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Should the next James Bond film be set at Versailles?

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One of the many pleasures of sitting through a James Bond film -- aside from the babes, the guns and the PG-13 double entendres -- is the experience of ogling some of Europe’s best-known architectural wonders.

In ‘Quantum of Solace,’ Britain’s 007 (Daniel Craig) blasted his way through Italy’s Tuscany as well as parts of Austria and Spain. A few years earlier in ‘Casino Royale,’ he traveled from Prague’s old town to the Grand Canal in Venice, where he watched the duplicitous Vesper Lynd drown in the city’s murky waters.

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Past Bond movies have provided architecture-porn moments in such diverse locales as Istanbul, Vienna, Berlin, St. Petersburg, Monte Carlo and Gibraltar.

Well-traveled though it is, the Bond franchise has yet to stage an action sequence at France’s Versailles Palace. On Wednesday, the Guardian reported that Paris’ regional film commission is aiming to bring Bond to the 17th century château that once served as home to French royalty.

According to the British newspaper, it costs 16,000 euros ($21,385) per day to shoot at Versailles, though crews can opt to shoot at an ordinary château in the town for as little as 4,500 euros. There are also tax breaks that the French government introduced last year.

The move is part of France’s effort to lure more movie shoots away from competing European locations like Berlin and Prague. Bond has visited France on many occasions, but an inaugural trip to Versailles could be just what the doctor ordered -- a much-needed change of scenery for a franchise entering its 23rd incarnation.

What do you think of 007’s possible trip to Versailles? Take the poll and add your own suggestions.

-- David Ng

Photo (top): Daniel Craig as James Bond. Credit: Jay Maidment / MGM/Columbia Pictures

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Photo (bottom): the ‘Hall of Mirrors’ at Versailles. Credit: Thomas Coex / AFP/Getty Images

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