Daniel Craig misses Venice Film Festival finishing his James Bond role

No doubt there are plenty of on-screen kisses in store for Daniel Craig as the new James Bond. But none will be more talked about than the one premiering at the Venice Film Festival.

Photo: Daniel Craig misses Venice Film Festival finishing his James Bond role

Craig plays one of the men who brutally murdered a Kansas farm family in "Infamous," which examines Truman Capote's emotional journey into the minds of two killers that formed the core of his masterpiece, "In Cold Blood."

An attachment grew between Capote and confessed killer Perry Smith during the long periods the author spent in Kansas teasing out their story, and in a pivotal moment the two men kiss.

"I never dreamed I'd kiss James Bond," quipped Toby Smith, the British actor who plays Capote. "Now that I've done it, I say I hope I'm just the first of many."

Director Douglas McGrath said that when he cast Craig, one of the appeals was that he was not a recognizable screen presence to most moviegoing audiences.

"That isn't going to be the case in (a few) weeks," McGrath said.

Craig missed Thursday night's premiere, reportedly to finish work on the Bond picture "Casino Royale," due out in November. "Infamous," which is being shown out of competition in Venice, opens in the United States later this month, the AP reports.

While the Bond movie will enjoy a much wider release, McGrath said the close timing is good for both films - and a good opportunity for audiences to see just what Craig is made of.

"For people to see Daniel as Perry Smith, a low-class uneducated, vile misfit, and then to see him as James Bond ... it offers an immediate comparison and shows what kind of range he has," McGrath said.

"Infamous" was in production just a bit behind last year's "Capote," which examines roughly the same period of the author's life, but McGrath said the studio held his back so the two movies would not get in each other's way.