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HUGH JACKMAN’s decision to adopt children of mixed race with his actress wife DEBORRA-LEE FURNESS was a "no brainer" - after he discovered fewer families were willing to take care of multi-racial babies.
The Australian couple struggled for years to conceive following their 1996 nuptials, before adopting Oscar Maximilian, eight, and Ava Eliot, three.
And Jackman admits bosses at an adoption agency made the challenging decision easier when they told the pair which tots might struggle to find a good home.
He says, "Deb and I tried biologically to have children. When we went to talk to some (agency representatives) about adoption, he (sic) said to me, ‘We turn away children each month because they are mixed race and they can’t find homes for them.’ It was a no brainer."

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The JONAS BROTHERS are eyeing another superstar collaboration following their Grammy performance with STEVIE WONDER - they want to hit the stage with PRINCE.
The pop trio fulfilled a career dream when they sang with Wonder at the 8 February (09) awards show - and now they are setting their sights on the Purple Rain hitmaker.
Joe Jonas tells Hollyscoop.com, "There’s a few other people that I think we would like to write with or perform with. Prince is a big one, we’re huge fans! I think to be able to one day write with someone like him or perform would be amazing."

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Oscar nominee ROBERT DOWNEY JR. is expanding his theatrical repertoire - by writing a stage musical.
The star, who lost out on a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award on Sunday (22Feb09), has revealed he has been working on the project for a number of years, and is tirelessly trying to get it finished.
Downey Jr says, "I’m a little busy right now. Every two years or so I’m saying that I am going to do a big musical; I’m just tired of saying that I am going to do stuff that sounds cool. If I’m going to do something, I’m going to do it." And he insists he isn’t just trying to cash in on his fame and recent career resurgence - because he has always considered himself to be a musician.
The Iron Man star adds, "It’s always lame when somebody gets really famous and they say they’re going to be a singer. I’m like, ‘You’ve already won the lottery, so take it easy, moron!’ But I’m also a composer and I sing what I write." Downey, Jr has already tasted a little musical success - his 2004 album The Futurist was well received and he also recorded a Christmas album with Vonda Shepard.

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TOM JONES credits his son with keeping his long career alive.
Mark Jones took the reins when his dad’s longterm manager Gordon Mills died in 1986, and Jones, Jr. helped breathe new life into the veteran crooner’s singing career.
The Delilah hitmaker reveals, "Mark, my son, had always been suggesting things over the years: ‘Why don’t you record this? Why are you doing this?’ So I said, ‘Why don’t you do something about it now?’" And Mark made an impact in a very short period of time, catapulting his father back into the charts just a year after becoming his manager with the track The Boy From Nowhere.
Mark Jones isn’t the only son to turn his crooner father’s career around - Tony Bennett also experienced a revival of fortunes when his son Danny took charge.

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The JONAS BROTHERS were freaked out during a recent visit to Madame Tussaud’s waxwork museum in New York - when they stumbled across the decapitated heads of assassinated leaders, and HILLARY CLINTON.
The siblings unveiled their own wax likenesses at the famous tourist spot and then were given an all access pass to explore the museum.
And Joe and Kevin Jonas fear they may have uncovered an area of the museum that is out of bounds to everyone but staff.
The back room was full of assorted legs, arms and heads from other public figures, who are no longer on display in the museum.
Joe says, "They closed off the haunted section and… all of a sudden I’m seeing, like, Abraham Lincoln. All the lights were off." Kevin adds, "There was a lady stuck to the wall with an axe through her. She looked real… I was like, ‘Ah, I didn’t do it!’" Joe recalls, "There was, like, a closet of this stuff they use occasionally and Hillary Clinton’s head was on the ground."

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Scottish rockers FRANZ FERDINAND’s new track NO YOU GIRLS features the band playing human bones.
Frontman Alex Kapranos reveals a box of bones he’d bought for just $17 (GBP12) were inexplicably lying around the studio when the group was trying to find the best percussion sound for the song.
He tells Spin magazine, "We tried maracas, we tried a tambourine; they seemed a bit obvious… One day I picked up the pelvis bone (sic) and started rattling the collarbone inside of it.
"Paul (Thomson) had two shoulder blades, and Nick (McCarthy) had the skeleton’s hands for clapping. We didn’t have the skull, but we had all the teeth, so we rattled them around in a glass jar.
"There was no voodoo to it. They just happened to make a good sound."

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HULK star ERIC BANA made an impressive debut at the WPS Bathurst 12-Hour endurance race in Australia at the weekend (21Feb09), claiming a top 10 place.
While his Hollywood peers were preparing for the Oscars, Bana was racing in one of Australia’s most revered driving competitions at Mount Panorama.
Bana and teammates Tim Leahey and Peter Hill finished in tenth spot in a Mitsubishi Lancer Evo X, after suffering mechanical problems.
After the endurance race, the Troy star said, "Just to compete has been a bit of a dream for me, and then, to top it all off, we finished inside the top 10.
"Today was an awesome day, we came into this race a little bit under prepared and the aim of finishing inside the top 10 was a longshot, so everyone in the team is over the moon." Bana, who made his motorsport debut in 1996’s Targa Tasmania race, insists the Bathurst challenge has only fuelled his need for speed: "I’ll always do as much racing as my schedule allows… After being a part of this year’s Bathurst event I’d love to come back next year and do it all again." The actor and his co-drivers finished more than 10 laps behind 2009 WPS Bathurst winners Damien White, Rod Salmon and Tony Longhurst.

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The stars of hit U.S. vampire drama TRUE BLOOD have found true love.
Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer have confirmed they’re dating.
Moyer tells TV Guide magazine, "We are together… We’re very, very happy. She’s the best." The actor, who plays a 173-year-old vampire in the TV series, reveals he fell for The Piano actress when they were auditioning, but they decided to keep their romance under wraps.
He explains, "It was very important to me that the cast and crew we were working with didn’t feel it was fickle, and didn’t feel it could possibly potentially encroach on their lives… We didn’t want to take anything away from the show. The show is the star, not the two people having a relationship." The Brit, who has two children from a previous relationship, has moved in with Paquin in Los Angeles.

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TRANSFORMERS star MEGAN FOX and fiance BRIAN AUSTIN GREEN have called off their engagement, just a month after the actress criticised her then-partner for not supporting her at awards shows.
The 22-year-old beauty had been dating actor Green, 35, since 2004, and they announced their plans to wed in November 2006.
However, Fox hinted their romance was in trouble at the Golden Globes in January (09), when she publicly blasted her longtime love for failing to escort her to the awards ceremony.
The actress arrived at the glitzy prizegiving without Green, which led to questions about where her beau was.
The sexy actress finally exploded and hissed, "He doesn’t wanna be here. He doesn’t want to be my date. He’s a man, he has an ego." Quizzed further, Fox explained the actor was "probably at home, making music".
And now UsMagazine.com reports the couple has split for good.
A source tells the website, "The relationship had run its course.
"They both realised the time had come to go their separate ways. It’s completely amicable, and they are remaining friends.
"(They) are both focusing on their careers."

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KATE WINSLET is so elated to have finally won an Academy Award, she is refusing to let the statuette out of her sight.
The star was named Best Actress for her role in The Reader at Sunday’s Oscars (22Feb09) - taking the prestigious prize home for the first time after losing out five times previously.
She was then photographed clutching the golden award at aftershow parties and it accompanied her as she appeared on Oprah Winfrey’s U.S. TV chat show the following day (23Feb09).
And she refused to pack it away in her suitcase as she flew to New York, arriving at JFK airport with the prize in a protective cloth.
Winslet even rebuffed photographers’ pleas to uncover her new honour, insisting: "I have to show my kids before I show anybody else!"

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Singer LILY ALLEN is harbouring a secret ambition - she wants to star opposite DANIEL CRAIG as a BOND girl.
The Smile hitmaker admits she would love to play a feisty femme fatale in 007’s next big-screen outing.
And failing that, she is happy to settle for second best - singing the theme song.
Allen tells Britain’s New! magazine, "Any girl would admit she wants to appear in a Bond film. I’m no different." Taking a swipe at the title song for 2008’s Quantum of Solace, performed by Jack White and Alicia Keys, she adds: "All singers would love to do it. Who remembers the last one? It was a washout."

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GEORGE CLOONEY felt safe as he travelled through a dangerous area of Africa - despite the United Nations (U.N.) withdrawing his security escort.
The actor, a U.N. goodwill ambassador, visited the African state of Chad with two journalists in an unofficial capacity last week (begs16Feb09), as part of his pledge to highlight the plight of refugees in the war-torn Darfur region.
New York Times journalist Nicholas Kristof, who is documenting Clooney’s travels, sparked concern after publishing a column in the paper on Wednesday (18Feb09) that alleged Clooney’s party was susceptible to kidnap or attack after the U.N. decided to "pull" the star’s guards.
But Clooney insists he never felt his wellbeing was at risk.
He tells U.S. TV host Larry King, "That’s sort of what happened (the U.N. pulled Clooney’s security). You know, the truth is this wasn’t about my safety. My safety - I was never in jeopardy.
"I was with journalists who wanted to go into some areas that weren’t particularly safe. And we decided that we would go. And that wasn’t necessarily part of what the U.N. was looking to do.
"And so we, you know, just went on our own… Our safety was never an issue. It was fine." U.N. bosses maintain that because Clooney was not travelling as part of his goodwill ambassador role, he did not qualify for the organisation’s official protection.

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Eighties rockers FAITH NO MORE have confirmed they are reuniting for a European tour later this year (09) - just three months after dismissing talk of a comeback.
The group split in 1998 following the release of their final disc, Album of the Year.
Internet rumours surfaced in December (08) claiming the band was preparing to reform in 2009 - but they were quickly shot down by bassist Billy Gould, who insisted he hadn’t spoken to his former pals in months.
However, according to Idolator.com, a publicist for frontman Mike Patton has confirmed to the site they are reforming, with tour dates scheduled for Europe this summer (09) - although there are no plans to take the roadshow across the Atlantic to the U.S.
The site adds guitarist Jim Martin will not be part of the new line-up after quitting the band in 1993.

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R&B veteran KEITH SWEAT hopes his reality TV show focusing on his attempts to reunite DRU HILL proves a hit with TV executives - because he wants the one-hour special to become a series.
In Keith Sweat’s Platinum House, which aired on Atlanta, Georgia network Peachtree TV on Monday (23Feb09), the legendary star brings together Sisqo, Nokio, Jazz and Tao for a full-scale reunion and new album as they attempt to patch up their differences.
The How Deep Is Your Love singers have been largely absent from the music industry since the release of their last disc, Dru World Order in 2002.
They have seen two bandmates, Woody and Scola, depart the group and hired new star Tao last year (08) in preparation for a comeback.
Their chart return has been plagued by tensions within the latest line-up - and every development was recorded for the reality show.
But Sweat hopes that by exposing all of their issues on camera, they will have attracted more interest in the programme, and in turn land a deal to make the show a more long-term fixture.
Speaking before the show aired, he said: "This is like the springboard to other syndication opportunities, other arenas like VH1, TV One and E! Entertainment.
"It just depends on how well it’s accepted… But I think the idea is strong. People wonder, ‘Where is SWV? En Vogue? New Edition?’ People wonder about these groups. You know, ‘Why did Guy break up? Did they really not like each other?’"

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COLDPLAY, KINGS OF LEON, JACK JOHNSON and reformed rockers MIDNIGHT OIL are to perform simultaneous charity shows in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia, to benefit the victims of the recent bush fires and floods Down Under.
The acts will take to stages set up at Sydney Cricket Ground and Melbourne Cricket Ground for the Sound Relief shows on 14 March (09).
Rockers Jet and Wolfmother will play both venues.
Midnight Oil isn’t the only band reforming for the shows - Icehouse and Split Enz will also perform.
All proceeds from the concerts will be donated to the Red Cross Victorian Bushfire Appeal and the Premier’s Disaster Relief Fund Appeal.
Australia’s environment minister Peter Garrett, who also fronts Midnight Oil, says, "(The money raise will) give people affected by the terrible events what they dearly need."

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THE CURE rocker ROBERT SMITH has blasted RADIOHEAD for letting fans choose how much to pay for their last album - insisting the concept devalues music.
Radiohead started a new trend in 2007 when they released In Rainbows online, inviting buyers to pay as much as they could afford for the disc.
A number of other bands have followed suit - but Smith insists it’s an "idiotic" concept.
He explains, "The Radiohead experiment of paying what you want - I disagreed violently with that. You can’t allow other people to put a price on what you do, otherwise you don’t consider what you do to have any value at all, and that’s nonsense.
"If I put a value on my music and no one’s prepared to pay that, then more fool me, but the idea that the value is created by the consumer is an idiot plan, it can’t work."

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The handgun found on rapper LIL WAYNE’s tour bus after a 2007 concert will be allowed as evidence in his upcoming trial for criminal gun possession.
The rapper, real name Dwayne Carter, was arrested in July 2007 after a concert at New York’s Beacon Theatre when a police officer said she boarded the bus because she smelled marijuana, and then saw the star attempt to hide a gun.
Wayne pleaded not guilty and was freed on $70,000 (GBP48,275) bail, with his lawyers arguing the officer falsely claimed to smell the drug so she could board the bus.
New York State Supreme Court Judge Charles Solomon on Tuesday (24Feb09) ordered jury selection to begin immediately following the rapper’s U.S. tour, which completes on 12 April (09).
The Lollipop hitmaker, 26, will face one count of criminal weapons possession and one charge of criminal possession of a loaded weapon when his trial begins on 20 April (09).
According to a spokeswoman at the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, he will face a maximum prison sentence of 15 years if convicted.

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Popular 1990s soap opera MELROSE PLACE is set to make a return to the small screen.
TV bosses at U.S. network The CW, which brought back a Beverly Hills, 90210 spin-off last year (08), have ordered the production of a pilot episode.
The show, which ran from 1992 to 1999, launched the careers of Marcia Cross and Kristin Davis and was notorious for its sensationalist storylines and extravagant characters.
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, who won an Oscar for his 2006 documentary An Inconvenient Truth, has been recruited to direct the update.

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