I just threw up in my mouth

From the Sydney Daily Herald in Australia:

Hollywood heart-throb Sam Worthington has been tipped to become the second Australian to play super spy James Bond.

British bookmakers William Hill made the prediction after news that Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, which controls the film franchise, was in dire financial trouble, the BBC reported.

William Hill made Worthington the 5/2 favourite to step into Daniel Craig's shoes should the English actor not reprise the Bond role for the third time.

Welshman Christian Bale, the star of the new Batman franchise, and Hollywood giant Will Smith were both 7/1 favourites.

Clive Owen was 8/1, Australian Alex O'Loughlin 10/1, Orlando Bloom 12/1, James Purefoy 16/1, and another Australian, Julian McMahon, was tipped at 20/1.

Australian George Lazenby portrayed James Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

Work on "Bond 23" had already been suspended indefinitely because of the uncertainty surrounding the future of MGM as it struggles to repay more than $US3.7 billion ($4 billion) in debt.

Craig, who has played the debonair spook for two films, has expressed confidence in the film's producers to get the spy series up and running again.

But previous breaks in production have led to changes in the lead role, such as between 1989 and 1995, when Timothy Dalton made way for Pierce Brosnan, the BBC said.

Worthington auditioned for the Bond role in Casino Royale, but was rejected in favour of Craig.

"You come back, exhausted, laughing that you went and did Bond," he said in 2006.

"It's like any big movie; you go and meet big directors. It's not a disappointment because it puts heat on you. You become well known for going in and doing your job."

If Worthington does one day snare the coveted action role, he would be the seventh Bond in the film franchise based on the Ian Fleming books, after Craig, Brosnan, Dalton, Roger Moore, Lazenby and Sean Connery.

He has recently hit the big time in Hollywood with leading parts in blockbuster films Avatar, Terminator 4 and Clash of the Titans.

Now, my take...are they insane?! Sam Worthington? The man is so wooden he craps splinters! He was awful in Avatar and worse in Clash of the Titans. Casting him as Bond would be a colossal slap in the face to 007 fans, especially those of us who were on board before Daniel Craig's blue eyes appeared on the scene.

I pray for this news to be false. Please, for the love of all things good and pure, reconsider this mistake before the franchise is killed.