Stieg Larsson’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo has been adapted to screenplay and will release worldwide in theaters Dec. 21, 2011. Current James Bond star Daniel Craig will star in the film, along with Rooney Mara from the upcoming film The Social Network.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo will be the first film of the series in The Millennium Trilogy, which has sold more than 40-million copies in the U.S. The other two films, The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest, will begin shooting next month in Sweden.

The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is directed by David Fincher, and the screenplay is written by Steve Zaillian. The film will be released under Columbia Pictures and is being produced by Scott Rudin, Cean Chaffin, Ole Sondberg and Soren Staermose.

Could the James Bond film franchise possibly be finished? The new Entertainment Weekly magazine (Aug. 13, 2010) suggests that the James Bond franchise could be finished, along with Daniel Craig as agent 007. The article says Craig has already moved on after the 23rd Bond film was recently cancelled, signing up to do a new film called The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

But Bond films have had their financial troubles before, and long breaks between films are something Bond fans are no strangers to. E-Weekly quotes a former MGM exec who suggests the studio sells its stock in the Bond films. A comment from one reader says Craig is no good as Bond, and that Pierce Brosnan should be brought back.

Maybe the studio who makes the next Bond film should just cut the budget for special effects, high profile actors, and stick to good script writing. Early Bond films hold up to this day because of quality writing, not overly done CGI. Brosnan’s ridiculous glacial parasailing in Die Another Day (2002) was possibly the moment when Bond films ”jumped the shark.”

Say it isn’t so! The latest James Bond film which was in production was just scrapped because of financial problems studio producer MGM is having back in Century City, California. The studio halted production in April of 2010 because of problems, and now the Mirror reports the film has truly been scrapped. Will another studio pick up where MGM left off? Or will the film just never be produced?

Bond 23 (as it was referred to) was rumored to include Rachel Weisz (The Fountain), Judi Dench (Quantum of Solace), and possibly Frieda Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) as Bond’s newest romantic interest. The film was being directed by Sam Mendes (Revolutionary Road) and written by Peter Morgan (Frost/Nixon).

We can only hope another studio picks up the tab or MGM figures out how to get production rolling again. MGM could sell of its stock in upcoming Peter Jackson film “The Hobbit” but apparently execs are not too keen on that idea. Bond 23 was budgeted at £132, which would have cost double the amount of 2007’s “Casino Royale” at £60. (According to The Numbers)

Christopher Nolan’s Inception will hit theaters on July 16, 2010 and will no doubt remind you of On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969), which Nolan says is his favorite James Bond film. “I’ve been plundering from the Bond movies in everything I’ve done, forever. I grew up loving them and they’re just a huge influence on me,” Nolan told Empire magazine. Read more

Former Bond girl Gemma Arterton (who played MI6 agent Strawberry Fields) has gotten married to stunt man Stefano Catelli who she met on the set of Quantum of Solace back in 2008. The wedding took place at a secret location in Southern Spain. Arterton described her wedding dress to InStyle magazine last month but no dates for the wedding were given. In Quantum of Solace, Gemma played MI6 field operative Strawberry Fields who helps Bond infiltrate businessman’s Dominic Greene’s crime-laden organization. Unfortunately, we’ll never see Fields again as she was killed shortly after being seduced by Bond.

American mystery and crime writer Jeffery Deaver will write the next James Bond novel — presently titled “Project X” for a lack of better titles — scheduled to release on May 28, 2011. Deaver’s recent works include The Burning Wire: A Lincoln Rhyme Novel — a thriller that takes place in Manhattan where terrorists attack the city’s electrical grid. The Burning Wire is Deaver’s ninth Lincoln Rhyme novel to date. Deaver has also recently released Edge (2010), Roadside Crosses (2009), and The Bone Collector (1997) which was adapted to film and starred Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie. We are certainly looking forward to the novel, which will release almost a year from now. For more info on Jeffery Deaver, check out his wiki page.

There have been plenty of rumors going around about who will be the next James Bond girl. But according to reports from the UK Slumdog Millionaire actress Frieda Pinto signed a multi-million pound agreement to play Bond’s love interest in the next film. The next 007 film will be directed by Sam Mendes and set in Afghanistan, according to Britain’s Daily Mirror. Other actresses who could easily fit the bill and made People Magazine’s short list include Heidi Montag (The Hills), Megan Fox (Transformers), and Zoe Saldana (Star Trek). But if Frieda is already picked, let’s remember there is usually another beautiful actress playing a villain or 00 agent. Remember Gemma Arterton as Strawberry Fields in Quantum of Solace and Teri Hatcher as Paris Carver in Tomorrow Never Dies.

Here are photos of Bond girl Halle Berry who played NSA agent Giacinta ‘Jinx’ Johnson in the 2002 film Die Another Day.

Here are some photos of Eva Green who starred as Vesper Lynd in the 21st James Bond film Casino Royale.

A new James Bond Encyclopedia from DK Publishing will start shipping Monday, Oct. 19. The updated reference includes the newest Bond film Quantum of Solace, as well as complete coverage of the Bond library of films. The hardcover book is 8.26 x 5.23 inches and includes 336 pages.

The James Bond Encyclopedia retails for $40, but Amazon.com currently has it on sale for $26.40.