That will get you into the spirit as we happily spread the news that the heavily delayed James Bond franchise will be coming back to theaters in 2012.

Studio heads fighting for the rights of the British secret agent and crappy economy had put the fate of the world’s best secret agent in doubt. MGM and Sony had made quite a public fuss about financing the movie but have finally agreed to co-finance the movie together for the good of all humanity.

Now we can rest assured that hot ladies will be given their dose of James Bond as well as the trouble making group of international bad guys.

What really held up the future of Bond was the demise of the parent company, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which

is emerging from bankruptcy and is now a leaner operation run by Hollywood producers Roger Birnbaum and Gary Barber. Its financial woes cast doubt on the viability of the storied Bond franchise, which has reliably been churning out spy sagas since 1962. [via Yahoo!]

Sony has confirmed that there will be two more James Bond movies with the working titles “James Bond 23″ and “James Bond 24.”  Not quite catchy but it will do until they come up with something more fancy. It is also reported that Sam Mendes will direct “Bond 23″ and Judi Dench will be reprising her role as M.

The other aspect of the news is who will be Bond?

If you’re a fan of Daniel Craig you will be happy to know that he will be retuning as 007.  Personally, I dig Craig as Bond.  No one will ever be better than Sean Connery but as a modern day secret agent I like him. And I look forward to the western sci-fi movie, “Aliens & Cowboys” staring Craig and Harrison Ford and due out in June.

The suspension comes as a result of MGM’s continuing financial difficulties and inability to sell the studio. Hopefully, if development continues, there will be enough money allocated to the production of the new Bond film to maintain the high standards viewers have come to expect. We hate to imagine Bond having to adhere to a shoestring budget.

Defiance

Daniel Craig (James Bond) and Liev Schreiber (THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) team up for a look World War II epic about a small group of Jewish brothers who flee to the woods to fight off the evil Nazis.

Based on an extraordinary true story, DEFIANCE is an epic tale of family, honor, vengeance and salvation in World War II. The year is 1941 and the Jews of Eastern Europe are being massacred by the thousands. Managing to escape certain death, three brothers take refuge in the dense surrounding woods they have known since childhood. There they begin their desperate battle against the Nazis. Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber and Jamie Bell star as brothers who turn a primitive struggle to survive into something far more consequential – a way to avenge the deaths of their loved ones by saving thousands of others.

At first it is all they can do to stay alive. But gradually, as whispers of their daring spreads, they begin to attract others – men and women, young and old – willing to risk everything for the sake of even a moment’s freedom. Tuvia (CRAIG) is a reluctant leader and his decisions are challenged by his brother, Zus (SCHREIBER) who worries that Tuvia’s idealistic plans will doom them all. Asael (BELL) is the youngest – caught between his brothers’ fierce rivalry. As a brutal winter descends, they work to create a community, and to keep faith alive when all humanity appeared to be lost. –© Paramount Vantage

DEFIANCE is directed by Edward Zwick who also gave us GLORY, THE LAST SAMURAI, and BLOOD DIAMOND. The trailer looks good and the production levels are fairly high. We get a gut-feeling that this will be a decent flick that looks better than it really is in the sense of THE LAST SAMURAI rather than GLORY.

DEFIANCE opens wide in theaters January 16th.

Munn. Olivia Munn

Olivia Munn from G4’s “Attack of the Show” continues to feed our fetish needs when she tried out to be a Bond girl for the latest James Bond flick, Quantum of Solace. Grabbing her best latex suit (imagine she has a closet full of various styles and colors) she gives her best audition. Sadly, she wanders off the script a little and doesn’t get the job. We would have given it to her.

Olga Kurylenko

“Critics seemed shaken by its nonstop mayhem, but moviegoers were stirred to support “Quantum of Solace” in franchise-record numbers during the weekend as the James Bond film bowed with an estimated $70.4 million in domestic grosses.

A 22nd installment in the lucrative 007 franchise, now the joint property of Sony and MGM, the Daniel Craig starrer opened two frames earlier in many foreign territories and totes a $252 million international cume. Sony is handling physical distribution of the film worldwide, but MGM was a 50-50 participant in its $200 million in production costs.

The previous-best domestic debut for a Bond film was the $47.1 million registered by 2002’s “Die Another Day.” The franchise’s top domestic theatrical run has been charted by “Solace” predecessor “Casino Royale,” which rung up $167.4 million in U.S. and Canadian coin after unspooling in November 2006.

“Solace,” Craig’s second outing as 007, had been set to bow Nov. 7 domestically. But studio executives decided to hold it back a week after Warner Bros. moved “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince” from November to July, so the Sony-MGM film could debut closer to the lucrative Thanksgiving period.

The outsized domestic opening for “Solace” exceeded even the high end of prerelease projections and was aided by positive global buzz. Craig’s industry star has received an immense boost in the process as moviegoers clearly have taken to him in the iconic Bond role.

“Audiences have embraced him, and domestic audiences were champing at the bit for the film,” Sony distribution president Rory Bruer said. “It’s certainly gratifying, to say the least.”

Daniel Craig and Gemma Atkinson

Reuters reports that around the world Bond is King. Folks are embracing the new Bond in Daniel Craig if ticket sales are any indication.

“Quantum of Solace” and its 2006 predecessor “Casino Royale,” which opened to $40.8 million, starred Daniel Craig. The laconic English actor has invested the famed agent with a darker, more complicated personality.

The new film also earned $56.1 million in 73 countries during the weekend. Having begun its international run two weeks ago, the foreign total now stands at $251.6 million. With a worldwide haul of $322 million, the film is fast approaching the $594 million tally of “Casino Royale.”

James Bond Wedding Cake

This must be the cake for George Lazenby from ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service‘. What many consider the least favorite Bond, Lazenby showed up once and screwed things up by getting married. Not our favorite 007 flick by any means. (source)