Bond 23 back in action

By Adnan Tezer Jan 12, 2011, 20:44 GMT

MGM's Gary Barber and Roger Birnbaum along with longtime James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli of EON Productions have announced that the 23rd James Bond movie is no longer a wistful dream.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a release date of November 9, 2012, has been set with production starting later this year.

The Bond franchise has been the strongest in Hollywood, with Wilson and Broccoli succeeding their late father, Albert R. "Cubby" Broccoli.

Daniel Craig is returning as 007 with Sam Mendes directing. The script was written by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade and John Logan.

No title, additional castings or plot specifics have been mentioned yet.

The budget is thought to be around $200 million.

What is also unclear is to whether the newly cash infused MGM will take on partners to co-finance the film.

MGM may turn again to Sony as it did on "Casino Royale" and "Quantum of Solace."

"Bond 23" will be the ultimate test as to how Barber and Birnbaum intend to run the studio, which had stalled its production in recent years as it struggled to deal with massive debt.

Wilson and Broccoli announced in April 2010 that "Bond 23" had been suspended indefinitely due to MGM's financial uncertainty.

MGM received a $500 million cash infusion three weeks ago, and agreed to trade the international distribution rights on the two "Hobbit" films with Warner Bros. in exchange for Warner funding MGM's half of the $275 million production costs on the films.