Corona | Coming Attractions

It's been reported that Sam Mendes had moved off of the Bond movie due to the insolvency of MGM but a new quote from the director's ex-wife now raises the hope that Mendes is still attached to the picture. In an article published in yesterday's Daily Mail, actress Kate Winslet states, "Sam is doing the next Bond film, all being well, and we'll all be in England if that happens. It's such a massive commitment for him and it’s not fair for him to commute backwards and ­forwards to New York from ­London. It would be impossible. The children will be there with me."

Sounds to us like Mendes is still working on delivering the sequel.

Bond fans have been lamenting the depressing news that the new 007 movie may not happen in the next few years but there is a small shred of hope to still cling to. While speaking with IGN UK, Bond producer Michael G. Wilson made the following remark: ""Both Barbara and I are convinced that we'll be bringing you another Bond film soon." Does Wilson and his producing partner Barbara Broccoli know of something taking place behind the scenes with the MGM insolvency?

The BBC News (and brought to our attention by Deadline) thrust their microphone in front of Inception director Christopher Nolan at last night's world premiere of Inception. The BBC reporter must have asked a question about the James Bond franchise, for the outlet got a great quote about Nolan and a possible future project:

"I've loved the Bond films since I was a kid. For me, they're always about the expansiveness of cinema. The first Bond films set up infinite possibilities about the world they create. I'd love to do a Bond film."

Bad news for everyone that had been hoping to see the next James Bond movie anytime soon: due to the ongoing uncertainty surrounding the sale of MGM the producers of the Bond movie franchise have put on hold any further work on the next 007 film.

"Due to the continuing uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM and the failure to close a sale of the studio, we have suspended development on 'Bond 23' indefinitely. We do not know when development will resume and do not have a date for the release of Bond 23," said producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli in a joint statement released to the world's press.

Now it will have to fall on the courts and MGM's buyers to decide when this project will begin to move forward again.

Count this one as a rumor but one that comes from a solid source working for Cinema Blend: Rachel Weisz could be in the running to play the criminal mastermind of Quantum, the shadowy organization that's been pulling the bad guy strings in the past two Bond films. According to CB, their source is the same one that's proven to have sent reliable insider information in the past including the first mention of the Black Widow character being in Iron Man 2. The source claims that this is just in the idea brainstorming phase of development so far and no one appears to have approached the actress yet about playing the part.

If Weisz is cast or the idea itself is genuine this would be the first time in a James Bond movie that the arch-villain will have been a woman.

Sam Mendes is in negotiations to direct the next James Bond movie, so says The Hollywood Reporter. Filming could be underway by June for a 2011 release.

Mendes won the Best Director Oscar for his 1999 debut American Beauty. He's directed Road to Perdition, Jarhead, Revolutionary Road and Away We Go.

Bond 23 screenwriter Peter Morgan offered one brief glimpse into the storyline for the new film, calling it "shocking" as to what happens to the British secret agent. Unfortunately that was all of the details that the writer would give about what we can expect in the new movie. Morgan did add that he's been blown away by the tremendous interest that he's witnessed firsthand from people that want to know what he's cooking up with 007. "It's a magnet for publicity - everyone wants to know what's going on with the new Bond," he said.

While exiting via the stage door where he's performing with Hugh Jackman onstage in A Steady Rain, Daniel Craig stopped and signed autographs for his fans. When a person asked Craig when the next James Bond movie will come out the British actor answered that it will begin "at the end of next year." You can watch Craig's answer thanks to this video.

We're still a couple of years away from the release of the next James Bond film but you should expect to see a lot of false casting rumors crop up during the next year. The latest report to surface is pretty weak sauce considering that the writers have just been hired and casting shouldn't be underway right now, but in any case...The Guardian newspaper is reporting via an unnamed source that Michael Sheen (Underworld, Frost/Nixon) is supposed to be in actual negotiations to play Ernst Stavro Blofeld, Bond's legendary nemesis and the leader of SPECTRE. The character has made numerous appearances in Bond films with his latest being the character's demise in For Your Eyes Only. The Guardian goes on to say that Sheen is a fan of the franchise and would love to play such a "dream role."

It was announced today that Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon, The Queen) will join veteran Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade as screenwriters on the as-yet untitled 23rd James Bond movie. "Peter, Neal and Robert are extraordinarily talented and we're looking forward to working with the three of them," said producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli. [Full story]