the industry

James Bond Signs Deal to Bring His Blue Eyes, Chiseled Features, Sculpted … Um … Sorry, We Got Distracted

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Bond Franchise Secured: Just as Paul Haggis hands in his script for the temporarily titled Bond 22, Daniel Craig signs on for four more films as 007. That’s a long time to keep doing all those pushups and crunches, but presumably he can now do them atop a mountain of cash. [Dark Horizons]

Penn, Ledger Climb Tree of Life: Sean Penn and Heath Ledger are in talks to star in Terrence Malick’s long-in-development drama Tree of Life. The plot is under wraps, but with Malick, Penn, and Ledger involved, we can safely assume it’s about a pair of mismatched cops who, stuck with an adorable orphaned child, learn to love again. [HR]

Dillon Steals Roles: Matt Dillon is in negotiations to star in two films centered around heists, both for Sony’s Screen Gems. In Bone Deep, Dillon plays an L.A. detective after a gang of bank robbers, and in Armored he plays one of several armored car guards planning to rob their own truck. When both films are released about two years from now, Matt Dillon will steal your heart and Sony will steal your money. [HR]

Love Shack Reopens: The B-52’s will release Funplex, their first album in sixteen years, on February 26. The band will debut six of their new songs tonight at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan, we hope playing loudly enough to drown out all the yelled requests for “Rock Lobster.†[Billboard]

Theater Nears a Dirty Death: In honor of Halloween, we offer today’s scariest item: A musical version of the film Dirty Dancing — actually titled Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage, and already a hit in London — will have its North American debut tonight in Toronto. [Playbill]