Bond 23 axes the action, targets an Oscar

Is that little bald statue stroking a white cat? It wouldn't be a surprise if it was, given the news that Bond's next big challenge is to take down an Oscar.

Bond, James Bond has pulled off some tricks in his career but if the rumours are true that director Sam Mendes plans to ditch action scenes in favour of “characterful performances”, then this could be the hardest job 007 has ever had to tackle.

Daniel Craig has previously said he'd like to bring more “emotional depth” to the role and he probably wasn't expecting that to happen in a film called Skyfall (if that really is Bond 23 's title).

Stranger things have happened...

“There are growing rumours Sam Mendes is cutting out the action scenes and making it Oscar-friendly,” an unnamed source told The Express .

The same report claims that “action scenes in India have all been axed” though scenes in Istanbul and Duntrune Castle in Argyll “are still there for the moment”.

“This could be a disaster in terms of sales at box office. Given that this 007 needs to make at least £300million to break even, it may be a very high price to pay for an Oscar nomination,” the source said.

If any Bond film is going to have a shot at Oscar glory, it's one directed by Mendes and starring Craig, Javier Bardem and Ralph Fiennes.

Forget Skyfall . Mendes' film could turn out to be The Man With The Golden Gong .