Bond is Back!Daniel Craig Is on Board for Next 007 Movie

Daniel Craig will be back to stirring martinis soon.

The actor will reprise his role for the third time as British spy James Bond in the 23rd flick in the popular franchise, which is set for release on November 9, 2012, according to reports.

Craig, 42, first slipped into the iconic role with Casino Royale in 2006, then acted another day on the next one, Quantum of Solace.

Now for the burning questions: Who will the next Bond girl be – and is there any chance it'll be his alleged real-life love interest Rachel Weisz?

Stay tuned to find out!

Latest James Bond Film Suspended Amid MGM Uncertainty

The production of the next James Bond film has been suspended "indefinitely" because of uncertainty over the future of film company MGM, producers say.

Producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli said they did not know when work on the 23rd Bond film would resume and there was no date for its release.

The latest Bond, due to star Daniel Craig as 007 for the third time, had been due out in 2011 or 2012.
James Bond is the longest running franchise in film history.

Wilson and Broccoli, of EON Productions, said: "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."

Daniel Craig, who made his Bond debut in Casino Royale in 2006, said: "I have every confidence in Barbara and Michael's decision and look forward to production resuming as quickly as possible."

Craig is the sixth actor to play the British secret agent after Sean Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan.

MGM - Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer - is home to some of the most famous franchises in cinema history, also including the Pink Panther.

Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig: All-Time Top Fundraisers!

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig celebrates raising the most money of any show in the history of the Gypsy of the Year competition by collecting $1,549,952. The previous all-time fundraising record holder was in 2003 when The Boy From Oz starring Hugh raised $632,998.

Daniel & Hugh Sell Shirts Off Their Backs

Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman turned Sunday's performance of their Broadway show A Steady Rain into an AIDS fundraiser when they literally sold the shirts off their backs.

The Hollywood stars lent their support to the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS campaign after the matinee show, raising $4,000 each by offering lucky fans the chance to buy their sweaty clothes.

After the auction, Craig and Jackman brought the winning bidders backstage and autographed the shirts for their generous devotees.

Sunday's afternoon performance was also one to remember for a whole other reason - it was the first showing of A Steady Rain which hadn't been interrupted by a noisy cellphone.

Jackman told the New York crowd, "(Today was the) first time we've done this whole show without a cellphone going off."

The X-Men star was forced to halt an early preview of the play in September to chastise a theatre-goer whose mobile phone rang repeatedly throughout their performance.

Hollywood Stars Smash Broadway Records

If you want to break the box office, you get an A-list star – and Broadway's learning that that's as true in theater as it is on the silver screen.

With movie stars on the marquees of its plays, Broadway is seeing one of its best fall seasons in recent years, selling $21.1 million from October 12 to 18, according to The New York Times.

A Steady Rain has grossed over $1 million, thanks to stars Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman. Meanwhile, Shakespeare is hot as never before, with Jude Law raking in $904,914 last week, bringing total box office receipts for Broadway to $21.1 million for the week of October 12 to 18.

Last year, the hot ticket was Daniel Radcliffe's (mostly naked) turn in Equus, which grossed a mere $782,307 in the same weeklong period. Broadway's grosses were $19.7 million, less it from plays, and not including the grosses for the musical Young Frankenstein.

"These three current plays are doing absolutely sensational business, especially considering that the economy hasn't fully recovered,” Philip J. Smith, chairman of Broadway's Shubert Organization, told the Times. "They've been a huge factor in this unusually healthy fall for recession-era Broadway. If only all shows were doing so well."

But sometimes a play's success is buoyed more by great reviews and buzz – even if the names on the playbill aren't quite as attention-grabbing. God of Carnage has also broken the $1 million, and features respected actors Jeff Daniels, Hope Davis, James Gandolfini and Marcia Gay Harden.

Star Sighting: Handsome Pair of Hunks

Talk about a handsome pair! Dashing costars Daniel Craig (in Burberry) and Hugh Jackman (in Ferragamo) savor the spotlight following their opening night performance on Broadway in A Steady Rain Tuesday in New York City.

Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig Get Raves for Handling Cell-Phone User

The applause you're hearing on the Great White Way is for the way Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig handled an obnoxious cell-phone user in the middle of their sold-out play, A Steady Rain – now one of the hottest tickets on Broadway.

But the clapping for the play itself isn't nearly as passionate.

"It all comes across like an elongated pitch meeting for an over caffeinated buddy-cop movie that might be directed by Sidney Lumet or Martin Scorsese," writes Reuters critic Frank Scheck. The play, in which the pair play cops in love with the same woman, has broken the Broadway record for the highest weekly gross of a non-musical production, making $1,167,954 in its opening week. It is slated to run until Dec. 6 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theater.

"You can feel the audience yearning to embrace Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig and the troubled cops they play. Sorry, folks. That would be tougher than giving Wolverine a manicure or asking 007 to commit," writes New York Daily News critic Joe Dziemianowicz, who gives the play three out of five stars. "Chicago writer Keith Huff's play is a stark and modest work that's all talk and no action. It keeps you at arm's length."

Not that the lukewarm reviews have kept away the crowds, or Jackman and Craig, both 40, from receiving kudos for their effort and charisma. But the stars – the actor kind, not the good-review kind – are the only thing Steady Rain has going for it, the critics agree.

"It's hard to avoid thinking that had they chosen to recite the alphabet in counterpoint (which might have been more fun), their joint appearance would still generate ticket sales unknown for a straight play since Julia Roberts appeared in Richard Greenberg’s Three Days of Rain," writes Ben Brantley of The New York Times, referring to Roberts's 2006 Broadway debut, which similarly sold out despite mediocre reviews.

The one thing almost universally lauded about A Steady Rain: Craig and Jackman berating an audience member in character when his cell phone went off – twice! – in the middle of intense scenes last week.

A YouTube video of the stage smackdown has been extremely popular online. Here is is for your viewing pleasure.

Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig Drama "A Steady Rain" Sets Broadway Record

The new Broadway drama "A Steady Rain," starring Hollywood stars Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig, has set the record for the highest weekly ticket sales of a non-musical play, its producers said on Tuesday.

The play about two Chicago policeman earned just under $1.17 million at theater box offices in the week ending September 20th while the drama was still in previews.

It beat the previous record of $1.06 million set by comedian Billy Crystal's "700 Sundays" in May 2005.

"A Steady Rain," in which Jackman and Craig portray two Chicago cops offering two different accounts of a harrowing event that changed their lives, officially opens on September 29th.

The play, by Chicago playwright Keith Huff, was first produced off-Broadway in 2006.

Jackman, 40, who starred in Hollywood movies such as "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," has starred on stage in New York before, winning a Tony, Broadway's top honor, for his portrayal of singer/songwriter Peter Allen in "The Boy from Oz" in 2004.

Craig, 41, is making his Broadway debut. He has had his share of success, too, on stage in Britain but also playing British super spy James Bond in recent movie box office hits, "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace."

"A Steady Rain" is scheduled to run until December 6th.

Daniel Craig & Hugh Jackman on Broadway!

Hollywood hunks Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman are starring in Keith Huff’s Broadway play, "Steady Rain."

A Steady Rain is a two-man play about two Chicago cops whose lifelong friendship is put to the test when they become involved in a domestic dispute in a poor neighborhood. The play opens officially on Tuesday night at NYC’s Schoenfeld Theatre.

Hugh Jackman & Daniel Craig Hit Broadway!

Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig’s faces are fused together in this exclusive artwork for new play "A Steady Rain."

The pair gave their first preview performance on Wednesday night for friends and family at New York City’s Gerald Schoenfeld theater. Deborra-Lee Furness was spotted cheering on her husband in the audience but Daniel’s girlfriend Satsuki Mitchell seemed to be M.I.A. After the show, Daniel and Hugh signed autographs and took pictures with fans outside the stage door.

The show's stage was simple: two actors, two chairs, two light fixtures hanging above them, and a black backdrop. There was no trace of James Bond under Daniel’s mustache and completely convincing Chicago accent. And Hugh gave an extremely emotional performance while delivering his heart-wrenching tale. He also delivered plenty of eye candy in his skin-tight polo. Daniel was dressed in a suit the entire time.

A Steady Rain will officially open on September 29th for a limited 12-week engagement is scheduled to close on December 6th.

Check out a great behind-the-scenes look of the play at USAToday.com. It’s a great read!

You can also pick up tickets to the show at ASteadyRainOnBroadway.com.

Daniel Craig Requests Extra Protection

It seems Daniel Craig isn't quite as tough as James Bond. The actor has been in New York for his Broadway debut in "A Steady Rain" with co-star Hugh Jackman, and insiders tell Page Six that Craig demanded personal security around him at all times. Jackman, who was recently named People's Sexiest Man Alive, requested none.

A source said: "Everybody thinks it's funny because the truth is, Daniel rarely gets approached by the public in the street and at restaurants -- especially now that he has the huge handlebar moustache for this role."

Another source added, "Security and secrecy around the show are so tight that Jackman and Craig are rehearsing at a secret location outside the city."

Page Six notes that this isn't the first time Craig's been called a wimp. In 2005, he revealed himself as the new James Bond on a Royal Marine commando boat, but he looked terribly seasick and was wearing a life jacket. He later admitted that the ride had scared "the [bleep] out of me."

No Discounts For Daniel Craig & Hugh Jackman's Broadway Run

Producers of Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig's new Broadway show "A Steady Rain" are feeling the effects of the worldwide credit crunch - ticket discounts for top talent agents have been banned.

The 007 star will make his Broadway debut opposite seasoned theatre star Jackman on September 10th in the dramatic play, about a pair of police officers whose friendship is strained when they mistakenly return a Vietnamese boy to a cannibalistic serial killer.

According to the New York Post, agents are in uproar after receiving a memo indicating a new policy restricts sales to not-for-profit organisations, and bans discounts and commissions for theatre talent agents during the 12-week run.

One broker tells the newspaper, "Business is bad enough these days be cause of the economy. This will choke us further."

Daniel Craig Takes Ice Pop Form

007 Daniel Craig’s sculpted torso is Del Monte Foods’ inspiration for their new “license to chill” ice pop.

Del Monte Superfruit Smoothies said artists “worked tirelessly” to recreate a shirtless sculpture of 41-year-old Craig in the scene where he emerges from the sea in "Casino Royale", the twenty-first film in the James Bond series.

What a great way to lick Daniel's sexy body without getting in trouble!

007's Daniel Craig to Make Broadway Debut with Help from Wolverine

Action movie hunks Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig are bringing Hollywood glamour to Broadway - they are teaming up to hit the New York stage for a new play.

The 007 star will make his Broadway debut alongside seasoned theatre star Jackman in new drama A Steady Rain.

The play, written by Keith Huff and produced by James Bond's Barbara Broccoli, follows two cops from Chicago, Illinois whose close friendship is pushed to its limits after becoming involved in a domestic dispute in a poor neighbourhood, reports the New York Post.

Craig performed small roles on the London stage before breaking into Hollywood, while X-Men star Jackman won a Tony Award in 2004 for his turn in Broadway musical The Boy From Oz.

A Steady Rain is due to open this autumn.