Image Credit: Landmark/PR Photos

Daniel Craig has only starred in two James Bond movies so far. That’s one more than walking-Trivial-Pursuit-factoid George Lazenby ever managed, and the equal of proto-Craig Timothy Dalton. The currently-filming Skyfall will put Craig in striking distance of Pierce Brosnan, whose four films ran the gamut from good (Goldeneye) to funny-bad (Tomorrow Never Dies) to horrible (The World is Not Enough) to batcrap-crazy (Die Another Day.) Sean Connery made six “official” Bond movies, but if you throw in his off-brand Thunderball remake Never Say Never Again, then he’s tied with Roger Moore at seven 007 movies. READ FULL STORY »

Filming on the next James Bond film, Skyfall, officially kicked off today. To celebrate, the official 007 Twitter account posted a picture from the set. Don’t get too excited: The image just shows a phantom hand holding up the clapperboard, which advertises that they’re filming “Scene 45,” which is a “Day/Int” scene (meaning it’s an interior scene that takes place during the daytime.) Also, from what little we can see of it, it would appear that totally gross bathrooms are now officially a recurring motif of the Daniel Craig James Bond movies. (Remember the toilet fight from Casino Royale?) Still, there’s one exciting bit to take from this picture. For all the talk about the new film’s all-star cast — including Javier Bardem, Ralph Fiennes, and Albert Finney — the secret stud on the Skyfall set is cinematographer Roger Deakins, the Coen Brothers regular who’s been responsible for some of the best-looking movies of the last decade.

Follow Darren on Twitter: @EWDarrenFranich

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Image Credit: Everett Collection

It’s no surprise to find out that Roger Moore wasn’t a big fan of the last James Bond movie, Quantum of Solace. After all, Solace was an unfun, manic-depressive slog with a vaguely socially-conscious plot — the Bolivian water supply! — which is pretty much the cinematic geographic opposite of the Moore-era movies, which confronted somewhat more arcane social issues like bobsledding and space lasers. Still, it’s a kick to see the still-spry Moore call Solace “a long disjointed commercial” in an interview with Varsity, a Cambridge University student newspaper. Even more entertaining: When asked about the man who preceded him as 007, Moore puckishly replies, “Sean is a good actor; it’s a pity I can’t understand what he’s saying.”

Start the debate: Hilariously witty insult, or just an old English dude making fun of an old Scottish dude? I’m a Connery loyalist till I die, but hard to argue against the fact that Moore seems pretty freaking charming in real life. Now we just need to start getting excited for the moment twenty years from now when Pierce Brosnan gives an interview to an Oxford student newspaper and kicks off a bitter cross-court rivalry with his own predecessor, Timothy Dalton.

Follow Darren on Twitter: @EWDarrenFranich

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