It seems Russell Crow has had second thoughts about a recent interview for the British entertainment magazine, Empire. The New Zealand-born actor says he's had a "change of heart" since the interview, and didn't think he represented his true self accurately. The actor's publicist requested a second interview with the magazine to restore "a much-needed sense of balance." Empire magazine planned to bill the original interview as an "explosive exclusive" until Crowe's publicist called a few days after the interview to express reservations. Empire had described the original interview as a "raucous, bawdy affair, and said it included 157 swear words!

Sting Gets Ready to Perform at Academy Awards

The Academy Awards producer announced last week that Sting will perform at the 74th Academy Awards. This will be the singer-songwriter's second performance at the Oscars. Sting's last record, "Brand New Day" won awards for Best Pop Album and Best Pop Male Vocal Performance at the 2000 Grammy's. "...All This TIme", Sting's new live album released last fall, sold more that 2.4 million records worldwide. The Academy Awards will be presented March 24th at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood. They will be televised live on ABC starting at 5:30 p.m.

Former Playmate Anna Nicole Smith Wins Court Battle

Anna Nicole Smith, a former Playboy Playmate, has been battling it out in court trying to prove she has a right to her late husband's millions. In a court decision this week, U.S. District Court Judge David O. Carter awarded Smith a total of over $88 million in punitive and compensatory damages against E. Pierce Marshall, her husband's late son. E. Pierce Marshall controls the trust of his late father, Howard Marshall II. E. Pierce Marshall had previously challenged the decision of a federal bankruptcy court awarding Smith $475 million of his father's money. Smith's attorney says the ruling was "a complete victory...and I think it's a victory for a husband's love for his wife." Smith met Howard Marshall II in 1991 while she was working as a stripper. They later wed in 1994 when she was 26 and he was 89. Marshall died in 1995 at age 90, only 14 months after their marriage. He left his trust to be divided among specified individuals, but Smith was not listed as a recipient.

90210 Actor Ian Ziering Ready to Give up Married Life

Ian Ziering, who played Steve Sanders on Beverly Hills 90210, has recently filed for divorce. His wife, Nikki Ziering, is a former Playboy Playmate. Ziering married his wife in 1997, and has cited irreconcilable differences as reason for divorce. The couple did not have any children. In addition to his role on 90210, Ian Ziering as done voice work on television programs such as Godzilla: The Series and Batman Beyond: The Movie. Nikki Ziering was a 1997 Playboy Playmate and has appeared on Love Boat and Babylon 5.

Viggo Mortensen, who made a very big impression as Aragorn in the recent smash hit Fellowship of the Ring, is currently in talks to take the lead role in Neil Jordan's (Michael Collins (1996), The End of the Affair (1999)) next project entitled Borgia. Shooting will begin this summer on the historical epic, which follows the rise of the Borgia family during the 15th century. Mortensen is up for the role of Cesare Borgia, whose father went on to become Pope Alexander VI and who ran the Vatican like a mob boss. Cesare Borgia has been portrayed previously by the legendary Orson Welles.

MGM has finally announced the long-anticipated title for the upcoming Bond film, which is due to hit theaters on November 22nd. Die Another Day will bring Pierce Brosnan back to the screen in his fourth outing as the British super spy, who joins fellow cast members Halle Barry, John Cleese, and Judi Dench under the direction of Lee Tamahori (Along Came a Spider (2001)). Still not much is known about the plot of Die Another Day, as all Bond scripts are kept pretty secret until the release, but sources say the film will open with an exciting boat chase in North Korea.

Speaking of all things shaken, not stirred, young actor Frankie Muniz (currently enjoying a successful television career with Fox's Malcolm in the Middle) is currently in talks to take the lead role in Agent Cody Banks, a film that James Bond studio MGM is planning to get off the ground sometime in the near future. If cast, Muniz would play a kid spy akin to Ian Fleming's most famous creation. The story involves a teenager who is taken in by the U.S. Government as an agent that would carry out small missions. Both New Line Cinema and MGM were in a fierce bidding war for this project, with MGM eventually taking the rights to the film. The studio hopes to begin shooting Agent Cody Banks this June.

The king of action film heroes is really getting down this cyborg role. After playing an assassin robot in two Terminator films and prepping for the third installment in the franchise entitled Rise of the Machines, it looks as though Schwarzenegger will then take on the role of another cyborg gone haywire in the new remake of Westworld. Jurassic Park author Michael Crichton's film about a futuristic theme park gone awry (hmmm...sound familiar?) became a cult hit back in the 70's, and the decision by Warner Brothers to remake the film is being met with both trepidation and anticipation. Arnold will take the lead role as a cowboy robot that begins terrorizing visitors trapped at the park, a part that was previously played by the late Yul Brynner in the original film.

Big budget, action adventure director Roland Emmerich (The Patriot (2000), Godzilla (1998), Independence Day (1996)) is apparently interested in heading back into the sci-fi realm with another action film about an alien invasion of Earth. Alien Prison is a script that has been around Hollywood for several years, and Emmerich has decided that it would be a project worth pursuing. The story is about a group of humans that have been abducted and exposed to terrifying experiments by aliens, who plan on taking over the Earth. The small group finds a way to escape and goes about trying to stop the planned invasion. Emmerich would presumably be directing the film for Columbia Pictures, who own the rights to the script and were behind his previous summer blockbuster films.

Oscar-nominated actress Nicole Kidman is set to join the cast of Anthony Minghella's (The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), The English Patient (1996)) new film Cold Mountain, based on the novel by Charles Frazier. Initial casting for the film sought actor Tom Cruise for the lead part of a Confederate soldier, but he eventually turned it down and was replaced by Jude Law. Renee Zellweger will also be taking part in the film, which takes place during the final days of the Civil War, as a soldier walks home to be with the woman whom he loves. Kidman will likely play the love interest Ada, while Zellweger will play Ruby, a friend of Ada's who helps her survive in the difficult frontier of the South.

Actor Johnny Depp, last seen in the Jack the Ripper thriller From Hell (2001), is set to play Peter Pan author J.M. Barrie in Marc Forster's (Monster's Ball (2001)) upcoming biopic about the author's life and the people he knew that influenced him to write the classic story about the boy who wouldn't grow up. History tells us that Barrie was a neighbor to a group of children who had lost their father, and as Barrie developed a relationship with their mother, he became a sort of surrogate dad to the kids. These autobiographical elements of his life would eventually lead to the creation of Peter Pan, Tinkerbell, and the Lost Boys, who spent their days in Neverland causing havoc for the sinister Captain Hook. The story gained immediate popularity, and eventually led to the beloved classic film by Disney and it's recent sequel.

One of the most beloved theme park rides at Disneyland, the classic scare trip Haunted Mansion is finally getting the big screen treatment by the studio. This comes on the heels of current Disneyland ride-based films, including the upcoming The Country Bears (2002), and the recently announced plans for a Pirates of the Caribbean movie. Eddie Murphy appears to be the front runner in landing the lead role similar to his Doctor Doolittle character, of a man who seems to be initially more interested in his career than in his family. A close encounter with a ghost at a haunted house quickly makes him realize the error of his ways, and the importance of his wife and kids. Rob Minkoff (Stuart Little (1999)) will direct the picture for Disney. Murphy can be seen currently in the action/comedy Showtime (2002) and will be seen in theaters this November with the big screen remake of the classic TV series, I Spy (2002), which will pair him with Owen Wilson (Zoolander (2001), The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)).

On Sunday night, an emotional Academy Awards show made history when Denzel Washington and Halle Berry joined Sidney Poitier as the only black actors to win Best Actor awards at the prestigious event. Both actors turned in powerful performances this year, as Washington earned his award by playing a corrupt cop in the thriller Training Day and Berry led an emotionally charged cast in the drama Monster's Ball.

Only days after the event, the industry was saddened by the loss of three legendary individuals. Dudley Moore died at age 66, after succumbing to pneumonia as a complication of the progressive supranuclear palsy that had incapacitated him over the past few years. Television funnyman Milton Berle died the same day at age 93 after a lengthy illness. And director Billy Wilder, who created such memorable films as Sunset Boulevard and Some Like It Hot, died at age 95 after a bout with pneumonia.

It seems as though Lord of the Rings' Aragorn (Viggo Mortensen) has passed on the lead role in Neil Jordan's upcoming Borgia project. According to The Hollywood Reporter, dashing actor Ewan McGregor has now snagged the role of the corrupt Cesare Borgia, a priest who plundered the land during the 16th century when the family had control of the Vatican and ran it like a crime syndicate. Mortensen instead opted to star for Disney in their upcoming film Hidalgo, which takes place in the world of horse racing during the 19th century.

Academy Award-nominated actor Edward Norton (Death to Smoochy (2002)) is to be joined by thesps Philip Seymour Hoffman, Brittany Murphy, and Rosario Dawson in his new film The 25th Hour, which will be directed by Spike Lee. The film is a low-budget project financed by Disney, about the final night a man sentenced to life in prison spends with his friends before heading off to incarceration. During that last night, the friends hang out, drink, and discuss life as the condemned man begins to reflect back on the choices that brought him to that sentence. Author David Benioff wrote the novel and also adapted the screenplay for the film.

Veteran actor David Carradine, who made a name for himself in the 70's on the cult-classic television series Kung Fu, has reportedly taken the lead role in Quentin Tarantino's latest project, Kill Bill. Carradine took over the title spot after Warren Beatty apparently dropped out. Kill Bill will be Tarantino's first film since 1997's Jackie Brown. The film will also feature Uma Thurman, Daryl Hannah, and Lucy Liu, and will be distributed by Miramax. The story is about a man who sends his two female assassins to kill a previous associate of his. Hannah and Liu will play the two killers, with Thurman set to star as the former friend of Carradine's lead character. Tarantino and crew will begin shooting Kill Bill this June.

Actor/Singer Will Smith, who made waves late last year for his Oscar-nominated performance in Ali, is getting ready to star in a remake of the Sidney Poitier-directed comedy Uptown Saturday Night (1974), which originally starred Poitier and Bill Cosby as two men who were chasing some thieves that had stolen a lottery ticket from them. It has always been one of Smith's favorite films, and up until now he hadn't been able to secure the rights to doing it. The film will be made at Warner Bros., the studio that is also making Smith's sci-fi epic I Am Legend, which had been floating around Hollywood for a few years in development hell with names like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ridley Scott attached. Uptown Saturday Night is being treated as a potential franchise project, as the rights to the two sequels have also been attained by Smith and the studio.