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BRITTANY MURPHY’s widower SIMON MONJACK has slammed comparison’s between his wife’s death and the COREY HAIM tragedy - insisting the only link bet ween the pair was their acting careers.
The British producer admits he’s "furious" about comparisons made betwe en the Clueless star’s death and Haim’s suspected overdose last week (10M ar10).
Speaking exclusively to U.S. news show Access Hollywood, Monjack says, "That’s absurd… Corey was someone that had openly used drugs for many, many years and had a problem. Brittany was someone that had never used a drug in her life." Asked if he ever saw Murphy take drugs, an angry Monjack scowled, "Abso lutely not and nor did anyone else." Medications were found in the actress’ system at the time of her death, but her 20 December (09) death has been ruled an accident following an a utopsy.

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Animated supergroup GORILLAZ are back at the top of the European album ch arts, scoring their third number one with PLASTIC BEACH.
The band, led by former Blur frontman Damon Albarn, have snagged number ones in Europe with each of their three albums so far.
The new release debuts at the top of countdowns in Denmark and Austria and scores number two placings in the band’s native United Kingdom, Franc e and Switzerland.
Sade’s Soldier of Love falls to two on the new chart, while Amy Macdona ld’s album A Curious Thing rounds out the new top three.
Meanwhile, Ke$ha reclaims the top spot in the European Hot 100 Singles with TiK ToK. It’s the sixth week the party track has been on top. (KL/WN

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DAKOTA FANNING prepared to play THE RUNAWAYS’ CHERIE CURRIE by fronting L os Angeles band the LIVING THINGS.
The teenage actress admits she was terrified about the idea of singing live in biopic The Runaways, and so director Floria Sigismondi suggested she rehearse with her husband Lillian Berlin’s band.
Fanning says, "Even the thought of singing karaoke has always terrified me, and I had never felt the power of a band behind me." The I Am Sam star grew so confident as the Living Things’ stand-in sing er she even invited members of her family to drop by the studio to see he r perform.
And Currie was immediately impressed when she first saw the actress in action.
As a token of respect Currie gave Fanning a David Bowie belt she made h erself when she was 15 - the actress wears the belt as Currie in the film , which hits cinemas in America on Friday (19Mar10).

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R&B singer SOLANGE KNOWLES has scrapped plans to perform at this year’s ( 10) South By Southwest (SXSW) Festival in Texas due to her son’s busy sch ool schedule.
The I Decided star, 23, has cancelled her showcase gigs at the last min ute after struggling to fit her duties as a mother to five-year-old Danie l Julez around her work commitments.
Apologising to fans on her Twitter.com page, she writes, "Sorry to ALL that are asking me about my SXSW gigs being cancelled. I’m a mommy first, and Julez has school biz (business) I COULDN’T get out of!! There’s alwa ys next year…????" The annual music industry festival kicked off on Wednesday night (17Mar 10) with performances from Spoon, Broken Bells, Sharon Jones & the Dap-Ki ngs.
The event runs until Sunday (21Mar10).

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Rap mogul SEAN ‘DIDDY’ COMBS is in talks to save troubled London soccer t eam Crystal Palace - he’s reportedly planning to make a takeover bid of $ 576 million (=C2=A3360 million).
The hip-hop star’s representatives have confirmed he is looking into in vesting in a soccer club and has voiced interest in a number of teams - b ut he’s attracted to the South London side because of its name.
And, according to British tabloid the Daily Mirror, Diddy’s so keen on the club, which went into bankruptcy in January (10), he’s preparing to m ake the staggering bid.
Diddy isn’t the first rapper to turn his attention to the soccer world - fellow superstar Jay-Z is reportedly interested in buying a stake in No rth London club Arsenal.

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A producer who helped launch LADY GAGA’s career is suing the pop star for =C2=A335 million (=C2=A323 million) over allegations she dumped him as s oon as she hit the big time.
Rob Fusari signed a production deal with the singer in 2006, and claims to have come up with her stage moniker. He also maintains he was instrum ental in landing her a deal with record label Interscope.
The hitmaker, who has also worked with Destiny’s Child and Will Smith, produced several tracks on Gaga’s debut album, The Fame - including the h it Paparazzi - but Fusari reveals his working relationship with the star soured after she allegedly ditched him upon gaining global recognition.
He filed a lawsuit against the star in New York on Wednesday (17Mar10).
The producer hit the headlines recently when he took aim at his former collaborator Beyonce, who ironically appears alongside Lady Gaga on new s ingle Telephone, accusing the star of taking all the credit for using a S tevie Nicks’ riff in Destiny’s Child hit Bootylicious.
Fusari claimed it was his idea to use the sample and he was upset when Beyonce claimed it was her initiative.
In an interview with Billboard magazine, he said, "I came up with the i dea to build a track using the guitar riff from Stevie Nicks’ Edge of Sev enteen. I figured I’d put the guitar loop on there temporarily, and later go into the studio with a guitar and replay it, because I’d learned, aft er sampling Stevie Wonder’s I Wish for Will Smith’s Wild Wild West, that I didn’t want to lose 50 per cent of the publishing (royalties).
"I vividly remember telling (Destiny’s Child manager and Beyonce’s fath er) Mathew Knowles, ‘Mathew, you got to book me into your studio and let me replay that riff.’ He didn’t want to do it. So 50 per cent got cut for one note. That whole experience was bittersweet for me."

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Movie veterans ANDY GARCIA and JEFF BRIDGES are plotting a duets album af ter both finding success as musicians.
Garcia has composed music for and performed on soundtracks to films The Lost City, Ocean’s Twelve and The Disappearance of Garcia Lorca, and Bri dges, who has released albums via his website, wowed movie fans with his musical skills as a grizzled country star in Crazy Heart.
And now Bridges is an Oscar winner for his role in the film, Garcia is keen to revisit the late-night sessions he had with his old pal when they both lived in Los Angeles.
He tells BlogTalkRadio.com, "It would be cool to make an album together some day. We certainly put in the time in the past grooming our late nig ht jamming techniques."

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ROBERT DUVALL is to be honoured with the Peter J. Owens Award at the San Francisco International Film Festival for his "incomparable acting career ".
The movie star will be feted with an onstage tribute at the Castro Thea tre on 29 April (10).
The Owens Award, named for the longtime San Francisco benefactor of art s and charitable organisations and Film Society board member, honours an actor whose work exemplifies brilliance, independence and integrity.
Past recipients include Robert Redford, Maria Bello, Robin Williams, Ed Harris, Sean Penn and Nicolas Cage.

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PAMELA ANDERSON’s new dance teacher is confident the former BAYWATCH babe will win the upcoming season of U.S. TV hit DANCING WITH THE STARS - bec ause she’s "top heavy" and she works hard to perfect her steps.
Former Dancing champ Apolo Ohno recently criticised the busty actress, insisting her boobs would prevent her from winning the contest.
But Anderson’s partner, Aussie Damian Whitewood, claims her biggest ass ets will work well for her on the dancefloor.
He says, "It helps keep your weight over your toes, your weight forward ; (it’s) an added bonus. You’re gonna have good body contact, that’s anot her plus." The couple has been rehearsing for almost three weeks and Whitewood has nothing but praise for his new partner: "She’s totally committed to it, which is fantastic."

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LEONARDO DiCAPRIO is in talks to lead MEL GIBSON’s new Vikings epic after the two movie stars met in secret to discuss the ambitious project last year (09).
WENN broke the news about the film in January (10) when Gibson revealed he was planning another trip back in time for a movie about 9th Century England - and he was hoping to recreate an ancient dialect for the movie.
The movie star/director, who wowed film fans with ancient Aramaic in Th e Passion of The Christ and Mayan in Apocalypto, explained he was tacklin g old English and Norse as he fulfils his childhood dream of making an ul tra-violent Vikings film.
He told WENN, "The very first idea I ever had about making a film, and my first thought about being a filmmaker was when I was 16 years old and I wanted to make a Viking movie in old Norse, which I was studying at the time.
"I’m going to give you real men. I want a Viking to scare you… I want to see someone who I’ve never seen before speaking low guttural German, who scares the living s**t out of me." And it seems DiCaprio is game for a leading role in the film.
The Los Angeles Times newspaper reveals Gibson and the Titanic star met for a secret meeting with producer Graham King and screenwriter Bill Mon ahan, who won an Oscar for Gibson’s Braveheart, at the filmmaker’s office s in Los Angeles.
Gibson tells the Times, "We’re going hammer and tongs on the script rig ht now… There’s never been a good Viking film, not that I’ve seen. I th ink I have found the right way to get into it, though, but I don’t want t o say too much. The real problem is making those guys sympathetic. They w ere monsters." Producer King adds, "Mel and I were talking and he said he had always w anted to make a Viking movie and I knew, too, that Leonardo DiCaprio had a passion to make a Viking movie… so I decided to get all of us togethe r on it.
"The interest was in both of them for a long time and I can see why - t he Vikings are so mysterious, and for an actor to get his teeth into some thing like that could really lead to some interesting things. And it’s so mething the audience hasn’t seen in a long time."

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SANDRA BULLOCK’s embattled husband JESSE JAMES has issued a public apolog y to the Oscar winner and his three children for the "pain and embarrassm ent" caused by allegations of his infidelity.
The Hollywood couple has been rocked by reports the TV mechanic had an 11-month affair with tattoo model Michelle McGee, which she claims took p lace while Bullock was shooting The Blind Side on location.
In the expose, by In Touch magazine, McGee further alleges the romance continued into 2010, insisting she has kept intimate text messages from J ames as proof, with some written as recently as 14 March (10) - the week after Bullock claimed gold at the Oscars and tearfully acknowledged her h usband in her acceptance speech.
Bullock, who pulled out of the movie’s London premiere and has reported ly moved out of the couple’s Long Beach, California home, has yet to comm ent on the scandal - but James has broken his silence to offer his apolog ies.
In a statement issued to People.com, James insists the "vast majority" of allegations against him are "untrue and unfounded", but admits his "po or judgement" is to blame for the bad press currently levelled at him.
However, he stops short of admitting to cheating.
The statement reads, "There is only one person to blame for this whole situation, and that is me.
"It’s because of my poor judgment that I deserve everything bad that is coming my way. This has caused my wife and kids pain and embarrassment b eyond comprehension and I am extremely saddened to have brought this on t hem.
"I am truly very sorry for the grief I have caused them. I hope one day they can find it in their hearts to forgive me." Bullock and James wed in 2005.
James has a son and daughter from his first marriage, and he shares a s ix-year-old girl, Sunny, with his second wife, porn star Janine Lindemuld er.

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Beloved U.S. TV star FESS PARKER has died, aged 85.
The actor, who played both Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone on TV, made h is acting debut in Springfield Rifle in the early 1950s.
He became a Disney favourite later in the decade when he landed the rol e of frontiersman Crockett in the hit series, which also featured his mus ic hit The Ballad of Davy Crockett, and went on to star in family film fa vourite Old Yeller.
In the 1960s Parker found TV success as a frontiersman again when he la nded the lead in the TV series Daniel Boone - a role he played for six ye ars.
He also produced several episodes of the show.
In 1970, he retired from acting and launched a successful career in rea l estate.
He returned to TV briefly in 1974 with his own sitcom, The Fess Parker Show but rarely appeared on television after that.

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MILEY CYRUS is not a fan of her dad BILLY RAY’s back catalogue - she is " scared" of country music.
The Hannah Montana star’s father achieved international fame with his 1 992 single Achy Breaky Heart, which was a chart hit around the world.
But his daughter isn’t a fan of the country genre - she has branded it "contrived" and insists the music makes her "nervous".
She tells Parade, "It scares me… It feels contrived on so many levels .. Unless you’re wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots and singing and whi ning about your girlfriend or boyfriend leaving you it’s not going to sel l.
"I think that’s why my dad finally got out of it. You have to wear thos e cowboy boots and be sweet as pie. It makes me nervous, the politics of it all."

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Rapper MYSTIKAL is urging troubled youths to learn from his mistakes and stay out of jail, after completing a six-year prison term earlier this ye ar (10).
The Danger hitmaker, real name Michael Lawrence Tyler, pleaded guilty t o sexual battery and extortion charges stemming from a 2003 arrest.
He was charged with forcing his female hairstylist to perform sex acts on him and two of his bodyguards because he believed she had stolen $80,0 00 (=C2=A350,000) from him.
The rapper was released from a Louisiana state prison earlier this year (Jan10), and now he hopes his story can help save troubled youths from l eading a life of crime.
He tells Hip-Hop Weekly magazine, "I can definitely let them knucklehea ds know, the dog that’s barking at you, that dog bit me, and it’s not the route you want to take. I’m sure going through what I just went through, that I’ll get them to listen to me."

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TOM WAITS and FRANK ZAPPA’s former music manager HERB COHEN has died, age d 77.
Cohen died of unknown causes on Tuesday (16Mar10) in Napa, California.
In addition to Waits, his clients included Zappa’s Mothers of Invention , Alice Cooper, Tim Buckley and Linda Ronstadt.
Business partners Cohen and Zappa also set up DiscReet Records and comp anion labels Straight and Bizarre Records in 1969. Their business venture s collapsed in 1976 amid litigation between the pair.

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Pop/rock band the SCISSOR SISTERS surprised fans in New York on Wednesday night (17Mar10) when they introduced comedian SANDRA BERNHARD to the sta ge for a special collaboration.
The I Don’t Feel Like Dancin’ hitmakers played their first show of the year at the city’s Bowery Ballroom, with rocker Lou Reed and actor Alan C umming among the fans in the packed audience, reports Spinner.com.
The quintet entertained the crowd with songs new and old and even perfo rmed a cover of Pink Floyd’s Comfortably Numb.
But the highlight of the night came when frontman Jake Shears and singe r Ana Matronic brought out Bernhard to share the vocals for their song T* *s on the Radio from their self-titled debut album.

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MILEY CYRUS has defended her decision to include a raunchy pole dance in her performance at last year’s (09) Teen Choice Awards - insisting the se xy routine was "right for the song".
The 17 year old caused controversy when she took to the stage in a reve aling outfit at the Los Angeles ceremony and danced to Party in the USA o n top of an ice-cream cart, gyrating against a stripper’s prop.
But the Disney star is adamant the incident was blown out of proportion by critics - because her saucy antics aren’t as bad as "what 90 per cent of high schoolers are really up to." She tells Parade magazine, "My impulse is to say, =E2=80=98Get off my c ase…’ My job first is to entertain and do what I love, and if you don=E2 =80=99t like it, then change the channel. I=E2=80=99m not forcing you to watch me. I=E2=80=99m not forcing you to talk about me.
"I would do that pole dance a thousand times again, because it was righ t for the song and that performance. If you think dancing on top of an ic e-cream cart with a pole is bad, then go check what 90 per cent of the hi gh schoolers are really up to. It=E2=80=99s funny. I don=E2=80=99t know i f a lot of parents remember what they were like as kids."

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A new documentary about the final days of MICHAEL JACKSON’s life is set t o hit the big screen on the first anniversary of the KING OF POP’s death.
Author and filmmaker Ian Halperin has turned his best-selling book Unma sked: The Final Years of Michael Jackson into an 88-minute documentary, c alled Gone Too Soon.
The film features footage of Jackson shot before his death, as well as interviews with the superstar’s friends and colleagues, including his per sonal manager, chef, spiritual adviser, hairstylist, trainer and family a ttorney, Brian Oxman.
Jackson family members were not involved but are aware of the film, rep orts Daily Variety.
The film is scheduled to premiere at the MIPTV conference in Cannes, Fr ance next month (12-16Apr10) and is set for a theatrical release in Canad a and France on 25 June (10) - when Jackson suffered a fatal cardiac arre st.
Further international release dates have yet to be revealed.
In October (09), Columbia Pictures executives released a Jackson docume ntary entitled This Is It, using footage from the star’s rehearsals ahead of his doomed London comeback concerts.

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