Sellers Biopic Gains Lithgow and Tucci

John Lithgow and Stanley Tucci have signed on for THE LIFE AND DEATH OF PETER SELLERS, HBO's biopic of the actor. Lithgow will play writer/director Blake Edwards, while Tucci will play director Stanley Kubrick. Geoffrey Rush is already set to play Sellers, and Emily Watson and Charlize Theron will play his first and second wives, respectively. Stephen Hopkins is directing. Production begins April 16 in London.

Seth Green Joins The Scooby Gang

Seth Green is set to star in SCOOBY-DOO 2, starring Freddie Prinze, Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, Matthew Lillard and Linda Cardellini. In the sequel, Scooby and The Gang investigate a new villain that is trying to take over Coolsville with the aid of a machine that recreates classic Scooby villains such as the Creeper, Captain Cutler and the 10,000-Volt Ghost. Green will play Patrick, the curator of the Coolsonian Museum. Raja Gosnell is directing.

Kirsten Dunst talks about how the character of Mary Jane Watson has evolved in SPIDER-MAN 2.

Kirsten Dunst—who reprises the role of Mary Jane Watson in the upcoming sequel film The Amazing Spider-Man—told SCI FI Wire that moviegoers should expect a very different character. "She's going to be a much stronger woman and empowered by herself and her sexuality and her choices in life," Dunst said in an interview. "She's going to be a very strong woman."

Dunst added, "I felt that Mary Jane was a little insecure in the beginning and didn't know what she wanted. Now she's taking hold of her life and her decisions and not letting Peter [Tobey Maguire] dictate how their relationship should go."

Dunst said that the sequel deals with loneliness and picks up the first film's theme of responsibility and great power. She added that she met with director Sam Raimi and the screenwriters last year, before any script was written. "[They] asked where I saw my character going and what I wanted," she said. "And they gave it to me. That's really nice, to be able to change things and to really be creatively involved in where you want your character to go. ... I think it's going to be better than the first one, for sure."

The Amazing Spider-Man starts production on April 12, with an eye to a July 2, 2004, release.

Juno Loves Shania & Avril

OTTAWA (CP) -- After a weekend-long bash in a city renowned for politics rather than all-night parties, the music industry rewarded the faux face of rebel rock, Avril Lavigne, for her successes over the past year.

The 18-year-old singer, Canada's latest contribution to the international music scene, scored single of the year for Complicated, album of the year for Let Go, best new artist and best pop album.

Approaching the microphone she laughed at the video clip of her breakout song Complicated that was playing overhead on a large screen. "I smile every time I see this video because it feels like 10 years ago," she said. "We all look like little kids."

Her tally was followed closely by country sweetheart Shania Twain with three awards -- artist of the year, fan choice and best country recording.

Twain hosted the Juno soiree Sunday night, held at the 15,000-seat Corel Centre and attended by a full complement of Canadian talent including Nickelback, Blue Rodeo and Alanis Morissette.

It was a reunion of sorts for the two; Lavigne's first stage performance came after winning a radio contest to sing with Twain at the stadium.

Twain got the show started singing Up! in a sequined Montreal Canadiens track suit. She continued the hockey theme returning from a commercial break in a white, red and black Ottawa Senators floor length gown

"So how's your hockey team doing these days?" she asked the home-town crowd which included team captain Daniel Alfredsson.

Morissette was named producer of the year for songs Hands Clean and So Unsexy. It was the Ottawa singer-songwriter's first time in the producer seat. She beat out Our Lady Peace's producer Bob Rock, a music veteran who's produced tracks for Metallica, Bon Jovi, The Cult and Motley Crue.

Alberta rockers Nickelback won songwriter of the year for Too Bad and How You Remind Me. Lead singer Chad Kroeger's effort for Hero, from the Spider-Man soundtrack, also shared the award. The band beat out Lavigne, Twain, Ron Sexsmith, and Remy Shand.

Kroeger's proteges Theory of A Deadman, signed to his newly formed 604 Records label, took best new group. Default, another Kroeger project, took the award last year.

Winnipeg's Shand got his due with best R&B/soul recording for The Way I Feel. The singer was shut out of this year's Grammy Awards after being nominated in four categories.

A visibly moved Shand said it was an honour to win in the soul category.

"This year has been a fantastic year for everyone who is Canadian playing R&B," he said.

Bad boy rapper Eminem's The Eminem Show was named best international album. He didn't attend the show but offered a profanity-filled taped message apologizing for not attending because he was in the studio.

The subject of war was largely absent from the show with the exception of "No war" written on a white flag held up by rapper K-OS before performing with Montreal singer Sam Roberts.

Twain proved an energetic host, largely relying on her wardrobe to surprise and energize the crowd. She managed to represent all of the country's hockey teams in her flamboyant outfits.

But she also pulled a few surprises, at one point showing up in the audience next to hip hop quartet Swollen Members. Leaning over in front of the band to face television cameras, she smiled suggestively saying she "wouldn't dare sit on a swollen member."

Sunday's celebration was the second of two Juno nights. The majority of awards were handed out at a gala dinner Saturday night at Le Theatre du Casino in nearby Gatineau, Que. Among the 28 statuettes awarded: Our Lady Peace won best rock album for Gravity, Diana Krall took vocal jazz album for Live In Paris and Fred Penner for children's album.

Here's the complete list of winners,

Voiceless McCartney suspends first British tour in decade

LONDON (AFP) - Sir Paul McCartney, Britain's best-known living pop star, lost his voice and had to suspend his first tour of his native land in 10 years.

"I woke up this morning with virtually no voice," ex-Beatle McCartney said.

The superstar singer-composer went hoarse after his opening night Saturday before an audience in Sheffield and had to disappoint fans looking forward to a second, Sunday-night appearance in the northern English city.

His repertoire includes 22 Beatles songs -- almost twice as many as his old band ever played during any single stage show in Britain.

"I've been doing all that I can to try and get my voice back and I tried singing a couple of numbers at a sound check this afternoon," McCartney said in a statement released by the show organisers:

"But nothing has worked and so I am afraid I have to cancel this show in order to save the other gigs on the tour," he added apologetically:

"I'm sorry to all the people who all bought tickets for the show, at least we got to do one gig in Sheffield.

"We'll be back to do the show here at some other time."

As well as classics like "She's Leaving Home," "Back in the USSR," "Eleanor Rigby" and "Fool on the Hill," McCartney was adding to his repertoire more than a dozen hits from his post-Beatles solo period and time with Wings.

He has already taken his "Back in the World" tour around the United States, Canada, Mexico and Japan, playing 58 concerts in 37 cities, performing to more than one million fans over the past year.

After concerts in Manchester, Birmingham and London later this month, he plans to take his 2-1/2 hour act to Copenhagen, Stockholm, Vienna, and Antwerp, Belgium.

Saturday night marked McCartney's first full-dress concert in Britain since his "New World Tour" of 1993.

'Phone Booth' Debuts at No. 1 With $15M

LOS ANGELES - "Phone Booth," starring Colin Farrell as a man trapped in a phone booth by a sniper, rang up $15 million in ticket sales to debut as the weekend's No. 1 movie.

The teen flick "What a Girl Wants," with Amanda Bynes as an outgoing American reunited with her stuffy British dad, opened in second place with $12.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Vin Diesel's action tale "A Man Apart," about a rogue federal agent battling a Mexican drug cartel, premiered at No. 3 with $11.2 million.

Last weekend's top movie, "Head of State," fell to fourth place with $8.8 million.

Hollywood remained in a box-office slump, with the top 12 movies grossing $84 million, down 10 percent from the same weekend a year ago. It was the fourth straight weekend that revenues declined, and the box office so far is down about 7 percent compared to last year.

Studio executives say the war in Iraq might be dampening the moviegoing mood. But analysts said movie choices so far this year generally have been weaker than the first part of 2002, when hits such as "Ice Age," "Blade II," "John Q" and "Panic Room" opened to big audiences.

"The fact that it's down four weekends in a row, everybody says, hey, this has to do with the war and people's moods," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "But no matter what the mood of the country, if there are good movies out there, people will want to go see them."

The box office should heat up this coming weekend, when the Adam Sandler and Jack Nicholson comedy "Anger Management" opens. Coming a few weeks later is the "X-Men" sequel "X2," followed by "The Matrix Reloaded," the middle chapter of Keanu Reeves' sci-fi saga.

"Phone Booth," directed by Joel Schumacher, stars Farrell as a publicist held hostage in Manhattan's last remaining phone booth by a sniper (Kiefer Sutherland).

The movie originally was set for release last November, but it was put on hold because of the sniper attacks around Washington, D.C., that killed 13 people. After two suspects were caught in those shootings, 20th Century Fox rescheduled the film, reasoning that enough time had passed and that its story line of a gunman targeting a specific victim was dissimilar.

Eddie Griffin's stand-up comedy concert movie "DysFunKtional Family" opened with $1.1 million in 602 theaters for a weak average of $1,827 a cinema, compared with $6,056 in 2,481 theaters for "Phone Booth."

In limited release, Nick Nolte's casino-heist caper "The Good Thief," directed by Neil Jordan, opened strongly in nine theaters with $137,626 for a $15,292 average.

Here are the estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at North American theaters, according to Exhibitor Relations Co. Inc. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Phone Booth," $15 million.
2. "What a Girl Wants," $12.1 million.
3. "A Man Apart," $11.2 million.
4. "Head of State," $8.8 million.
5. "Bringing Down the House," $8.5 million.
6. "The Core," $6.3 million.
7. "Basic," $5.4 million.
8. "Chicago," $5.3 million.
9. "Agent Cody Banks," $3.7 million.
10. "Piglet's Big Movie," $3 million.

Oh My Gawd, Nooooooooooooooooo!

Hollywood couple J.Lo and Ben Affleck have secured a deal to remake the classic movie Casablanca, according to reports.

The pair are said to be delighted with the multi-million pound deal and are now in talks with American producers.

The original film was a hit in 1942 starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman and J.Lo and Affleck want to repeat the success.

Affleck will take the romantic lead as Rick, the Daily Star reports.

Lopez will play the former lover who had jilted him but comes back into his later life - married to a French resistance leader.

Actor Ben is reportedly a big fan of old movies and the project will give him a chance to indulge his passion.

It will not be the first time the two have appeared on screen together - they recently starred in the hit romance Jersey Girl.

A friend said: "They are overjoyed at the propspect of being in Casablanca together.

"It is the chance for them to show how much they love each other through their on-screen chemistry."

Natalie Imbruglia Doesn't Feel Sexy Like Kylie Minogue

The Sun reports L’Oreal cosmetics stunner Natalie Imbruglia believes she would never wiggle her bum about like Kylie Minogue, because she hates her body. The gorgeous Aussie said, "I don’t wake up thinking I’m ugly but I don’t feel sexy. I can’t do that provocative Kylie thing because I don’t have a great body."

Has Madonna lost her Midas touch - and her mind?

On the heels of last year's bomb, "Swept Away" (a starring vehicle for the 44-year-old mother of two, directed by her husband, Guy Ritchie), comes her sudden decision to yank her new video, "American Life" - in which she dances around in military gear and tosses a grenade onto the lap of an actor playing President Bush - before it ever hits American airwaves.

(It has, however, been broadcast on German TV.)

Of her decision, she said in a statement: "[The video] was filmed before the war started, and I do not believe it is appropriate to air it at this time."

It may be a world of shock and awe - but Madonna's not doing her best to be a part of it.

The one-time queen of controversy is mellowing with age - and losing her grip on pop culture.

She recently slammed the bulk of today's young chart-toppers as largely talentless, well-packaged, photogenic pop stars.

Apparently, the irony is lost on the woman who gained worldwide attention by writhing around on stage in a wedding dress, slamming the Catholic Church, and releasing a sexually explicit video ("Justify My Love") deemed too racy for MTV.

In fact, Joni Mitchell recently attacked Madonna as a "manufactured" talent-free pop star. Elton John was quoted as saying that Madonna's tune "Die Another Day," for last year's James Bond movie of the same name, was the "worst Bond tune ever."

Even that well-known arbiter of all thing hip, the Queen of England, dissed her - she didn't know who the longtime London resident/internationally famous pop star was when she met Madonna at the London premiere of the film last winter.

Most importantly, Madonna once posted record sales of 10 million (1984's "Like a Virgin"). But those numbers have waned in comparision to her younger competitiors, like Britney Spears and Eminem. Her last record, 2000's "Music," sold 2.9 million copies. (Eminem's last record sold over 1 million copies in its first week alone).

Her 10th record, "American Life," is in stores April 22, and while a new Madonna album would be nothing without attendant controversy, her new video - as well as her decision to pull it and yet make it available on DVD, seems less like a typically shrewd moves and more of a massive stumble.

(She did show one flash of cleverness, however: In an effort to combat Internet piracy, she uploaded funny fake tracks of her new album onto the Web).

Still, it's hard not to expect more from one of the savviest marketers of all time. Even her most ardent fan would have a tough time defending some of her recent behavior as cool, much less cutting edge.

Aside from suddenly worrying about offending people with her new video, the author and subject of the X-rated book "Sex" has announced plans to write five children's books with her husband. The first, "The English Roses," is due in September.

Then there's her upcoming guest shot on the sitcom "Will & Grace" - a stunt that everyone from Cher to Demi Moore to Matt Damon to Harry Connick Jr. has done.

Could it be more uncool at this point? And what's up with the tracks suits?

Madonna was never a follower of mainstream fashion - she was the one who made an armful of rubber bracelets a must-have accessory for teenage girls, made crucifix necklaces cool, and changed her look as often as most people change their underwear.

But now she's often photographed wearing matching tracksuits - a look popularized by Jennifer Lopez and Britney Spears. She's also taken to wearing a tweed newsboy cap - a trend that's nearly exhausted its shelf-life.

Finally, there's the 44-page photo essay of the Michigan-raised diva in the new W magazine. The last time anyone saw this much of Madonna was in her "Sex" book, which at least had the ability to shock.

The W pictures feel like reheated, tame outakes from "Sex." Here's Madonna winding herself around a stripper's poles. Here she is curled up in bed, wearing fishnets and a corset. Here she is lying on a table with one leg literally yanked behind her head.

The most shocking thing about Madonna just may be, in fact, her inability to truly shock anyone anymore.