1 race of 2018

text: 2018 Formula One World Championship

text: Entries[edit]

text: The following teams and drivers have been entered in the 2018 FIA Formula One World Championship:

text:
Entrant
Constructor
Chassis
Power unit
Race drivers

No.
Driver name
Rounds

 Scuderia Ferrari
Ferrari
SF71H
Ferrari 062 EVO
5
 Sebastian Vettel
1–3

7
 Kimi Räikkönen
1–3

 Sahara Force India F1 Team
Force India-Mercedes
VJM11
Mercedes M09 EQ Power+
11
 Sergio Pérez
1–3

31
 Esteban Ocon
1–3

 Haas F1 Team
Haas-Ferrari
VF-18
Ferrari 062 EVO
8
 Romain Grosjean
1–3

20
 Kevin Magnussen
1–3

 McLaren F1 Team
McLaren-Renault
MCL33
Renault R.E.18
2
 Stoffel Vandoorne
1–3

14
 Fernando Alonso
1–3

 Mercedes AMG Petronas Motorsport
Mercedes
F1 W09 EQ Power+
Mercedes M09 EQ Power+
44
 Lewis Hamilton
1–3

77
 Valtteri Bottas
1–3

 Aston Martin Red Bull Racing
Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
RB14
TAG Heuer[note 1]
3
 Daniel Ricciardo
1–3

33
 Max Verstappen
1–3

 Renault Sport Formula One Team
Renault
R.S.18
Renault R.E.18
27
 Nico Hülkenberg
1–3

55
 Carlos Sainz Jr.
1–3

 Alfa Romeo Sauber F1 Team
Sauber-Ferrari
C37
Ferrari 062 EVO
9
 Marcus Ericsson
1–3

16
 Charles Leclerc
1–3

 Red Bull Toro Rosso Honda
Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda
STR13
Honda RA618H
10
 Pierre Gasly
1–3

28
 Brendon Hartley
1–3

 Williams Martini Racing
Williams-Mercedes
FW41
Mercedes M09 EQ Power+
18
 Lance Stroll
1–3

35
 Sergey Sirotkin
1–3

Sources:[2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]

text: Team changes[edit]

text: McLaren terminated their engine partnership with Honda and instead signed a three-year deal for power units supplied by Renault.[10] The team cited Honda's repeated failure to supply a reliable and competitive power unit as the reason for ending the partnership.[10]

text: Toro Rosso parted ways with Renault—allowing McLaren to finalise their agreement with Renault—and came to an agreement to use Honda power units.[11] As part of the deal, Red Bull Racing agreed to loan Toro Rosso driver Carlos Sainz Jr. to Renault's works team.[12][13]

text: Sauber renewed their partnership with Ferrari, upgrading to current-specification power units after having used year-old power units in 2017.[14][15]

text: Driver changes[edit]

text: Toro Rosso signed 2016 GP2 Series champion Pierre Gasly and two-time World Endurance champion Brendon Hartley as their full-time drivers for 2018.[16] Both Gasly and Hartley made their Formula One débuts with the team in the latter stages of the 2017 championship.[16] Daniil Kvyat left the team and the Red Bull driver programme, securing a development role with Ferrari.[17]

text: Charles Leclerc, the reigning Formula 2 champion, made his competitive début with Sauber.[18] Leclerc, who had previously driven in Friday practice sessions in 2016 and 2017, was hired by the team to replace Pascal Wehrlein.[18] Wehrlein was ultimately unable to secure a race seat and was instead enlisted as one of Mercedes's test and reserve drivers while racing full-time in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters series.[19][20][21]

text: Williams driver Felipe Massa retired from Formula One at the end of the 2017 championship.[22] He was replaced by former Renault test driver and SMP Racing driver Sergey Sirotkin, who made his competitive début with the team.[23]

text: Calendar[edit]

text: The following twenty-one Grands Prix are due to be run as part of the 2018 World Championship:

text:
Round
Grand Prix
Circuit
Date

1
Australian Grand Prix
 Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit, Melbourne
25 March

2
Bahrain Grand Prix
 Bahrain International Circuit, Sakhir
8 April

3
Chinese Grand Prix
 Shanghai International Circuit, Shanghai
15 April

4
Azerbaijan Grand Prix
 Baku City Circuit, Baku
29 April

5
Spanish Grand Prix
 Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, Barcelona
13 May

6
Monaco Grand Prix
 Circuit de Monaco, Monte Carlo
27 May

7
Canadian Grand Prix
 Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, Montreal
10 June

8
French Grand Prix
 Circuit Paul Ricard, Le Castellet
24 June

9
Austrian Grand Prix
 Red Bull Ring, Spielberg
1 July

10
British Grand Prix
 Silverstone Circuit, Silverstone
8 July

11
German Grand Prix
 Hockenheimring, Hockenheim
22 July

12
Hungarian Grand Prix
 Hungaroring, Budapest
29 July

13
Belgian Grand Prix
 Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot
26 August

14
Italian Grand Prix
 Autodromo Nazionale Monza, Monza
2 September

15
Singapore Grand Prix
 Marina Bay Street Circuit, Singapore
16 September

16
Russian Grand Prix
 Sochi Autodrom, Sochi
30 September

17
Japanese Grand Prix
 Suzuka International Racing Course, Suzuka
7 October

18
United States Grand Prix
 Circuit of the Americas, Austin, Texas[note 2]
21 October

19
Mexican Grand Prix
 Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez, Mexico City
28 October

20
Brazilian Grand Prix
 Autódromo José Carlos Pace, São Paulo
11 November

21
Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
 Yas Marina Circuit, Abu Dhabi
25 November

Source:[25]

text: Calendar changes[edit]

text: The French Grand Prix returned to the calendar for the first time since 2008. The race is due to return to the Circuit Paul Ricard, which last hosted the French Grand Prix in 1990 before the event moved to the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours.[26] The race is scheduled to be run in June, with the Azerbaijan Grand Prix brought forward to April to accommodate the change and to avoid clashing with celebrations for centenary of the Azerbaijan republic.[27] The German Grand Prix also returned to the championship after a one-year absence, with the Hockenheimring scheduled to host the race.[28]

text: The Malaysian Grand Prix—which was part of the championship from 1999 to 2017—was discontinued.[29] The Russian Grand Prix was moved from April to September, filling the vacancy left by the Malaysian Grand Prix.[30]

text: Changes[edit]

text: Sporting regulations[edit]

text: Following widespread criticism of the grid penalty system in 2017 that regularly saw multiple drivers start races outside their qualifying positions, the FIA introduced a revised set of regulations for 2018. In the event that a driver changes a power unit component, they are still subject to a five- or ten-place grid penalty depending on the component being changed; however, should they then replace a second component, they will be moved to the back of the starting grid.[31] If multiple drivers are moved to the back of the grid, their starting positions are determined by the order that components were changed based on the most recent change made by each driver.[31]

text: The rules governing starting procedures were changed for 2018, granting race stewards the power to issue penalties for improper race starts even if a driver's start does not trigger the automated detection system.[32] The changes were introduced following two incidents during 2017: at the Chinese Grand Prix, Sebastian Vettel positioned his car too far across his grid slot to be registered by the detection system; while at the Austrian Grand Prix, Valtteri Bottas's start was called into question for his reaction time despite the detection system recognising it as legal.[32]

text: In the event that a race is suspended due to a red flag, it will be restarted with a standing start. Drivers will return to the starting grid in the positions they held at the time of the suspension and the race director will repeat the race start procedure. If circuit conditions are suitable for racing but the race director deems a standing start inappropriate, the race will resume with a rolling start where the safety car returns to pit lane and drivers proceed around the circuit in single file until they are shown the green flag.[33]

text: The FIA introduced tighter restrictions on racing licences issued to drivers taking part in free practice sessions. Candidate drivers are required to complete a minimum number of Formula 2 races or earn twenty-five superlicense points over a three-year period. The changes were introduced to address concerns about drivers who would not be able to meet the standards required to compete in Formula One having access to Formula One cars.[34]

text: The schedule of a Grand Prix weekend was changed, with the start time of most European races pushed back by one hour in a bid to try and accommodate a larger television audience. All races are scheduled to start at ten minutes past the hour so as to allow broadcasters the opportunity for pre-race coverage when their broadcast of the race starts on the hour.[35]

text: Finally, the mid-season test, which was held in Bahrain in 2017, was moved to Barcelona.[36][37]

text: Technical regulations[edit]

text: Power unit suppliers are required to provide all teams using their engines with an identical specification of power units. The change was introduced to ensure parity after Mercedes works team was observed to have access to additional engine performance settings that were not available to their customer teams.[38]

text: The quantity of power unit components a driver may use during the season was reduced from four complete power units during the entire season in 2017 to a new system where each of the power unit components is considered separately.[39] Therefore, in 2018, each driver is permitted to use up to three each of internal combustion engines (ICE), heat motor generator units (MGU-H), and turbochargers (TC); and two each of the kinetic motor generator units (MGU-K), energy stores (ES), and control electronics (CE).[39]

text: Restrictions against the practice of oil burning, where engine oils are burned as fuel to boost performance, were also introduced. The practice, which was first used in 2017 saw teams burning as much as 1.2 litres per one hundred kilometres. For the 2018 championship, this figure was revised down to a maximum of 0.6 litres per one hundred kilometres.[40] The rules were further amended to restrict teams to using a single specification of oil, which must be declared before the race. These oils are subject to stricter definitions of what is considered "oil" in order to prevent teams from using exotic blends designed to boost performance. Teams are also required to inform the stewards of the mass of oil in each oil tank before the race.[41][note 3]

text: Further changes to the technical regulations require the temperature of air in the plenum chamber—adjacent to the turbocharger—to be no more than 10°C above the ambient air temperature. The rule was introduced in a bid to stop teams from artificially heating or cooling air for possible performance gains.[41] Active control valves, which electronically regulate the flow of fluids between power unit components, will also be banned.[41]

text: The FIA banned the use of "shark fins", a carbon fibre extension to the engine cowling aimed at directing airflow over the rear wing.[42][43] The use of "T-wings", a horizontal secondary wing mounted forward of and above the rear wing, was also banned.[42]

text: Driver safety[edit]

text: Following a series of serious incidents in open-wheel racing—including the fatal accidents of Henry Surtees and Justin Wilson—in which drivers were struck in the head by tyres or debris, the FIA announced plans to introduce additional mandatory cockpit protection with 2018 given as the first year for its introduction. Several solutions were tested, with the final design subject to feedback from teams and drivers.[44] Each design was created to deflect debris away from a driver's head without compromising their visibility or the ability of safety marshals to access the cockpit and extract a driver and their seat in the event of a serious accident or medical emergency,[45] with a series of serious accidents—such as the fatal accidents of Jules Bianchi and Dan Wheldon—recreated to simulate the ability of devices to withstand a serious impact.[45] The FIA ultimately settled on the "halo", a wishbone-shaped frame mounted above and around the driver's head and anchored to the monocoque forward of the cockpit.[46] Seventeen accidents were examined as case studies, with the FIA concluding that the halo would have prevented injuries in fifteen of them. In the other two instances—most notably Jules Bianchi's fatal accident—the FIA concluded that although the halo would not have prevented driver injuries, it would not have contributed to or complicated the outcome of the accidents.[47]

text: Once introduced, the halo concept is scheduled to be applied to other FIA-sanctioned open-wheel racing categories including Formula 2, Formula 3 and Formula E.[48][49][50][51] Following criticisms over the aesthetic value of the device, the FIA revealed plans to allow teams some design freedom in the final version of the halo,[52] with the device being incorporated into the chassis design from its inception rather than attached once the design was completed. The minimum weight of the chassis was raised to 734 kg (1,618.2 lb), in order to accommodate the additional weight of the halo.[53] The mandatory crash tests that each chassis must pass were adjusted to include a new static load test. In order to simulate a serious accident, a tyre was mounted to a hydraulic ram and fired at the crash structure; to pass the test, the chassis and the mounting points for the halo had to remain intact.[54] In order to prevent teams from exploiting the halo for aerodynamic gain and potentially compromising its purpose, the FIA banned teams from developing their own devices and instead required them to purchase pre-fabricated models from approved suppliers.[54]

text: The FIA made several changes to its trackside procedures to further accommodate the halo. The time limit on the extraction test—the test of a driver extracting himself from the survival cell of a crashed car—was extended to allow drivers more time to escape.[citation needed] The starting gantries at selected circuits were also lowered to improve the visibility of the starting lights.[55]

text: Tyres[edit]

text: Tyre supplier Pirelli provides teams with two new tyre compounds in 2018.[56] Each of the 2017 compounds was made softer, with a new "hypersoft" tyre becoming the softest of the nine and a new "superhard" tyre to be the hardest.[57] The hypersoft compound will be marked by a pink sidewall, while the superhard will be orange. The hard compound, which previously used orange markings, will now be changed to ice blue.[58] The hypersoft compound is due to make its début at the Monaco Grand Prix.[59] The rules dictating which tyres are available were relaxed to allow Pirelli to supply a wider range of compounds. Previously, Pirelli had to provide sequential compounds; for example, ultrasoft, supersoft and soft.[60] In 2018, Pirelli is able to supply compounds with up to two steps of difference between them; for example, the ultrasoft, supersoft and medium tyres. Pirelli is required to manufacture an additional tyre compound that is not intended for competition. This tyre is to be supplied to teams for use in demonstration events to prevent teams from using demonstration events as informal—and illegal—testing.[31]

text: Season report[edit]

text: Opening rounds[edit]

text: The championship started in Melbourne with the Australian Grand Prix. The race ended with a victory for Ferrari and Sebastian Vettel, who used a timely virtual safety car period—triggered by the stricken Haas of Romain Grosjean—to pass Mercedes' Lewis Hamilton and he successfully defended the position until the finish.[61] Kimi Räikkönen finished third in the other Ferrari ahead of Red Bull Racing's Daniel Ricciardo.[61] McLaren ended the first race of their partnership with Renault with a fifth and ninth place for Alonso and Vandoorne respectively.[62] Max Verstappen finished sixth after an early spin ahead of Nico Hülkenberg. Valtteri Bottas was eighth, having started fifteenth when he took a penalty for a gearbox change after a heavy crash in qualifying. Carlos Sainz Jr. completed the points-scoring positions in tenth. Charles Leclerc and Sergey Sirotkin both made their competitive débuts for Sauber and Williams respectively.[63][64] Leclerc finished thirteenth while Sirotkin retired with a brake failure.[65][64] Vettel then won the next round in Bahrain, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Lewis Hamilton. However, in China, Vettel's winning run was broken, with Daniel Ricciardo's 2 stop strategy helping the Australian to his 6th career victory, ahead of Valtteri Bottas and Kimi Raikkonen.

text: Results and standings[edit]

text: Grands Prix[edit]

text:
Round
Grand Prix
Pole position
Fastest lap
Winning driver
Winning constructor
Report

1
 Australian Grand Prix
 Lewis Hamilton
 Daniel Ricciardo
 Sebastian Vettel
 Ferrari
Report

2
 Bahrain Grand Prix
 Sebastian Vettel
 Valtteri Bottas
 Sebastian Vettel
 Ferrari
Report

3
 Chinese Grand Prix
 Sebastian Vettel
 Daniel Ricciardo
 Daniel Ricciardo
 Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
Report

4
 Azerbaijan Grand Prix

Report

5
 Spanish Grand Prix

Report

6
 Monaco Grand Prix

Report

7
 Canadian Grand Prix

Report

8
 French Grand Prix

Report

9
 Austrian Grand Prix

Report

10
 British Grand Prix

Report

11
 German Grand Prix

Report

12
 Hungarian Grand Prix

Report

13
 Belgian Grand Prix

Report

14
 Italian Grand Prix

Report

15
 Singapore Grand Prix

Report

16
 Russian Grand Prix

Report

17
 Japanese Grand Prix

Report

18
 United States Grand Prix

Report

19
 Mexican Grand Prix

Report

20
 Brazilian Grand Prix

Report

21
 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Report

text: Scoring system[edit]

text: Points are awarded to the top ten classified finishers in every race, using the following structure:

text:
Position
1st
2nd
3rd
4th
5th
6th
7th
8th
9th
10th

Points
25
18
15
12
10
8
6
4
2
1

text: In order for full points to be awarded, the race winner must complete at least 75% of the scheduled race distance. Half points will be awarded if the race winner completes less than 75% of the race distance provided that at least two laps are completed.[note 4] In the event of a tie at the conclusion of the championship, a count-back system is used as a tie-breaker, with a driver's best result used to decide the standings.[note 5]

text: World Drivers' Championship standings[edit]

text:
Pos.
Driver
AUS

BHR

CHN

AZE

ESP

MON

CAN

FRA

AUT

GBR

GER

HUN

BEL

ITA

SIN

RUS

JPN

USA

MEX

BRA

ABU

Points

1
 Sebastian Vettel
1
1
8

54

2
 Lewis Hamilton
2
3
4

45

3
 Valtteri Bottas
8
2
2

40

4
 Daniel Ricciardo
4
Ret
1

37

5
 Kimi Räikkönen
3
Ret
3

30

6
 Fernando Alonso
5
7
7

22

7
 Nico Hülkenberg
7
6
6

22

8
 Max Verstappen
6
Ret
5

18

9
 Pierre Gasly
Ret
4
18

12

10
 Kevin Magnussen
Ret
5
10

11

11
 Stoffel Vandoorne
9
8
13

6

12
 Carlos Sainz Jr.
10
11
9

3

13
 Marcus Ericsson
Ret
9
16

2

14
 Esteban Ocon
12
10
11

1

15
 Sergio Pérez
11
16
12

0

16
 Charles Leclerc
13
12
19

0

17
 Romain Grosjean
Ret
13
17

0

18
 Lance Stroll
14
14
14

0

19
 Sergey Sirotkin
Ret
15
15

0

20
 Brendon Hartley
15
17
20

0

Pos.
Driver
AUS

BHR

CHN

AZE

ESP

MON

CAN

FRA

AUT

GBR

GER

HUN

BEL

ITA

SIN

RUS

JPN

USA

MEX

BRA

ABU

Points

Key

Colour
Result

Gold
Winner

Silver
2nd place

Bronze
3rd place

Green
Other points position

Blue
Other classified position

Not classified, finished (NC)

Purple
Not classified, retired (Ret)

Red
Did not qualify (DNQ)

Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)

Black
Disqualified (DSQ)

White
Did not start (DNS)

Race cancelled (C)

Blank
Did not practice (DNP)

Excluded (EX)

Did not arrive (DNA)

Withdrawn (WD)

Bold – Pole position
Italics – Fastest lap

text: Notes:

text: – Drivers did not finish the Grand Prix, but were classified as they completed more than 90% of the race distance.

text: World Constructors' Championship standings[edit]

text: Results are listed in descending order by team for each race.

text:
Pos.
Constructor
AUS

BHR

CHN

AZE

ESP

MON

CAN

FRA

AUT

GBR

GER

HUN

BEL

ITA

SIN

RUS

JPN

USA

MEX

BRA

ABU

Points

1
 Mercedes
2
2
2

85

8
3
4

2
 Ferrari
1
1
3

84

3
Ret
8

3
 Red Bull Racing-TAG Heuer
4
Ret
1

55

6
Ret
5

4
 McLaren-Renault
5
7
7

28

9
8
13

5
 Renault
7
6
6

25

10
11
9

6
 Scuderia Toro Rosso-Honda
15
4
18

12

Ret
17
20

7
 Haas-Ferrari
Ret
5
10

11

Ret
13
17

8
 Sauber-Ferrari
13
9
16

2

Ret
12
19

9
 Force India-Mercedes
11
10
11

1

12
16
12

10
 Williams-Mercedes
14
14
14

0

Ret
15
15

Pos.
Constructor
AUS

BHR

CHN

AZE

ESP

MON

CAN

FRA

AUT

GBR

GER

HUN

BEL

ITA

SIN

RUS

JPN

USA

MEX

BRA

ABU

Points

Key

Colour
Result

Gold
Winner

Silver
2nd place

Bronze
3rd place

Green
Other points position

Blue
Other classified position

Not classified, finished (NC)

Purple
Not classified, retired (Ret)

Red
Did not qualify (DNQ)

Did not pre-qualify (DNPQ)

Black
Disqualified (DSQ)

White
Did not start (DNS)

Race cancelled (C)

Blank
Did not practice (DNP)

Excluded (EX)

Did not arrive (DNA)

Withdrawn (WD)

Bold – Pole position
Italics – Fastest lap

text: Notes:


document_title: Mineral deficiency

question_text: names of diseases caused by deficiency of minerals

root

text: Mineral deficiency

text:
Mineral deficiencySpecialty
Endocrinology

tag: table

text: Mineral deficiency is a lack of dietary minerals, the micronutrients that are needed for an organism's proper health.[1] The cause may be a poor diet, impaired uptake of the minerals that are consumed or a dysfunction in the organism's use of the mineral after it is absorbed. These deficiencies can result in many disorders including anemia and goitre. Examples of mineral deficiency include, zinc deficiency, iron deficiency, and magnesium deficiency.

tag: p


document_title: Casino Royale (2006 film)

question_text: where was casino royale filmed in the bahamas

text: Casino Royale (2006 film)

text: Plot[edit]

text: MI6 agent James Bond gains his licence to kill and status as a 00 agent by assassinating the traitorous MI6 section chief Dryden at the British Embassy in Prague, as well as his contact, Fisher, in a bathroom in Lahore, Pakistan.

text: In Uganda, the mysterious liaison Mr. White introduces warlord Steven Obanno of the Lord's Resistance Army to Le Chiffre, a terrorist financier. Obanno entrusts Le Chiffre with a large sum of money to invest safely for him; instead Le Chiffre uses it to buy put options on the aerospace company Skyfleet, thus betting the money on the company's failure.

text: In Madagascar, Bond pursues bomb maker Mollaka to an African embassy, shooting him dead and blowing up the building. In London, MI6 chief M admonishes Bond for having violated international law, and advises him to rethink his future as an agent.

text: Clues from Mollaka point to corrupt Greek official Alex Dimitrios. Bond finds Dimitrios in the Bahamas and, after seducing his wife, Solange, pursues him to Miami. Bond kills Dimitrios and follows his henchman to the airport. He thwarts the destruction of Skyfleet's airliner, costing Le Chiffre his investment. To recoup the money, Le Chiffre sets up a high-stakes Texas hold 'em tournament at the Casino Royale in Montenegro. MI6 enters Bond in the tournament, believing a defeat will force Le Chiffre to seek asylum with the British government, which they will grant in exchange for information on his clients. On the train to Montenegro, Bond meets Vesper Lynd, a British Treasury agent there to protect the government's $10 million buy-in.

text: In Montenegro, Bond and Vesper meet their MI6 contact, René Mathis. Bond gains the upper hand at the start of the game. During a break, Obanno, furious at the loss of his investment, ambushes Le Chiffre in his suite. After Obanno leaves Le Chiffre's room, Bond engages him and strangles him to death. Vesper is traumatised by the encounter, but Bond comforts her. When the tournament resumes, Bond loses his initial stake, and Vesper refuses to fund further playing. Frustrated, Bond is about to kill Le Chiffre when he meets Felix Leiter, a fellow player and CIA agent who is on the same mission as Bond. Leiter, on the verge of losing, agrees to stake Bond on the condition that the CIA takes custody of Le Chiffre after his defeat.

text: Bond rapidly rebuilds his position before the next break. Le Chiffre's girlfriend, Valenka, spikes Bond's martini with digitalis poison. Bond induces vomiting and retreats to his Aston Martin to inject himself with an antidote. MI6 instructs him to use the defibrillator, but a wire is disconnected; Vesper saves Bond by reconnecting the wire. Bond returns to the game just as Leiter loses his last hand to Le Chiffre. The tournament culminates in a $115-million hand in which the remaining players, including Bond and Le Chiffre, go all in. Le Chiffre trumps the other players, but Bond wins with a straight flush.

text: After Bond and Vesper share a romantic dinner, Vesper is kidnapped by Le Chiffre's men. Bond pursues them in his Aston Martin. He sees Vesper lying in the road and swerves to avoid her, crashing his car. They are taken captive by Le Chiffre. Before Bond falls unconscious, Le Chiffre reveals that Mathis was his mole in MI6. Le Chiffre tortures Bond for the password to the account containing the money, but Bond refuses to give in. As Le Chiffre prepares to castrate Bond, White bursts in and shoots him dead. Bond awakens in a hospital on Lake Como and has Mathis arrested by MI6. Bond decides to resign from MI6 to be with Vesper.

text: Bond and Vesper travel to Venice. M calls Bond and tells him the money was never deposited. Bond calls Mendel, the Swiss banker responsible for the monetary transactions following the poker tournament, to figure out what is going on. Mendel informs Bond that the money has been deposited, but is being withdrawn as they speak. Realising Vesper has stolen it, Bond pursues her and her clients into a building. The building is damaged in the struggle and begins to sink into the Grand Canal, with Vesper trapped inside. Bond kills Vesper's clients and attempts to save her, but she refuses his attempts and drowns. White, watching nearby, walks away with the money.

text: Bond rejoins MI6 and copes with Vesper's death by denouncing her as a traitor to M and to keep sweating Mathis. M informs him the same organisation behind Le Chiffre had kidnapped Vesper's lover and threatened to kill him unless she became a double agent. During the torture with Le Chiffre, Vesper made a deal: the money in exchange for Bond's life. Bond discovers a text message left for him by Vesper with White's name and phone number.

text: At his estate in Lake Como, White receives a phone call from Bond. As he asks for the caller's identity, Bond shoots him in the leg, then introduces himself: "The name's Bond... James Bond."

text: Cast[edit]

text:
Daniel Craig as James Bond: A British MI6 officer who, after being assigned 00-status, is sent on a mission to arrest a bomb-maker in Madagascar, where he stumbles upon Le Chiffre's terrorist cell and is then sent to defeat him in a high-stakes poker game at Casino Royale.
Eva Green as Vesper Lynd: An agent for HM Treasury assigned to supervise Bond and finance him in a high-stakes poker game.
Mads Mikkelsen as Le Chiffre: A banker who services many of the world's terrorists. He is a mathematical genius and expert chess player and uses these skills when playing poker.
Judi Dench as M: The head of MI6. Although she feels she has promoted Bond too soon and chides him for his rash actions, she acts as an important maternal figure in his life. Dench was the only cast member carried through from the Pierce Brosnan films.
Giancarlo Giannini as René Mathis: Bond's contact in Montenegro.
Jeffrey Wright as Felix Leiter: A CIA operative participating in the poker tournament while assisting Bond. This is the first Eon-produced Bond film in which Leiter is played by a black actor. (The only other black actor to portray Leiter was Bernie Casey in Never Say Never Again, which was not produced by Eon.)
Simon Abkarian as Alex Dimitrios: Another contractor in the international terrorist underworld and associate of Le Chiffre, based in the Bahamas.
Caterina Murino as Solange Dimitrios: Dimitrios's wife, whom Bond seduces, causing her unintentionally to reveal one of his plans. After Bond kills Dimitrios, she is found tortured and killed.
Ivana Miličević as Valenka: Le Chiffre's girlfriend and henchwoman, who accompanies him to the poker game.
Isaach de Bankolé as Steven Obanno: A leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, introduced to Le Chiffre by Mr. White to account his finances.
Jesper Christensen as Mr. White: A liaison for an unnamed criminal organisation.
Sébastien Foucan as Mollaka: A bomb-maker pursued by Bond through a construction site in Madagascar.
Tobias Menzies as Villiers: M's young secretary at MI6 Headquarters.  The character's last name is a reference to James Villiers, who portrayed Bill Tanner in For Your Eyes Only, and to the character of Amherst Villiers in the original novel.[8]
Ludger Pistor as Mendel: A Swiss banker responsible for all monetary transactions during and after the poker tournament.
Claudio Santamaria as Carlos: A terrorist employed by Le Chiffre to blow up an aircraft.
Richard Sammel as Gettler: An assassin who works for an unnamed criminal organisation and contacts Vesper in Venice.
Clemens Schick as Kratt: Le Chiffre's bodyguard, who often accompanies his boss wherever he travels.
Joseph Millson as Carter: An MI6 agent who accompanies Bond in Madagascar.
Ben Cooke as Williams: An MI6 agent who debriefs Bond in London.
Malcolm Sinclair as Dryden: A corrupt MI6 Section Chief, and Bond's second official target.
Darwin Shaw as Fisher: Dryden's underground contact. M sends Bond to kill him, his first official target. Bond tracks him down (in Lahore, Pakistan in deleted scenes), nearly drowns him, and then shoots him dead.
Tom Chadbon as a stockbroker, briefly seen having a telephone conversation with Le Chiffre.
Tsai Chin as Madame Wu: A professional veteran poker player. Chin also played Ling in You Only Live Twice.
Veruschka as Gräfin von Wallenstein: a countess participating in the poker tournament.
Alessandra Ambrosio as Tennis Girl.
Christina Cole as Ocean Club Receptionist.
Diane Hartford as Card Player.

tag: ul

text: Casino Royale includes a cameo by British entrepreneur Richard Branson (seen being frisked at Miami International Airport). The cameo was cut out of the in-flight versions shown on British Airways' in-flight entertainment systems, and the Virgin Atlantic aircraft Branson supplied had its tail fin (bearing the company logo) obscured.[9]

text: Production[edit]

text: Casino Royale had been produced as a 1954 television episode and a 1967 satirical film.  Eon Productions gained the rights to Casino Royale in 1999 after Sony Pictures Entertainment exchanged them for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer's rights to Spider-Man.[10] In March 2004, Neal Purvis and Robert Wade began writing a screenplay for Pierce Brosnan as Bond, aiming to bring back the flavour of Ian Fleming's original Bond novels.[11] Paul Haggis' main contribution was to rewrite the climax of the film. He explained, "the draft that was there was very faithful to the book and there was a confession, so in the original draft the character confessed and killed herself. She then sent Bond to chase after the villains; Bond chased the villains into the house. I don't know why but I thought that Vesper had to be in the sinking house and Bond has to want to kill her and then try and save her."[12]

text: Director Quentin Tarantino expressed interest in directing an adaptation of Casino Royale,[13] but Eon were not interested. He claims to have worked behind the scenes with the Fleming family, and believed this was the reason why filmmakers finally went ahead with Casino Royale.[14] Tarantino also said he would have set it in the 1960s and would have only made it with Pierce Brosnan as Bond. In February 2005, Martin Campbell was announced as the film's director.[15] Later in 2005, Sony led a consortium that purchased MGM, allowing Sony to gain distribution rights starting with the film.[16]

text:
Eon believed that they had relied too heavily on CGI effects in the more recent films, particularly Die Another Day, and were keen to accomplish the stunts in Casino Royale "the old fashioned way".[17] In keeping with this drive for more realism, screenwriters Purvis, Wade and Haggis wanted the script to follow as closely as possible to the original 1953 novel, keeping Fleming's darker storyline and characterisation of Bond.[18]
Due to the then copyright issues related to the ownership of Thunderball the organisation Mr White is part of is not named Spectre.[19]

text: Casting[edit]

text: Pierce Brosnan had signed a deal for four films when he was cast in the role of James Bond. This was fulfilled with the production of Die Another Day in 2002. At this stage, Brosnan was approaching his 50th birthday. Brosnan kept in mind fans and critics were not happy with Roger Moore playing Bond until he was 58 and speculation began that the producers were seeking to replace Brosnan with a younger actor.[20] Brosnan officially announced he was stepping down in February 2004. At one point, producer Michael G. Wilson claimed there was a list of over 200 names being considered for his replacement.[21] Croatian actor Goran Višnjić auditioned for the role the same day as Craig, but was reportedly unable to master a British accent.[22] New Zealander Karl Urban was considered, but was unable to make the screen test due to filming commitments.[23] According to Martin Campbell, Henry Cavill was the only other actor in serious contention for the role, but 22-years-old was considered too young.[24] Australian actor Sam Worthington and Scottish actor Dougray Scott were also considered.[25] Hugh Jackman was approached to play the character just before Craig was chosen to play Bond but turned it down due to other commitments.[26][27][28]

text: In May 2005, English actor Daniel Craig stated MGM and producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli had assured him he would get the role of Bond, and Matthew Vaughn told reporters MGM offered him the opportunity to direct the new film, but Eon Productions at that point had not approached either of them.[29] A year beforehand, Craig rejected the idea of starring, as he felt the series had descended into formula; only when he read the script did he become interested. Craig read all of Fleming's novels to prepare for the part, and cited Mossad and British Secret Service agents who served as advisors on the set of Munich as inspiring because, "Bond has just come out of the service and he's a killer. [...] You can see it in their eyes, you know immediately: oh, hello, he's a killer. There's a look. These guys walk into a room and very subtly they check the perimeters for an exit. That's the sort of thing I wanted."[30]

text: On 14 October 2005 Eon Productions, Sony Pictures Entertainment and MGM announced at a press conference in London that Craig would be the sixth actor to portray James Bond. Taking time off from reshoots for The Invasion, a business-suit clad, rather long-haired Craig boarded a Royal Marines Rigid Raider from HMS Belfast before travelling to HMS President where he was introduced to the world's press.[31][32] Controversy followed the decision, with some critics and fans expressing doubt the producers had made the right choice. Throughout the entire production period, Internet campaigns such as "danielcraigisnotbond.com" expressed their dissatisfaction and threatened to boycott the film in protest.[33] Craig, unlike previous actors, was not considered by the protesters to fit the tall, dark, handsome and charismatic image of Bond to which viewers had been accustomed.[34] The Daily Mirror ran a front-page news story critical of Craig, with the headline, The Name's Bland – James Bland.[35]

text: The next important casting was that of the lead Bond girl, Vesper Lynd. Casting director Debbie McWilliams acknowledged Hollywood actresses Angelina Jolie and Charlize Theron were "strongly considered" for the role and Belgian actress Cécile de France had also auditioned, but her English accent "wasn't up to scratch."[36] French actress Audrey Tautou was also considered, but not chosen because of her role in The Da Vinci Code, which was released in May 2006.[37] It was announced on 16 February 2006 French actress Eva Green would play the part.[38]

text: Filming[edit]

text: Principal photography for Casino Royale commenced on 3 January 2006 and concluded on 20 July 2006. The film was primarily shot at Barrandov Studios in Prague, with additional location shooting in the Bahamas, Italy and the United Kingdom. The shoot concluded at Pinewood Studios.[39] Michael G. Wilson had stated Casino Royale would either be filmed or take place in Prague and South Africa. However, Eon Productions encountered problems in securing film locations in South Africa.[40] After no other locations became available, the producers had to reconsider their options. In September 2005, Martin Campbell and director of photography Phil Meheux were scouting Paradise Island in the Bahamas as a possible location for the film.[41] On 6 October 2005, Martin Campbell confirmed Casino Royale would film in the Bahamas and "maybe Italy". In addition to the extensive location filming, studio work including choreography and stunt co-ordination practice was performed at the Barrandov Studios in Prague, and at Pinewood Studios, where the film used several stages, the paddock tank and the 007 Stage. Further shooting in the UK was scheduled for Dunsfold Aerodrome in Surrey, the cricket pavilion at Eton College (although that scene was cut from the completed movie) and the Millbrook Vehicle Proving Ground in Bedfordshire.[34]

text: After Prague, the production moved to the Bahamas. Several locations around New Providence were used for filming during February and March, particularly on Paradise Island. Footage set in Mbale, Uganda, was filmed at Black Park, a Country Park in Buckinghamshire, on 4 July 2006. Additional scenes took place at Albany House, an estate owned by golfers Ernie Els and Tiger Woods.[42] The crew returned to the Czech Republic in April, and continued there, filming in Prague, Planá and Loket, before completing in the town of Karlovy Vary in May. A famous Czech spa, Karlovy Vary[43] was used as the exterior of the Casino Royale, with the Grandhotel Pupp serving as "Hotel Splendide".[44] The main Italian location was Venice, where the majority of the film's ending is set. Other scenes in the latter half of the film were shot in late May and early June at the Villa del Balbianello on the shores of Lake Como.[45] Further exterior shooting for the movie took place at properties such as the Villa la Gaeta, near the lakeside town of Menaggio.[34]

text: A recreation of the Body Worlds exhibit provided a setting for one scene in the film. Among the Body Worlds plastinates featured in that scene were the Poker Playing Trio (which plays a key role in one scene) and Rearing Horse and Rider. The exhibition's developer and promoter, German anatomist Gunther von Hagens, also has a cameo appearance in the film,[46] although only his trademark hat is actually visible on screen.

text: Effects[edit]

text: In designing the credit sequence for the film, graphic designer Daniel Kleinman was inspired by the cover of the 1953 British first edition of Casino Royale, which featured Ian Fleming's original design of a playing card bordered by eight red hearts dripping with blood. Kleinman said, "The hearts not only represent cards but the tribulations of Bond's love story. So I took that as inspiration to use playing card graphics in different ways in the titles," like a club representing a puff of gun smoke, and slashed arteries spurting thousands of tiny hearts.[47] In creating the shadow images of the sequence, Kleinman digitised the footage of Craig and the film's stuntmen on the Inferno visual effects system, at Framestore CFC in London; the actors' silhouettes were incorporated into more than 20 digitally animated scenes depicting intricate and innovative card patterns. Kleinman decided not to use the female silhouettes commonly seen throughout the Bond title sequences, considering that the women did not fit with both the film's spirit and the storyline following Bond falling in love.[48]

text: For the rest of the film, Chris Corbould, the special effects and miniature effects supervisor, returned to a more realistic style of film making and significantly reduced digital effects. According to Corbould, "CGI is a great tool and can be very useful, but I will fight to the tooth and nail to do something for real. It's the best way to go".[39] Three scenes involving primarily physical effects in the film were the chase at a building site in Madagascar, the Miami Airport chase sequence, and the sinking Venetian house, with sets located on the Grand Canal and in Pinewood Studios.[39]

text: First on the schedule were the scenes on the Madagascar building site, shot in the Bahamas on the site of a derelict hotel which Michael G. Wilson had become acquainted with in 1977 during the filming of The Spy Who Loved Me.[39] In the scene, Bond drives a digger towards the building, slamming into the concrete plinth on which Mollaka is running. The stunt team built a model and put forward several ways in which the digger could conceivably take out the concrete, including taking out the pillar underneath. A section of the concrete wall was removed to fit the digger and reinforced with steel.[39]

text: The sequence at Miami International Airport was partly shot at the Dunsfold Aerodrome, in Surrey, which is known from British car show Top Gear, with some footage from the Prague and Miami airports.[39] In filming the scene in which the engine thrust of the moving aircraft blows the police car high into the air, second unit directors Ian Lowe, Terry Madden and Alex Witt used a crane with a strong lead cable attached to the rear bumper of the vehicle to move it up and backwards at the moment of full extension away from the plane.[39]

text: The Skyfleet S570 aircraft in the film was an ex-British Airways 747-200B G-BDXJ which had its engines removed and was modified for its appearance in the film. The modified aircraft had the outboard engines replaced by external fuel tanks, while the inboard engines were replaced by a mock-up pair of engines on each inboard pylon. The cockpit profile was altered to make the 747 look like a prototype of an advanced airliner.[49] The plane used can be seen on the BBC motoring programme Top Gear on the Test Track.

text: The sinking of the Venetian house at the climax of the film featured the largest rig ever built for a Bond film.[39] For the scene involving Bond following Vesper into the house undergoing renovation supported by inflatable balloons, a tank was constructed at the 007 stage at Pinewood, consisting of a Venetian piazza and the interior of the three-story dilapidated house. The rig, weighing some 90 tons, incorporated electronics with hydraulic valves which were closely controlled by computer because of the dynamic movement within the system on its two axes. The same computer system also controlled the exterior model, which the effects team had built to one-third scale in order to film the building eventually collapsing into the Venetian canal. The model elevator within the rig could be immersed in 19 feet (5.8 m) of water, and used banks of compressors to strictly regulate movement.[39]

text: At the time of filming, Aston Martin were still in the final phases of designing the DBS. The scene involving the car crash was devised using an Aston Martin DB9 that was specially modified to look like Bond's Aston Martin DBS V12 and reinforced to withstand the impact. Due to the low centre of gravity of the vehicle, an 18-inch (450 mm) ramp had to be implemented on the road tarmac at Millbrook Proving Grounds and Adam Kirley, the stunt driver who performed the stunt, had to use an air cannon located behind the driver's seat to propel the car into a roll at the precise moment of impact. At a speed exceeding 70 mph (113 km/h), the car rotated seven times while being filmed, and was confirmed by the Guinness Book of Records on 5 November 2006 as a new world record.[39]

text: Music[edit]

text: The soundtrack of Casino Royale, released by Sony Classical Records on 14 November 2006, featured music composed by veteran composer David Arnold, his fourth soundtrack for the Bond film series, while Nicholas Dodd orchestrated and conducted the score. Producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced on 26 July 2006 Chris Cornell composed and would perform the title song, "You Know My Name".[50] The song's main notes are played throughout the film as a substitute for the James Bond theme, to represent Bond's youth and inexperience. The classic theme only plays during the end credits to signal the climax of his character arc.[51]

text: Release[edit]

text: Casino Royale premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square, the Odeon West End and the Empire simultaneously in London on 14 November 2006. It marked the 60th Royal Film Performance and benefited the Cinema & Television Benevolent Fund (CTBF), whose patron, Queen Elizabeth II, was in attendance with the Duke of Edinburgh. It is the third James Bond premiere that the Queen attended, following You Only Live Twice and Die Another Day.[52] Along with the cast and crew, numerous celebrities and 5,000 paying guests were also in attendance with half the proceeds benefiting the CTBF.[53]

text: Only two days following the premiere, unlicensed copies appeared for sale in London. "The rapid appearance of this film on the streets shows the sophistication and organisation behind film piracy in the UK," said Kieron Sharp, from the Federation Against Copyright Theft.[54] Infringing copies of the DVD were selling for less than £1.57. Craig himself was offered such a DVD while walking anonymously through the streets of Beijing wearing a hat and glasses to avoid being identified.[55]

text: In January 2007, Casino Royale became the first Bond film ever to be shown in mainland Chinese cinemas. The Chinese version was edited before release, with the reference to the Cold War re-dubbed and new dialogue added during the poker scene explaining the process of Texas hold 'em, as the game is less familiar in China (this addition is reminiscent of dialogue that was added to the 1954 American TV adaptation to explain the rules of baccarat, the game featured in the original book). Casino Royale has earned approximately $11.7 million in China since its opening on 30 January on 468 screens,[56] including a record opening weekend collection for a non-Chinese film, with $1.5 million.[57]

text: After critics dubbed Die Another Day "Buy Another Day" because of around 20 product placement deals, Eon limited their promotions for Casino Royale. Partners included Ford Motors, Heineken Pilsener (which Eva Green starred in adverts for), Smirnoff, Omega SA, Virgin Atlantic Airways and Sony Ericsson.[58]

text: Box office[edit]

text: The film has earned $599,045,960 worldwide. Casino Royale was the 4th highest-grossing film of 2006, and was the highest-grossing instalment of the James Bond series until Skyfall surpassed it in November 2012.[3]

text: Upon its release in the United Kingdom Casino Royale broke series records on both opening day—£1.7 million[59]—and opening weekend—£13,370,969.[60] At the end of its box office run, the film had grossed £55.4 million, making it the most successful film of the year in the UK,[61] and as of 2011, the tenth highest-grossing film of all time in the country.[62]

text: On its US opening day Casino Royale was on top with $14,741,135, and throughout the weekend grossed a total of $40,833,156, placing it second in the ranking behind Happy Feet ($41.5 million).[63] However, Casino Royale was playing in 370 fewer cinemas and had a better average ($11,890 per cinema, against $10,918 for Happy Feet).[64] It earned $167,445,960 by the end of its run in North America,[3] marking what was at the time the highest-grossing film of the series, before being surpassed by Quantum of Solace's $168.4 million.[65]

text: On 18 November 2006 Casino Royale opened at the first position in 27 countries, with a weekend gross of $43,407,886 in the non-UK, Irish, US or Canada markets.[66] The film retained the top spot at the worldwide box office for four weeks.[67]

text: Home media[edit]

text: Casino Royale was simultaneously released on DVD, UMD and Blu-ray Disc on 16 March 2007.[68] In the UK, Casino Royale was released on 16 March 2007 on DVD and Blu-ray Disc.[69] The DVD and Blu-ray Disc releases broke sales records: the Region 1 Blu-ray Disc edition became the highest selling high-definition title to date, selling more than 100,000 copies since its release.[70] The region 2 DVD edition achieved the record of fastest selling title for its first-week release. The UK DVD has continued to sell well, with 1,622,852 copies sold since 19 March.[71] A copy of the Blu-ray Disc edition of Casino Royale was given out to the first 500,000 PAL PlayStation 3 owners who signed up to the PlayStation Network.[72] The DVD release includes the official music video for the film, and three documentaries detailing how Daniel Craig was chosen for the role of Bond, the filming, and an expanded version of the Bond Girls Are Forever documentary incorporating new interviews with Casino Royale cast members.

text: A three-disc edition of Casino Royale on DVD was released in the United Kingdom on 31 October 2008, coinciding with the cinema release of the sequel, Quantum of Solace (the following week in the United States). As well as features present from the 2007 release, the collector's edition contains an audio commentary, deleted scenes, featurettes and a storyboard-to-film comparison.[73] A two-disc Blu-ray version also followed in late 2008, featuring additional supplementary materials, enhanced interactivity through BD-Live, and the previous version's 5.1 PCM soundtrack was replaced with a similar 5.1 Dolby TrueHD soundtrack.[74]

text: Casino Royale was released a third time on Blu-ray in 2012 with DTS audio and deleted scenes, but with less special features than the 2008 edition.[75]

text: Cuts and censorship[edit]

text: Casino Royale was censored for its release in Britain, the United States, Germany and China.

text: In Britain, by omitting some of Le Chiffre's sadism and James Bond's reactions in the torture scene, the film received the desired BBFC 12A rating.[76]

text: In the United States, two fight scenes were censored to achieve a PG-13 rating: the fight between Bond and the traitorous MI6 agent's contact Fisher, and the fight between Bond and Obanno in the stairway at the Casino Royale.[77]

text: The German edit of the film cuts a sequence where the bomb-planter at the airport breaks a man's neck, instead replacing it with an alternative take.[77]

text: The mainland Chinese cut of the film also trims the torture scene and the stairway fight, as well as a shot of Bond cleaning his wound at the hotel, and a boat scene.

text: The fully uncensored version can be found on the Australian, Dutch, French, Hong Kong, Japanese, and Scandinavian Blu-ray and DVD releases, and on UK Blu-ray releases from 2012 onwards (rated 15).

text: Reception[edit]

text: Critical response[edit]

text: Critics responded with praise to the film, in particular to Craig's performance and credibility. During production, Craig had been subject to debate by the media and the public, as he did not appear to fit Ian Fleming's original portrait of the character as tall, dark and suave.[78] The Daily Telegraph compared the quality of Craig's characterisation of Bond to Sean Connery's and praised the script as smartly written, noting how the film departed from the series' conventions. The Times compared Craig's portrayal of the character to that of Timothy Dalton, and praised the action as "edgy",[79] with another reviewer citing in particular the action sequence involving the cranes in Madagascar.[80] Critics Paul Arendt of BBC Films,[81] Kim Newman of Empire,[82] and Todd McCarthy of Variety[83] all described Craig as the first actor to truly embody Ian Fleming's James Bond from the original novel: ironic, brutal and cold.

text: The film was similarly well received in North America. MSNBC gave the movie a perfect 5 star rating.[84] The film was described as taking James Bond "back to his roots", similar to From Russia with Love,[85] where the focus was on character and plot rather than the high-tech gadgets and visual effects that were strongly criticised in Die Another Day.[83] On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film received an approval rating of 94% based on 250 reviews, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Casino Royale disposes of the silliness and gadgetry that plagued recent James Bond outings, and Daniel Craig delivers what fans and critics have been waiting for: a caustic, haunted, intense reinvention of 007."[86] It is the fourth-highest rating for a Bond film on the site behind Goldfinger,[87] From Russia with Love,[88] and Dr. No, all of which earned a 96% score.[89] On Metacritic, the film has a weighted average score of 80 out of 100 based on 46 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[90] Entertainment Weekly named the film as the fifth best of the series,[91] and chose Vesper Lynd as the fourth best Bond girl in the series.[92] Some newspaper columnists and critics were impressed enough by Craig's performance to consider him a viable candidate for an Academy Award nomination.[93][94][95] Roger Ebert gave the film a four out of four star rating, and wrote that "Craig makes a superb Bond ... who gives the sense of a hard man, wounded by life and his job, who nevertheless cares about people and right and wrong," and that the film "has the answers to all my complaints about the 45-year-old James Bond series," specifically "why nobody in a Bond movie ever seems to have any real emotions."[96] Time Out New York's Joshua Rothkopf called Craig "the best Bond in the franchise's history," citing the actor's "crisp, hateful, Mamet-worthy snarl ... This is a screwed-up Bond, a rogue Bond, a bounder, a scrapper and, in the movie's astoundingly bleak coda, an openhearted lover."[97]

text: Vicky Allan of the Sunday Herald noted Bond himself, and not his love interests, was sexually objectified in this film. A moment where he rises from the sea is reminiscent of Ursula Andress in Dr. No; he feels "skewered" by Vesper Lynd's criticism of him; "and though it would be almost unthinkable now have a female character in a mainstream film stripped naked and threatened with genital mutilation, that is exactly what happens to Bond in [the film]." So although the film backed off from past criticism of Bond girls being sex objects, "the once invincible James Bond becomes just another joint at the meat market."[98] This sentiment is shared by the University of Leicester's James Chapman, author of License to Thrill, who also notes Craig's Bond is "not yet the polished article"; he felt his incarnation of Bond is close to Fleming's because he is "humourless," but is also different because "Fleming's Bond did not enjoy killing; Craig's Bond seems almost to relish it."[99] Andrew Sarris of The New York Observer wrote that this particular Bond film is "the very first that I would seriously consider placing on my own yearly 10-best list. Furthermore, I consider Daniel Craig to be the most effective and appealing of the six actors who have played 007, and that includes even Sean Connery."[100]

text: Roger Moore wrote, "Daniel Craig impressed me so greatly in his debut outing, Casino Royale, by introducing a more gritty, unrefined edge to the character that I thought Sean [Connery]  might just have to move over. Craig's interpretation was like nothing we'd seen on screen before; Jimmy Bond was earning his stripes and making mistakes. It was intriguing to see him being castigated by M, just like a naughty schoolboy would be by his headmaster. The script showed him as a vulnerable, troubled, and flawed character. Quite the opposite to my Bond! Craig was, and is, very much the Bond Ian Fleming had described in the books – a ruthless killing machine. It was a Bond that the public wanted." So impressed was Moore that he chose to buy the DVD.[101] Raymond Benson, the author of nine Bond novels, called Casino Royale "a perfect Bond film."[102]

text: However, the film met with mixed reactions from other critics. Rob Gonsalves of eFilmCritic.com gave the film a positive review, but commented, "When you strip the 007 films down for action and 'realism,' you lose the soul of those old beloved Bond movies – they might as well be Jason Bourne movies."[103] John Beifuss of The Commercial Appeal said, "Who wants to see Bond learn a lesson about ego, as if he were Greg Brady in his 'Johnny Bravo' phase?"[104] Anthony Lane of The New Yorker criticised the more imperfect and self-aware depiction of the character, saying, "Even James Bond, in other words, wants to be 007."[105]

text: Though American radio personality Michael Medved gave the film three stars out of four, describing it as "intriguing, audacious and very original ... more believable and less cartoonish, than previous 007 extravaganzas," he commented that the "sometimes sluggish pacing will frustrate some Bond fanatics."[106] Similarly, a reviewer for The Sun praised the film for its darkness and Craig's performance, but felt that "like the novel, it suffers from a lack of sharpness in the plot" and believed that it required additional editing, particularly the finale.[107] Commentators such as Emanuel Levy concurred, feeling the ending was too long, and that the film's terrorist villains lacked depth, although he praised Craig and gave the film a B+ overall.[108] Other reviewers responded negatively, including Tim Adams of The Observer who felt the film came off uncomfortably in an attempt to make the series grittier.[109]

text: In December 2006, Casino Royale was named the best film of the year by viewers of Film 2006.[110][111] The sequence with Craig sporting swimming trunks topped the sexiest male celebrity poll of The Sun,[112] and in 2009 Del Monte Foods launched an ice lolly moulded to resemble Craig emerging from the sea.[113] In 2008, Entertainment Weekly named it the 19th best film of the past 25 years.[114]

text: Top ten lists[edit]

text: The film appeared on many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006.[115]

text:
1st – Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly
3rd – Empire
3rd – Marc Moha, The Oregonian
3rd – Stephanie Zacharek, Salon.com
3rd – William Arnold, Seattle Post-Intelligencer
7th – Jack Mathews, New York Daily News
8th – James Berardinelli, ReelViews
8th – Desson Thomson, Washington Post
8th – Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune
9th – Andrew Sarris, The New York Observer
9th – Stephen Hunter, Washington Post
10th – Michael Wilmington, Chicago Tribune
10th – Mike Russell, The Oregonian

text: Accolades[edit]

text: At the 2006 British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards, Casino Royale won the Film Award for Best Sound (Chris Munro, Eddy Joseph, Mike Prestwood Smith, Martin Cantwell, Mark Taylor), and the Orange Rising Star Award, which was won by Eva Green.[116] The film was nominated for eight BAFTA awards, including the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film of the Year; Best Screenplay (Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, Paul Haggis); the Anthony Asquith Award for Best Film Music (David Arnold); Best Cinematography (Phil Meheux); Best Editing (Stuart Baird); Best Production Design (Peter Lamont, Simon Wakefield); Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects (Steve Begg, Chris Corbould, John Paul Docherty, Ditch Doy); and Best Actor (Daniel Craig). This made Craig the first actor ever to receive a BAFTA nomination for a performance as James Bond.[117] He also received the Evening Standard British Film Award for Best Actor.[118]

text: Casino Royale won the Excellence in Production Design Award from the Art Directors Guild,[119] and singer Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name" won the International Press Academy Satellite Award for Best Original Song.[120] The film was nominated for five Saturn Awards— Best Action/Adventure/Thriller Film, Best Actor (Daniel Craig), Best Supporting Actress (Eva Green), Best Writing (Purvis, Wade and Haggis) and Best Music (David Arnold).[121] The 2006 Golden Tomato Awards named Casino Royale the Wide Release Film of the Year.[122] Casino Royale was also nominated for, and has won, many other international awards for its screenplay,[123] film editing,[124] visual effects,[125] and production design.[126] At the 2007 Saturn Awards, the film was declared to be the Best Action/Adventure/Thriller film of 2006.[127] Several members of the crew were also recipients of 2007 Taurus World Stunt Awards, including Gary Powell for Best Stunt Coordination and Ben Cooke, Kai Martin, Marvin Stewart-Campbell and Adam Kirley for Best High Work.[128]


document_title: Athletics at the 2012 Summer Olympics – Women's 100 metres

question_text: who won the women's 100 meter gold in 2012 london olympics

question_tokens: who won the women 's 100 meter gold in 2012 london olympics

text: Competition format[edit]

text: The women's 100 m competition started with a preliminary round consisting of athletes who did not achieved the minimum qualifying standards.[3] The top ten competitors from the preliminary round then joined the remaining competitors in the next round, the heats. The top 3 fastest competitors from each race of the seven heats qualified for the semifinals along with the three fastest overall non-qualifiers. A total of eight competitors qualified for the final from the semifinals.[3]

text: Records[edit]

text: Prior to the competition[update], the existing World and Olympic records were as follows.

text:
World record
 Florence Griffith Joyner (USA)
10.49
Indianapolis, United States
16 July 1988

Olympic record
10.62
Seoul, Korea
24 September 1988

2012 World leading
 Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (JAM)
10.70
Kingston, Jamaica
29 June 2012

text: Schedule[edit]

text: All times are British Summer Time (UTC+1)

text:
Date
Time
Round

Friday, 3 August 2012
10:40
19:05
Preliminaries
Round 1

Saturday, 4 August 2012
19:35
21:55
Semifinals
Finals

text: Results[edit]

text: Preliminaries[edit]

text: Qual. rule: first 2 of each heat (Q) plus the 2 fastest times (q) qualified.

text: Heat 1[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Feta Ahamada
 Comoros
11.81
Q

2
Dana Abdul Razak
 Iraq
11.91
Q

3
Bamab Napo
 Togo
12.24
q, PB

4
Chauzje Choosha
 Zambia
12.29
PB

5
Afa Ismail
 Maldives
12.52
PB

6
Rima Taha
 Jordan
12.66
PB

7
Aissata Toure
 Guinea
13.25

8
Kaingaue David
 Kiribati
13.61
PB

Wind: +0.9 m/s

text: Heat 2[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Delphine Atangana
 Cameroon
11.71
Q

2
Kaina Martinez
 Belize
11.81
Q

3
Diane Borg
 Malta
12.00
q

4
Shinoona Salah Al-Habsi
 Oman
12.45

5
Cristina Llovera
 Andorra
12.78

6
Nafissa Souleymane
 Niger
12.81

7
Asenate Manoa
 Tuvalu
13.48
NR

8
Fatima Sulaiman Dahman
 Yemen
13.95

Wind: −0.2 m/s

text: Heat 3[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Lorene Bazolo
 Congo
11.87
Q

2
Fong Yee Pui
 Hong Kong
12.02
Q

3
Patricia Taea
 Cook Islands
12.47
SB

4
Maysa Rejepova
 Turkmenistan
12.80
PB

5
Pauline Kwalea
 Solomon Islands
12.90
PB

6
Laenly Phoutthavong
 Laos
13.15

7
Ruby Joy Gabriel
 Palau
13.34

–
Noor Hussain Al-Malki
 Qatar
N/A
DNF

Wind: +0.2 m/s

text: Heat 4[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Toea Wisil
 Papua New Guinea
11.60
Q

2
Saruba Colley
 The Gambia
12.21
Q

3
Martina Pretelli
 San Marino
12.41

4
Lidiane Lopes
 Cape Verde
12.72

5
Hala Gezah
 Libya
13.24

6
Pramila Rijal
 Nepal
13.33

7
Janice Alatoa
 Vanuatu
13.60

8
Mihter Wendolin
 Federated States of Micronesia
13.67

9
Tahmina Kohistani
 Afghanistan
14.42
PB

Wind: –1.6 m/s

text: Heats[edit]

text: 81 entrants as of 27 July 2012.[5]

text: Qual. rule: first 3 of each heat (Q) plus the 3 fastest times (q) qualified.

text: Heat 1[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Kelly-Ann Baptiste
 Trinidad and Tobago
10.96
Q

2
Myriam Soumaré
 France
11.07
Q, PB

3
Verena Sailer
 Germany
11.12
Q

4
Ezinne Okparaebo
 Norway
11.14
q, NR

5
Kateřina Čechová
 Czech Republic
11.43

6
Kerri-Ann Mitchell
 Canada
11.49

7
Tahesia Harrigan-Scott
 British Virgin Islands
11.59
SB

8
Fong Yee Pui
 Hong Kong
11.98

Wind: +0.4 m/s

text: Heat 2[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Carmelita Jeter
 United States
10.83
Q

2
Olga Bludova
 Kazakhstan
11.31
Q

3
Sheniqua Ferguson
 Bahamas
11.35
Q

4
Olga Belkina
 Russia
11.38

5
Anyika Onuora
 Great Britain
11.41

6
Marta Jeschke
 Poland
11.42

7
Yuliya Balykina
 Belarus
11.70

8
Diane Borg
 Malta
11.92
SB

Wind: +1.5 m/s

text: Heat 3[edit]

text:
Wind:
Heat 3: +1.5 m/s

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Veronica Campbell-Brown
 Jamaica
10.94
Q

2
Ivet Lalova
 Bulgaria
11.06
Q,

3
Gloria Asumnu
 Nigeria
11.13
Q,

4
Lina Grinčikaitė
 Lithuania
11.19
q, NR

5
Abiodun Oyepitan
 Great Britain
11.22
q

6
Phobay Kutu-Akoi
 Liberia
11.52

7
Yomara Hinestroza
 Colombia
11.56
SB

8
Saruba Colley
 The Gambia
12.06
NR

Wind: +1.5 m/s

text: Heat 4[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Blessing Okagbare
 Nigeria
10.93
Q, PB

2
Tianna Madison
 United States
10.97
Q

3
Michelle-Lee Ahye
 Trinidad and Tobago
11.38
Q

4
Tatjana Pinto
 Germany
11.39

5
Andreea Ogrăzeanu
 Romania
11.44

6
Nimet Karakus
 Turkey
11.62

7
Feta Ahamada
 Comoros
11.86

8
Lorene Bazolo
 Congo
11.90

Wind: +0.7 m/s

text: Heat 5[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Allyson Felix
 United States
11.01
Q

2
Rosângela Santos
 Brazil
11.07
Q

3
Ruddy Zang Milama
 Gabon
11.14
Q

4
Toea Wisil
 Papua New Guinea
11.27

5
Allison Peter
 Virgin Islands
11.41

5
Véronique Mang
 France
11.41

5
Chisato Fukushima
 Japan
11.41

8
Dana Abdul Razak
 Iraq
11.81

Wind: +2.2 m/s

text: Heat 6[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
 Jamaica
11.00
Q

2
Semoy Hackett
 Trinidad and Tobago
11.04
Q, PB

3
Olesya Povh
 Ukraine
11.18
Q

4
Guzel Khubbieva
 Uzbekistan
11.22
SB

5
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie
 Bahamas
11.32

6
Melissa Breen
 Australia
11.34

7
Wei Yongli
 China
11.48

8
Bamab Napo
 Togo
12.35

Wind: +1.5 m/s

text: Heat 7[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Murielle Ahouré
 Ivory Coast
10.99
Q, NR

2
Laverne Jones-Ferrette
 Virgin Islands
11.07
Q, NR

3
Kerron Stewart
 Jamaica
11.08
Q

4
Oludamola Osayomi
 Nigeria
11.36

5
Nataliya Pohrebnyak
 Ukraine
11.46

6
Maria Belibasaki
 Greece
11.63

7
Delphine Atangana
 Cameroon
11.82

8
Kaina Martinez
 Belize
11.89

Wind: +1.3 m/s

text: Semifinals[edit]

text: Semifinal 1[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Carmelita Jeter
 United States
10.83
Q

2
Veronica Campbell-Brown
 Jamaica
10.89
Q

3
Rosângela Santos
 Brazil
11.17
PB

4
LaVerne Jones-Ferrette
 Virgin Islands
11.22

5
Semoy Hackett
 Trinidad and Tobago
11.26

6
Olesya Povh
 Ukraine
11.30

7
Ruddy Zang Milama
 Gabon
11.31

8
Abiodun Oyepitan
 Great Britain
11.36

Wind: ±0.0 m/s

text: Semifinal 2[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
 Jamaica
10.85
Q

2
Allyson Felix
 United States
10.94
Q

3
Kelly-Ann Baptiste
 Trinidad and Tobago
11.00
q

4
Ezinne Okparaebo
 Norway
11.10
NR

5
Gloria Asumnu
 Nigeria
11.21

6
Ivet Lalova
 Bulgaria
11.31

7
Sheniqua Ferguson
 Bahamas
11.32

8
Olga Bludova
 Kazakhstan
11.39

Wind: +1.2 m/s

text: Semifinal 3[edit]

text:
Rank
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

1
Blessing Okagbare
 Nigeria
10.92
Q, PB

2
Tianna Madison
 United States
10.92
Q

3
Murielle Ahoure
 Ivory Coast
11.01
q

4
Kerron Stewart
 Jamaica
11.04

5
Myriam Soumaré
 France
11.13

6
Verena Sailer
 Germany
11.25

7
Lina Grincikaité
 Lithuania
11.30

8
Michelle-Lee Ahye
 Trinidad and Tobago
11.32

Wind: +1.0 m/s

text: Final[edit]

text:
Rank
Lane
Name
Nation
Time
Notes

01 !
7
Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce
 Jamaica
10.75

02 !
5
Carmelita Jeter
 United States
10.78
SB

03 !
4
Veronica Campbell-Brown
 Jamaica
10.81
SB

4
9
Tianna Madison
 United States
10.85
PB

5
8
Allyson Felix
 United States
10.89
PB

6
2
Kelly-Ann Baptiste
 Trinidad and Tobago
10.94

7
3
Murielle Ahoure
 Ivory Coast
11.00

8
6
Blessing Okagbare
 Nigeria
11.01

Wind: +1.5 m/s


document_title: Primark

question_text: how many primark stores are in the uk

question_tokens: how many primark stores are in the uk

text: Primark

text: History[edit]

text: Success in Ireland led to expansion to the United Kingdom, and the company opened a large store in Belfast City Centre in 1971 and one in Derby, England, in 1973.[13] The company could not use the name "Penneys" in Europe outside Ireland because J. C. Penney had the name registered.[14] The name "Primark" was then invented to use outside Ireland.[11]

text: Primark opened its current international headquarters in 2015 in a redeveloped Dublin building, Arthur Ryan House, formerly Chapel House.[8][15][16][17]

text: Products[edit]

text: Primark offer a diverse range of products, including newborn and children's clothing, women's wear, men's wear, home ware, accessories, footwear, beauty products and confectionery. Starting in 2014, Primark welcomed Sephora products which are being sold starting at £1.[18] Primark starting selling vegan snacks as of January 2018.[19] The company sells clothes at the low cost end of the market below average prices. Along with retailers such as Zara and H&M, Primark contributes to the contemporary fast fashion trend. According to an article about Primark in The Economist, "For many shoppers, Primark has an irresistible offer: amazing trendy clothes at amazingly low prices. The result is a new and even faster kind of fast fashion, which forces consumers to buy heaps of items sometimes even the same ones to use when the first ones worn out, discard them after a few wears and then come back for another batch of new outfits."[20]

text: Stores[edit]

text: Primark owns over 350 stores.[4] The largest Primark store is located on Market Street, Manchester, England, occupying 155,000 sq ft (14,400 m2) of retail space across three floors. The company expanded rapidly in the UK in the mid-2000s. In 2005, they bought the Littlewoods retail stores for £409m, retaining 40 of the 119 stores and selling the rest.[21] In May 2006, the first Primark store outside Ireland and the United Kingdom opened in Madrid, Spain. After 10 years of constructing a chain around 40 stores in Spain, Primark opened another store in Madrid in October 2015, the second biggest in the chain.[22] In December 2008, Primark opened in the Netherlands, followed by Portugal, Germany and Belgium in 2009. Primark opened its first store in Austria on 27 September 2012 in Innsbruck. It expanded to France in 2013, in Marseille.[23] The first Italian store opened in 2014.[24] In 2015, Primark opened its first United States store in Downtown Crossing, Boston, in the location that was once the flagship store of Filene's,[25] later NYC, Philly, and Danbury,[4]

text: Primark operates stores in the following countries:[4]

text:
Country
hideNumber of stores

 United Kingdom
186

 Spain
44

 Ireland
37

 Germany
26

 Netherlands
18

 France
13

 Portugal
10

 United States
9

 Austria
5

 Belgium
5

 Italy
4

Total
357

text: Controversies[edit]

text: Working practices[edit]

text: In 2006, Primark joined the Ethical Trading Initiative, a collaborative organisation bringing together businesses, trades unions and NGOs to work on labour rights issues in their supply chains.[26] ETI members commit to working towards the implementation of a code of conduct based on the International Labour Organization's core conventions.

text: In December 2008, the UK charity War on Want launched a new report, Fashion Victims II, that showed conditions had not improved in Bangladeshi factories supplying Primark, two years after the charity first visited them.[27]

text: On 9 January 2009, a supplier was forced by ETI to remove its branding from Primark stores and websites following a BBC/The Observer investigation into the employment practices. The investigation alleged use of illegal immigrant labour and argued that the workers were paid less than the UK legal minimum wage.[28]

text: On 16 June 2011, the BBC Trust's Editorial Standards Committee (ESC) published its findings into a Panorama programme[29] 'Primark: On the Rack', broadcast in June 2008. The programme was an undercover investigative documentary examining poor working conditions in Indian factories supplying Primark. Although Primark subsequently stopped doing business with the Indian supplier, the ESC concluded that footage in the programme was 'more likely than not' to have been fabricated.[30] The ESC directed the BBC to make an on-air apology and to ensure that the programme was not repeated or sold to other broadcasters. Primark created a specific website to deal with the issues around the programme.[31]

text: In 2011 and 2012, Primark achieved ‘Leader’ status in the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).[32]

text: Building collapse at Savar[edit]

text: On 24 April 2013, the eight-story Rana Plaza commercial building collapsed in Savar, a sub-district near Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh. At least 1,127 people died and over 2,438 were injured.[33] The factory housed a number of separate garment factories employing around 5,000 people, several shops, and a bank,[34] and manufactured apparel for brands including the Benetton Group, Joe Fresh,[35] The Children's Place, Primark, Monsoon, and DressBarn.[36][37] Primark paid compensation and emergency aid to the victims of the collapse,[13] a move which was welcomed by Oxfam,[38] and committed to review the structural integrity of buildings making its clothes.[39]

text: Of the 29 brands identified as having sourced products from the Rana Plaza factories, only 9 attended meetings held in November 2013 to agree a proposal on compensation to the victims. Several companies refused to sign, including Walmart, Carrefour, Mango, Auchan and Kik. The agreement was signed by Primark, Loblaw, Bonmarché and El Corte Inglés.[40][41]

text: SOS Messages[edit]

text: In June 2014, two labels both stitched with SOS messages were separately found in Swansea purchased garments.[42] Primark argued the supply chain showed these label messages were a hoax.[43][44]

text: Also in June 2014, a customer from Ireland found an SOS note wrapped in a prison ID card in the pocket of trousers purchased from a Primark store several years earlier.[45][46] The letter was written in Chinese and alleged that prisoners were forced to work "like oxen" making fashion clothes for export for 15 hours per day, and the food they were given wouldn't be fit for dogs or pigs.[47]

text: A year and a half later an SOS note from an alleged Chinese torture victim was found in socks purchased from Primark.[48]


document_title: Little Big Town

question_text: who is married in little big town group

question_tokens: who is married in little big town group

text: Little Big Town

text: Early years[edit]

text: In the mid-1990s, Karen Fairchild sang with the Christian vocal group Truth and was featured as a lead singer in a few of their songs. She also formed a duo called KarenLeigh with Leigh Cappillino (from the group Point of Grace). KarenLeigh produced the singles, "Save it For a Rainy Day" and "This Love Has". In 1997, while attending Samford University in Alabama, she met Kimberly Roads. Eventually, they moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where they reunited and began singing together.[1] Jimi Westbrook joined Roads and Fairchild in 1998,[2] followed by Phillip Sweet.

text: Career[edit]

text: 2000–02: Little Big Town[edit]

text: Little Big Town's first record deal was with Mercury Nashville Records, although the band was dropped from the label's roster without releasing a single or album.[1][2] In 2001, they sang backing vocals on Collin Raye's album Can't Back Down,[3] while Sweet and Roads co-wrote the song "Back Where I Belong" on Sherrié Austin's 2001 album Followin' a Feelin'.[4]

text: A second contract, this time with Monument Records Nashville, began in 2002. The band's first album, Little Big Town, was released that year. It produced the singles "Don't Waste My Time" and "Everything Changes", which peaked at 33 and 42 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. Westbrook's father died in 2002, just after the group's first album was released. Fairchild and Sweet both divorced their spouses shortly afterward, and the group exited Monument when the label's Nashville branch was dissolved. The four members all took up day jobs to earn additional money, although they continued to tour as well.[1]

text: 2005–09: The Road to Here and A Place to Land[edit]

text: In 2005, Little Big Town was signed to Equity Music Group, a label started and partially owned by country music singer Clint Black.[1] Their third single, "Boondocks", was released in May, peaking at No. 9 on the country charts in January 2006. It served as the first of four singles from the group's second album, The Road to Here, which was released on October 4, 2005. "Bring It On Home", the second single from the album, became Little Big Town's first top 5 hit on Hot Country Songs. It was followed by "Good as Gone" and "A Little More You", both of which were top 20 hits. By the end of 2006, The Road to Here had been certified Platinum in the United States. Unlike their first album, the group's members co-wrote the majority of the songs on The Road to Here along with Wayne Kirkpatrick, who also produced it. In 2007, the group sang backing vocals on John Mellencamp's Freedom's Road album.[5]

text: Little Big Town released A Place to Land, their third studio album and second with Equity, on November 6, 2007. Its lead-off single, "I'm with the Band", peaked at number 32 on the country chart. On April 23, 2008, Little Big Town announced it was leaving Equity for Capitol Nashville.[6] Shortly afterward, they charted with Sugarland and Jake Owen on a live cover of The Dream Academy's "Life in a Northern Town". Taken from Sugarland's 2007 tour, it reached number 28 on the country chart based on unsolicited airplay. In October 2008, Capitol re-released A Place to Land, which added four new songs, and the label promoted two further singles from the album, "Fine Line" and "Good Lord Willing".

text: In the fall of 2008, Little Big Town opened up for Carrie Underwood on her Carnival Ride Tour. They began their first headlining tour in January 2009 in Jacksonville, Florida and continued through April.[7]

text: Fairchild recorded a duet with Mellencamp on his 2008 album, Life, Death, Love and Freedom. The song, "A Ride Back Home", was released as the album's third single and was accompanied by a music video. Fairchild also duetted with Mellencamp on "My Sweet Love" and appears in its music video.

text: Little Big Town was nominated for Vocal Group Of The Year for the fourth year in a row at the 2009 CMA Awards.

text: 2010–13: The Reason Why, Commercial Success and Tornado[edit]

text: In March 2010, the group released a new single titled "Little White Church", as the lead-off single to their fourth studio album and first completely new album on Capitol Nashville, The Reason Why, which was released on August 24, 2010. "Little White Church" peaked at number 6 on the country chart. The album produced two additional singles in "Kiss Goodbye" and the title track, but both failed to reach the top 40 of Hot Country Songs.

text: The album's title track was released as a digital single on July 27, 2010, to begin an iTunes countdown to the album release on August 24, 2010. Three further digital singles — "Kiss Goodbye", "Why, Oh Why", and "All the Way Down" — were released weekly leading up until the album release. Also, in promotion of The Reason Why, Little Big Town went on tour as an opening act for Sugarland on The Incredible Machine Tour, as well their own The Reason Why Tour.

text: Little Big Town's fifth studio album, Tornado, was released on September 11, 2012. It was also their first album to be produced by Jay Joyce. "Pontoon" was released as the album's lead single on April 30, 2012, and became their first number one hit on Hot Country Songs in September 2012. It was their first single to receive a Platinum certification. The title track was released as the album's second single on October 1, 2012. It reached number 2 on the Country Airplay chart in 2013. At the 55th Grammy Awards, "Pontoon" won the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance.[8] The album was certified gold by the RIAA in December 2012.[9]

text: The band joined Rascal Flatts on their Changed Tour, along with Eli Young Band and Edens Edge, for dates spanning Summer 2012. They played at the C2C: Country to Country festival in London on March 16, 2013.[10]

text: The album's third single, "Your Side of the Bed", was a number 27 hit.

text: The band sang background vocals on Ashley Monroe's 2013 single, "You Got Me", featured on her 2013 release, Like a Rose. Group member Karen Fairchild co-wrote the song with Monroe.[11] It failed to chart.

text: The album's fourth single, "Sober", was a number 31 hit.

text: 2014–16: Pain Killer and Grand Ole Opry invitation[edit]

text: Little Big Town performed harmony vocals on David Nail's 2014 album, I'm a Fire, on the song "When They're Gone (Lyle County)", co-written by Brett Eldredge. They were also featured on Miranda Lambert's 2014 album, Platinum, on "Smokin' and Drinkin'", a song which the band was going to record themselves;[12] it debuted on Billboard's Country Airplay chart at number 38 after their performance at the CMA Awards in 2014.

text: The band began recording their sixth studio album, Pain Killer, in early 2014. The lead single, "Day Drinking", was released digitally June 3,[13] and was sent to country radio on June 9.[14] It debuted on the Country Airplay chart at number 32, their highest-ever debut, and went on to peak at number 2 on Country Airplay. It hit number 1 on the Canada Country chart, becoming their second number 1 single and first as songwriters. Pain Killer's track listing was announced on July 14,[15] and the album was released on October 21.

text: On October 3, 2014, Reba McEntire invited the group to join the Grand Ole Opry. They accepted and were inducted by Vince Gill on October 17.[16]

text: The second single from the album, "Girl Crush", was released December 15, 2014. Some radio stations were reported to have pulled "Girl Crush" from their playlists, in response to concerns from listeners who interpreted the song's lyrics to be about lesbianism. In response, Fairchild said, "That’s just shocking to me, the close-mindedness of that, when that’s just not what the song was about…But what if it were? It’s just a greater issue of listening to a song for what it is." In addition, the label created a short commercial in which the band discusses the song and its actual meaning.[17] Billboard consulted several radio program directors on its panel and found only one who detailed a specific complaint from a listener.[18] The song became their second No. 1 on a Billboard chart in May 2015 and their highest showing on the Billboard Hot 100 after gaining exposure on "The Voice" and the 50th Annual ACM Awards. The album's third single and the title track, "Pain Killer", released to country radio on August 24, 2015.

text: On September 9, 2015, the group was nominated for five CMA Awards: Vocal Group of the Year, Album of the Year for Pain Killer, Single of the Year for "Girl Crush", Music Video of the Year for "Girl Crush" and Musical Event of the Year for their collaboration on the Miranda Lambert single "Smokin' and Drinkin'". They tied Eric Church for most nominations that year. Additionally, the songwriters of "Girl Crush" were recognized with a Song of the Year win.

text: For the 58th Annual Grammy Awards Pain Killer was nominated for Best Country Album, "Girl Crush" was nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance, Song of the Year and Best Country Song. Little Big Town only received nominations for Best Country Album and Best Country Duo/Group Performance since they did not write on "Girl Crush".[19]

text: The band will soon begin working on their first Christmas album.[20]

text: On January 24, 2016, the band sang the National Anthem before the Arizona/Carolina NFC Championship game. On July 4 of that year, they performed with the Boston Pops at their annual Independence Day concert.

text: 2016–present: Wanderlust, The Breaker, and Ryman residency[edit]

text: In February 2016, they appeared on "Take Me Down", a track on Down to My Last Bad Habit, the fourteenth album by Vince Gill.

text: In March 2016, Little Big Town returned to the UK as part of the C2C: Country to Country tour, becoming one of four acts at the time (the others being Brantley Gilbert, Sam Hunt and Carrie Underwood) to perform at the festival twice. They headlined the launch party in 2015 where they announced the full line-up, revealing that they would be supporting Underwood along with Hunt and Maddie & Tae.

text: On May 24, 2016, the band announced their seventh studio album titled Wanderlust. The album contains eight tracks produced by Pharrell Williams and was released on June 10, 2016. Karen Fairchild describes the album as, "It's not a country album" "And it's not like anything we've ever done. It's fun to be spontaneous and put it out there to the fans, because we want to, and not to overthink it, but just because it has brought us a lot of joy, and we think it will for them as well. So why not? We're going with our gut and putting it out there. It's just music, you know?" Fairchild stated that they are also working on a country record with Jay Joyce.[21] In July, they appeared on the 2000–2005 episode of ABC's Greatest Hits where they performed covers by Alicia Keys, Oasis and Sheryl Crow. They were also selected as one of 30 artists to perform on "Forever Country", a mash-up track of "Take Me Home, Country Roads", "On the Road Again" and "I Will Always Love You", which celebrates 50 years of the CMA Awards.[22]

text: The band released "Better Man", which was written by singer-songwriter Taylor Swift, on October 20, 2016, as the lead single to their upcoming eighth studio album, The Breaker, that was released on February 24, 2017. Initially masking the song's writer, the band revealed that Swift wrote the song. The song's music video, directed by Reid Long and Becky Fluke, was released November 1, 2016. The band would follow up with a new single "When Someone Stops Loving You," on February 17, 2017. The song was inspired by a story Sean Lynch detailed to the band during a tour stop in 2016.

text: The band announced that they would be the first act in history to have a residency at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Little Big Town announced a six-date UK tour supported by Seth Ennis beginning on September 28 and concluding in London on October 5[23] before revealing that Kacey Musgraves and Midland would support them on the American leg of The Breakers Tour beginning in February 2018[24]. On October 5 during their show at the Royal Albert Hall, the band revealed that they would be headlining the 2018 C2C: Country to Country festival, making history as the first act to play the event three times.[25]

text: Discography[edit]

text:
Little Big Town (2002)
The Road to Here (2005)
A Place to Land (2007)
The Reason Why (2010)
Tornado (2012)
Pain Killer (2014)
Wanderlust (2016)
The Breaker (2017)

text: Tours[edit]

text:
The Reason Why Tour (2011)
Tornado Tour (2013)
Pain Killer Tour (2014–15)
The Breakers Tour (2017-2018)

text: The Bandwagon Tour with Miranda Lambert (2018)

text:
Still Alive in 06 with Keith Urban (2006)
CMT On Tour: Change for Change Tour with Sugarland and Jake Owen (2007)
George Strait 2008 Arena Tour with George Strait (2008)
The Waking Up Laughing Tour with Martina McBride (2007–08) (Legs 1 and 3)
Carnival Ride Tour with Carrie Underwood (2008) (Fall leg)
A Place To Land Tour with Zac Brown Band and Ashton Shepherd
The Incredible Machine Tour 2010 with Sugarland and Randy Montana (2010) (Fall leg)
The Incredible Machine Tour 2011 with Sugarland, Matt Nathanson and Casey James (2011) (Spring leg)
Revolution Continues Tour with Miranda Lambert (2011) (Few dates)
Changed Tour with Rascal Flatts, Eli Young Band and Edens Edge (2012)
Light the Fuse Tour with Keith Urban and Dustin Lynch (2013)
C2C: Country to Country with Tim McGraw (2013) and Carrie Underwood (2016)
Kill The Lights Tour with Luke Bryan and Dustin Lynch (2015–16)

text: Personal lives[edit]

text:
Karen Fairchild (born September 28, 1969) (age 48)
Kimberly Roads Schlapman (born October 15, 1969) (age 48)
Jimi Westbrook (born October 20, 1971) (age 46)
Phillip Sweet (born March 18, 1974) (age 44)

text: Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook married on May 31, 2006, although their marriage was not disclosed until two months later. The couple welcomed their first child, a son (Elijah Dylan Westbrook), on March 5, 2010, in Nashville.

text: Kimberly Roads married Stephen Schlapman on November 28, 2006,[26] and gave birth to a daughter (Daisy Pearl Schlapman) on July 27, 2007.[27] In January 2017, Schlapman announced that she and her husband adopted a baby girl (Dolly Grace Schlapman). They welcomed her on December 31, 2016.[28] She now goes by her husband's last name, Schlapman.[29] Kimberly was previously married to Steven Roads, who died from a heart attack in 2005. He was also the band's lawyer.[30]

text: Phillip Sweet married Rebecca Arthur, a business owner and wardrobe stylist, on March 30, 2007. Arthur gave birth to a daughter (Penelopi Jane Sweet) on December 27, 2007, at Baptist Hospital in Nashville.[31]

text: Musical stylings[edit]

text: Little Big Town's musical stylings are defined by four-part vocal harmonies. Unlike most vocal groups, Little Big Town does not feature a definitive lead vocalist.[2] Instead, their songs are either led by any one of the four members, or by all four in varying combinations (such as on "Boondocks" and "Life in a Northern Town").

text: Awards and nominations[edit]

text: Academy of Country Music Awards (ACM)[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2006
Themselves
Top New Vocal Duo/Group
Nominated

Top Vocal Group
Nominated

2007
Top New Vocal Duo/Group
Won

Top Vocal Group
Nominated

2008
Nominated

2009
"Life in a Northern Town"(with Sugarland and Jake Owen)
Vocal Event of the Year
Nominated

Themselves
Top Vocal Group
Nominated

2010
Nominated

2011
Nominated

2013
"Pontoon"
Single of the Year
Nominated

Tornado
Album of the Year
Nominated

"Tornado"
Music Video of the Year
Won

Themselves
Vocal Group of the Year
Won

2014
Nominated

2015
Won

Pain Killer
Album of the Year
Nominated

2016
Themselves
Vocal Group of the Year
Won

"Girl Crush"
Single Record of the Year
Nominated

Song of the Year
Nominated

Video of the Year
Nominated

Smokin' And Drinkin'
Vocal Event of the Year (shared with Miranda Lambert)
Won

Themselves
Crystal Milestone Award
Won

2017
Themselves
Vocal Group of the Year
Won

2018[32]
Nominated

The Breaker
Album of the Year
Nominated

"Better Man"
Single of the Year
Nominated

text: American Country Awards (ACA)[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2010
"Little White Church"
Music Video: Duo or Group
Nominated

Single of the Year: Duo or Group
Nominated

2012
"Pontoon"
Music Video of the Year: Group or Collaboration
Won

2013
"Tornado"
Nominated

Single of the Year: Duo or Group
Nominated

Great American Country – Music Video of the Year
Nominated

Themselves
Artist of the Year: Duo or Group
Nominated

text: American Country Countdown Awards (ACC)[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2016
"Girl Crush"
Digital Song of the Year
Won

text: American Music Awards (AMA)[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2015
Themselves
Favorite Duo or Group - Country
Nominated

2017[33]
Themselves
Favorite Duo or Group - Country
Won

text: Billboard Music Awards[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2016
"Girl Crush"
Top Country Song
Nominated

Themselves
Billboard Chart Achievement Award
Nominated

2017
"Better Man"
Top Country Song
Nominated

text: British Country Music Association Awards[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2016
Themselves
International Act of the Year
Nominated

text: Country Music Association Awards (CMA)[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2006
Themselves
Horizon Award
Nominated

Vocal Group of the Year
Nominated

2007
Horizon Award
Nominated

Vocal Group of the Year
Nominated

2008

"Life in a Northern Town"(with Sugarland and Jake Owen)
Musical Event of the Year
Nominated

2009
Themselves
Vocal Group of the Year
Nominated

2010
Nominated

2011
Nominated

2012
Won

"Pontoon"
Single of the Year
Won

Music Video of the Year
Nominated

2013
Tornado
Album of the Year
Nominated

"Tornado"
Music Video of the Year
Nominated

Themselves
Vocal Group of the Year
Won

2014
Won

2015
Won

"Girl Crush"
Single of the Year
Won

Music Video of the Year
Nominated

Pain Killer
Album of the Year
Nominated

"Smokin' and Drinkin'" (with Miranda Lambert)
Musical Event of the Year
Nominated

2016
Themselves
Vocal Group of the Year
Won

2017
Won

"Better Man"
Single of the Year
Nominated

Music Video of the Year
Nominated

The Breaker
Album of the Year
Nominated

2018
Themselves
International Artist Achievement Award
Won

text: CMT Artists of the Year[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2015
Themselves
Artist of the Year
Won

text: CMT Music Awards[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2006
"Boondocks"
Duo/Group Video of the Year
Nominated

2007
"Good as Gone"
Group Video of the Year
Nominated

2009
"Life in a Northern Town"(with Sugarland and Jake Owen)
Collaborative Video of the Year
Nominated

CMT Performance of the Year
Nominated

2011
"Little White Church"
Group Video of the Year
Nominated

2012
"Fix You" from Music Builds
CMT Performance of the Year
Nominated

2013
"Tornado"
Video of the Year
Nominated

"Pontoon"
Group Video of the Year
Nominated

2014
"Your Side of the Bed"
Nominated

2015
"Day Drinking"
Nominated

2016
"Girl Crush"
Group/Duo Video of the Year
Won

Video of the Year
Nominated

2017
"Better Man"
Video of the Year
Nominated

Group Video of the Year
Won

text: Daytime Emmy Awards[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2013
"Good Afternoon"
Outstanding Original Song
Won

text: Grammy Awards[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2007
The Road to Here
Best Country Album
Nominated

"Boondocks"
Best Country Vocal Performance by a Duo/Group
Nominated

2009
"Life in a Northern Town"(with Sugarland and Jake Owen)
Best Country Collaboration with Vocals
Nominated

2011
"Little White Church"
Best Country Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocals
Nominated

2013
"Pontoon"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Won

2014
"Your Side Of The Bed"
Nominated

2015
"Day Drinking"
Nominated

2016[19]
"Girl Crush"
Won

Pain Killer
Best Country Album
Nominated

2018[34]
The Breaker
Nominated

"Better Man"
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
Won

Themselves
On the Hill Award[35]
Won

text: People's Choice Awards[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2016
Themselves
Favorite Country Group
Nominated

2017
Themselves
Won

text: Teen Choice Awards[edit]

text:
Year
Nominated Work
Category
Result

2011
Themselves
Choice Country Group
Nominated

2013
Nominated

text: Television Appearances[edit]

text:
Year
Series
Role
Notes

2006
CMT Crossroads
Themselves
(with Lindsey Buckingham)

2013-15
CMA Music Festival: Country's Night To Rock
Themselves/Host

2014
The Voice
Themselves / Adviser
Season 7 Battle Round with Team Blake

2016
Themselves
Season 10 Finale Result

Greatest Hits
Themselves

2017
Sesame Street
Themselves
Season 47, Episode 17

2017
The Voice
Themselves
Season 12 finale performance