Daniel Craig signs on for two more Bond films
It's been revealed that Daniel Craig has inked a contract to continue playing the world's most famous fictional secret agent - James Bond - in two more movies.
Film's longest continually running franchise celebrates its 50th anniversary with this year's release of 'Skyfall' which marks Craig's third turn as 007 following series reinvention 'Casino Royale' and its less-well-received follow up 'Quantum of Solace'.
His new contract for Sony/MGM means that his tally will be at least five films, placing him just behind Sean Connery and Roger Moore for the most performances (they each have seven, although one of Connery's is the somewhat unofficial 'Thunderball' remake 'Never Say Never Again') while edging ahead of Pierce Brosnan's quartet. Timothy Dalton only lasted two films while George Lazenby settled for one (very underrated) shot at the title.
Initially, Craig's casting met with scorn and bad puns ("James Blonde!") but when 'Casino Royale' emerged as one of the truly great Bond entries and broke box office records, early critics were quickly silenced.
Sir Roger Moore, who played a more comedic take on Bond during the 70s and 80s, recently went as far as dubbing Craig "the best Bond ever".
In addition to being the longest running film franchise, Bond is also the highest grossing (when adjusted for inflation - otherwise 'Harry Potter' steals that crown).
Directed by Sam Mendes (who worked with Craig on 'Road to Perdition') the 23rd official Bond film, 'Skyfall', hits cinemas Oct 26th. Amazing trailer HERE.
Other film news
The stars were shining a little dimmer at this year's Cannes Film Festival after a massive jewellery theft robbed the celebs of their jewels.
Britain's premiere film lot Pinewood Studios, the home to James Bond and Harry Potter, has lost a £200m planning permission bid for a Hollywood-style expansion across 100 acres of green belt land.
The last time Robert Downey Jr and Scarlett Johansson appeared in a film together it was a massive studio production that went on to break box office records. Now the 'Avengers Assemble' stars are reteaming for an independent feature.
Oscar winning actress Angelina Jolie has undergone a double mastectomy after genetic tests revealed that she held a high risk of developing breast cancer.
'TV Burp' star Harry Hill's film debut has started shooting with himself in the lead and Matt Lucas as his twin brother alongside Sheridan Smith, 'Inbetweeners' star Simon Bird and Oscar winners Jim Broadbent and veteran actress Julie Walters.
'Jurassic Park 4' was due to begin production on June 24th for a release date almost exactly a year later, but studio Universal has pushed it back.
When it comes to optical effects in the movies, few have had a career as iconic as Ray Harryhausen, the special effects pioneer who recently died at 92.
The bank holiday weekend saw not one but two tentpole franchises get the sequel green lights from their studios: 'Men in Black 4' and 'Mission Impossible 5' are on the cards at Sony and Paramount.
In somewhat unexpected casting news, TV star Kelsey Grammer (best known as classy radio psychologist Dr Frasier Crane from 'Frasier' and 'Cheers'), has been cast as the lead villain in 'Transformers 4'.
First came the news that Michael Fassbender was onboard, and now it's been confirmed that Oscar winner Natalie Portman will be joining him for a new film version of 'MacBeth'.
Marvel/Disney knew they were on to a winner with the third film in the 'Iron Man' franchise but the Robert Downey Jr headliner has exceeded numerous box office estimates by beating 'Avengers Assemble' in its opening weekend figures.
20th Century Fox has finally secured the film rights to the Frank Loesser musical 'Guys and Dolls' after years in legal hell, and now the studio are hoping to bag Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt for the lead roles.
Cult sports comedy 'Dodgeball' is getting the sequel treatment, with original star Ben Stiller's production company onboard alongside distributor 20th Century Fox.
Oscar winner Reese Witherspoon and her husband Jim Toth were arrested and jailed in the early hours of Friday morning, it was confirmed recently.
The official list of nominations for the 2013 Cannes Film Festival have been revealed with a complete lack of British filmmakers/films in the running for the major awards of The Grand Prize and Un Certain Regard honours.
When Disney attended CinemaCon, the news that all the fans and industry types wanted to know about was what was happening with their newly acquired LucasFilm properties - namely the 'Star Wars' franchise.
Bestselling author Stephen King has stated that heâd be "happy" if Warner's planned film prequel to his 1977 horror novel 'The Shining' "didnât happen".
Check out the full list of winners from the 2013 MTV Movie Awards here:
Christopher Nolan's latest film 'Interstellar' has already confirmed that Matthew McCOnaughey will take the male lead and now it looks like 'The Dark Knight Rises' actress Anne Hathaway will reunite with Nolan as well.
In what must be one of the most troubled productions in recent years, 'Jane Got A Gun' has a new villain at the last minute in the form of Bradley Cooper after both director Lynne Ramsay and Jude Law jumped ship one day into filming.