{alltv} 'Transporter' heading to small screen

Does nobody actually retire anymore? French filmmaker Luc Besson suggested to us that he would, after his 2006 CG animated film Arthur et les Minimoys.

"I've started to get a little tired," he said then. "It's a question of honesty. I love and respect the audience and I'm scared to repeat myself. There's so many examples of directors I've seen and loved, and they continue too long, and make films that are less and less good."

Since then, he's shot two sequels to that kidflick, plus two other features and written or co-written all three films in The Transporter series starring Jason Statham.

The next act in Luc Besson's non-retirement begins in Toronto in July when shooting starts on a 12-episode TV series of The Transporter, produced by Besson.

Chris Vance is stepping into Statham's role of Frank Martin, who'll transport anything anywhere, no questions asked, usually at excessive speeds.

Yeah, good luck flooring it in Hogtown during road construction season.

BOND AMBITIONS: Licences to kill are notoriously difficult to obtain. They're even harder to keep. But then that's always been one of the hazards of playing James Bond. Almost as soon as an actor is cast as Ian Fleming's superspy, fans and journalists begin speculating about who's going to replace him. And while current 007 Daniel Craig is considered the best Bond since Sean Connery retired his Walther PPK, it hasn't stopped people from speculating about which actor may be next in line.

The latest name? Michael Fassbender, currently starring as Magneto in X-Men: First Class. (That film's director Matthew Vaughn even suggested to the website Bleeding Cool that Fassbender would be a good choice after Craig moves on. And Vaughn, after all, directed Layer Cake, the crime drama in which Bond's producers first noticed Craig.) Of course, being the front-runner in the he-should-be-Bond-next sweepstakes isn't all that enviable a position either. Remember the years Clive Owen was seen as the heir apparent while Pierce Brosnan still had the role? And Fassbender aside, there is no shortage of other actors eager for the chance to order a martini, shaken not stirred.

As for Craig, he's committed to at least one more Bond outing, which will be released in November 2012 under the direction of Oscar-winner Sam Mendes.

But Craig, who has two potential franchises launching this year with Cowboys & Aliens and The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, knows no Bond lasts forever. "I went into it with just the intention that I leave it in a better place than when I found it," he told us shortly after Quantum of Solace was released. "That's all you can do. And hopefully ... I will get out of it before it goes wrong."

OVERSEAS TREASURE: Apparently Capt. Jack Sparrow is better suited to international waters. While Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides has lagged in North America compared to its predecessors ($164 million as of last weekend) in foreign markets, it's earned almost triple that ($485 million), according to the Hollywood Reporter.

For that, the trade says Disney can thank such countries as China, Russia and India, where 3D Hollywood productions are fueling the box office. Those international results should more than offset the decline in North America -- and likely ensure further Pirates outings.