Minister answers criticisms that ‘Bond’ hurts image

LONDON

Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay, speaking to daily Hürriyet, answered criticisms that the new Bond movie “Skyfall” and “Taken 2,” some parts of which were shot in Istanbul, hurt the image of Turkey. “Instead of criticizing these films, we should criticize ourselves in this sense. We should try to improve our bad sides if the venues are bad and people’s way of dressing isn’t nice,” said Günay.

“Whatever you do about this issue, you are criticized. The film ‘Troy’ was not shot in Turkey in the past and it is still being criticized. If I was on duty at that time, I would have done my best to make it here. I think that it was a big loss,” he added.

Günay said he had not watched “Skyfall” yet, and even though the venues in Istanbul were different from those in Turkish T.V. series it was good news that the latest James Bond film began using Istanbul as a venue. “We will continue our efforts for foreign films to be shot in Turkey,” he said.