James Bond spotted in Moscow

Daniel Craig stars as James Bond
in 'Quantum of Solace'Britain's deadliest secret agent, James Bond, was spotted while on assignment in Moscow yesterday. Actually, he was doing a pretty poor job of keeping a low profile: He held a press conference at the city's Ritz Carlton hotel.

According to Variety, the worldwide promotional tour for the new Bond film "Quantum of Solace" kicked off in the Russian capital. On hand were QoS star Daniel Craig and fellow cast members Olga Kurylenko (the new Bond girl) and Anatole Taubman (the new Bond villain).

Director Marc Forster and co-producer Barbara Broccoli were also eagerly ringing in a new era of Anglo-Russian cooperation. It used to be the Commies were a reliable villain for the Bond series. Now, Broccoli describes Russia as "a key, emerging market."

"We shot in St. Petersburg and had a wonderful experience," she added. "Russia is a country with a very strong film tradition and we are very much looking forward to the Russian reaction to the film."

Raise your hand if you think all of this is creepy and surreal. Anyway, QoS opens in the U.S. on Nov. 14 — eight days after it opens in Russia.

(Jorge Sosa is a staff writer for the Hutchinson Leader. He can be reached at sosa@hutchinsonleader.com)