Mexico's Concerns Over Being Bond Baddie

A producer on the new Bond film has revealed that local authorities in Mexico were worried about a Mexican being cast as a villain when the film is shot in the country this month.

The opening sequence of Spectre is due to take place during a recreation of the Day of the Dead festival in Mexico City with 1,500 extras.

Daniel Craig and the rest of the cast and crew are already in the city where roads have been closed in preparation.

Reports that the script was changed at the request of executives from Sony Pictures and MGM Studios, eager to save money after the government offered $14m in tax incentives in return for a better image were denied by Michael Wilson.

The website taxanalysts.com, citing leaked Sony emails, reported that the changes included that an international leader should be assassinated instead of Mexico City's mayor, and that Bond's nemesis should not be Mexican.

"I think we never had the villain as Mexican so it wasn't something we had to change," Mr Wilson said, acknowledging that it was among "some of the issues" authorities had raised.

"The villain was always an Italian."

The government provided technical support, like getting permits to shoot in certain locations or advising on things such as which security force would be involved in certain situations, he said.

"It's more like us asking questions and then discussing it with (Mexican authorities) than them demanding anything in the way of changing" the screenplay, he said.

"I know they want to see, they would love to see Mexico in a good light and we are not here to put Mexico in a bad light," Mr Wilson said, refusing to confirm how much the government offered in tax incentives.

President Enrique Pena Nieto, who took office in December 2012, has sought to turn his country's image around, emphasising his internationally acclaimed economic reforms over the violent drug war.

Stephanie Sigman, the first "Bond Girl" from Mexico , said she was never worried about how her country would be depicted in the film, which will be released on 6 November.

"I have made all kinds of movies, which look at good and bad sides, and I think there are many layers in countries, situations and including in us as human beings," she said. "So, no, I never worried about that."

Mr Wilson said producers always planned to have a Mexican Bond girl, denying reports that it was one of the government's demands.