James Bond

Call him the spy who (really) loved her. A week after Adele's "Skyfall" became the first James Bond theme to win the Academy Award for original song, producers for the spy-film franchise have drafted Adele to sing for the next Bond movie, as well, according to a report in England's Sun newspaper . "[They're] thrilled by how well the song has been received and hope Adele's presence on the next film will replicate that success," said an unnamed source. "They want her to become as synonomous with Bond as Dame Shirley [Bassey]

He is not in court. He is not even charged with a crime. But looming over the murder trial of a woman accused of strangling an aspiring model and actress in her Santa Monica apartment five years ago is a doctor who once dated the victim. A prosecutor told a downtown jury Wednesday that Juliana Redding was killed five days after her father broke off business negotiations with her ex-boyfriend Dr. Munir Uwaydah. Deputy Dist. Atty. Stacy Okun-Wiese said that Redding, 21, was killed by one of the doctor's associates, Kelly Soo Park, whose DNA was discovered on the victim's neck, tank top and areas of her apartment.

MGM Studios plans to send James Bond on his next mission sooner than later, announcing Wednesday that it hopes to have the next installment of the popular spy series in theaters within the next three years. MGM Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Barber, in a conference call with investors, said the studio is developing the screenplay for the next Bond film, the 24th entry in the 50-year-old franchise. “We look forward to announcing a director soon,” Barber said. “We are really thrilled with where we have taken this franchise.” PHOTOS: James Bond through the years Sam Mendes, director of the most recent Bond film, 2012's "Skyfall," announced earlier this month that he passed on an offer from series producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli to return as director.  Star Daniel Craig is signed for two more films as the British secret agent.

Hollywood power couple Daniel Craig (a.k.a. James Bond) and Rachel Weisz (most recently in "Oz: The Great and Powerful") are to head to Broadway in the fall, costarring as husband and wife in Harold Pinter's "Betrayal. " Tony Award winner Mike Nichols is to direct the revival and Scott Rudin will produce, Rudin's office announced Friday. The production marks Craig's return to Broadway after the hugely successful "A Steady Rain," which costarred Hugh Jackman, in 2009. The Pinter play will be Weisz's Broadway debut, though she's no stranger to theater.

The monumental success of "Skyfall" -- the movie crossed $100 million at the domestic box office Monday  -- proves that the appetite for James Bond is as strong as ever. In the world of Hollywood franchises, that usually means a fast turnaround on a follow-up movie. But the stewards of the spy series say they're not in any rush to throw a new Bond into the pipeline. Just before the film's release, I spoke to Barbara Broccoli and Michael Wilson, the producers behind "Skyfall" and the last two decades of 007 fandangos.

He is not in court. He is not even charged with a crime. But looming over the murder trial of a woman accused of strangling an aspiring model and actress in her Santa Monica apartment five years ago is a doctor who once dated the victim. A prosecutor told a downtown jury Wednesday that Juliana Redding was killed five days after her father broke off business negotiations with her ex-boyfriend Dr. Munir Uwaydah. Deputy Dist. Atty. Stacy Okun-Wiese said that Redding, 21, was killed by one of the doctor's associates, Kelly Soo Park, whose DNA was discovered on the victim's neck, tank top and areas of her apartment.

The filmmakers behind James Bond invented (and then reinvented) the spy movie -- then watched as a generation of action directors, er, borrowed from the movies about the resourceful secret agent. We'll have plenty from the principals on the new movie, titled “Skyfall” and set for a Nov. 9 opening in the U.S., in the weeks ahead. But with the Daniel Craig movie premiering in London Tuesday night, we thought it worth posing one of the big questions asked about Bond circa 2012: How much does 007 have in common with other action heroes currently on the big screen?

What looked on the schedule like an open evening at Grauman's Chinese Theatre during AFI Fest will be taken over tonight by suave super-spy James Bond with a "secret screening" of the new "Skyfall. " The film, directed by Sam Mendes, Academy Award winner for “American Beauty,” and written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan, is the third in the series to feature actor Daniel Craig in the iconic role. The film opens in the U.S. on Friday but has already gotten off to an astonishing start in its international release, ringing in nearly $300 million and putting it well on its way to being the No. 1 all-time box office leader for the venerable film franchise.

James Bond takes a bullet, tumbles from a train into a rocky ravine, fakes his own death and goes incognito after someone uploads a YouTube video identifying every secret agent in Britain. But that doesn't halt our hero Daniel Craig 's flirtations with a slender, smoky-eyed brunette. All this and more is revealed in the new "Skyfall" trailer, released Tuesday. Bond newcomers Ben Whishaw (who plays Q with a nerdy, Esquire-model look) and Javier Bardem (the next Bond villain)

Adele's "Skyfall" has arrived.  Themes from James Bond films run the gamut from the very good to the downright evil. The stronger ones -- the femme-fatale slyness of "Diamonds Are Forever" or the moody detachment of "You Only Live Twice" -- put the emphasis on attitude. They're dapper musical foils for a cinematic hero who often appears more interested in a nightcap than any sort of spy business.  And the bad? Songs such as "Another Way to Die" from Alicia Keys and Jack White, or Chris Cornell's "You Know My Name," simply plod.

MGM Studios plans to send James Bond on his next mission sooner than later, announcing Wednesday that it hopes to have the next installment of the popular spy series in theaters within the next three years. MGM Chairman and Chief Executive Gary Barber, in a conference call with investors, said the studio is developing the screenplay for the next Bond film, the 24th entry in the 50-year-old franchise. “We look forward to announcing a director soon,” Barber said. “We are really thrilled with where we have taken this franchise.” PHOTOS: James Bond through the years Sam Mendes, director of the most recent Bond film, 2012's "Skyfall," announced earlier this month that he passed on an offer from series producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli to return as director.  Star Daniel Craig is signed for two more films as the British secret agent.

Paramount Pictures is moving up the British release date for director J.J. Abrams' "Star Trek: Into Darkness" from May 17 to May 9, but the studio has not yet said whether the sequel's domestic debut also will be changed. While it is rare, it is not unprecedented for big studio films to premiere overseas before they reach domestic theaters.  Late last year, the hugely popular James Bond installment "Skyfall" debuted in U.K. complexes two weeks before it arrived in American multiplexes.

Sam Mendes wasn't exactly quoting a James Bond title - “Never Say Never Again” - but it does appear that the filmmaker behind the highest-grossing 007 movie won't be back in the Bond director's chair any time soon. In an interview with the British film magazine Empire, Mendes said that although directing “Skyfall,” which grossed more than $1.1 billion worldwide, was “one of the best experiences of my professional life," he needed to focus on several previous commitments, including the upcoming plays “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” and “King Lear.” Mendes said he recently told Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of his decision not to direct the 24th installment in the long-running spy series.

Call him the spy who (really) loved her. A week after Adele's "Skyfall" became the first James Bond theme to win the Academy Award for original song, producers for the spy-film franchise have drafted Adele to sing for the next Bond movie, as well, according to a report in England's Sun newspaper . "[They're] thrilled by how well the song has been received and hope Adele's presence on the next film will replicate that success," said an unnamed source. "They want her to become as synonomous with Bond as Dame Shirley [Bassey]

There were no Bonds, but there was Bassey and Berry, making the Academy Awards telecast's tribute to the James Bond movies one of the more memorable (tolerable? ) moments of this year's show. Halle Berry, who played Bond girl Jinx opposite Pierce Brosnan in the 2002 movie "Die Another Day," introduced a clips montage that saluted the "sights, sounds and music" of the Bond series, which just celebrated its golden anniversary. Oscars 2013: Nominee list | Red carpet | Fashion After the brief segment, Berry gave way to Dame Shirley Bassey, who belted out the title song to the 1964 Bond film, "Goldfinger.

This post has been updated. See note below for details. With the motion picture academy's salute to James Bond coming up at the Oscars on Sunday, here are seven factoids about films and music that have sprung up in service of the world's most famous secret agent. (Isn't that an oxymoron?) 001:  The DVD of the latest Bond adventure, “Skyfall,” has been out for less than two weeks but already has become the biggest-selling DVD of 2013, according to Nielsen. 002: Adele's “Skyfall” theme song also has been a big hit, re-entering the Billboard Hot 100 last week for an 18th week on the listing as Sunday's award ceremony approaches.

NEW YORK -- Early in “Skyfall,” Judi Dench's M pulls aside our embattled hero, played once again with suave ennui by Daniel Craig, and wonders whether the world still needs either of their services. As Bond wraps his head around that idea, he looks searchingly at his boss. “So this is it?” he wonders. “We're both played out?” Questions about relevance fill the new James Bond movie, which opens, after a crescendo of marketing, on Nov 9. Field agents are of diminishing importance in an era of cyber-spying and drone warfare, and the uniqueness of Bond's gadgets has been diluted at a time when everyone and their great-aunt carries an iPhone.

There were no Bonds, but there was Bassey and Berry, making the Academy Awards telecast's tribute to the James Bond movies one of the more memorable (tolerable? ) moments of this year's show. Halle Berry, who played Bond girl Jinx opposite Pierce Brosnan in the 2002 movie "Die Another Day," introduced a clips montage that saluted the "sights, sounds and music" of the Bond series, which just celebrated its golden anniversary. Oscars 2013: Nominee list | Red carpet | Fashion After the brief segment, Berry gave way to Dame Shirley Bassey, who belted out the title song to the 1964 Bond film, "Goldfinger.

This sturdy Austrian had supporting roles in the recent action movies "Skyfall" and "Zero Dark Thirty," the TV western "Justified" and the military video game "Medal of Honor: Warfighter. " The ubiquitous performer - actually a semiautomatic pistol - is the Glock-17. A kind of Kevin Bacon of firearms, the Glock-17 appears without ceremony in movies and TV shows year after year, largely because it's also popular with the law enforcement officers being depicted. There is one place, however, where the Glock-17 is treated like a star - along with the dainty Walther PPK/S handgun that is James Bond's sidearm of choice, the long-barreled Winchester rifles the Prohibition agents tote on the 1920s-set HBO show "Boardwalk Empire" and the oversized Desert Eagle pistols used in the "Modern Warfare" and "Far Cry" series of video games.

Hollywood may be giving Gerard Butler a red card after his soccer film's dismal performance at the box office this weekend. The actor suffered yet another flop with "Playing for Keeps," his romantic comedy that debuted with only $6 million, according to an estimate from distributor FilmDistrict. As the only new film hitting theaters this weekend, the movie was easily defeated by five other flicks that have been in theaters for weeks. "Skyfall," which hit multiplexes nationwide five weekends ago, reclaimed the No. 1 position.