Double-0 Heaven! Many congratulations are in order to James Bond star Daniel Craig and his award-winning actress wife Rachel Weisz, who are said to be ‘very happy’ at the birth of their new baby girl.
It is their first child together. Daniel, 50, has a daughter, Ella, 26, from a previous relationship, while his wife Rachel has a son, Henry, 12. As many Bond fans know, Daniel and Rachel first started dating in December, 2010, after meeting on a film they were starring in together, and they married in New York in June, 2012, where they spend much of their time when not working on movies. They also own a property in Britain.
The devoted couple, who guard their privacy strongly, have not yet announced a name for their new daughter. Craig is Weisz’s first husband, and she has previously said that she had no desire to get married until she met the James Bond star. The pair’s very happy marriage is usually kept very much from the media limelight where possible but, earlier this year, Rachel said in an interview that they were very much looking forward to the birth.
Bond… James Bond
Meanwhile, of course, rumour, counter-rumour, and other pieces of speculation have been swirling around in the media about Bond movie no.25 in light of the departure of director Danny Boyle and his screenwriter and close friend John Hodge (it was announced by EON on August 21st that Boyle had left due to ‘creative differences’).
A good clue on what may have happened behind the scenes was offered on Friday, August 31st, by the showbiz columnist Baz Bamigboye, who has a fairly reliable track-record on Bond news stories. Writing a short piece in the Daily Mail, Bamigboye noted that there is a lot of pressure on the 007 producers to find a director to take over from Boyle, ‘who quit when Daniel Craig and fellow producers insisted on replacing screenwriter John Hodge’.
Another rumour which seems to have a grain of plausibility to it is that there was some kind of disagreement over the finale to the movie. However, until there is more reliable information made available, all this speculation should be treated with a great deal of caution. If there is a silver lining to all this, it is the fact that James Bond has very much remained in the national and international news over the last week or so, and – paradoxically – that can only serve to further increase interest in Bond no.25.
Keeping watching this space for further news: you know the name, and you know the number.
Daniel Craig and Rachel Weisz (behind) share a special moment at the ‘Spectre’ premiere