Cinema & Movie & celebrity News And Rumors

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Halle Berry is many men's idea of the perfect woman, but she'd like to spend a day in another actress' skin - Kate Winslet's.

Berry, who was recently named the Sexiest Woman Alive by men's style magazine Esquire, would love the British star's on-screen confidence.

New mum Berry says, "Kate Winslet is always naked, sitting on a toilet, running buck-naked. She's free. I want to be the kind of actress who can really be comfortable with my body like that." l

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Jane Fonda will return to Broadway for the first time in 46 years when she takes on a starring role in Moises Kaufman's 33 Variations.

The movie great will play a modern-day musicologist attempting to unravel the mysteries of composer Beethoven's inspirations.

Fonda says, "I can't wait to get back on stage... in this role that I understand so well."

And thrilled Kaufman adds, "I am delighted to be working with one of America's greatest actresses, a performer of such insight, intellect and heart."

Fonda's last appearance on Broadway was in the 1963 drama Strange Interlude.

The play will open in New York this winter

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Australian actress Nicole Kidman was terrified of giving birth to her daughter Sunday, but was pleasantly surprised to find the experience "easy."

The Hours star welcomed her first child with husband Keith Urban in July.

And Kidman admits she was extremely worried in the weeks leading up to the birth, but it was her partner who helped calm her fears when the moment finally arrived.

She tells U.S. magazine Glamour, "Keith was my rock during childbirth. I'd heard horror stories of 40 hours of labour, and I was sure that would be me, but I had a very easy labour. And through it all, Keith's eyes gave me such strength."

Kidman also has two adopted children, Isabella and Connor, with her ex-husband Tom Cruise

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The identity of Anne Hathaway's mystery new boyfriend has been revealed - he is actor Adam Shulman.

The 26-year-old actress last month revealed she had found love again, five months after splitting from her jailed boyfriend of four years Raffaello Follieri.

She refused to reveal his name, but the new couple have been caught together enjoying a break in New Orleans, Louisiana - where Hathaway is promoting her new movie Rachel Getting Married.

Shulman, 27 - the former star of TV series American Dreams - confessed to Life + Style magazine, "We met through mutual friends. I came to support Anne. We've never been to New Orleans before - it's our first time."

Hathaway said in October of her then-unknown beau, "You know when you don't know someone very well.you just meet them and you're like, 'Wow, you really have it going on'?" l

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Bestselling Jurassic Park author and filmmaker Michael Crichton has lost his battle with cancer in Los Angeles. He was 66.

Crichton, who also wrote --- thriller Disclosure and co-created hit TV series ER, was 66.

In a statement, the author's representative says, "While the world knew him as a great story teller that challenged our preconceived notions about the world around us, and entertained us all while doing so, Michael Crichton was a devoted husband, loving father and generous friend who inspired each of us to strive to see the wonders of our world through new eyes.

"He did this with a wry sense of humour that those who were privileged to know him personally will never forget."

A family insider tells website MomLogic.com, "Michael's family respectfully asks for privacy during this difficult time."

Crichton was born in Chicago, Illinois but grew up in Roslyn, New York, the son of a journalist who encouraged his writing passion.

He quit studying English at Harvard University to travel through Europe and then returned to Massachusetts to study medicine at Harvard Medical School.

His early novels were written under the pseudonym Jeffery Hudson.

Crichton gave up medicine in the early 1970s and moved to California, where he began directing movies based on his books.

His big break came with 1973 cult movie Westworld.

He almost became an actor in the mid-1970s when director Nicolas Roeg called on him to play the alien David Bowie eventually portrayed in The Man Who Fell to Earth. To date, his only acting role came in 1971's The Andromeda Strain, in which he played an uncredited surgeon.

The author/director starred in his own real-life drama in 2002 when he was tied up and robbed at gunpoint by masked men in his Santa Monica, California home.

Married five times, Crichton leaves behind one child, Taylor.

His bestselling novels and hit screenplays also include Twister, Congo, The First Great Train Robbery and all the Jurassic Park sequels.

As a filmmaker, he directed the movies The 13th Warrior, Physical Evidence, Runaway and The First Great Train Robbery, among others.l

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Latest: The death of a special effects technician on the movie set of The Dark Knight was an accident, an inquest has ruled.

A jury at Monday's two-day inquest at Woking Coroner's Court in Surrey, England heard that Conway Wickliffe lost his life during a test run for a scene in the latest Batman film, in which the Batmobile is blown up.

The 41-year-old father-of-two was leaning out of a car while operating a camera when the vehicle crashed on the test track at the QinetiQ site in Surrey in September 2007.

Wickliffe's partner, Dee Chase, is now urging big movie companies to hire health and safety officials to oversee every stunt in a bid to prevent further tragedies.

Chase says, "Warner Brothers (the studio behind The Dark Knight) are a huge multi-million dollar company - why are they cutting corners like this? These guys are under pressure because the director will say he wants something and they have to respond as quickly as possible. It is the culture of the industry and it needs to change."

According to the BBC, bosses at the Health and Safety Executive (Hse) may now bring a prosecution over the incident. l

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Comedic actor Steve Carell has reportedly been tapped for a forthcoming sequel to his spy-themed action film Get Smart.

The summer blockbuster's huge commercial success landed Carell a multi-million dollar three-movie deal with studio Warner Bros. last month.

The deal does not include any more secret agent sequels.

But, according to the New York Daily News, studio bosses are "moving forward" on the project - in which Carell will reportedly have producer credit.

One studio insider tells the publication: "He's not asking for ridiculous money. It's not green-lit yet, but it's in active development."

A Warner Bros spokesperson adds: "We're not having any difficulty with Steve. We have a great relationship. We just signed a first-look production deal with him. He's on the lot now. We're looking forward to a long relationship."

Get Smart has grossed more than $230 million (GBP144.1 million) worldwide to date. l

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French actor Samy Naceri has been sentenced to six months in jail after he was found guilty of causing involuntary injury while driving without a licence.

Naceri, 47, was accused of knocking over a female policewoman with his car in the accident, which occurred earlier this month.

According to police, Naceri was driving without a licence and tried to pass himself off as his brother when stopped.

The Taxi action movie star holds previous convictions for drink driving, speeding and assault.

He was also fined $9,600 (GBP6,016) by a Paris court on Wednesday.

Naceri did not attend the court hearing in a bid to avoid a media "circus", according to his lawyer Francoise Cotta. He added the actor was "sincerely, deeply sorry" for the incident. l

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Brad Pitt is stepping behind the camera to take a new superhero to the big screen - Battling Boy.

The actor's production company Plan B has bought the movie rights for the forthcoming comic book, about the son of a god who travels down from his mountain home to battle monsters.

The novel is due for release in 2010, and a movie version is expected to follow suit - once Pitt has hired a writer to adapt the story for the big screen. l

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Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams' on-off romance is off again, just four months after they sealed their reunion with a public kiss.

The pair began dating first time around after meeting on the set of 2004 movie The Notebook.

They split in 2007, but reconciled in July and were soon spotted smooching at a restaurant in Toronto, Canada.

But friends claim the relationship has hit the rocks again.

A source tells Us Weekly, "Rachel is too controlling. They broke up the first time because of their busy schedules - and that's the problem again."l