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James Bond is the most lethal lover in cinema history, according to The Guardian.

Out of the 51 women the secret agent has bedded over 22 films, 16 have ended up dead. The first death was Jill Masterson (Shirley Eaton) in Sean Connery's 1964 outing Goldfinger. After being seduced by 007, the character was covered in gold paint and died from skin suffocation.

The last fatality in the franchise paid homage to Goldfinger, with Quantum Of Solace's Strawberry Fields (Gemma Arterton) drowning in crude oil.

The Roger Moore Bond adventures saw more than a quarter of the women he bedded end up dead, while his predecessor George Lazenby lost his wife at the hands of villain Ernst Blofeld.

None of Timothy Dalton's conquests died during his two-film tenure, but Pierce Brosnan was responsible for the death of three of his lovers.

Daniel Craig is the most dangerous 007, having seen three of his Bond girls - Casino Royale's Solange and Vesper Lynd, and Quantum Of Solace's Fields - meet a grim demise.

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Sean Penn, Jim Carrey and Benicio Del Toro have been linked to the Farrelly Brothers' Three Stooges project.

MGM has signed Penn to play Larry Fine, while negotiations are currently underway for Carrey to take on the part of Jerome "Curly" Howard. The 'Yes Man' actor is apparently planning to gain 40 pounds for the role.

The Farrellys and MGM are targeting Del Toro to play Moe Howard.

According to Variety, the film will be a comedy based on the characters played by Moe, Larry and Curly rather than a traditional biopic of the comic trio.

It will be Penn's first comedy since 1989's We're No Angels. Shooting is scheduled to begin after Penn finishes work on action thriller Cartel later this year.

The Three Stooges is scheduled for release in 2010.

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Catherine Keener has described Michael Winterbottom an intimate director who operates with a limited crew.

The actress worked with Winterbottom on last year's Genova, and told The Guardian about how he made his movies.

Keener said: "Michael works in a very personal way, As for the crew, they were virtually invisible, except for a director of photography and a sound guy.

"It shows me you don't need the extra stuff. But it takes a lot of work, sensitivity and preparation - combined with luck."

She added: "Michael would just pull in extras from the people walking around Genova. I don't think we had permits.

"We worked on locations and got whatever we could, mostly with available light."

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Quantum Of Solace director Marc Forster has said that he turned down the chance to direct the next James Bond movie.

Speaking to MTV, the filmmaker suggested that his ideas for the next movie aren't in the franchise's best interests.

"They asked me if I wanted to," he said. "I'll never say never again, but at this point I would say no...For me, I wanted to take it to a harder and darker place, but now that that journey I've gone on has succeeded, I feel like the next one can take it to a bit more humorous place again."

Forster added that the next Daniel Craig spy outing "should take it in a lighter and more humorous way, maybe add a few more girls and a bit more sex - all that kind of stuff".

Danny Boyle, who was touted for the Bond director's chair, recently ruled out helming the series's 23rd entry.

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Isaiah Washington is reportedly being eyed to play the late Lou Rawls in a biopic exploring the "untold" story of the legendary singer's life.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Pathway Entertainment has acquired the script Through The Eyes Of A Son, which was written by Lou Rawls Jr., and gives a behind-the-scenes insight into the darker side of Rawls's story.

Washington's manager Adel Nur said that there was similarities between Rawls and fellow musician Ray Charles. "It's the untold side of a glamorous life. It's like Ray - we knew about the beautiful music, but we didn't know about the turmoil and chaos in [his] life."

Although Rawls built up a legion of fans through his music, he also suffered a poverty-stricken childhood and experienced severe marital problems in later life. Pathway's Robert Egan said: "We're showing the real story - what he was doing to his wife before walking out onstage and wooing the audience with a big smile."

Washington played Dr. Preston Burke in Grey's Anatomy and won the 2007 Image Award for outstanding actor in a drama series.

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J.J. Abrams has extended his contract with Paramount through to 2013.

The director signed a first-look deal with Paramount in 2006 after making Mission: Impossible III with the studio. Abrams will continue to develop, direct and produce movies for Paramount through his Bad Robot firm under the agreement.

"Bad Robot has had an incredibly fun and productive collaboration with Paramount," Abrams said. "We are all so grateful for their amazing support and creative team, and feel like we're just getting started. We are thrilled that we get to stay right where we are."

Paramount CEO Brad Grey added: "Today's announcement is meaningful to me in many ways. Bad Robot was one of the first deals we made to help rebuild the studio. J.J. has since become part of the fabric of Paramount and we look forward to continuing our fruitful creative collaboration for many years to come."

Bad Robot and Paramount's first release was last year's monster movie Cloverfield. They will follow it up with the Abrams-directed Star Trek next month and 2010 Harrison Ford comedy Morning Glory.

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WWE star Stone Cold Steve Austin has joined the cast of action thriller Stranger.

According to Moviehole, the project is a cross between The Fugitive and The Bourne Identity.

Rob Lieberman will direct and shooting is expected to begin in May.

The movie is Austin's latest project with Nasser Entertainment Group and Caliber Media Co., who he recently finished working with on fight film Damage.

The wrestler was added to Sly Stallone's Expendables cast last month.

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William Monahan will write the script and direct historical drama The Essex, according to Variety.

The project, which is based on the sea battles of Captain David S. Porter against the British in 1812, will be produced by Graham King's GK Films.

Porter famously navigated The Essex past British ships to reach the Pacific, where it attacked a British whaling fleet and engaged in a final battle with a special British squadron.

King and Monahan worked together previously on Mel Gibson's Edge Of Darkness.

Monahan makes his directorial debut later this year on London Boulevard.

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Michelle Ryan and Ashley Jensen are apparently being eyed to play Jade Goody in a film about her life.

Trustees from Goody's estate confirmed earlier this week that a biopic about the ex-Big Brother contestant was being considered and may be based on her second autobiography Catch A Falling Star.

A source told the Daily Mail that both Ryan, who played Zoe Slater in EastEnders, and Ugly Betty star Jensen are being considered for the role because of their ability to capture the late TV star's "fun-loving nature".

The insider said: "Nothing has been decided yet but already a number of names have been put forward, including Ashley Jensen and Michelle Ryan. Both actresses are thought to be able to capture the humour and fun-loving nature of Jade."

The 27-year-old died on Mother's Day after losing her battle with cancer.

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Well thats just stupid, if you dont get a movie made about Bernie Mac who was a comedy legend and a very good actor and no movie made about Isaak hayes who was one of the greatest singers and well known ones then what gives Jade Goody the right to have a movie made about her life as I would not pay to go see it when all you have to do is buy a newspaper and I find it so strange that there is hardly any news now on Natasha Richardson even though she was a A member of the Redgrave family and the other one that comes to mind is Patrick Swayze who even though he looks like a ghost now he still wants to keep acting by doing a second season of the beast.

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Sir Anthony Hopkins is to play author Ernest Hemingway in a new biopic.

Hemingway & Fuentes is being written, produced and directed by actor Andy Garcia, with a co-writing credit on the script going to Hemingway’s niece Hilary Hemingway, claims The Hollywood Reporter.

Garcia will also star in the independent film as Gregorio Fuentes, a fishing boat captain believed to be the basis for Santiago, the main character in Hemingway’s The Old Man And The Sea.

Actress Annette Bening is said to be in discussions to portray Hemingway’s wife Mary Welsh.

Academy Award winner Hopkins has previously played real-life figures in Amistad, The World’s Fastest Indian, Surviving Picasso and Nixon.

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Megan Fox has admitted that she is striving to win roles that will show her acting versatility.

Speaking to Empire, the Transformers actress claimed that she is keen to keep a distance from her sex symbol tag.

"You can't be [a sex symbol] 24 hours a day," Fox said. "I can't be a professional celebrity or a professional sexpot. I can't do that to myself. I just want to work and make the right choices, and study and develop as an actress.

"I don't want to be on the cover of every magazine that exists. I want to try not to do that. It's my job to show people something different."

Fox added that she is proud to have topped a poll asking who would be the best celebrity companion for spring break.

"I beat out Tina Fey. And that's such a victory for me!" she noted. "People are beginning to understand that I've got a personality and a sense of humour, and it's not a poll of 14-year-old boys being asked who they would most like to sleep with...

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Sex And The City star Sarah Jessica Parker had a stunt woman step in for her 18 stories above the ground on the set of her new film.

During the shooting of her latest movie Did You Hear About The Morgans? in New York, onlookers were surprised to see what appeared to be Parker with her underwear on display on a high-rise balcony, the Daily Mail reports.

Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the woman was not Parker, but her stunt double, who was standing in for the actress after she completed her close-ups.

In the romantic comedy, co-starring Hugh Grant, Parker’s character Meryl is afraid of heights and must climb into an adjacent apartment to escape from danger.

Did You Hear About The Morgans? began filming the day before Parker’s 44th birthday on Wednesday.

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Orlando Bloom is in talks to star in new film Main Street.

The production team behind late playwright Horton Foote’s final work is at the casting stage and wants to add Bloom to the ensemble drama, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Producers have already tapped Colin Firth, Ellen Burstyn, Patricia Clarkson and Andrew McCarthy to headline the tale of residents of a North Carolina small town whose lives are upset when a stranger appears in their midst.

Bloom would portray the sheriff of the town, while casting is also underway for the role of a young girl central to the plot.

Main Street, scheduled to begin filming in April in Durham, North Carolina, is directed by Tony Award winner John Doyle.

Bloom, whose credits include Pirates Of The Caribbean and Lord Of The Rings, will next star in fellow actor Mark Ruffalo’s directorial debut Sympathy For Delicious.

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PopWatch would like to thank Miley Cyrus for summing up the 2009 Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards: "I know this isn't, like, the Oscars, but it's still amazing." Too true. Unlike the three-hour-and-change ordeal known as the Academy Awards, last night's fest of neon-green slime and screaming tweens was mercifully devoid of Hollywood pomposity. The eminently likeable Dwayne Johnson hosted and even rocked some Miley Cyrus drag. (Quick: Who wore the hot little red mini dress better?) Will Ferrell, clad in a skin-tight lycra wetsuit, added Slip n' Slime World Champion to his long list of achievements. Plus, the whole shebang clocked in at a brisk 90 minutes. Wooh! That hour and a half just flew by! (Could it have been the two glasses of red wine I imbibed?)

Throughout the evening, many people were slimed, but no one got it worse than Sandra Bullock and Hugh Jackman. Announcing the winner for Favorite Book (the Twilight series, duh!), the two got a viscous stream of green blasted in their faces with the force of a tsunami. And they kept on smilin'! There should be a prize for that.

Cyrus made her insightful comments about the award proceedings while accepting her trophy -- sorry, blimp -- for favorite female singer. Other big winners included High School Musical 3: Senior Year (movie), American Idol (reality competition), Jack Black (animated voice), and Leonardo DiCaprio, who took home the inaugural Big Green Help Award for his environmental activism. (On a more serious note, double nominee Rihanna did not attend. Not surprisingly, no mention was made of Chris Brown who, in light of his arrest for allegedly attacking Rihanna, withdrew his name from the competition.)

What say you, PopWatchers? Did you tune in to this year's slime-o-rama? Did you, like, totally squeal over the Jonas Brothers? And most importantly, what did you think of Paula Abdul's bondage-y get-up?

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The 3-D animated event Monsters vs. Aliens opened in first place, as expected, with a super-solid $58.2 million gross, according to Sunday's estimates from Media by Numbers.

Assuming that early figure holds, DreamWorks Animation's movie garnered the year's biggest debut so far, besting Watchmen's $55.2 mil. It also got, of course, the top premiere of 2009 among 3-D movies like My Bloody Valentine 3-D and Jonas Brothers: The 3D Concert Experience.

The family film achieved said success by screening in a variety of fashions -- in regular theaters, on IMAX screens, in 2-D, and in 3-D. In fact, less than a third of its showings were in 3-D, but it still earned a whopping 56 percent of its money (about $32.6 mil) from those 3-D locations, where tickets were more expensive. An additional nine percent of its total (about $5.2 mil) came from 143 higher-priced IMAX shows. Overall, Monsters vs. Aliens played in 4,104 theaters and averaged a stellar $14,181 per. The movie also drew a nice A- CinemaScore review from an audience that was 62 percent under the age of 25. Yeah, it'll be sticking around for several weeks to come.

Meanwhile, The Haunting in Connecticut (No. 2) fared surprisingly well in its opening, grossing $23 mil -- a total that would ordinarily sew up a win. Indeed, had Monsters vs. Aliens not also come out this weekend, The Haunting in Connecticut's big bow would be an even bigger story (guess all those strange and banal posters and trailers served it well!). Even with a weak B- CinemaScore grade from a crowd that was 58 percent female, the fact-based horror flick gave Virginia Madsen the best premiere -- by far -- of her career as a lead actor.

Reigning champ Knowing (No. 3), starring Nicolas Cage, held on well during its second weekend, dropping just 40 percent to earn $14.7 mil. I Love You, Man (No. 4) stayed even stronger, declining a mere 29 percent to gross $12.6 mil. Duplicity was off 46 percent from its first-weekend figure, banking $7.6 mil at No. 5. And this weekend's other big new release, the WWE-produced action thriller 12 Rounds (No. 7), starring John Cena, got pinned with only $5.3 mil.

Overall, the box office was up more than 39 percent from the same frame a year ago, when 21 was the big opener. To be sure, 2009's box office winning streak continues.

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The Dark Knight was the big winner at last night's Jameson Empire Awards 2009.

The superhero sequel took home prizes for best film, actor (Christian Bale) and director (Christopher Nolan). The late Heath Ledger, who starred as the Joker in the comic book movie, was the recipient of a special tribute award.

"When you make a film like Dark Knight you really hope it reaches a lot of people, and Empire and its readers are really a great audience. Thank you very much," said Nolan via video message.

Latest Bond outing Quantum Of Solace won for best thriller, RocknRolla triumphed in the British film category, the comedy award went to Son Of Rambow, Wanted secured the sci-fi gong and Eden Lake was named best horror movie.

Other winners, voted for by readers of Empire magazine, included Helena Bonham Carter, who received the best actress award for Sweeney Todd, Mamma Mia! for best soundtrack and Gemma Arterton, who nabbed the newcomer gong.

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Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire has signed up for F1 biopic The Limit, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The movie is based on Michael Cannell's new book Limit, which tells the story of real-life friends and racing rivals Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Trips.

The pair were pitted against each other in 1961, when they both drove for the Ferrari team. Maguire will play the role of Hill.

Maguire is also producing the project for Columbia alongside Jenno Topping and Cathy Schulman.

Tony Peckham, who wrote Clint Eastwood's upcoming feature The Human Factor and Guy Ritchie's new Sherlock Holmes, has been tapped to pen the script.

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Rhys Ifans has joined the cast of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows.

Appearing on Friday Night With Jonathan Ross, the Welsh actor spoke about being fitted for a wizard costume while filming Mr. Nice, a movie about notorious drug smuggler Howard Marks.

"These people from Harry Potter had to fly out to Spain to fit me for my wizard outfit," Ifans said. "I'm in this room with the sleeves, the pointy hat, and Howard's wandering past the room with [a joint] on the go. He says, 'I never used to wear stuff like that'. I said, 'No Howard, don't panic. This is for another film'."

Ifans did not reveal which character he will play, but Potter site SnitchSeeker.com speculates that he may be Xenophilius Lovegood.

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Michael Fassbender, Paddy Considine and Brian Cox will star in a movie adaptation of Sebastian Faulks's bestseller Birdsong.

The drama, to be directed by British filmmaker Rupert Wyatt (The Escapist), will follow the life of World War I soldier Stephen Wraysford.

"I suppose you could relate it to The English Patient albeit of a different period, but it has a similar structure in terms of it deals with different timelines," Wyatt told Coming Soon.

"It's about a man whose heart is broken during a love affair with this married woman who ultimately ends up experiencing the horrors of the first World War."

Wyatt also revealed that he is working with 20th Century Fox on a big screen version of History Channel show Ice Road Truckers, which he describes as "very much like a modern-day Wages Of Fear but set up in the NorthWestern territories of Canada