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WOODY ALLEN gave PENELOPE CRUZ just two hours to read the script for his film VICKY CRISTINA BARCELONA and decide if she wanted a role in the project.
The filmmaker sent the actress a copy asking her to take on the role of an unstable artist - on the condition she return the manuscript within a strict two-hour time period.
But Cruz, who is now nominated for an Oscar for the role, insists she didn’t think twice about accepting his offer once she finished reading the screenplay.
She says, "He sent me a script and told me I had to return it in two hours and say whether I wanted to do the film or not by the end of the day. I read it, loved it, sent it back and said that I wanted to do it. I have loved his work since I was a little girl and always dreamt of working with him."

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BRAD PITT’s Oscar-nominated movie THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON has pipped his ex-wife JENNIFER ANISTON’s new romantic comedy to the top of the U.K. box office charts - with takings of $3.2 million (£2.2 million) in its opening weekend (07/08Jan09).
The critically acclaimed drama, which tells the story of a man who ages backwards, fought off competition from romantic comedy He’s Just Not That Into You, which entered at number two.
A star-studded cast, including Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Drew Barrymore and Ginnifer Goodwin, helped the movie take in $2.8 million (£1.9 million).
Slumdog Millionaire dropped from first to third place, with $2.3 million (£1.6 million), while Tom Cruise’s Valkyrie is at four with $930,000 (£630,000).
Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Revolutionary Road rounds out the top five, earning $740,000 (£500,000).

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

KANYE WEST has heaped praise on RIHANNA following her Sunday morning (08Feb09) brawl with boyfriend CHRIS BROWN, insisting she’s one of the most important people in music today.
As Rihanna licks her wounds after the fight, which forced her to scrap a Grammy Awards appearance and other commitments this week, West went on radio to pay tribute to her as an artist.
Appearing on Tuesday’s (10Feb09) Ryan Seacrest breakfast show in Los Angeles, the rapper said, "I feel like Rihanna is so important to our culture, to pop music… I feel like she is the most important artist in music and has the most potential.
"She has the potential to be the greatest artist of all time.
"That’s my baby sister and I will do any and everything to help her in any situation." West admits he was "completely devastated" when he first heard Rihanna had been beaten up in the early hours of Sunday.
He adds, "At the beginning of the American Boy performance (at the Grammys) is when I really heard… what might have happened… I was completely devastated during the performance.
"I don’t care how famous she is or even if she just worked at McDonald’s, that should never happen."

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American rockers DEATH CAB FOR CUTIE are the latest musicians to criticise KANYE WEST’s use of Auto-Tune - they’re launching a campaign to have the controversial technology banned.
West is one of a number of musicians who rely on Auto-Tune to help improve their vocals and it features heavily on his latest album, 808s & Heartbreak.
But Death Cab for Cutie argue it is killing the art of singing and want it outlawed.
The group wore blue ribbons to the Grammy Awards on Sunday (08Feb09), to highlight the their campaign, ‘Auto-Tune abuse in music’.
Frontman Ben Gibbard says, "Auto-Tuning is a digital manipulation, a correction of a singer’s voice that is affecting literally thousands of singers today and thousands of records that are coming out. So we just want to raise awareness while we’re here and try to bring back the blue note… The note that’s not so perfectly in pitch and just gives the recording some soul and some kind of real character. It’s how people really sing."

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JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE is baffled by reports he’s a successful restaurateur who’s about to open his second New York hotspot - insisting he doesn’t own any eateries.
The SexyBack hitmaker was reported to have opened the Big Apple’s Southern Hospitality restaurant in a joint venture with his pals Trace Ayala and Eytan Sugarman in 2007.
Recent reports claimed the trio was so happy with the barbecue spot, they’re about to expand with a second venue in New York.
But Timberlake has moved to clarify the reports - insisting that while the trio discussed plans for a home-cooked-style restaurant, the idea never materialised and Southern Hospitality is all Sugarman’s.
His representative tells People.com, "Approximately three years ago, Justin and his close friends, Eytan Sugarman and Trace Ayala, discussed the idea of bringing Memphis-style BBQ and ribs to the New York City marketplace.
"The three friends spent a year creating the Southern Hospitality concept and were actively involved in all elements of design, menu, offerings, and musical format.
"While Justin and Trace continue their friendship with Eytan, and continue to provide fresh ideas and promotion for Southern Hospitality, they are not investors, owners or partners, nor do they have any knowledge of or involvement in the operations of the restaurant.
"Southern Hospitality has been open for over a year now, and is Justin and Trace’s favourite place in New York for truly authentic Memphis-style BBQ and ribs."

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NAOMI WATTS is astonished she has managed to lose all her baby weight just two months after giving birth to her second son - because she hasn’t exercised once.
Watts and partner Liev Schreiber welcomed little Samuel in December (08), just 17 months after the birth of their first child, Alexander.
And the 40-year-old insists she has reclaimed her pre-pregnancy figure without lifting a finger and without the need for any fad diets.
She says, "I haven’t even done much exercise yet (and) I eat more now than I did when I was pregnant!"

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Veteran British author SIR SALMAN RUSHDIE has a new love interest - he is reportedly dating a stunning American actress 29 years his junior.
The 61-year-old novelist is said to have found love with Pia Glenn, 32, who is currently starring as Condoleezza Rice in Will Ferrell’s Broadway show You’re Welcome America: A Final Night with George W. Bush.
The Booker prize-winning author, who has been divorced four times, was recently spotted getting close to Glenn at the show’s opening party.
And the pair further fuelled rumours of a romance when they posed together on the red carpet at The International film premiere in New York on Monday (09Feb09).

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

FANTASTIC FOUR star MICHAEL CHIKLIS is creating a graphic novel series based on the Greek gods.
Olympus will follow the story of ancient Greek deities who return to a ravaged, chaotic present-day Earth where they battle against the Titans for the future of mankind.
Chiklis’ Extravaganza Productions will oversee the development of the books, based on the work of Anny Simon Beck, in a deal with IDW Publishing.
And Chiklis hopes the graphic novels will eventually be turned into a TV show or movie.
He tells Daily Variety, "As a kid, I was always fascinated by the Greek gods, so the chance to bring my childhood heroes and villains to life in the modern world is irresistible."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

Actor VINCENT PASTORE has settled the $5.5 million (£3.7 million) civil lawsuit filed against him by his ex-fiancee, who accused him of assault.
The 62-year-old’s former partner, Lisa Regina, 47, alleged Pastore hit her during a dispute in April 2005.
Pastore - who played Salvatore ‘Big Pussy’ Bonpensiero hit mob show The Sopranos - pleaded guilty in 2005 to attempted assault on Regina and was sentenced to 70 hours of community service.
On Friday (06Feb09), Pastore gave an emotional testimony as part of the trial, admitting they did have a blazing row during a drive to New Jersey; but insisting the argument never turned physical.
The presiding Manhattan judge excused jurors on Tuesday (10Feb09) after announcing the settlement. The terms were not disclosed as WENN went to press.

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LISA KUDROW would love to star in a big-screen version of hit TV show FRIENDS - but only if producers stay true to the original.
The actress, who played Phoebe in the 1990s show about a group of apartment-sharing New Yorkers, could not bear to let down her co-stars if a movie reunion becomes reality.
But she is adamant she would only agree if writers come up with a good script and producers make the effort to replicate the "feel" of the TV series.
She says, "I think we are all of the opinion that it would depend on the script, but I’ve always felt that if everyone else was going to do a movie, then I wouldn’t want to be the person who refused and then had to be replaced - that wouldn’t be fair. So I would do it, but I’ve no idea how the show would translate to a movie.
"It’s not like Sex and the City. Friends was a multi-camera show filmed in front of an audience, so it has a very different feel. It would be tricky to pull off, sure, but if it could be done, that would be great."

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Legendary director ALFRED HITCHCOCK is to be brought back to life in a movie about his early years.
Kung-Fu Panda and Good Luck Chuck star Dan Fogler has signed on to play the heavyweight auteur in Number 13 - alongside British stars Ewan McGregor and Emily Mortimer.
The film is based on the set of Hitchcock’s lost and unfinished 1922 movie of the same name, and centres on the death of a lead actor and a love triangle featuring the director and two crew members.
In an interview with Starpulse.com, Fogler reveals he has been immersing himself in Hitchcock’s work, so he can become the famous director onscreen.
He says, "I knew the movies that everyone knows, Psycho and The Birds, but I had to do a lot of research with the books.
"I really focused on his early stuff because that’s what it’s about. It’s like Hitchcock in Love, it’s about him in his early 20s just finding himself as an artist, as a director.
"It gives you more freedom because people aren’t as familiar with young Hitchcock as they are with older Hitchcock. But it’s a lot harder in a lot of ways because you have to play his origins. You have to play the seeds of that character everyone knows. It’s a fine line." Shooting will begin later in 2009 and the movie is slated for release in 2011.

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JACKASS star and recovering addict STEVE-O was so excited to be cast on U.S. TV show DANCING WITH THE STARS, his friends and family feared he was back on drugs.
Producers banned the stuntman, who attended court-ordered rehab in 2008, from sharing news of his involvement in the celebrity dancing show, where he’ll join a star-studded cast including rapper Lil’ Kim and former Bond girl Denise Richards.
And he was so torn over keeping the secret, his bizarre behaviour worried friend and fellow Jackass star, Johnny Knoxville, who thought he was fighting cravings for drugs.
Steve-O writes on his blog, "I was squirming around and he (Knoxville) says he was thinking that ’sobriety really had my back up against the wall’. Knoxville thought I was having unbearable cravings for drugs and alcohol but, really, I was just dying to tell him that I was going to be dancing.
"When I wound up telling him (after about five minutes), he told me how worried I’d had him."

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Grammy Award winner REGINA BELLE has been forced to take the rest of 2009 off after undergoing surgery for a mystery illness.
The American singer reveals she is currently recuperating from the first of two planned operations to treat "an undetected illness".
In a letter to her fans, Belle, 45, says, "I have had the first of two surgeries to correct my illness and because ‘God is good’ the first surgery went wonderfully!" She admits there is a long recovery period ahead of her as she prepares to go under the knife once more - but she is confident she will bounce back from her health problems and is putting her faith in God.
She adds, "The healing time requires no singing or flying for a three month period… My second surgery will take place in six months, and I will have another two month recovery period… I really believe that God heals!"

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Teen country singer TAYLOR SWIFT is stunned she sold out a 20,000 ticket concert in a matter of minutes - because she was convinced "no one would come".
Swift, 19, booked Los Angeles’ sports arena the Staples Center for a show in May (09) - one month after she kicks off her Fearless tour.
The singer slashed ticket prices to help fans cope with the world’s struggling economy, setting the cheapest tickets for the U.S. and Canada dates at $20 (£14).
And Swift admits she feared booking such a big venue for her first headlining tour would be too much of a risk - until show bosses told her tickets were a hot commodity.
She says, "I’m freaking out. I can’t even believe it. I started screaming because we thought it was a big risk to go to L.A. for the first headlining tour and go to the Staples Center, this big, huge venue. And then I got a call from my booking agent two minutes after it went on sale, like, ‘Oh, by the way, it’s sold out.’ I had a closet fear that no one would come."

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DESPERATE HOUSWIVES star EVA LONGORIA PARKER has puckered up to auction a kiss for charity.
The actress offered fans the chance to bid for a smooch at a recent bash in Miami, Florida to raise money for Lingerie Miami, which benefits global microfinance organisations.
And one smitten benefactor paid up $35,000 (£23,650) for the chance to lock lips with the star, who is married to NBA player Tony Parker.

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

JACK NICHOLSON’s infamous "The truth? You can’t handle the truth" line in A FEW GOOD MEN has topped a poll of the most memorable movie quotes.
The uttering quickly became a movie favourite after Nicholson barked the line at Tom Cruise in a courtroom in the 1992 film.
Second in the poll was "These go to eleven", from 1984’s This Is Spinal Tap, followed by Marlon Brando’s "I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse" from 1972’s The Godfather.
Rounding out the top five was Tom Cruise’s "I feel the need, the need for speed" from Top Gun in 1986, and "Go ahead, make my day" from 1983 Dirty Harry movie Sudden Impact.
The top ten is as follows: 1, A Few Good Men (1992) - "The truth? You can’t handle the truth."
2. This Is Spinal Tap, 1984 - "These go to eleven."
3. The Godfather, 1972 - "I’m going to make him an offer he can’t refuse."
4. Top Gun, 1986 - "I feel the need, the need for speed."
5. Sudden Impact, 1983 - "Go ahead, make my day."
6. Scarface, 1983 - "Say hello to my little friend."
7. The Italian Job, 1969 - "You’re only supposed to blow the bloody doors off."
8. The Terminator, 1984 - "I’ll be back."
9. Taxi Driver, 1976 - "You talking to me?"
10. The Shining, 1980 - "Here’s Johnny."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

CHRIS MARTIN is calling on his COLDPLAY bandmates to come out of the shadows and share the limelight with him - because he’s sick of life as the "famous one".
Frontman Martin is the British band’s token superstar, in part because of his marriage to Hollywood actress Gwyneth Paltrow, and he spends much of his time dodging the paparazzi.
But the singer is growing sick of the limelight, and is looking towards drummer Will Champion to help him out.
He says, "(It) annoys me. My dream is that Will suddenly says, ‘I’m gonna be a flamboyant, homosexual, drummer, wear outrageous clothes, and say outrageous things.’ "I would love nothing more, partly just to see how it looked, but also, because sometimes, you want a bit of help."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)

NAOMI WATTS is convinced her two young sons are ruining her acting career - because caring for them is making her stupid.
The actress gave birth to Samuel, her second child with partner Liev Schreiber, back in December (08) - just 17 months after their first son Alexander was born.
And the British-born star admits nurturing two children under the age of two is draining her mentally.
Watts says, "I have lost 75 per cent of my brain power. It halved and then halved again. It’s not just the sleep deprivation, it’s the breast feeding. I call it the lactose lobotomy." And it’s having an affect on her acting: "Now I can never remember my dialogue when I’m working."

Movie & Entertainment News provided by World Entertainment News Network (www.wenn.com)