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BRITNEY SPEARS’ former manager SAM LUTFI attempted to persuade the pop superstar to make him conservator of her estate early last year (08), after she was twice hospitalised for psychiatric evaluation.
The Toxic hitmaker experienced a public meltdown at the start of 2008, following a bitter divorce and custody battle with ex-husband Kevin Federline, which saw the former back-up dancer take full control of their two sons’ well-being.
Spears underwent mental evaluation in January (08) after refusing to relinquish custody of boys Sean Preston, three, and Jayden James, two, following a scheduled visit.
On 31 January (08), her father Jamie was put in charge of her assets, along with attorney Andrew Wallet - but it’s now emerged Lutfi had tried to get Spears to fight against her dad and turn all legal responsibility over to him.
In court documents leaked online, Lutfi is alleged to have instructed his lawyer, Jon Eardley, to write to Spears informing her of his plan to get her out of hospital and win back custody of her kids.
The letter, which also alleges Jamie is using her for her money, reads: "I have developed a legal strategy for you that I am confident will turn everything around, and ultimately garner you full custody of your children within approximately 30 to 60 days.
"They will not be happy until they have denied you your freedom and milked you for your last dime. The custody case, as you know, is nothing more than a flat out extortion scheme, with your children being used as pawns. Your case will continue to spiral until they have denied you your freedom, your children and your assets…
"Please recognise that aside from some anxiety and depression, which are totally normal under these circumstances, there is nothing wrong with you, but that the court system routinely engages in character assassination to conceal its internal bias and to break you down.
"What they ultimately want is to get you into a conservatorship; at that point, your freedom will be denied, giving them the full opportunity to steal all of your money and to deny you any access to your children." The revelations come days after a court hearing was scheduled to review Spears’ temporary restraining order against Lutfi, Eardley and her ex-boyfriend Adnan Ghalib. The decision is due on 23 February (09).

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Director ROMAN POLANSKI’s appeal to have the entire Los Angeles Superior Court bench disqualified from his longrunning rape case on the grounds of bias has been rebuffed as "frivolous" by the prosecutor.
The filmmaker’s lawyer has taken his client’s case to the California Second District Court of Appeal in a bid to get a 1977 charge of unlawful sex with a 13-year-old girl removed from his records.
At the time, he pleaded guilty to the charge, but fled America and has lived the last three decades in exile.
Polanski’s legal team filed a request in December (08) to have the court throw out the rape allegation "in the interests of justice".
His lawyers claimed Los Angeles Superior Court officials and presiding judge Peter Espinoza had predispositions against Polanski - but the motion was denied in January (09).
Last week (ends30Jan09), lawyer Chad Hummel made a last-minute attempt to have the entire 600-strong Superior Court bench banned from hearing his client’s case and have a neutral judge appointed from outside the country.
But the allegation was brushed off by the Head Deputy District Attorney, Lael Rubin, who filed a statement with the Court of Appeal on Friday (30Jan09), labelling the claims "patently frivolous" and based on "mere conclusions with no factual basis".
He continued: "No person aware of all the facts, would entertain any doubt about the impartiality of Judge (Peter) Espinoza and certainly not the entire bench of the Los Angeles Superior Court." Polanski, who lives in France, cannot be extradited but faces arrest if he sets foot back on U.S. soil.

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Veteran actress MARLA GIBBS will be honoured with a lifetime achievement award at the 17th annual Pan African Film and Arts Festival (PAFF) later this month (Feb09).
The five-time Emmy and Golden Globe nominated star, best known for her long-running role in U.S. sitcom The Jeffersons, will be present with the prize at the 10-day event - which promotes racial tolerance through the film and arts industries.
Miracle at St. Anna star Omar Benson Miller will receive the PAFF’s Canada Lee Award, while filmmaker Anthony Fabian will present his film Skin, starring Sophie Okenedo, during PAFF’s opening night at the Directors Guild of America on 6 February (09).
In Trouble actor Blair Underwood will host the festival, held at the Culver Plaza Theatres in Los Angeles from 5 to 16 February (09).

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DANITY KANE star DAWN RICHARD has found herself with no choice but to write music for other artists following the disintegration of the reality TV show band.
The group, put together by Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs for his U.S. show Making The Band, confirmed it was no more on Thursday (29Jan09).
Richard claimed she and remaining bandmate Aundrea Fimbres would try to "pick up the pieces" on forthcoming episodes of the programme, following the shock departure of singers Aubrey O�Day, D. Woods and Shannon Bex from the group last year (08).
And the singer admits she has been forced to put her own music career on ice and is now working with other artists, including Combs’ Bad Boy Entertainment signing, Cassie.
Richard tells MTV.com, "She’s doing some great things. I think people are going to be very impressed with her sound. And I’m proud to be a part of it.
"Puff (Combs) is on some 007 lockdown (keeping details secret). He’s trying me on some things (on Cassie’s album). You never know with Puff. You’ll be singing the whole thing and the song comes out and it’s another girl. I can’t say anything definitely, but I like being in this situation right now.
"Our lives are on hold right now. It’s not like I want to be hustling like this. I’m doing it ’cause I have to. The only choice is to move forward." And Richard hopes she will soon be able to relaunch her own music career, adding, "The sky’s the limit. That’s a lot right now. I really want to start singing again."

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R&B singer JOHN LEGEND thrilled students at a recent graduation in south Florida, by stepping up and delivering the ceremony’s keynote speech.
The Ordinary People hitmaker took to the stage to congratulate online graduates at the state’s Kaplan University.
And Legend insisted his own education allowed him to live out his dreams - telling the academics that their degree is the "key" to a successful future.
He told the assembled graduates, �The degree you receive today is not just a piece of paper. It�s not just an academic honour. It�s a key.
â��For many of you, it will open the door to possibilities you couldnâ��t even imagine just a few years ago… By acquiring new knowledge and new skills, you’ve dramatically expanded the spectrum of opportunities that are available to you.â��

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Country singer ZAC BROWN is set to become a dad again - his wife is expecting their third child this summer (09).
The star, lead singer of the Zac Brown Band, and wife Shelly, have two daughters, 23 month old Ruby and nine month old Justice.
A spokesperson for Brown tells Usmagazine.com, "It’s official! They are expecting. The baby is due in late summer."

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JENNIFER HUDSON lip-synced the U.S. national anthem at Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday (01Feb09) after producers insisted she sing to a prerecorded track to avoid a potentially disastrous performance.
Hudson wowed millions of American TV viewers with her comeback, broadcast from Tampa, Florida - her first public appearance since her mother, brother and nephew were shot dead in October (08).
And the show’s producer, Ricky Minor, urged Hudson to sing accompanied by the recording.
He tells Usmagazine.com, "This was such an important performance, because it’s the first time everyone has seen Jennifer. But she’s in such a great place, with such great spirits, and time can heal her wounds. She’s on fire right now and totally grounded.
"That’s the right way to do it. There’s too many variables to go live. I would never recommend any artist go live, because the slightest glitch would devastate the performance." When Hudson stepped off the stage, Minor was the first to congratulate her success: "I told her, ‘Touchdown!’ She’s just getting so much love." Hudson’s mother Darnell Donerson and brother Jason Hudson, 29, were shot dead in Donerson’s Chicago, Illinois home. The body of the Oscar-winner’s seven year old nephew, Julian, was found in a car elsewhere in the city three days later.
William Balfour, the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister Julia, has pleaded not guilty to charges of first degree murder and home invasion.

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THE NOTORIOUS B.I.G.’s mother VOLETTA WALLACE hopes the rap icon’s new biopic will shine a light on his unsolved murder.
The star - real name Christopher Wallace - was shot dead in Los Angeles in 1997, aged just 24.
His murder has never been solved, despite witness reports and a plethora of conspiracy theories.
But Voletta reveals the case is still officially open, and she hopes the movie Notorious will keep her son’s memory alive, and even compel those with information to come forward.
She tells Hip Hop Weekly, "The case is still a case and being pursued very actively."

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Rocker JON BON JOVI has been honoured in his native New Jersey - government officials have selected him for induction into the state’s Hall of Fame.
The Have A Nice Day hitmaker will join 12 others, including basketball star Shaquille O’Neal and comedian Jerry Lewis, at the 2009 ceremony.
Inductees were chosen after votes were compiled by the Hall’s academy and New Jersey residents, who selected their favourite hometown heroes online.
In a statement, Governor Jon Corzine says, "This group of hall of famers embodies the spirit of New Jersey, a combination of drive, determination and creativity that has led them to greatness.
"The New Jersey hall should serve as a reminder that the people of New Jersey strive for excellence and engage in myriad productive and rewarding activities that help society and give back to mankind." Other inductees include comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, astronomer Carl Sagan, Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto, novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, poet Walt Whitman, tennis star Althea Gibson, inventor Guglielmo Marconi, writer William Carlos Williams and civil rights activist Paul Robeson.
The induction ceremony is scheduled to take place in May (09) at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

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Hip-hop star KANYE WEST is to give his fans another chance to experience his recent Glow In The Dark tour - he will document the gigs in a new multi-media book.
The Stronger hitmaker will put together a variety of behind the scenes photographs in the tome, as well as conceptual plans for the 2008 tour’s set designs and costume.
But it won’t be an ordinary book - the star plans to add his own commentary and a greatest hits CD from the tour’s setlist.
Charles Miers, of publishing house Rizzoli New York. says, "Kanye West has turned his talents as pop artist to books. With a CD that includes ‘Star Wars’-like symphonics from the show as well as (an) interview with Spike Jonze, it is not only a memento of one of the most successful musical performances of the year, it is an experience all (of) its own." The book is scheduled for release in October (09).
West’s Glow In The Dark tour stretched across the globe between April and December 2008 and featured appearances from stars including Jay-Z, Rihanna, Lupe Fiasco, Gnarls Barkley, N.E.R.D. and Nas.

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JULIA ROBERTS struggled to get noticed by Hollywood agents because they labelled her "too trailer park" when she first started out as an actress.
The 41-year-old movie star shot to fame in the early 1990s playing a prostitute in Pretty Woman, opposite Richard Gere.
But according to new tell-all The Cult of Celebrity, Roberts’ promising talent was lost on some of Hollywood’s biggest bookers, reports the New York Post.
Celebrity agent Robert Attermann admits to author Cooper Lawrence his Abrams Artists Agency made the mistake of not signing the redhead, as well a host of other stars of the future.
Attermann says, "Julia Roberts came in years ago, and the commercial agent who met with her at the time said, ‘Nah, she’s too trailer park’. As a matter of fact, when we moved offices, we were going through old rejection files, and in there was Annette Bening, Robin Givens, Julia Roberts and a couple of others."

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DITA VON TEESE is looking forward to starting her two week residence at Paris’ most famous nude revue - insisting the French appreciate burlesque as an art form rather than a racy routine.
The raven-haired siren will titillate audiences at the city’s notorious Crazy Horse venue, with her stint running through the most romantic day of the year - St. Valentine’s Day on 14 February (09).
And the star - whose famous routines include using larger-than-life martini glasses and carousel horses - can’t wait to return to the city of love, because her fellow Americans have forgotten that her performances are entertainment and not just strip-shows.
She says, �I�m just trying to bring back the original art form.
�Unfortunately it seems that now in America they�ve lost all sense of what burlesque really is. It�s just something very racy for them.
�It�s not like in France where they still remember names like Mistinguett and Josephine Baker. In America they�ve completely forgotten this and have a hard time coming to terms with the idea that striptease could�ve been a form of classic entertainment. I like coming here to be appreciated.�

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AMERICAN PIE star ALYSON HANNIGAN is worried her pregnancy is starting to affect her brain - her hormones have left her feeling like a "stoned Koala bear".
The 34-year-old actress is expecting her first child with husband Alexis Denisof and is experiencing a variety of unusual food cravings.
But the star is adamant that the worst symptom of pregnancy is the effect it has on her concentration.
She tells TV host Ellen DeGeneres, "I get tired a lot and I have pregnancy brain, which I never realised was a thing but it is. I sort of feel like a Koala bear where I’m slightly stoned all the time and I’ll say the wrong word.
"(I crave) ginger ale big time. I didn’t drink soda before and suddenly it was like, ‘I need a ginger ale,’ and surprisingly my mother craved ginger ale when she was pregnant with me as well." And Hannigan admits that the couple recently found out the sex of the baby, but won’t be making the news public.
She adds, "We’re just not announcing to the world. It seems a little personal." Hannigan is due to give birth this spring (09).

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Virgin tycoon SIR RICHARD BRANSON is desperate to hire the heroic pilot of last month’s (15Jan09) miraculous Hudson River plane crash - insisting he’ll make him the "best-paid pilot" on his airline.
The billionaire business mogul was left stunned by US Airways’ Captain Chesley B. ‘Sully’ Sullenberger’s quick thinking to land his plane on the river after the craft collided with a flock of geese upon departure from New York’s LaGuardia airport.
All 155 passengers and crew were safely escorted from the sinking fuselage, and Branson is intent on bringing the Captain onboard his Virgin Atlantic Airways - at any cost.
He tells the New York Daily News, �I�d like him to come fly for us. We�ll make him the best-paid pilot at Virgin - we�ll give him double (the salary of) anybody else. He also can become one of the astronauts in my intergalactic spaceship company. The man can write his own ticket with me.
"Every single thing he could have done right, he did right - from the second he made that decision not to go to that local airport, to put the plane down in the water, to the way he looked after everybody.� Considering the offer, Sullenberger adds, "That�s amazing. I hadn�t heard that. I will be happy to entertain all the things that are coming my way,� AirlinePilotCentral.com estimates the 58-year-old Air Force veteran makes around $138,000 (£97,700) annually as a commercial pilot.

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HAIRSPRAY actress NIKKI BLONSKY has credited her alleged fight with model BIANCA GOLDEN with making her family stronger.
The 20-year-old was detained in the Turks and Caicos Islands last July (08) along with her father, Carl Blonsky, and America’s Next Top Model star Golden after trouble erupted in the holiday destination’s airport lounge.
The altercation between Blonsky and Golden at the Providenciales International Airport saw Blonsky charged with assault and actual bodily harm.
Golden was also charged with causing actual bodily harm, but all of the charges against both girls were subsequently dropped.
Blonsky’s father is still facing prosecution - he has pleaded not guilty to charges of grievous bodily harm.
But Blonsky insists the family will come through the crisis - and praised her dad for standing up for her.
She tells People.com, "We are a very strong family, we love each other and nothing will ever tear us down. I don�t even need to defend myself. It�s pretty obvious that it was just a big scam.
"He’s (my father’s) a strong man. He is my hero because he showed me that no matter what happens in life you can make it through.
"I never expected that somebody would try to use my fame to get themselves fame."

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American composer LUKAS FOSS has died, aged 86.
Foss died at his home in Manhattan on Sunday (01Feb09), his wife, Cornelia, announced. No cause of death has yet been given.
A German emigre, Foss began composing his first opera at age 11 and moved to America at 15, where he would later study music at the prestigious Yale University.
In 1963, he began a seven year post as director of New York’s Buffalo Philharmonic before taking over the Jerusalem Symphony in 1972 and the Milwaukee Symphony in 1980.
He became director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic in 1971, and continued appearances as a guest conductor and pianist with orchestras since leaving the post after nearly two decades.
Foss formed his own Improvisation Chamber Ensemble in 1957 and later challenged the face of classical music using an electric guitar in pieces including his 1981 eulogy Night Music for John Lennon, one of many accomplishments leading to his post as vice chancellor of the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.
In addition to his wife, Foss is survived by a son, Christopher, and a daughter, Eliza Foss, a brother, Oliver, and three granddaughters, Olivia, Sabina and Eugenie.

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NOTORIOUS B.I.G.’s mother has lambasted the late star’s mistress LIL’ KIM - after the female MC reportedly branded the actress chosen to play her in biopic NOTORIOUS "too dark".
The rapper - real name Kimberly Jones - ignited a war of words with the slain hip hop legend’s mother Voletta Wallace, and his widow, Faith Evans, insisting the pair helped producers of the big screen venture portray her in a negative light.
According to insider reports, Kim blasted the film’s director George Tillman Jr.’s decision to cast singer-turned-actress Naturi Naughton as the pint-sized hitmaker - allegedly demanding the filmaker to choose an Asian or Hispanic actress to play her in the film.
And Wallace has backed-up the reports, stating she was disgusted after Kim branded herself a "white woman in a black woman’s body".
She tells Hip Hop Weekly, "She felt the character we chose for her was too dark.
"Do you know why the character was too dark for her? Because she’s a white woman trapped in a black woman’s body, and you can tell the world I said it, because those are Lil’ Kim’s words. She should be ashamed of herself." She adds, "Tell Lil Kim to go find herself, go drink a cup of green tea and get a life! This movie is not about Lil Kim.
"She felt we used her character to promote (the project, but) this movie is about my son… Lil’ Kim needs to go sit down." The film tells the story of rap legend Christopher Wallace, also known as Notorious B.I.G., who was killed in a drive-by shooting in Los Angeles in 1997.

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Three men accused of killing South African reggae star LUCKY DUBE have pleaded not guilty to his murder.
Dube - who recorded more than 20 albums in his long music career - was shot three times outside his brother’s house in Rosettenville, southern Johannesburg, in October 2007, in what was believed to have been a botched hijacking.
The star was killed in full view of his children.
Four suspects were initially taken into custody, but one was later released under the instruction of the directorate of public prosecutions.
Sifiso Mlanga, Julius Xowa and Mbuti Mabe, all in their 30s, were charged with murder with aggravated circumstances, robbery and hijacking in connection with the incident. They were denied bail when they appeared in court in November last year (08).
All three men entered not guilty pleas when their trial opened in Johannesburg high court on Monday (02Feb09).

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