007 actor Daniel Craig has attended the Beijing premiere of Casino Royale - the first Bond film to be shown in China.

The British star, who is nominated for a Bafta for his performance, was joined at the event by his co-star Eva Green and director Martin Campbell.

Craig said he felt "privileged" to show the movie "in a country that I've been eager to visit for a long time".

Previous Bond films have fallen foul of government censors, though pirated DVDs are freely available.

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The names Robert Wade and Neal Purvis may not be as widely recognized as the names Daniel Craig and Pierce Brosnan, but they should be. While Craig and Brosnan have given James Bond a face, Wade and Purvis have given him a voice. This talented writing duo penned the scripts for “The World Is Not Enough,” “Die Another Day,” as well as the highest-grossing Bond film of all-time, “Casino Royale.”

As a result, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts honored them and co-writer Paul Haggis with a best adapted screenplay nomination for the script of “Casino Royale.” In total, “Casino Royale” earned nine BAFTA nominations (ten if you count Eva Green’s nomination for the Rising Star Award), due in large part to the deft storytelling skills of Wade and Purvis.

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James Bond is finally coming to Chinese theaters, and producers of the British superspy's latest romp, Casino Royale, are pulling out all the stops to promote it.

Sony Pictures hired experts to get the Chinese-language dubbing of the movie's gambling jargon just right, and the new 007, Daniel Craig, is flying in to lend star power Monday at the Beijing premiere.

Casino Royale is due to be shown on 1,000 screens throughout China. But even if Bond's big-screen Chinese debut is a hit, Sony stands to make little money in a market where the state-owned monopoly distributor keeps most of the box-office revenues.

"Because this is the first Bond film," Li said, "people will be curious to see it on the big screen."

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On March 13, 2007, Sony Pictures Home Entertainment will release Casino Royale on DVD, PSP UMD, and Blu-ray formats. The latest entry into the James Bond series, starring first-time Bond Daniel Craig, will span over two discs, and will feature tons of bonus materials and extra features. It will be available for the MSRP (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price) of $28.96, while the PSP UMD will run at $28.95, and the Blu-ray edition will run for $38.96.

The Casino Royale DVD will feature the following bonus materials:

• Becoming Bond - An intimate look at how Daniel Craig stepped into the role of the 6th James Bond.
• James Bond: For Real - Inside look at action and stunts of film
• Bond Girls Are Forever - Closer Look at Bond's Leading Ladies
• Chris Cornell's Music Video, "You Know My Name"

Five years after apparently closing the dressing room door on his acting career, Connery has confirmed he is considering returning to the silver screen to reprise one of his most popular roles.

The actor says he will read the script for the fourth Indiana Jones movie and, if he likes what he sees, will appear once more as Indiana's father, Dr Henry Jones.

The new Indiana Jones film is due to shoot this summer, and after being approached by Lucas, Connery admits he is seriously considering it.

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Former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan has teamed up with Las Vegas casino owner Phil Maloof to make a gambling film entitled 'The Big Biazarro'.

The film is based on the Leonard Wise novel and will feature Brosnan as an elusive veteran card player who mentors a headstrong, but talented protégé.

Comic actor John Cleese will share his famous deadpan wit - and possible obsession with lemurs - when he hosts a festival of his films aboard Silver Shadow's May 22 transatlantic crossing from New York to Southampton.

"Our guests will enjoy what is sure to be a laughter-filled retrospective of Mr Cleese's finest accomplishments in film and television," said Cliff Perry, Silversea's director of entertainment.

The John Cleese Film Festival will showcase such comedy classics as A Fish Called Wanda and The Life of Brian, as well as Die Another Day, the first James Bond movie featuring Cleese in the role of Q. But the comedy Fierce Creatures, and the documentary In the Wild: Lemurs with John Cleese, are sure to stand out as two of the most enlightening films presented.

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James Bond has never seemed fascinated by the French, but the French certainly are fascinated by James Bond.

The British secret agent has driven British cars, worn Savile Row and Brioni suits, flashed Swiss watches and demanded Russian caviar and Norwegian honey.

But he speaks French — at least in the 1953 novel "Casino Royale." He detests English tea. He insists that his tournedos béarnaise be served rare and his vodka martinis be splashed with the French aperitif Lillet.

He has sported a French cigarette lighter and French cuff links (S. T. Dupont) and drunk rivers of French Champagne (Bollinger). He has romanced beloved French actresses like Sophie Marceau.

For three days this week, French and foreign researchers came together in a conference sponsored in part by the National Library of France and the University of Versailles to dissect and psychoanalyze, criticize and lionize Ian Fleming's debonair creation.

Titled "James Bond (2)007: Cultural History and Aesthetic Stakes of a Saga," the conference — France's first scholarly colloquium on James Bond — was aimed at developing a "socioanthropology of the Bondian universe."

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According to Box office Mojo, Casino Royale has raked in $163 million domestically. Making it the highest earner in US history, surpassing the US gross of Die Another Day.

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Filmgoers in the Balkans laughed out loud when they saw James Bond arrive on a luxurious high-speed train for the dramatic poker game at the center of "Casino Royale," the latest film in the long-running franchise.

Predrag Nenezic, Montenegro's minister for tourism and environmental protection, says the new 007 film should be "even more effective" than the "Wild Beauty" advertising spots in heavy rotation on U.S. television networks.

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James Bond star Daniel Craig has been nominated for a Bafta Award.

The actor, who was heavily criticised when he first landed the role of 007, is up for Best Actor for Casino Royale. He goes up against the likes of Forest Whitaker for The Last King Of Scotland, Leonardo DiCaprio for The Departed, Richard Griffiths for The History Boys and veteran star Peter O'Toole for Venus.

Casino Royale has been nominated in nine categories, including outstanding British film of the year.

"Casino Royale" and "The Queen" are more than just two of 2006's most favorably reviewed films -- on Wednesday they became winners of the eighth annual Golden Tomato Awards.

The Golden Tomato Awards honor the best-reviewed films of the year as determined by the Web site RottenTomatoes.com, which compiles reviews from print, online and broadcast film critics to measure the percentage of favorable critiques.

"The Queen," a drama about British royalty, racked up a 98 percent ranking. The James Bond flick "Casino Royale" grabbed 95 percent.

He's being touted as the best James Bond after Sean Connery, but British actor Daniel Craig admits that he believes that his character is a "sexist pig."

Craig told British publication The Observer that he considers 007 to be extremely chauvinistic.

"Bond is a sexist pig, of course he is," the New York Post quoted him, as telling the newspaper.

However, the 'Casino Royale' star revealed that having Dame Judi Dench play his boss M in the blockbuster movie had given it "gravity."

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Alan Cumming is getting married to his American boyfriend of two years, Grant Shaffer, this weekend.

Cumming recently told Attitude magazine he would have preferred getting hitched in the U.S. "I think if we could get married in America, we totally would have by now," he said. The two share an apartment in New York City.

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The title of the new Young Bond novel has been revealed as Double or Die.

It is the third book written by former Fast Show comedian Charlie Higson about the adventures of a youthful James Bond at Eton.

The first, SilverFin, became an immediate success when it was published in 2005.

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You don't have to be a master spy to share some of the world's most glamorous, sexy and unusual locations.

Tour operators, quick to seize the opportunity to cash in on spectacular film locations, have come up with a host of tempting options for innovative and romantic breaks in Bond's footsteps.

So if you're on a mission of possible holiday escapes, check these out...

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"Casino Royale" has become the highest earner of any James Bond movie.

Starring Daniel Craig, the film earned an additional $4.6 million over the weekend, bringing its total domestic gross to $156 million. With its foreign gross of about $337 million, "Casino Royale" can claim a worldwide total of $493 million, making it the highest earner of any Bond movie.

After heated bidding with several outlets, including broadcast networks, Spike TV, TNT and FX, USA landed the latest James Bond film starring Daniel Craig.

Under the five-year deal, said to be in the neighborhood of $20 million, USA will get the MGM/Columbia Pictures blockbuster movie in June 2009. The pact, brokered by Sony Pictures TV, also gives the cable network the right to carve out additional windows on broadcast or cable.

Stunning styling, sumptuous appointments and a brawny V12 engine make the Aston Martin DB9 one of the most desirable cars in the world.

It continues virtually unchanged for 2006, as is typical of such high-priced, low-volume cars. Sleek and low-slung, the DB9 is available as a two-seat Volante convertible or a 2+2 coupe with a token back seat. The DB9 replaced the preceding DB7 in 2004. Production is limited to 2,000 units per year worldwide.

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Daniel Craig has been voted the world's sexiest man, beating PEOPLE magazine's "Sexiest Man Alive" dud George Clooney.

The British actor topped the poll, conducted by condom maker Durex, after showing off his toned muscles in his first outing as James Bond in the hit 007 adventure "Casino Royale."

The combination of Daniel's piercing blue eyes and rippling physique as he emerges from the sea in blue swimming trunks in the movie proved to be a major vote winner.

The survey - which polled 4,000 women - saw British men outnumbering U.S. stars eight-to-two in the top ten. "Sin City" actor Clive Owen finished as runner-up, while "The Holiday" star Jude Law came third.

The Hollywood rumour mill claims the 22nd film in the 007 series will be based on the story Risico, written by the famous Kent author.

Risico appeared in a collection of five short Bond stories entitled For Your Eyes Only and published in 1960.

The stories, which include From a View to a Kill, provided titles and some source material for Bond films, but none have been faithfully retold on the big screen.

Scriptwriters are said to be padding out the plot which sees Bond battle Italian drug smugglers flooding England with heroin, to make it a direct sequel to Casino Royale.

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The Killers are being lined up to record the theme for the next Bond movie, according to tabloid rumours.

A source told The Sun: “The Killers have reached the perfect point in their career to do a Bond track. They have the right sound, right look and a huge fanbase, making them the perfect choice.”

The band, who released download-only festive single 'Great Big Sled' earlier this month, is now rumoured to be mulling over the idea of recording the theme for the 22nd film in the spy franchise. Slated for a November 2008 release, the movie will see Daniel Craig reprise the role of 007.

Chris Cornell's 'You Know My Name', the song from current Bond movie Casino Royale, stands in second place in the midweek charts.

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Moviehole.net is suggesting that a new (and far younger) actor is under consideration to play Q in the next Bond film. The site claims that Scottish actor Ewen Bremner (Match Point, Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down) is up for the role.

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James Bond fans in the Balkans seem as pleased as any by the darkness and edge of their hero in Daniel Craig's new Casino Royale portrayal, but some cannot suspend their disbelief when the plot gets him to Montenegro.

Bond's Montenegro was actually filmed at the old Kaiserbad spa in Karlovy Vary, in the Czech Republic and on the well-heeled shores of Lake Como, in Italy. None of the movie's scenes was filmed in Montenegro.

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In the wake of the runaway success of James Bond's latest adventure, Casino Royale, Ken Bennett flags up some exciting locations from the 007 classics...

You don't have to be a master spy to share in some of the world's most glamorous, sexy and unique locations.

Tour operators, quick to seize the opportunity to cash in on the spectacular places featured in the Bond films, have come up with a host of tempting options for innovative and romantic breaks following in his footsteps.

So if you're on a mission of possible holiday escapes, check these out...

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LONDON — James Bond's Walther PP gun, wielded by Sean Connery in the 1962 movie, "Dr. No," sold for $106,202 at Christie's International in London on Tuesday, double its presale estimate.

Mr. Connery's gun was the most expensive of 60 weapons featured in Bond films in the past 40 years that Christie's sold for a total of $427,706, along with other movie memorabilia. The buyer's name wasn't disclosed. Roger Moore's Walther P5 handgun, used in the 1983 film, "Octopussy," fetched $14,154, missing its top estimate of $15,727.

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The animated penguin tale "Happy Feet" and the James Bond adventure "Casino Royale" were a one-two punch at the box office for the third straight weekend. "Happy Feet" was No. 1 again with $17.5 million, while "Casino Royale" finished second with $15.1 million raising its domestic take to $115,876,024.

New James Bond Daniel Craig brought traffic to a halt in Sydney last night at the Australian premiere of the new 007 movie Casino Royale.

The first blond Bond wooed up to 400 fans gathered outside Sydney's State Theatre.

Craig stopped traffic when he crossed the road to greet screaming fans, signing autographs and posing for photographs.

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Have you ever wanted to feel like you were Bond, James Bond? You have the chance to own a 007 tuxedo worn by latest James Bond, Daniel Craig, whilst filming the movie Casino Royale, the 21st instalment of the James Bond movie series.

Daniel Craig wore the 007 tuxedo whilst filming the action packed 2006 movie Casino Royale. He played James Bond 007 as conceived by Ian Fleming - a charming but cold-hearted secret agent with a taste for luxury.

The 007 tuxedo prize includes a dress shirt, bow tie and braces. The tuxedo is a black Brioni 2 piece single button dinner suit with gross grain peak lapels. The tuxedo trouser leg is 32 inches and chest size is around size 42. The shirt is a White Turnbull & Asser cotton piquet fabric long sleeve CA collar with fly button through front and double cuffs. It comes with a self tie black silk bow tie and White Moire Petersham braces with leather trim and knitted tape Gieves & Hawkes trouser attachments.

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Daniel Craig is urging movie bosses to revolutionize the James Bond franchise by including a gay scene involving the superspy in the follow-up to Casino Royale.

The actor has also reportedly told studio chiefs he is prepared to film a full frontal nude scene to please both his male and female admirers.

He says, "Why not? I think in this day and age, fans would have accepted it."

"I mean, look at (British TV series) Doctor Who - that has had gay scenes in it and no one blinks an eye."

Should a proper martini be "shaken or stirred?" Millions of cinemagoers may like to ponder this perplexing question when they retire to a bar after watching the latest James Bond movie "Casino Royale".

Alongside the classic opener of "My name is Bond, James Bond", the line in which a barkeeper asks the fictional secret agent how he likes his martini has been featured in every 007 film to date. "Casino Royale", which has just gone on general release in Europe, is no exception.

According to some experts in Germany, Bond's eccentric drinking habits are proof that he enjoys breaking the rules of alcoholic beverage etiquette. It seems he orders his martini "the wrong way", contravening what every novice barkeeper is taught.

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Daniel Craig, the newest James Bond, showed Japanese fans he's licensed to thrill during a stage greeting at a pre-opening event at a Shinjuku movie theater on Thursday night.

Craig, visiting this country for the first time, said "it's always been a dream of mine to come to Japan, to Tokyo, so I hope to see as much as I can over the next four days."

Craig, here to promote Friday's Japan opening of "Casino Royale" said he had never dreamed he would be given the role of the spy who is "licensed to kill."

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