That’s right folks, the often delayed and occassionally in trouble next James Bond adventure is now a reality. In fact, it even has a title: Skyfall.

The announcement was made today at a London press conference by producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, who confirmed that stars Daniel Craig and Judi Dench will indeed return in the Sam Mendes-directed 23rd James Bond adventure. Also confirmed were actors Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes, who will join the previously announced Naomie Harris, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney and Ben Whishaw in the film.

“We’re so delighted to have Sam Mendes direct Skyfall and be working once again with Daniel Craig,” Wilson and Broccoli said in a joint statement. “We’ve a great script, an extraordinary cast and an incredibly talented creative team for this latest James Bond adventure.”

In Skyfall “Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost.” Mmm, tested loyalties and Bond stopping at nothing to save the world?

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After studios going bankrupt, directors walking out, and everyone giving up hope on what would be the 23rd James Bond flick, it looks like things are finally coming together on what could be a huge sequel.

We know that Daniel Craig will be back, and he has recently gone on record as to say that fan favorite bad guy Javier Bardem (No Country For Old Men) was in contention with Ralph Fiennes to play the film’s main villain. After an interview with ABC Nightline, it looks like Bardem let slip who the victor of that battle was. From ScreenRant:

For all the secrecy surrounding director Sam Mendes’ (American Beauty) Bond film, the confirmation of Bardem’s casting came pretty casually (irony alert) as the actor sat down to talk to ABC Nightline about more serious matters – like suffering refugees. Of course, most people reading this are probably more interested in the Bond news – said Bardem:

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Writer, Producer Mark Verheiden is one of the nicest, most talented guys in the world. That’s why when we hear news concerning his accomplishments, we are happy to help spread the word.

This week it’s the announcement that Verheiden will co-write with Akiva Goldsman the NBC TV series The Dark Tower. The project, based on the best-selling series of novels by Stephen King, is being turned into a motion picture trilogy and TV series directed by Ron Howard.

Verheiden will also executive produce the The Dark Tower series, along with Goldsman, for Universal Media Studios. The series will serve as a bridge between the first and second movie in the trilogy. Also, actor Javier Bardem is reportedly negotiating to fill the main role of gunslinger Roland Deschain in both the films and the TV series.

Verheiden, of course, is no stranger to TV having worked on such series as Smallville, Heroes, Battlestar Galactica and the upcoming Falling Skies. He’s also written over 125 comic books including The American, Aliens, Predator, The Phantom and Superman as well as upcoming feature films Quatermain and Ark.

We wish him the best of luck with this new project and look forward to seeing the series once it arrives. With this kind of talent involved, we expect great things.

This may be the biggest year for the Academy Awards, as some major Hollywood players are going up against some fresh newcomers. Eyeballs everywhere will be glued to ABC on Sunday, February 27th at 8PM E/5PM P when the awards show goes live. But before that, we decided to do some picking of our own with the staff’s predictions for each award.

For a full list of the nominees, check out our previous article on the subject. Now, on to the predictions.

Best Picture

Shannon Hood-The Social Network. It had early and consistent momentum all year, and the Academy appears to be trying to shake up their stodgy image. This would be the perfect film to put their money where their mouth is.

Matt Raub – True Grit. Not only are the Coens a regular in the “I Have an Oscar” club, but this testament to classic western films is definitely one for record books, between its all-star cast and gritty (no pun intended) visual style, this one definitely deserves the golden statue.

Chris Ullrich – True Grit. Even though this was a pretty great year for movies and there are many excellent choices in this category, True Grit stands on its own as my pick. As an example of pure movie storytelling, this Coen Brothers masterpiece excels on every level and delivers a pure entertainment experience you will want to revisit many more times in the future.

Cortney Zamm – The Social Network. There’s a lot of great films in this category, some of them from my favorite directors and starring my favorite people. But the one that combined all of the essential elements of filmmaking into a truly gorgeous, compelling, and memorable film was The Social Network.

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We all know that sci-fi and fantasy book adaptations are huge right now. Harry Potter just about broke the box office, Twilight is continuing the trend, and Hunger Games is in the process of bringing that even further with another huge screen adaptation. Well, that’s not all, as Ron Howard and super producer Bryian Grazer are getting some movement on their adaptation of Stephen King’s Dark Tower series.

It’s now being announced that No Country For Old Men star Javier Bardem is now being courted for the lead in the film, and potentially “films”. From Deadline.

I’m told that Bardem has officially been offered the lead role by director Ron Howard and Universal Pictures. While formal negotiations haven’t yet begun, there’s a high level of enthusiasm internally that they’ve got their cowboy. Akiva Goldsman has scripted the first movie, and will write the TV component as well. Imagine Entertainment’s Brian Grazer is producing with Goldsman and the author.

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the  nominees for the 83rd annual award ceremony this morning. The King’s Speech was the front-runner with 12 nominations. Overall, there weren’t too many surprises.

Many were disappointed  that Christopher Nolan did not receive a best director nod, but as a consolation prize, Inception was nominated as a contender for best picture.
True Grit did quite well, with Hailee Steinfeld nabbing a best supporting actress nod, and nominations for best picture, best director(s), best actor, and best adapted screenplay. Winter’s Bone was recognized for best actress, best picture, and best adapted screenplay. Dogtooth, Jackie Weaver, and Javier Bardem were nice surprises.

Here are the nominees in the order that they were announced.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld True Grit
Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale The Fighter
John Hawkes Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner The Town
Mark Ruffalo The Kids Are All Right
Jeffrey Rush The King’s Speech

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Normally, when a new trailer for a film comes out we try to give you some context for it and explain a little about what’s going on in it and with the film. We also tend to go on a little about the actors in a particular film or how much we like the director or his/her previous films.

On occasion, we also try to piece together the film’s story from images or scenes in a trailer — which isn’t always easy. Although, with trailer these days it often is. They tend to give away too much. Take the new trailer for Eat, Pray, Love for instance.

In it, Julia Roberts travels from place to place eating, loving and occasionally praying. Well, I might have made up that last one. She definitely eats and loves. . . a lot.

Anyway, check out the new trailer for the film after the jump. Eat, Pray, Love is based on the novel of the same name and also features James Franco, Billy Crudup and Javier Bardem. It hits theaters later this year.

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