James Bond is back in action

GOOD news for the forces of good ... James Bond is back in action.

Pierce Brosnan recently suffered a knee injury while preparing for the 20th 007 movie - provisionally titled Beyond the Ice - but after surgery in Los Angeles he was back in his dinner-jacket, stirred but not shaken.

Meanwhile, when Brosnan tires of playing the super agent he might keep an eye on the prolific output of award-winning Belfast writer, Marie Jones.

The Irish actor was in London recently and popped in to see a production of Jones's much-honoured play, Stones in his Pockets. He talked to the stars of the two-hander about the arrival of a Hollywood company to make a movie in a small Irish town and said he'd love to be in any screen version ... though he admitted he doubted if he'd fancy tackling the multitude of roles played by the actors.

The play is currently running in San Diego, while Jones's other recent hit, A Night in November, is running in Los Angeles. Her two plays, in addition to the Stateside schedules, are running currently in London, Dublin and Hong Kong and Stones is set for a Belfast return.

Jones, meanwhile, is in the States to see her plays on stage .... and to help Belfast- and Los Angeles-based writer-producer Angela Lubbock pitch her latest project to the major studios.

It's called Holywood Story - no, that's not a mistake since the comedy is set in the 'one l' Co Down town and in Hollywood, California - and Lubbock has offered Jones the role of the mother of two lads who write a screenplay and head to Hollywood to get some big names interested.

Says Jones: "It's an absolutely wonderful story, full of great characters. It's the sort of thing I write myself, it's about people having a dream and chasing it. When Angela showed me the script and offered me the part, I thought: "Oh dear, playing mothers in an Irish drama usually means I get to say: 'Have a wee cup of tea!' or else: 'Please don't shoot my son!'"

Not this time, though, and Jones adds: "It's the sort of movie that deserves to be made and I'll be doing everything I can to help Angela."

Dame Judy Dench, who plays Bond's boss M, says she would love to actually meet her co-stars in the series. Her scenes usually take place in an office which means she often doesn't even know who else is in the movie until she sees it on screen.