Since James Bond was born to be a franchise and we never tire of the character, in all of his various reboots, this is good news indeed.

James Bond is back.

From WENN:

"The next James Bond film is officially back on track. Production on the stalled project is set to resume, and the movie is due in cinemas in late 2012.

"The 23rd 007 picture, starring Daniel Craig, was put on hold indefinitely this year as the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio fell into financial difficulty.

"The firm filed for bankruptcy this week and announced plans for a massive restructuring of the company's finances. The deal means film projects previously put on ice can now go ahead, and MGM executives have announced that the Bond film is a high priority.

 

We all still really, really like her.

That's Sally Field, who is reportedly in negotiations to join Martin Sheen (whom we also, really, really like) in Marc Weber's newest take on "Spider-Man."

Field is in talks over possibly playing Peter Parker's Aunt May, while Sheen might be chosen for Uncle Ben.

Here's more from Hit Fix:

"Still eternally youthful at the age of 63, Sally Field hardly resembles the traditional image of what most comic book readers expect of Peter Parker's beloved Aunt May.  However, reports suggests the two-time Oscar winner is in negotiations to join Martin Sheen, Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone and Rhys Ifans in Marc Webb's reboot of 'Spider-Man.'

"The news was initially broken by the Hollywood Reporter's Heat Vision blog, but is spreading around town like wildfire.  If the "Brothers and Sisters" star joined the cast, it would be a radical transformation of the character who was previously played, to great acclaim, by Rosemary Harris in Sam Raimi's three 'Spider-Man' films. 

 

This feels like a film that's been a long time coming, especially for Tim Burton.

"Dark Shadows," the movie.

Since it's based on an ABC gothic soap opera that ran from 1966 to 1971, I'm actually surprised current studio heads either too young to remember, or trying to act like they're too young to remember, didn't say, "Excuse me? You said 1966? Not 1986? You're telling me television existed before 'The A-Team'? Huh. Oh, it's about vampires? Well, I guess that's hot now. Wait ... it wasn't a comic book, was it? No? Well, where would Robert Pattinson fit into this?"

Anyway, even though it's yet another reboot, "Dark Shadows" seems like a potentially good one, especially with Johnny Depp (no, not Robert Pattinson) as the star. 

Depp will, of course, fill in for the role that Jonathan Frid made famous, as vampire Barnabas Collins.

 

Zach Galifianakis certainly knows how to start an interview.

Here, the "Due Date" star (opening today) talks about some, uh, interesting past cleansing habits with the Los Angeles Times:


"Seated in the Venice coffeehouse Abbot's Habit, just hours before the Hollywood premiere of his road comedy 'Due Date' last week, Zach Galifianakis was expounding on various subjects — New York fauxhemians, improvisational acting techniques, dog masturbation — when a memory from his not-so-distant past stopped the actor-comedian mid-sentence.

"'I used to wash my feet in the bathroom here,' Galifianakis recalled, suddenly wide-eyed."

 

Today I wrote about Movie City News' claim that James Franco was a sure thing come Oscar time. I agree that he is. 

A few weeks ago, I discussed Franco's never-ending ability to provide me with column space. An indefatigable multitasker, Franco has become an actor, a movie star, an Ivy Leaguer, a "Twilight" expert, a novelist, a soap star and a probable soap maker, seemingly in less than one year.

And now in an accidental (or purposeful -- one never knows with J.F.) act of outdoing himself, the actor can add this to his list of accomplishments: the ability to induce fainting, panic attacks and convulsive seizures.

That's correct: James Franco is so powerful that he's now, quite possibly, dangerous to your health. Cue a PSA by ... Franco himself, of course.

Movieline reports on Franco's latest shenanigans, specifically regarding his newest movie, Danny Boyle's harrowing (to say the least) "127 Hours." The movie opens Friday. It's getting rave reviews but ... well, read on:

"The official word from Fox Searchlight is 'No' — the epidemic of fainting, seizures and other visceral physical reactions to the amputation scene in 127 Hours is not a studio-engineered publicity stunt. Nor does the studio intend to capitalize on it, according to co-president Stephen Gilula: 'I would prefer that people not pass out; it’s not a plus. […] We don’t see a particular publicity value in it.' Noble? Sure. Tasteful? Always. Honest? Let’s check the medical history.

"Sept. 4 — Telluride Film Festival
Two separate reports had one person fainting at the film’s world premiere, while the official accounting from Searchlight counted 'an older gentleman [who] was light-headed at the first screening' and, at the second screening, a 'young woman (maybe 19 or 20) who had a panic attack. Paramedics attended to both people.' Anne Thompson’s fest correspondent Meredith Brody said she was reminded 'of the old days when people were vomiting in the lobby during The Exorcist.'

"Sept. 13 — Toronto Film Festival
'The first public screening of Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours had three faintings and one seizure,' wrote Wrap contributor John Foote. According to a fest volunteer, the audience at the Sept. 14 screening 'was made of sterner stuff than those from yesterday' — this despite Foote noting, 'I cannot remember a reaction to a film like this in a very long time, perhaps not since The Exorcist sent audiences scurrying for the doors (though much of that was later said to be a publicity stunt).' You don’t say."

 

Warner Bros. Pictures has released the new trailer for Zack Snyder's "Sucker Punch," and, aside from the awesome Led Zeppelin song ("When the Levee Breaks" -- and Zep isn't easy to get), I'm not feeling it ... yet.

The film, starring Emily Browning, Vanessa Hudgens, Abbie Cornish, Jamie Chung, Jena Malone, Carla Gugino, Jon Hamm, Oscar Isaac and Scott Glenn, will open next year, March 25, in regular theaters and IMAX.

Take a look:


 

David Poland at Movie City News discusses the Oscars, specifically who will be this year's inevitable Best Actor contenders. I believe the man is correct on all counts.

He lists five "undeniable" picks and explains why they're both worthy and popular choices.

Of those five, Poland chooses Javier Bardem ("Biutiful"), Robert Duvall ("Get Low"), Jesse Eisenberg ("The Social Network"), Colin Firth ("The King's Speech") and James Franco ("127 Hours").

Here's what he writes about Franco:

"James Franco is an Undeniable. He holds the audience in his palm from the third minute of '127 Hours' (when we first really see him) until the very last moment, when he hands it all back to the real Aron Ralston for a closing bow.

"It is a tribute to Franco and Boyle and the whole team that something as tightly defined as being stuck in a narrow passage of rock for more than 5 days feels like so much more. But first, it is on Franco. As an audience, we cannot disconnect from him for a single moment or the illusion is over. And we don’t."

 

With the election season in full swing, The Los Angeles Times posts a nice gallery of the best, or as the intro says, "at least the most entertaining" politicians in movies.

"You can't vote for them (yet), but it's nice to take a break from the electoral chaos with some good, old-fashioned cinematic escapism."

Here's one from the list -- and one of my favorites -- Warren Beatty in "Bulworth":

"Senator Jay Billington Bulworth - 'Bulworth'

"We don't necessarily want our senators to break into rap (it's bad enough when our parents do it), but a little honesty can go a long way. Apparently the best politicians are the ones with nothing left to lose."