Srinivas Padma: Personal Musings on Life, Growth, and Connections

Producers have revealed some of the secrets about the latest James Bond film, due for release later this year, including the inner turmoil that drives its suave super agent hero and its title: ' Quantum of Solace .' As titles go, it's not as mellifluous as 'From Russia With Love' or 'Goldfinger.' But Daniel Craig, returning as Bond after 2006's 'Casino Royale,' says he likes it. "It has grown on me," Craig told reporters on the film's set at Pinewood Studios near London on Thursday. "It doesn't trip off the tongue. But why should it?" Producer Michael G. Wilson said the title, chosen only a few days ago, was taken from a story by Bond creator Ian Fleming that appears in the collection 'For Your Eyes Only.' Craig said Fleming defined a quantum of solace — it means, roughly, a measure of comfort — as "that spark of niceness in a relationship that if you don't have, you might as well give up." Filmin...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - In the secretive world of movie spy James Bond, the "Bond girl" for the new installment in the movie series had been top secret, but on Monday Bond's backers said Ukrainian bombshell Olga Kurylenko is the actress. Columbia Pictures, the film studio behind the popular movies about the British secret agent, said the 28 year old Kurylenko has been cast in one of the most coveted roles in the movies - 007's sidekick for the still untitled Bond flick. The film, which is the 22nd in the series that dates back to 1962's "Dr. No," is due in theaters in November and stars Daniel Craig as the dashing British spy who regularly saves the world from a destructive evil villain. Early reports had actress Gemma Arterton as the new Bond girl, but even though Arterton has a role in the new film it is not as large as Kurylenko's, said a source close to the film. The Ukrainian actress joins a long list of leading ladies to be cast alongside the s...

After winning rave reviews for Casino Royale, Actor Daniel Craig has signed a $60m (€41m) deal to star in the next four 'James Bond' films. The blond 39-year-old is currently filming Bond 22 - his second outing as secret agent 007 following the success of 2006's 'Casino Royale' - and movie executives have reportedly signed him up for another three films, tying him to the franchise for the next 10 years. A source says: "To date Daniel has been quite cautious over saying how many films he'd be starring in. "It was presumed he'd probably do a couple more but the word is the new deal ensures he'll do at least another four across the next decade." Craig's predecessor, Pierce Brosnan , starred in four Bond movies - but the longest-serving 007 star remains to be Roger Moore, who played the iconic role in seven films between 1973 and 1985.

Simon Winder London: Half a cen tury after his invention, having now outlived his creator by more than 40 years, James Bond has taken on an almost religious role in our lives, miraculously reincarnating and retooling. His arrival in multiplexes in his fresh, blond avatar, Daniel Craig, adds to this mystic atmosphere. The film, Casino Royale, is a remake based on the first of Ian Fleming’s Bond books: an attempt to return the character to his roots, a fresh beginning after the increasingly witless Pierce Brosnan years. In astrological terms, this is the equivalent of several planets or suns or whatever being perfectly aligned. Will Bond’s latest rebirth usher in some new era in our history? The comparison is far from facetious. Like all cults, the Bond sect has gained strength through a constant rain of setbacks and humiliations. The wild success of the books and the initial 1960s films created the range of texts against which all later experience has been judged. Ian Fleming and Sean C...