Cinema & Movie & celebrity News And Rumors

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Da Vinci Code director Ron Howard had to shoot the movie's forthcoming prequel using imitations of the Catholic churches in the storyline - after the Vatican banned him from all of its holy buildings.

The first movie's portrayal of the Catholic church angered the religion's heads, who were in no mood to cooperate when Howard headed to Rome, Italy this year to shoot an adaptation of author Dan Brown's 2000 book Angels + Demons, which is set in the Vatican City.

As a result, Howard has been forced to used camera trickery and substitute locations.

He reveals, "We've had problems filming in Catholic Churches. We just weren't allowed anywhere near them." l

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Teen star Miley Cyrus has launched an attack on the internet hacker who broke into her YouTube account and falsely claimed she had died in a car crash.

A video was uploaded onto Cyrus' official page on the video sharing website on Sunday, telling fans she was the victim of a drink driving accident.

The allegations upset her friends and family, who quickly denied the claims - blaming the incident on an internet hacker.

But the 15-year-old insists she's grown accustomed reading fictional stories written about her.

Pretending to be unaware of the event, she jokes with TV reporters on E!, "What happened? Did I die, like, bungee jumping, getting bulldozed, what happened this time? I got hit by a drunk driver! Ok, good. Wait. What? On my Web page? No. My Web page got hacked?"

When details were cleared up, Cyrus admitted she was "ticked" at the culprit behind the computer screen.

She added, "I'm gonna, like, smack 'em!" l

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Michael Jackson is too sick to travel to London to testify in a lawsuit with an Arab sheikh, according to his attorney.

The singer's lawyer Robert Englehart told the High Court in London on Tuesday that Jackson is awaiting test results on a mystery illness and wants to give evidence via video link from the United States.

Sheikh Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa of Bahrain is suing the Thriller hitmaker for $7 million (GBP4.6 million) - claiming Jackson reneged on an agreement to produce an album, autobiography and stage play.

Jackson denies the claims and insists any monies given to him were as a gift.

Judge Nigel Sweeney has now adjourned the case until Thursday to allow time for medical experts from both legal teams to discuss Jackson's condition.

However, if no satisfactory outcome is reached, Jackson could be forced to appear in court in person. l

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Actress Katherine Heigl isn't ashamed of her fast food habit - she satisfied her greasy cravings after a glamorous birthday celebration by chowing down on a hamburger.

The svelte Knocked Up star got all glammed up for her 1920s-themed 30th birthday celebration on Monday night - but stunned following photographers when her Rolls-Royce cruised through a McDonald's drive-through in Hollywood.

Heigl kicked open the door wearing a stunning floor-length gown and stole - but her gloves were nowhere in sight as she scarfed down the Big Mac.

But McDonald's executives aren't surprised over her Big Mac attack, telling the New York Post, "Our food is well-known and well-liked by millions - including talented, world-famous actresses." l

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Comedian Al Franken's opponent for a for a U.S. Senate seat in Minnesota has lashed out at the star for meeting with Congress leaders pending a vote recount.

The former Saturday Night Live star beat six opponents to take the Democratic nomination with 66 per cent of the public vote in the state's primary election in September.

He has been accused by Republican Senator Norm Coleman - who leads by 206 votes - of acting pre-emptively by meeting with Senate Democratic leaders on Tuesday - two weeks after the general election.

Coleman's spokesman tells the New York Post, "It is highly presumptuous for Mr. Franken to undertake such a visit when his real purpose appears to be fundraising and gaining partisan advantage from non-Minnesotans."

The manual recount to certify the final outcome starts on Wednesday. l

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Nicole Kidman has spent her first whole day away from baby Sunday Rose - and admits the experience left her "reeling".

The Oscar-winning actress left her daughter at home in Nashville, Tennessee while she made a whistle stop tour Down Under with husband Keith Urban for the premiere of her new movie Australia.

And Kidman, who also has two adopted teenage children from her first marriage to actor Tom Cruise, confesses it was a strain to be apart from her baby for the first time since giving birth in July.

She says, "I had to leave her for 24 hours... I haven't done that yet, and so I'm still reeling." l

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Bosses at a New York restaurant owned by Robert De Niro have denied plans to replace their head chef - after the cook threatened to take him to court.

Managers at De Niro's Ago restaurant reportedly intended to replace Executive Chef Mirco del Vecchio with Jean-Georges Vongerichten in January amid poor reviews from food critics.

But del Vecchio says the alleged switch would violate both written and verbal contracts he has with De Niro.

His lawyer Salvatore Strazzullo tells the New York Post, "We're looking for damages in the $3 million (GBP2 million) area."

However, a manager at Ago denies the claims, adding: "It's absolutely not true that we are planning on replacing del Vecchio. He is a dear friend." l

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Jennifer Love Hewitt has called in the police after her trailer on the set of TV show Ghost Whisperer was broken into last week (ends14Nov08).

The actress lost a number of personal items in the burglary, which occurred during filming at the Universal Studios lot in Hollywood.

Website TMZ.com reports cops are now investigating the break-in, although it is unknown whether Love Hewitt was on set during the incident.

A representative for the star could not be reached for comment as WENN went to press. l

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Actress Sissy Spacek has become a music groupie, following her singer daughter everywhere she travels on tour.

Schuyler Fisk, 26 - Spacek's daughter with husband Jack Fisk - is a budding singer songwriter, and she can count on her mum as her number one fan.

The Oscar winner tells the New York Post, "She's fabulous. She's going to have an album out in February. I'm kind of a groupie. I just go around from show to show." l

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Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie's daughter Shiloh is in the middle of an identity crisis - she only responds to the name John.

The cute two year old is obsessed with Peter Pan, and loves to pretend she's one of the Darling brothers from the J.M. Barrie story.

Pitt reveals, "She only wants to be called John. John or (brother) Peter. So it's a Peter Pan thing.

"So we've got to call her John: 'Shi, do you want...' - 'John. I'm John.' And then I'll say, 'John, would you like some orange juice?'

"It's just that kind of stuff that's cute to parents, and it's probably really obnoxious to other people." l