New James Bond Daniel Craig refused to dye his blonde locks dark brown for his role in Casino Royale.

The actor faced a barrage of criticism when he was chosen to play the world's most famous secret agent, with opponents saying he was too short, too ordinary-looking and too blonde to play Bond.

But while the 38-year-old actor agreed to undertake a punishing gym regime to build up a 007 body, he drew the line when directors asked him to change his hair color for the movie.

He admits: "I was asked to dye my hair brown to play this role but it was out of the question. I suggested instead that I could cut my hair really short to create a more brutal appearance."

Actress Teri Hatcher insists that she regrets appearing in the James Bond movie Tomorrow Never Dies, as she found the experience dissatisfying.

Hatcher played Elliot Carver’s wife Paris, a woman who has a secret past with 007 that can and may be used against him.

“It’s such an artificial kind of character to be playing that you don’t get any special satisfaction from it,” Contactmusic quoted her as saying.

Her character was killed by Dr. Kaufman with much delight.

"Happy Feet," the animated tale of a tap-dancing penguin who talks through his toes, remained king of the movie box office over the holiday weekend, earning $51.6 million for five days and $37.9 million for the three-day weekend.

"Happy Feet" again outdistanced "Casino Royale," in which Daniel Craig makes his debut as the sixth James Bond in Hollywood history.

"Casino Royale" earned $45.1 million over five days and $31 million over the past three, raising its total to just over $94 million.

A tiny French winery is enjoying newfound fame thanks to its inclusion in new the James Bond movie Casino Royale.

The superspy usually orders a "vodka martini, shaken, not stirred," but in the new Bond film, Daniel Craig quotes exactly from the Ian Fleming novel ordering "three measures of Gordon's (gin), one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet. Shake it over ice. Then add a thin slice of lemon peel."

Since the film's release, the maker's of Kina Lillet, which is produced in Bordeaux, have been inundated with calls from fans eager to know more about the famous cocktail.

German actor Clemens Schick follows in a long tradition of German Bond foes. But unlike his predecessors, he's no longer 007's main enemy.

The 21st James Bond movie "Casino Royale" premiered in Berlin this week and so far the reviews are pretty positive. Although the action is set in the summer of 2006, the new movie is actually based on Ian Fleming's first Bond novel which tells of secret agent's 007's debut. His first mission sets him against a banker who launders money for international terrorism.

"Exciting, new and totally different!" Or is it?

READ MORE

James Bond, one of cinema history’s most successful characters, continues his celluloid victories against spies and terrorists but fails in his struggle against internet pirates.

The latest movie in the James Bond series, Casino Royale, has so far been downloaded illegally 200,000 times from internet sites.

The Envisional company investigated and reported that two illegal copies of the movie were circulating sites.

READ MORE

Craig, on the other hand, is photographed more like a woman would be photographed. The female viewer is always invited to picture herself in the body of her female icon, that she may better imagine basking in the male gaze. Craig, here, is basking in the female gaze. He's wearing swimming trunks, for God's sake. You don't fight in trunks. You look for ladies in trunks, or more to the point, the ladies look for you. But at the same time, he really couldn't be more straight if he took a course - he's the most rugged Bond the franchise has ever seen.

So we're seeing, if not the first signs of a tectonic shift, at least the first signs of that shift being reflected in mainstream culture. It is no longer feminising to be gaped at by the opposite sex. On the contrary, it is the apex of masculinity. Leon says of the film: "You can't get away from his body, and I'm not aware that there were any bare women in it. There may have been, but it's not memorable to me at all. Whereas I really came out of that movie thinking about Daniel Craig's body. I just kept thinking: how did he get it?"

READ MORE

In 1962 Sean Connery brought the spy thriller novels of Ian Fleming to life with his role as secret service agent James Bond in 'Dr. No'.

On a budget of just $1,000,000, the lowest of any Bond movie, the film grossed $59,600,000 at the box office and began an ever expanding legacy.

The handsome spy who could win over any lady, take down any henchman, order a martini in only the way 007 can and save the world without ever getting out of breath soon became a household name.

READ MORE

Take the relatively easy quiz to see which Bond you are.

TAKE THE QUIZ

Casino Royale has reportedly become the first James Bond film to be accepted by notoriously tough Chinese censors.

Authorities in the People's Republic have regarded the previous 20 spy capers too controversial to be approved.

But trade magazine Variety claims Chinese movie goers will be allowed to check out Daniel Craig's first outing as the superspy when it opens on Janurary 30th of next year.

The new James Bond film shook up the U.K. box office during its first day of release on Thursday, earning more than any other film in the spy franchise, distributor Columbia Pictures said.

"Casino Royale," which marks the 007 debut of Daniel Craig, sold 1.7 million pounds worth of tickets, a 54 percent increase over comparable sales for the previous Bond film and first-day record-holder, 2002's "Die Another Day.

In all, two-thirds of all cinema tickets sold in Britain were for "Casino Royale," the Sony Corp.-owned studio added.

The film opens in the United States and Canada on Friday. Of the 27 international territories where "Casino Royale" is debuting this weekend, Britain and Russia are the largest.

Ulster movie fans were clearly in 007 heaven as the new Bond blockbuster came to Belfast.

Up to 400 invited guests attended the Northern Ireland premiere of the hugely-hyped Casino Royale at the Movie House Cinema in Belfast.

The red carpet was rolled out on the Dublin Road and a canopy erected outside the cinema to shield guests dressed in Bond-style tuxedos and evening dresses from the rain.

Many of the movie-goers were there to see if the latest actor to play the Vodka Martini-sipping secret agent, Daniel Craig, could make the grade. And the verdict from the audience afterwards was that the new blond Bond is definitely licensed to thrill.


READ MORE

Thousands of 007 fans braved the cold to greet the stars of the new James Bond film Casino Royale at its royal premiere in London.

The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh joined James Bond stars past and present at the Odeon Leicester Square.

The new actor in the 007 role, Daniel Craig, was one of the first to arrive on the red carpet and took time to sign autographs and pose for photos.

Early reviews have praised Craig's gritty and complex performance.


READ MORE

A rather uneventful fall season in the box-office has ended, and for the last few weeks, we’ve had quite a few hits on our hands to shake things up. “Saw III” recently opened with $33.6m, which is, in fact, the highest opener since “Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby” opened in early August. In addition, “Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan” beat even the most far-fetched of expectations and opened to $26.5m in just 837 theaters, for a per-theater-average of $31,607, the third highest in history for a wide release (wide release is a film in over 600 theaters).

“Casino Royale,” as well as its competition for the weekend, “Happy Feet,” will be the first film to possibly break the $40m barrier in over three months. Although it’s questionable whether “Casino Royale” will reach or exceed the heights of the last Bond flick, “Die Another Day,” thanks to its new lead, Daniel Craig. Let’s look at the box-office prospects.

READ MORE

A saucy line from MOONRAKER has been voted JAMES BOND fans' favourite 007 sexual innuendo.

Cinema advertising giants Pearl And Dean invited devotees of the secret agent franchise to vote for their favourite sexy gag from the legendary franchise. The line, "I think he's attempting re-entry", uttered by Q topped the poll.

The top ten saucy Bond lines are as follows:

1. "I think he's attempting re-entry." - MOONRAKER (1979)
2. "I thought Christmas comes just once a year." Bond to Dr Christmas Jones in THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH (1999)
3. "Just keeping the British end up." - Bond to Sir Frederick Gray in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1977)
4. "I'm afraid you've caught me with more than my hands up." - Bond to a gunman in DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER (1971)
5. "You appear tense.. . that's too bad . Going down, one should always be relaxed." Bond to 007 girl FATIMA in NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN (1983)
6. "When one is in Egypt, one should delve deeply into it's treasures." - Bond in THE SPY WHO LOVED ME (1979)
7. "It's just the right size - for me, that is." - Bond talking about 007 girl TATIANA's mouth in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE (1963)
8. "The bubbles tickle my.. . Tchaikovsky." - Bond girl POLA in A VIEW TO A KILL (1985)
9. "Something big's come up." - Bond to 007 girl JILL MASTERSON in GOLDFINGER (1964)
10. "I think I will enjoy very much serving under you." Bond girl AKI to 007 in YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967)


SOURCE

Actor Daniel Craig says don't try this at home -- drink as many martinis as he puts away in his debut as James Bond in the new movie "Casino Royale."

The famed agent for Her Majesty's Secret Service has long taken his martini shaken, not stirred. But the new 007 now sounds like the kind of guy that bartenders refer to as a "cocktail dork."

"Three measures of Gordon's (gin,) one of vodka, half a measure of Kina Lillet, shake it over ice then add a thin slice of lemon peel," Bond asks a waiter as he duels with his adversary in a high-stakes game of Texas Hold 'em poker.

But of that drink -- the "Vesper," named for Bond's love interest Vesper Lynd -- Craig warns, "I'd try one. But if you try two, be careful because it's a lot of vodka and gin."

READ MORE

British actor Jude Law has admitted that he is desperate to land a role as a bad guy in the next James Bond film.

The 'Alfie' star is hoping to convince Bond producers to cast him in the tentatively titled 'Bond 22', a sequel to the currently debuting film 'Casino Royale', which features Daniel Craig in the lead role for the first time.

He said, "The Bond part never actually came my way. But then if I ever played James Bond that would rule out ever playing a baddie, and I would love to play a Bond baddie."

READ MORE

Casino Royale releases this Friday, the 21st "official" James Bond film (23rd in reality), featuring the new (6th) Bond: Daniel Craig. The most successful film series ever is in its 44th year now, and has earned more than $3.8 billion so far purely from box office receipts, video and music income and so on not included. The films have been watched by more than 1.5 billion people. For all we know, Bond films will keep getting made till the world ends, or as long as movies last. What is it about this character?

Of course, the action has always been extraordinary, the locales spectacular, the weapons stylishly absurd, and the women alluring. Computer technology and rising budgets (from $1 million for Dr No to $142 million for Die Another Day) has impossibly scaled up the stunts and the destruction. But none of these factors fully explains the series' astonishing popularity. The only core reason can be the character of Bond himself.

READ MORE

Daniel Craig's performance as James Bond has been hailed as "terrific" and "simply brilliant" in early reviews of his 007 debut in Casino Royale.

The Daily Mirror said he was seen "oozing the kind of edgy menace that recalls Sean Connery at his best".

In the new film, Bond makes a break from the super-slick, stereotyped spy of the past, the UK newspaper critics said - but all declared the end result a triumph.

READ MORE

He changed his stage name from Puff Daddy to P. Diddy and now Diddy, but what he would really like to be called is Bond ... James Bond.

"One day the time will come for a black Bond and hopefully I can audition for it," U.S. rapper and entrepreneur Sean "Diddy" Combs said on the sidelines of the MTV Europe Music Awards late on Thursday.

"It's a dream of mine to play a great role like that."

READ MORE

Daniel Craig vetoed plans to include suicide bombers in the new 007 movie Casino Royale, because he didn't want the film to anger Muslims. The actor told producers not to include political or religious terrorists in CR, and to feature criminals motivated by financial gain instead.

He explains, "Every terrorist in this movie is non-political. I said, we can't have that (suicide bombers) in this movie because the connotations of a suicide bomber are something that lie within religion and politics. We have to make sure that all of the guys that are setting bombs and trying to hurt people are basically walking away with a suitcase of cash."

Daniel Craig has branded Casino Royale the most violent yet. Craig plays the superspy for the first time and was amazed at the excruciating pain he had to endure for some of the stunts.

He says, "You're not doing it right if you're not getting hurt. "The stunt boys were going through pain levels that I couldn't even imagine and carrying on. Compressed spines, all sorts of things. I was in pain throughout the whole movie. He recalls one particularly harrowing scene in which Bond kills a man in the bathroom: "I watch that sequence and I wince. "All my knuckles split, my hands were in bandages after it. And I had a fight double. I did the bits that hurt. And he did the bits that really fucking hurt. "But that's the thing with this Bond. He bleeds. It's more about the fact that he bleeds, goes down and gets up again."

MGM Home Entertainment sent two of these newly revamped films and bonus features for review, both starring Connery. I didn't tell them that he happens to be my Bond of preference, but I won't complain.

Then again, they aren't my favorite Connery Bonds — "Thunderball" and "Diamonds Are Forever." (They aren't bad, but they're no "Dr. No" or "From Russia With Love" or "Goldfinger.")

And yet, I have to admit that I watched all the bonus features for both films (OK, I didn't listen to the entire audio commentaries), and there's a lot of fascinating stuff here for fans:

READ MORE

A long way on from the Aston Martin DB5, Bond's attaché case and Odd-Job's bowler hat, we are now being presented with this year's models. The latest collectibles to join the long list of desired items that have appeared in a James Bond movie have arrived – luxury playing cards and poker chip sets!

In keeping with the times, Commander Bond gets involved in a high-stakes game of Texas Hold'em Poker in "Casino Royale", the soon-to-be-released James Bond 007 movie spectacular. His weapons of choice – for a short while at least - include a luxurious pack of playing cards manufactured by renowned historical playing card manufacturer, Carta Mundi NV of Belgium.

READ MORE

Roger Moore has joined Pierce Brosnan in backing the new James Bond star Daniel Craig, saying he would be "absolutely super" in the role of the secret agent.

He also said "I am fed up with everybody attacking poor Daniel Craig, I am sure he is going to be absolutely super."