The first ‘official’ image from Skyfall, otherwise known as James Bond 23, has emerged from the deep end of the pool. Last week the interwebz were all abuzz about what was supposed to be a first look at Daniel Craig as Bond but it was from Casino Royale. Despite the fact that it was disclaimed almost as soon as it was posted the first time, it took days for the thing to stop boomeranging around the net. This is a classic example of the paucity of fact-checking and the fact that there are literally generations of people who believe everything they read or see on the internet. Very scary indeed.

But enough digression (have you figured out yet that I do that a lot?)…Take a look at that pic! That back is enough to make my socks roll up and down. Imagining the rest of his form as it slowly climbs the ladder out of that chlorinated water that matches the color of Mr. Craig’s azure-eyes (ahem), is heat inducing surely. It's a probably gratuitous yet altogether welcome nod to the famous shot in Casino Royale. It even appears that the trunks are the same color.

Skyfall continues to film in London. We have some pics of the goings on featuring Dame Judi Dench and director Sam Mendes, below. In other news, it was recently announced that frequent Mendes collaborator Thomas Newman would be scoring the film. Enjoy! Skyfall opens 26^th October in the UK and November 9 in the US (of this year! YAY!)

Kenneth Branagh as Sir Laurence Olivier, gets a dressing down from Dame Sybil Thorndike, played by Judi Dench, in this clip from My Week with Marilyn. I can not even imagine anyone talking to Sir Larry this way, but apparently if you’re a both a Dame and an esteemed lioness of the English theater, you can get away with it. He certainly looks abashed.  Dame Sybil is offering moral support to the perpetually tardy Marilyn Monroe (Michelle Williams pictured above with Dougray Scott as Arthur Miller) on the set of 1957’s The Prince and the Showgirl, a film which starred and was directed by Lord Olivier.  Apparently the experience so rattled him that he didn’t direct another film until 1970 (Chekov’s The Three Sisters).

My Week with Marilyn, directed by Simon Curtis is about Colin Clark (Eddie Redmayne), an employee of Sir Laurence Olivier's, who documents the tense interaction between Olivier and Marilyn Monroe during production of The Prince and the Showgirl, as well as his own relationship with the star.

Enjoy the clip, the film opens Wednesday November 23 in the US and Canada and Friday the 25^th in the UK.

We haven’t talked about Daniel Craig with reference to Skyfall, or Bond 23, since the press conference last month. There hasn’t really been much to say. Director Sam Mendes and the rest of his cast, including Judi Dench, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, Berenice Marlohe, Albert Finney, Ralph Fiennes and Javier Bardem are being typically tightlipped about the whole thing. Fiennes has hinted more than once while out beginning the promotional rounds for Coriolanus, that he may be playing a version of great Bond villain, Ernst Blofeld. At least he hasn’t outright denied it when asked. We don’t know what kind of villain Bardem will be playing and who Albert Finney will be playing is anyone’s guess.

Trying to make something out of nothing or at least keep Bond in the public eye, there have been a some internet rumblings about Mendes’ Bond being more of a thinker than a fighter. Pfffft.  I have no problems with a more cerebral Bond, frankly I think that’s one of the things Daniel Craig brings to the role in the first place. Mendes, however, can do action when it’s called for. A few fuzzy images of  James Bond (Craig) have surfaced as he rides around in the back of a Range Rover, but the only official pic to be released is from the first day of shooting and it’s the interior of a public restroom. Ick. (I include it below just so you’re not missing anything.) Today, however we got some shots of Craig running around Trafalgar Square. The difference here is that it is clearly Craig as Bond and he is clearly looking all kinds of dapper and swoon-worthy in a Tom Ford topcoat. Nuff said.

Enjoy the pics. There will be MUCH more to follow since Skyfall is still shooting, (it will eventually leave London for Scotland, Turkey  and China) and doesn’t fall into theaters until 26th October in the UK and November 9, 2012 in the US.

Wow. These people at Madame Tussaud’s are getting scary good at this! If I were a casual observer and didn’t know that I was looking at a wax figure of Kate Winslet’s famous figure, I wouldn’t even guess.

The statue was unveiled today, November 9, in London and I have to say that’s probably one of the best I’ve ever seen. And look at the background…it looks as if the real Dames Helen Mirren and Judi Dench are in the room with her.  Incredible.  I love the dress they chose for Kate’s look, too. That red Elie Saab (a favorite designer of hers) from the 2011 Emmys is a definite winner. Frankly, I’m surprised it took the people at Madame Tussaud’s this long to get around to Kate. You’d think they’d have “Jack and Rose” from Titanic in there somewhere (you know the pose I’m thinking of…”I’m flying!”)

Liz Edwards, PR Manager for the museum told Reuters, “Kate Winslet has been one of the most requested figures here at Madame Tussauds London. We actually asked our guests who they would like to see in a poll and she actually came top of a list in the poll so that's why she's here today."

It  seemed for the longest time, that it would never get off the ground at all, but finally, after all of the rumors, it’s now official! James Bond 23 will be called Skyfall (a very badly kept secret since it had been leaked online a month ago) and both Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes have signed on, along with Albert Finney!  Dame Judi Dench returns as M, and French actress Berenice Marlohe is the new “Bond Girl” (Bond Woman?). Naomie Harris will play an agent called Eve. Woot! This is exciting news. The cameras are set to roll in a matter of days on Sam Mendes’ take on the 007 mythology, with Daniel Craig, of course, once again playing the world’s sexiest, suavest, best-dressed secret (by Tom Ford, of course) agent, James Bond. The film will be shot in London, Turkey, China and Scotland.

A press conference was held in London today to officially announce the title and the casting decisions, as well as reveal the plot of what is being called a “stand-alone” storyline. The movie will not relate to an original Fleming story, but the title "has some emotional context which will be revealed in the film," according to producer Barbara Broccoli. Skyfall will see Bond at odds with M as a figure from her past emerges.

"Bond's loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her," the official plot synopsis reads. "As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost."  Skyfall will be released 26 October 2012 in the UK and November 9 in the US and Canada.

There are a lot of new pics available for Clint Eastwood’s new baby, J. Edgar starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the original head of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. J. Edgar Hoover was the symbol of American law enforcement for nearly 50 years and assembled a cohesive, cooperative federal enforcement agency that advanced the use of forensic evidence, especially fingerprints. He was also hated as much as he was admired. His  now legendary abuses of power include the manipulation and blackmail of elected officials, wiretapping and the intimidation of civil rights leaders.  But, "…behind closed doors, he held secrets that would have destroyed his image, his career and his life." J. Edgar tells the story of this dichotomy.

Also in the cast are Dame Judi Dench as Hoover's mother Anne Marie, Armie Hammer as Clyde Tolson, Hoover's friend, ally, constant companion and perhaps lover (the movie is leaving it open to interpretation), Josh Lucas as Charles Lindbergh, Naomie Watts as Helen Gandy (seen in the pics at various stages of her fifty-four years as Hoover's trusted secretary) and  Jeffrey "Burn Notice" Donovan as Robert F. Kennedy. (And is it me or does it look like Hoover is arresting Conan O'Brien in one of the pics? It's actually Damon Herriman as Dewey Crowe… Bruno Hauptmann)

Written by Dustin Lance Black (Milk, "Big Love"), J. Edgar will open in the US and Canada on November 11.