'CASINO ROYALE' PASSES CHINA FILM BOARD

Casino Royale' has succeeded where all other Bond films have failed - it has been passed by China's strict film board.The latest 007 instalment - which had its world premiere in London on Tuesday night - has surprisingly been approved by China's Film Censorship Board, which monitors "cultural pollution" from Western-made movies.The board typically censors films that contain what they deem to be excessive violent, political or sexual scenes.The movie - starring Daniel Craig in his debut outing as the suave spy - is due to hit Chinese cinemas on January 30. Li Chow, Sony Pictures' China manager, said: "We are extremely pleased that the film has passed and expect it to be one of the highest grossing films next year in China."Meanwhile, 'Casino Royale' has smashed the existing record for debut nightbox office takings for any film in the spy franchise, when it took in millions on Thursday. The record was previously held by 'Die Another Day', starring Pierce Brosnan, which broke records on its opening night in November 2002.

DANIEL CRAIG