Early Buzz: James Bond gets wet, more

It seems like Guest Bloggerpalooza is off to a good start, so I'll consider this the green light for more of the same, Pop Candy readers. Let me start by thanking all of you for a very warm welcome to the neighborhood. Here's hoping I can repay your kindness with some links that keep things moving in the right direction.

- Although we might have to wait until December 2013 to see Benedict Cumberbatch's take on Smaug, the mental image of him getting into character is priceless.

- Here's a pretty fantastic behind-the-scenes video from the new James Bond movie, Skyfall, featuring an underwater fight scene. I visited the Pinewood Studios set of the film back in April, and can vouch for just how amazing this set really is, and how much detail they're putting into the film.

- Apparently, Siri has an interesting perspective on robot-centric movies in the new iOS6.

- It looks like we have a bit more information on the characters that will appear in Joss Whedon's upcoming S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. I wonder which role Alan Tudyk will play!

- You saw the new photos from The Lone Ranger here at USA TODAY, right? I like what I see so far, and hope it draws some inspiration from the Dynamite Entertainment comic that debuted back in 2006. It was a surprisingly good read, and made me believe a movie like this could actually work. Warning: Once you see what Yoda would look like as a human, you cannot un-see it. The stuff of nightmares, it is!

- Move over, Dr. Curt Connors, here's a short film about Eric Sprague, a man who turned himself into "The Lizardman" using a variety of tattoos and other forms of body-modification. Fun fact: I bumped into Eric once or twice around the Albany area when he was still in the early stages of becoming the Lizardman and I was a local newspaper reporter. It's interesting to see how far things have gone from those early days.

- The newest member of the Justice League is a handyman hero sponsored by Craftsman Tools. No, seriously! His name is ... wait for it ... The Craftsman! What? Who did you think did the tune-ups on Wonder Woman's invisible jet?

- I'm not a big fan of Boardwalk Empire, but I would watch the heck out of Sesame Street's spinoff show Birdwalk Empire.

- FYI: I totally bought one of these "ROM 2012" shirts to wear during an upcoming event I'm hosting. Sure, he's from another planet, but he's still my candidate of choice.That's it for today's links, folks! Hope you like 'em!

You can find Rick Marshall on Twitter at @rickmarshall and on his personal blog at MindPollution.org