Unknown Actress Rooney Mara to Play The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo!

After months of rumours and speculation about which actress will play the title character, also known as Lisbeth Salander, in the Hollywood remake of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, the role has finally been assigned to a relatively unknown American actress called Rooney Mara. Reportedly, Mara beat out a number of more established actresses for the part, including Scarlet Johansson, Ellen Page, Natalie Portman, Carey Mulligan, and Emma Watson.

Mara will co-star alongside James Bond thespian Daniel Craig in the film and most likely in two sequels, The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. The rising star can next be seen in the film called The Social Network, about the founders of Facebook, along with new Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo begins shooting next month in Sweden and is scheduled to be released in December of 2011.

Congratulations to Rooney for seizing one of the most sought after jobs in Hollywood!

James Bond has a Date with The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo!

Although we will not be seeing Daniel Craig as James Bond again anytime soon, due to MGM’s bankruptcy, Craig fans will still be able to get their dose of the British actor in the upcoming Hollywood remake of the popular Swedish film, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, as first reported by Deadline New York. Craig is rumored to have beaten out George Clooney, Johnny Depp, and Brad Pitt for the lead role.

Originally a novel by late Swedish author and journalist Stieg Larsson titled Män som hatar kvinnor (which literally translates to “Men Who Hate Women”), the story follows a middle-aged journalist, Mikael Blomkvist (Craig), as he investigates the mysterious disappearance of a girl who went missing forty years earlier at the age of

sixteen.  The story is the first of three that make up what is called The Millenium Trilogy. The next two books in the series are titled respectively The Girl Who Played With Fire and The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets’ Nest.

If Sony Pictures Entertainment goes forward with adapting all three Millenium books into films, Craig will be the first Bond actor to have been featured as the lead character in two separate movie franchises. The rest of the cast of the American version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo has not been announced yet, but the film has been slated for release on December 21, 2011.

Congratulations to Mr. Craig for winning the highly coveted role!

New James Bond Film Officially Cancelled!

Oh noooo! This is such disappointing news for us James Bond fans. Movie studio MGM has confirmed that production of the twenty-third bond film has been completely terminated. Back in April, producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli announced that development of the next installment of the celebrated spy movie franchise had been put on hold “indefinitely” due to the financial instability of MGM, the distributor and major stakeholder of the Bond property. With this announcement, the film’s development has gone from being on hold to full stop.

To date, MGM is still bankrupt and seeking a buyer for the studio and/or its assets, such as James Bond. The studio has been given until July fourteenth by its lenders to work out a plan of action with potential buyers. The three major entities to emerge as the most likely to purchase MGM are Spyglass Entertainment, Summit Entertainment, and Lionsgate Entertainment.

Unfortunately, this news means it will likely be several years before we see a new Bond picture released in theaters. EON Productions, which produces the Bond films, has stated: “We do not know when development will resume and cannot comment further at this stage.” Daniel Craig, the most recent actor to play 007, has not released a statement about the cancelation. In light of the fact that he is under contract for at least two more films, Craig is probably not thrilled about the news.

I’m sad to say that it looks like we have no choice other than to simply live and let die… for now.