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

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...