Bond Is On Fire - Literally!

It would seem that playing the world's deadliest, most elusive spy is quite a risky affair after all. And no, this time it's more than a pulled muscle hurt while trying to pull off one of the famous Bond-style stunts that are bound to leave the audience gasping in excitement. This time, it's real conflict, it seems that the cast and crew currently filming the 22nd Bond film called "Quantum of Solace" in Panama has found itself thrown into a "war zone" complete with street fights, killings and rioting gangsters. This extraordinary situation came about as the Bond cast and crew came to Panama to film a section of the movie and was immediately confronted with a string of robberies, muggings and thefts of equipment from the set conducted by local mobsters and gang members.

The situation became worse when the police got involved with permission to "shoot to kill" anyone who tried to infiltrate the set or its crew - and ended up doing just that, eventually killing a local gang member, which only served to spark further violence. "It's a war zone out there. There are literally hundreds of masked people taking to the streets. We're having to film between protests and riots. It's so dangerous. Quite a few of the crew are considering clearing out because they fear for their lives. It's chaotic", said a source from the movie set.

"The police warned the city's gangs to stay away from the film set while crew were making the movie. They've been given permission to shoot on sight anyone thought to be trying to harm the crew. But now they've killed that young man, the people are fighting back", another source reported. The situation is said to be getting worse by the day, so much so in fact that all the cast and crew members are now under armed protection, and the movie's producers are seriously considering rewriting the script and placing the movie's action someplace else.

"The insurers are very stressed about things coming off the rails and holding up the shoot. Crew are close to walking off the set because they are concerned for their safety. And I've heard that corrupt police are leaning on the production team for payoffs to protect them", said another source. "If things get any worse, they may have to put the project on hold and rewrite scenes so that they allow for a change of location - then move back to civilization as soon as possible". Well, that really doesn't sound too good - I hope they look after all the cast and crew members and find a way out of this situation - and they better put Daniel Craig's rear end on a permanent watch. We need our Bond whole and healthy!