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Beloved British ‘bad guy’ ALAN RICKMAN is set to play the villain again after signing up for a role in TIM BURTON’s movie adaptation of SWEENEY TODD.
The thespian will play JUDGE TURPIN in the new project, which reteams Burton with JOHNNY DEPP.
The cast also includes Burton’s real-life partner HELENA BONHAM CARTER and funnyman SACHA BARON COHEN.
The film adaptation of STEPHEN SONDHEIM’s musical will begin filming early next year (07).

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VAN SMITH, who created the costumes and makeup for the films of JOHN WATERS, has died. He was 61.
Smith died Tuesday (05DEC06) at his home in Marianna, Florida of a heart attack.
He became a regular part of Waters’ film repertory group, Dreamland, starting with PINK FLAMINGOS, a movie starring 300-pound (136 kilogram) transvestite actor DIVINE.
Working on a tight budget, Smith found simple ways to make the stars look outrageous. He shaved Divine’s hairline deep into the actor’s forehead to make room for excessive eye makeup and dressed her in a red fishtail gown. His destructive makeup techniques included using dirt to obscure a natural glow or letting egg white dry on an actor’s face.
He also designed a shower curtain dress for actress LIZ RENAY in DESPERATE LIVING and put MELANIE GRIFFITH in a Chanel jacket that he reformatted with a biker mystique in CECIL B DEMENTED.
Smith was also a New York City fashion illustrator, Baltimore antique store owner and Florida animal rescue volunteer.

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MATT DAMON was terrified when he found out he was going to be a father, but now couldn’t be more thrilled with his role as a dad.
Damon, 36 and wife LUCIANA, married in December 2005 and became parents to ISABELLA in June (06).
He explains, "I didn’t think that this would happen to me. Other people were always showing me baby pictures or trying to hand me the baby, and I was like, ‘Get that thing away from me. I don’t want to touch your kid. Give me a break.’ But I’m totally into it now." At first, the "scared" actor was "kind of excited for my daughter to be two.
I was excited for her to start kind of talking and walking and toddling around hanging out, but I didn’t realise how much personality little people have right off the bat. I feel like I got made a member of a club that I didn’t know existed. It defies description, actually. (It’s) been just amazing."

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Movie star SHARON STONE had to wear an extra-large fat suit to play a grieving mum in new movie ALPHA DOG because she looked stunning in everything the director tried to put her in.
Moviemaker NICK CASSAVETES was desperate to capture the reallife weight problems SUSAN MARKOWITZ suffered as she attempted to cope with the death of her son at the hands of JESSE JAMES HOLLYWOOD, but Stone couldn’t look rough if she tried.
He explains, "The woman gained a bunch of weight… She had an extremely tough time with the events that happened, a really difficult time.
"I remember when I was testing fat suits on Sharon, you put 40 pounds on her (and) she still looks like a glamourpuss. We had to really go and put it on her. She liked it.
"She feels a certain comfort with all that stuff on her."

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AMERICAN IDOL star JOSH GRACIN found himself fronting one of his favourite groups at a charity show on Thursday night (07DEC06) when LONESTAR singer RICHIE McDONALD was forced to sit out of the concert.
A back injury prompted McDonald to scrap the Hidalgo, Texas show and his bandmates were left desperately trying to find a replacement.
Gracin was an easy fit - because he was already on the bill at the South Texas Academic Rising Scholars benefit and he already knew all the songs.

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Cult British rockers the EDITORS have commissioned four top remixers to revamp their tunes as part of an iTunes exclusive Remix EP.
Producers SEBASTIAN, GHISLAIN PORIER, P NICE and PRINCE LANGUAGE have been invited to rework the songs CAMERA, MUNICH, ALL SPARKS and BLOOD from the group’s hit album THE BACK ROOM.

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Heavyweight rocker JAY LINK is halfway towards his seven-year goal of losing 400 pounds (181.4 kilograms) after tipping the scales at 550 pounds (249.4 kilograms) in 2001.
The DEATH & TAXES frontman is celebrating after losing 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) and now he’s determined to shed another 200 by the end of 2008.
In March (07), Link will begin a Walk For The Children to raise funds for various children’s charities.
The marathon walk will begin in Kingman, Arizona and end 2000 miles later in Chicago, Illinois.

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Singer/actress DELTA GOODREM is heading home to Australia, two years after she left for America fearing people were getting sick of her.
Between her stint on the popular show NEIGHBOURS, her singing stardom and her cancer battle, Goodrem feared she had become overexposed.
She tells Sydney’s Daily Telegraph, "I think it is time I came back home. I really felt I needed to give people a bit of space.
"Everything happened in such a short space of time. It was very busy and very crazy, all within a space of three years.
"I think I was around so much for a little while there, I really felt that people were getting sick of me." Goodrem and her boyfriend, former WESTLIFE singer BRIAN McFADDEN, have been living in New York City, but are heading to Australia to spend Christmas with her family before making a permanent move Down Under.

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Pop star GWEN STEFANI was convinced she would be forced to take a break from music after giving birth, but was shocked to find her baby loved going into the recording studio.
The singer found herself working on her second solo album only 10 weeks after giving birth to son KINGSTON in May (06).
She explains, "After I got pregnant, I didn’t know if I’d ever put this record out. About two-and-a-half months after he was born, I thought, ‘I’ll go in the studio and see if it feels good.’ "He’s generally an easy, cool guy; he’s busy and he’s having a lot of fun.
I’m nursing, so he’s around me the whole time, and he definitely balances me out. "Right now, he’s to my left, and my stylist is holding him and kissing him and he’s got his little stuffed animal lamb. If I had to leave him at day care and go to work, I never would have finished this record.
"It was fun before, but now it’s fun in a whole different kind of way.
Normally, I would get more rest, but I figure I can rest later!"

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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE came face to face with a real-life murderer when he researched his new movie ALPHA DOG, because director NICK CASSAVETES insisted he met the man his character is based on.
Timberlake’s character, FRANKIE BALLENBACHER, is based on a jailed killer responsible for the 2000 kidnap and slaying of NICHOLAS MARKOWITZ.
The pop star spent time with the murderer and discovered he’s just a guy who made a very bad decision.
The CRY ME A RIVER singer says, "Nick and I travelled to upstate California and I sat down with him at the prison and spoke to him for a couple of hours.
"You’re talking about someone who for four years had been in a penitentiary and was serving a life sentence. I don’t think he had any perspective on me playing him.
"He was a person who was very misunderstood and very remorseful, but you get one life to do things right and he didn’t."

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Screen heart-throb GEORGE CLOONEY warns aspiring movie stars to think carefully before eyeing a Hollywood career, because the industry isn’t as glamorous as it first seems.
The SYRIANA star recalls he was desperate to make it big in movies and his ambition knew no bounds.
But he admits success has changed his perspective on movie stardom, making him far more aware of the price he pays for fame.
Clooney tells the New York Daily News, "I think when you’re young and getting started, fame is like a bug light - you’re driven toward success so intensely as an actor because you’re pointed that way. And when you get it, you realise most of the things that you thought would be great are not.
"And that’s not whining, or saying ‘Woe is me.’ The greatest thing about being in the position I’m in is, I can walk into a movie studio and say, ‘I want to make a black-and-white film noir,’ and they’ll make it because they don’t want me to go someplace else. And that’s great.
"(But) there are other parts that aren’t so fun."

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NAOMI WATTS is amazed she made it in Hollywood after once sending a director to sleep during an audition.
The KING KONG star feared she’d blown it when she heard the unnamed filmmaker snoozing away.
Watts says, "I had a director fall asleep on me. I remember reading the scene and halfway through I looked up and the guy was nodding off. I just broke."

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Bollywood star HRITHIK ROSHAN has been named top actor at the Global Indian Film Awards.
The ceremony, which took place on Saturday (09DEC07) in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, awarded Roshan with the accolade for his part in sci-fi movie KRRISH, in which he plays a man with superhuman powers who saves the world. LAGE RAHO MUNNABHAI, starring film veteran SANJAY DUTT, took the gong for best picture.
The awards are held to promote Indian films to a international audience, with 15 to 20 percent of Bollywood film revenue generated overseas.

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Actor ALEC BALDWIN is campaigning against the relicensing of a nuclear power plant in New Jersey, insisting its owners are more interested in "lining their pockets" than public health and safety.
The PEARL HARBOR star spoke out against the Oyster Creek plant on Friday (08DEC06) during a community discussion. Local residents fear the move to extend the site’s license by 20 years is a health hazard.
Baldwin agreed, saying, "The people who are in favour of the license renewal are looking to line their pockets.
"We don’t stand to make any money. Our goal is purely public health and safety." The 630-megawatt plant, which is owned by Chicago-based Exelon Corp, is the oldest commercial nuclear power plant in the United States. Its license is set to expire in 2009.

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An investigation into the death of PRINCESS DIANA has blasted many of the conspiracy theories surrounding the 1997 accident.
New forensic tests and additional evidence are detailed in a 400-page report compiled by former British police chief LORD STEVENS, which is published on Thursday (14DEC06). Stevens has concluded it was the pursuit of the paparazzi which caused the fatal crash in the Pont de l’Alma tunnel in Paris, France, and was not the result of a secret service assassination plot against Diana and lover DODI FAYED.
Claims the princess was pregnant when she died have also been rubbished, after investigators tested a sample of Diana’s blood, found on the back seat of the car.
Retired High Court judge DAME BUTLER-SLOSS will preside over a public enquiry into the deaths early next year (JAN07).

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British soul singer LEMAR has pleaded with a group of former drug addicts, unemployed and homeless people to change their ways and better themselves.
Lemar, who shot to stardom on British reality TV show FAME ACADEMY, sang acapella to the youngsters in east London as part of the Prince’s Trust Sound Live event, and encouraged his captive audience to build on their self-confidence to make something of themselves.
He says, "There’s always one or two people who could get you involved in stealing cars, dealing drugs or whatever. Luckily, I made the right choices sometimes by accident.
"You’ve got to believe in yourself. I spent eight years getting knock-backs but you have to keep your focus.
"It’s not an easy business. Most people don’t realise that I struggled for years before I got a break. Fame Academy was the only thing I hadn’t tried." (MT/WNTMI/IG) WENN - FIFTH - HOLLYWOOD, SHOWBIZ & PEOPLE NEWS - 11 DECEMBER 2006

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Rapper LIL’ WAYNE has hit out at JAY-Z’s claims he came out of retirement to save hip hop from dying.
The superstar - real name SHAWN CARTER - recently turned his back on rap retirement, claiming he was needed to breath life back into the genre.
But Wayne is incensed, insisting Jay-Z wasn’t missed.
The 27-year-old - real name DWAYNE CARTER - says "I don’t like what he’s saying about how he had to come back because hip hop’s dead and we need him.
It’s not your house anymore, and I’m better than you."

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French opera star ROBERTO ALAGNA stormed off stage during a performance of FRANCO ZEFIRELLI’s AIDA after the audience booed his performance.
Alagna is starring in the legendary movie producer’s adaptation of the VERDI opera, but was whistled down by the public on the show’s second ever production at La Scala in Milan, Italy on Saturday night (09DEC06).
Tenor Alagna defended the walk out, saying, "I do not deserve this kind of reception.
"What else could I do? Did I have to stay there … until my voice broke?" STEPHANE LISSNER, general manager of the famous venue, released a statement criticising both the audience and the singer.
Lissner, who apologised to the crowd before the opera’s third act, said, "(Alagna’s departure was) an obvious lack of respect to the public and the theatre.
"But I have always maintained that artists are at the centre of a theatrical project and we are here to support them, to guarantee the best conditions for them so that they can do their jobs."

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