Taking Names

Britney and Bond

If Britney Spears is slated to be the next Bond girl, it’s news to James Bond.

Pierce Brosnan says he knows nada.

“Bless her cotton socks and good luck to her,” he told Associated Press. If given a choice, Mr. Brosnan says he would prefer Keira Knightley (“Pirates of the Caribbean”) or Monica Bellucci (“Matrix Reloaded”) to fill the famous female role.

Whoever the next Bond girl is, she may have to wait a while. The next 007 movie — the 21st — is scheduled to hit theaters in November of next year, but Mr. Brosnan says production has stalled.

“There’s a certain sense of paralysis that has kind of blanketed production at the moment,” he said. “The last Bond broke all records. They don’t know what to do.”

Klein-hearted

Actor Chris Klein got a call from Kevin Spacey asking him to consider a roll in director Matthew Ryan Hoge’s “United States of Leland.”

“For a young actor, to be getting calls from Kevin Spacey,” Mr. Klein says over the phone, “it’s a great compliment. That guy’s got an amazing eye for material.”

Needless to say, he took the part. The movie, about a horrific juvenile crime, opens here April 2.

In the District for the first time in his 25 years, the Omaha, Neb.-born actor (“Election,” “American Pie”) is promoting the film among area college students.

Reaction on other campuses, he says, has been ecstatic.

Time on promotional tours, of course, is time away from fiancee Katie Holmes, another young actor coming into her own.

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