It wouldn't be a Bond movie without controversy, and despite the fact that it's still waiting for an official title, Bond 22 has just stirred up the inevitable first round of complaints -- and this time around, they don't have anything to do with the star's supposed deficiencies: IGN Movies and The Times are reporting that the film's planned climactic action sequence has raised the ire of animal rights organizations.

But first things first. In the IGN article, Daniel Craig divulges a tiny smidge of information regarding 22's plot, telling the Chicago Sun-Times:

"Well, I think that we've set up an idea now that there's an organization out there. He also has to deal with revenge because he has lost the girl [Casino Royale's Vesper Lynd]."

Bond's thirst for revenge apparently takes him to Tuscany, where he dukes it out with the bad guys during the Palio, a centuries-old bareback horse race that has fallen under intense criticism for the way its equine participants are treated. The sequence, which is to be filmed this week, will take place during this year's actual Palio, and although the filmmakers have agreed to a list of conditions -- including a ban on showing any race-related violence -- a number of organizations are annoyed with what's being seen as a glorification of a tradition which has killed 50 horses (and injured many more) in the last 37 years. According to the article in The Times:

Three years ago animal welfare activists called for it to be banned when an eight-year-old chestnut bay died of a broken neck after it collided with another horse on the notorious San Martino bend. Television viewers witnessed the horse being dragged away by its hind legs.

Margherita D'Amico, an animal rights campaigner, said the race was barbaric. "I have nothing against traditions but some are outdated. There was a time when young men were castrated to preserve their soprano voices -- but we don't do that any more," she said.

An excellent point, Ms. D'Amico. (You can uncross your legs now, gentlemen.)

In happier news, Metro is reporting that Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty "has been described as the 'perfect leading lady'" for Bond 22; the article goes on to claim that a deal is imminent between Shilpa and the film's producers, who are described as desperate for a star who "sells out cinemas across Asia." (That's her in the picture below. On the left, in case you were wondering.)



Source: IGN Movies
Source: The Times
Source: Metro