Gossip/Celebrity News

MADRID (AFP) - Johnny Depp is to star as Pancho Villa in a new Emir Kusturica biopic about Mexico's 19th-century bandit-turned-revolutionary, Spanish media reported Wednesday. Full Story »

DETROIT - Prosecutors have charged two people with threatening to sell photos of actor John Stamos unless he paid them $680,000. The actor's spokesman said Tuesday that the pictures were benign. Full Story »

LAS VEGAS - Wynn Las Vegas officials say they're in preliminary talks with Beyonce to bring the superstar singer back to the Las Vegas resort. Full Story »

TOKYO - Actor Johnny Depp highly recommends his latest movie — though he said he hadn't personally gone out to see it yet. Full Story »

PARIS - France's biggest rock star, Johnny Hallyday, has been hospitalized in Los Angeles, but his press service said Wednesday that the infection he was suffering from following back surgery has been "contained." Full Story »

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Tis the season to be jolly -- and to make a list, with the end of decade sparking them galore, ranging from the top words of the decade, to the top celebrity or the stupidest gifts for the person with everything. Full Story »

NEW YORK - R. Kelly is writing more chapters, only this time, it's not for his "Trapped" saga, but for a new memoir. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - "Prison Break" actor Lane Garrison, out of jail after serving time for vehicular manslaughter, is taking on a project about troubled teens and the redemptive power of football. Full Story »

PARIS (AFP) - Veteran French rocker Johnny Hallyday is responding well to treatment for an infection he developed after an operation, a spokesman said Wednesday. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Adam Sandler and Jennifer Aniston might be playing pretend. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES - Police say they are investigating a burglary at the Los Angeles home of Nicky Hilton. Full Story »

BOULDER, Colo. - A former cast member of the 1980s television show "Family Ties" faces a new assault charge after police in Colorado say he repeatedly hit a friend with a broken wooden stool. Full Story »

NEW YORK (Billboard) - The country-folk duo of M. Ward and actress Zooey Deschanel, known as She & Him, is slated to return in 2010, proving that the 2008 collaboration wasn't just a one-off affair. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - U.S. actor and director Tyler Perry on Wednesday announced the death of his mother, who he has previously credited as helping inspire the iconic Madea character in a string of hit movies. Full Story »

Tony Award winner Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig are film stars, acclaimed stage actors and, now, the top fundraising team in the history of the annual Gypsy of the Year competition. Full Story »

LOS ANGELES - Former Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker has settled his lawsuit against several companies over a plane crash in South Carolina last year that killed four people, attorneys said Tuesday. Full Story »

CHICAGO - On a blustery fall afternoon, Andy St. Clair slips into an empty club, with rows of tables, wooden chairs and a bare stage awaiting its next bit of comedy magic. Full Story »

NEW YORK - Bryant Gumbel shocked a television audience with the news that he's recovering from cancer surgery and treatment. The former "Today" show anchor, 61, said a malignant tumor and part of his lung were removed two months ago. He revealed his condition to Kelly Ripa while subbing for Regis Philbin on Tuesday's edition of "Live With Regis and Kelly." (Philbin recently had hip replacement surgery.) Full Story »