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In a story headlined ‘CONNICK, JR. RETURNING TO BROADWAY’ contained in the fifth feed on 1 March, 2011, we incorrectly stated Harry Connick, Jr. would be portraying a gay florist’s assistant in a Broadway revival of On A Clear Day You Can See Forever. He will actually be playing a straight psychiatrist. Please update your website/database and accept our apologies for any inconvenience…… WENN Editor.

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MEL GIBSON’s HOW I SPENT MY SUMMER VACATION co-star SCOTT COHEN has defended his pal amid allegations the movie icon is prone to violent and offensive outbursts, insisting he’s the ultimate, calm professional.
Cohen admits he was nervous about working with the Aussie star following his recent bad press - and the leaked ferocious phone calls he reportedly fired off at ex-girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva - but Gibson quickly put him at ease.
He tells BlogTalkRadio.com, "He’s quieted down… I found Mel to be really giving and really generous. When I first met him his energy was so intense. What comes out of his eyes is so magnetic and so fierce, you’re like, ‘Oh my God!’ "But he was nice, just joking around. He gave the director (Adrian Grunberg) an opportunity to direct his first movie, and Mel was there all the time kind of helping him with shots. I found him to be incredibly educating."

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Actress EMILY BLUNT has saddled her sister with the task of packing up her London apartment before selling it - because she can’t leave America for immigration reasons.
The Brit wed U.S. actor John Krasinski last summer (10) and is now in the process of applying for a green card, which means she can’t travel outside of America until vital paperwork is complete.
And that means she can’t jet back to London to sell the home where she lived with her sister before she got married.
The Devil Wears Prada star explains, "I have to sell it… and I have to be here for about three to five months because of green card issues because I married John.
"Not only am I uprooting my sister, I’m actually making her pack up the entire apartment… She was pretty good about it until she realised I wouldn’t be able to come back to London to help her pack up my shoes… There’s a kind of resentment from the whole family."

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The CARS sequel will feature a touching tribute to late movie icon PAUL NEWMAN, who voiced the role of DOC HUDSON in the 2006 original.
Newman’s car character will not appear in the new movie, but Newman and Doc will be honoured, according to director John Lasseter.
He tells the Los Angeles Times’ 24 Frames blog, "We have a lovely tribute to Paul in the movie, but we didn’t feel it would be right to include him or the character." Newman’s Hudson was a former champion racecar before a terrible accident ended its career. He became a doctor, life coach and elder of Radiator Springs - the forgotten California desert town where race ace Lighting McQueen finds himself stranded.

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Troubled actor CHARLIE SHEEN has blamed a sleeping pill for causing him to act erratically during his infamous hotel meltdown in New York last year (10), because it wasn’t part of his "normal blend" of drugs.
The Two and a Half Men star hit headlines back in October (10) when police were called to his suite at Manhattan’s luxurious Plaza Hotel during a night of passion with adult actress Capri Anderson.
Sheen was alleged to have flown into a rage and trashed the room after accusing Anderson of taking his watch, causing the busty blonde to lock herself in the bathroom in terror. She subsequently lodged a second-degree harassment complaint against Sheen.
The actor has been open about his substance abuse issues in recent months as he battles TV chiefs over the suspension of his sitcom Two and a Half Men, but he insists illegal drugs were not to blame for the controversy in October (10) - it was prescription drug Ambien.
In an interview with U.S. news show 20/20, which aired on Tuesday night (01Mar11), Sheen says, "Ambien, the devil’s aspirin! I think that led to that thing in New York. That was the one thing in the mix that was not part of my normal blend. I don’t do pills… (but) I was so sleep challenged."

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CHARLIE SHEEN has blasted his estranged wife BROOKE MUELLER for making up "colourful" lies after she accused the actor of threatening to kill her in a heated phone call on Sunday (27Feb11).
Mueller’s lawyer obtained an emergency restraining order against Sheen on Tuesday (01Mar11), hours after the real estate worker was refused physical custody of the couple’s twin sons in an ongoing custody battle.
In her legal papers, Mueller admitted she feared for her safety and that of her two kids after claiming the troubled star had made threats against her life during a heated weekend phone argument, when Sheen allegedly raged, "I will cut your head off, put it in a box and send it to your mom!" But the Platoon actor has hit out at the accusations in a new TV interview, which he shot on street outside his Sherman Oaks, California home early on Wednesday morning (02Mar11).
Appearing alongside his lawyer, a calm Sheen told Today Show reporter Jeff Rosen he had not made threat, stating, "It’s colourful… That’s a good one I guess. If you spend enough time around me you can formulate things and make it sound like it could have come from my mouth…" Sheen was forced to temporarily give up his 23-month-old sons, Bob and Max, to police on Tuesday night, when officers paid a visit to his Beverly Hills mansion, and he told Rosen he has no idea where his kids were taken.
He insisted he is not "panicking" and is eager to settle the custody dispute because his boys are better off living with him and his two live-in girlfriends: "There’s more love, compassion, support, childcare… in this lovely home." And Sheen has issued a plea to his ex, urging her to get in touch so they can work out their latest problems amicably.
Speaking directly into the camera, he said: "Brooke, I’m sorry you felt this had to be done in this way, but this does not display any responsible parenting… and I think that cooler and smarter, leveller heads can prevail, and I urge you to reach out to me immediately, if not sooner, and tell me where our sons are." Sheen’s marriage to Mueller began unravelling after a Christmas Day bust-up in 2009, which landed the Two and a Half Men star behind bars and eventually led to an assault charge. They are currently in the midst of divorce proceedings.

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Rocker KEITH RICHARDS’ model daughter has been arrested after police allegedly caught her defacing public property in New York on Tuesday night (01Mar11).
Theodora Richards, 25, was also in possession of marijuana and a controlled substance, according to TMZ.com.
Police sources tell the website the Burberry and Tommy Hilfiger model was using a "paint marker" to graffiti the letters "TNA" onto the side of a building in Soho when she was apprehended.
Cops found the drugs during a body search after she was taken into custody.
Richards is currently awaiting arraignment.

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ARETHA FRANKLIN reduced TV presenter WENDY WILLIAMS to tears during a recent interview after praising the outspoken media personality for urging the singer’s goddaughter WHITNEY HOUSTON to face up to her drug troubles.
The Queen of Soul granted U.S. talk show host Williams her first TV interview since her health crisis in December (10), which prompted the legendary star to axe a series of end-of-year concerts.
And Franklin used the chat to publicly praise Williams for a hard-hitting radio interview she conducted with Houston in 2003, when the former shock jock continually quizzed the I Will Always Love You singer about her alleged drug use. The exchange turned nasty and ended with Houston proclaiming, "If this were back in the day in Newark (New Jersey), I’d meet you outside." But the soul icon is thankful to Williams’ for her tough approach - because it forced Houston to face her demons and sort her life out once and for all.
Franklin told the host, "I would like to say, I think you did a very good thing for Whitney in speaking in the way that you did at one point. (It) paid off.
"She’s doing very well, very well. And sometimes all it takes is just someone to say certain things."

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SWIZZ BEATZ is still in disbelief by his appointment as the first producer-in-residence at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, because he was far from the model student during his youth.
The hip-hop star, who is married to Alicia Keys, took up the post in November (10), mentoring students at the Clive Davis Department of Recorded Music through lectures and one-on-one tutoring sessions.
But Beatz admits he wasn’t the most attentive kid in the class when he was young, transferring from one school to another as he grew up in the Bronx, New York.
He tells New York magazine, "The funny thing about me being a professor, I didn’t really get along with school. It wasn’t based on education, it was based on survival. You go in there with a new pair of sneakers on, trying to focus on work, but this person over there is thinking about jumpin’ (stealing from) you." However, Beatz revels in his new job and is determined to help his students at NYU succeed in the music industry while becoming business savvy.
He adds, "I have a whole new plan, knowing the scope of what I’m dealing with, where I can have these kids do music and pay off their student loans at the same time. That formula is 85 per cent done.
"I want to make a real difference, so I can help them and we can help each other. ‘Cos I’m a student too."

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Legendary singer ARETHA FRANKLIN was so disgusted with her weight gain she took on a strict diet in 2010 and lost 85 pounds (38.5 kilograms).
The Respect hitmaker showed off a noticeably slimmer figure when she appeared via video link at last month’s (Feb11) Grammy Awards, two months after undergoing surgery to fix a mystery health problem.
Franklin revealed she shed the bulk by cutting out junk food, her beloved fatty pork products and adopting a healthier lifestyle.
The singer admits she was inspired to do something about her ballooning figure after realising she was "too fat for words".
She tells U.S. TV presenter Wendy Williams, "I’ve been looking at a lot of pictures… and I was saying (to myself), ‘You were entirely too fat for words!’ "I’m getting close to my normal weight now, I’m only a dress size away now. I was doing everything you could do to lose that weight and it’s hard, really hard, when you love food… Altogether, it was about 85 pounds. It was gradual." But Franklin admits the toughest part about the weightloss was cutting out the calories late at night after shows: "After you’ve done a high-energy concert, a carrot isn’t gonna work!"

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Pop superstar PRINCE’s long-forgotten early recordings as a member of influential Minneapolis, Minnesota band 94 EAST are to be re-released on a 35th anniversary retrospective.
The group was the Purple Rain hitmaker’s first and he first stepped into a recording studio as the band’s guitarist.
The Cookhouse Five, Original 1975 Session will be released on 5 April (11).
The anniversary celebrations also include the release of 10 ringtones, which feature 17-year-old Prince’s earliest guitar tracks.
Songs include If We Don’t, If You See Me, I’ll Always Love You and Better Than You Think.

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CLASH OF THE TITANS star NICHOLAS HOULT is set to play a romantic zombie after signing up to star in horror love story WARM BODIES.
The Brit has landed the lead in director Jonathan Levine’s new film about a zombie who falls in love with one victim’s girlfriend and sets out to save her from becoming a meal for his undead pals.
Warm Bodies is a big screen adaptation of Isaac Marion’s unreleased short story, I Am A Zombie Filled With Love.

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SOUTH PARK creator MATT STONE is pleasantly surprised by the positive response he’s received from Mormons for his new Broadway musical comedy, which was inspired by the religion.
Stone and his writing partner Trey Parker teamed up with Avenue Q creator Robert Lopez for The Book of Mormon, which centres around two young Mormon missionaries who are sent to Uganda to promote the faith.
The director admits he expected some Mormons to be offended by the cheeky show, but the production has been warmly received by audience members since opening for previews last month (Feb11) - even by those who practice Mormonism.
He says, "At the first preview, afterwards we had a little party and a few Mormons came up to me who were at the show and they walked up and said, ‘We’re Mormons, we were at the show’, so my first reaction was (to duck), but no, they loved it! And we just got a review of sorts which was in a newspaper which said it was ’sweet’, which has never really happened before!"

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Disgraced fashion designer JOHN GALLIANO is to face a trial on charges of making anti-Semitic remarks after he was caught on tape talking about his "love" for infamous ADOLF HITLER.
Galliano was sacked as head designer at Christian Dior on Tuesday (01Mar11) following a police probe over allegations he abused two strangers in Paris, France, and was filmed praising Nazi tyrant Hitler.
Now, French prosecutors have confirmed they plan to put Galliano on trial for making anti-Semitic remarks.
The news came less than an hour after the designer apologised to fans for the scandal, and denied the allegations against him. He also revealed he’s now seeking "help" to address his personal problems.
In a statement issued on Wednesday (02Mar11), Galliano says, "I must take responsibility for the circumstances in which I found myself and for allowing myself to be seen to be behaving in the worst possible light.
"I only have myself to blame and I know that I must face up to my own failures and that I must work hard to gain people’s understanding and compassion.
"To start this process I am seeking help and all I can hope for in time is to address the personal failure which led to these circumstances and try and earn people’s forgiveness. Anti-Semitism and racism have no part in our society. I unreservedly apologise for my behaviour in causing any offence." But Galliano is adamant the allegations against him are untrue and his innocence will be proven in due course.
He adds, "I completely deny the claims made against me and have fully co-operated with the police investigation. A number of independent witnesses have given evidence and have told the police that I was subjected to verbal harassment and an unprovoked assault when an individual tried to hit me with a chair, having taken violent exception to my look and my clothing."

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Hollywood star MERYL STREEP and singer-songwriter JAMES TAYLOR have been selected to receive the U.S. government’s highest arts honour by President BARACK OBAMA.
Sophie’s Choice star Streep and Grammy winner Taylor will be joined by famed music producer Quincy Jones and To Kill a Mockingbird novelist Harper Lee as recipients of the White House’s National Humanities Medal and National Medal of Arts.
Pianist Van Cliburn and author Joyce Carol Oates are also among the 20 luminaries selected to receive a medal from Obama at the White House ceremony on Wednesday (02Mar11).

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AMY WINEHOUSE’s ex-husband BLAKE FIELDER-CIVIL is behind bars after a judge remanded him in custody on charges of burglary and gun possession.
The 32 year old appeared before officials at Leeds Magistrates Court in north England on Wednesday (02Mar11) after he was arrested earlier this week (beg28Feb11).
He was charged with burglary of a dwelling and possessing a firearm, and was ordered to remain in custody following the brief hearing.
Fielder-Civil and a co-accused, Christopher Sylvester, are due to appear back in court on 9 March (11).
Winehouse wed Fielder-Civil in 2007 but they divorced in 2009 on the grounds of her infidelity.

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SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE producer LORNE MICHAELS is confident CHARLIE SHEEN will host the famous sketch show again - despite the troubled actor’s ongoing war with TWO AND A HALF MEN bosses.
The remainder of the eighth season of the hit sitcom was called off by network chiefs after Sheen publicly criticised series creator Chuck Lorre last week (ends27Feb11).
But Michaels admits Sheen is still welcome to make his TV comeback on the long-running comedy show.
Discussing the possibility of Sheen booking an SNL hosting gig, Michaels tells the New York Daily News, "Not anytime soon. But he’s done it before and I’m sure he will again one day."

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Actress SIENNA MILLER has regrets about starring in G.I. JOE: THE RISE OF COBRA, insisting she "compromised" her values by accepting the role.
The British beauty played a sexy spy in the 2009 film, but reveals she "didn’t feel good" after taking on the shoot.
And she admits the experience of playing an action role subsequently put her off big Hollywood blockbusters, despite the movie offering a "great pay cheque".
She tells Britain’s Time Out magazine, "It was what it was, but I compromised my own values to a certain degree and I didn’t feel good about that.
"I’m not very good at fighting. And I’m not very good at guns. And I’m not particularly aggressive. I had to wear sunglasses because every time I shot my gun I would blink. I was completely out of place, like this little midget running round in black leather winning fights, which was just absurd. They did a wondrous job with my wardrobe to make me look threatening.
"G.I. Joe (was) a great pay cheque. If, financially, I’m okay - which luckily I am - there’s no point in doing stuff that’s not right for me. It’s too much time away from home." The actress also reveals she is more focused on furthering her theatre career than taking on new film roles, adding: "There are times when you come off stage and it’s so intense that you’re screaming and sobbing but you feel amazing. I’m hooked. Doing a film is just not so appealing."

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