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)

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.

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.

Barbara Broccoli, joint owner and producer of the 007 franchise has said that the women in the secret agent’’s early adventures were “progressive” role models. She also said that characters like Honey Rider, played by Ursula Andress in Dr No (1962), and Pussy Galore, played by Honor Blackman in Goldfinger (1964), were feminist icons.

“The women were unique for their time. Pussy Galore, for instance, was a female pilot. A lot of them were sexual predators who gave as good as they got. They had professional careers and did extraordinary things. I think the early women were very progressive,” Telegraph quoted her, as saying.

However, her comments elicited angry response from feminists.

According to her, there was a difference between the female characters who appeared alongside Sean Connery in 1960s and those who appeared opposite Sir Roger Moore in the 1970s.

I caught the trailer to the new Bond film Quantum of Solace and boy does it look dark. This new bond is no nice guy. The trailer barely shows new bond girl Camille, played by Olga Kurylenko, but I’m sure we’ll see more of her November 7.

Camille is Russian-Bolivian agent and the lead Bond girl. She has her own vendetta regarding Greene and Quantum. The producers of the film said Camille is someone “who challenges Bond and helps him come to terms with the emotional consequences of Vesper’s betrayal”.

Valenka, played by Ivana Miličević, is a Bond girl in the James Bond film Casino Royale, though she does not interact romantically with Bond. Read more