Russian director Rostotsky dies

Stanislav Rostotsky, whose films depicted life in the Soviet Union from World War Two until the reforming era of Gorbachev, has died. He was 79.

Rostotsky trained under the legendary Soviet film director Eisenstein, making his directorial debut in 1956.

In 1978 he won an Oscar nomination for his film which centred on a dog's life, while he won countless Soviet accolades for his work.

Rostotsky suffered heart failure the day before opening a Russian film gala.

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Crawford's £20m musical pay day

Former Phantom of the Opera star Michael Crawford is commanding £20m to star in a stage version of the film Dance of the Vampires.

The 59-year-old star is set to become the highest paid theatre star if the "retirement package" deal is closed, according to the Sunday Times.

Crawford will play the lead in the new stage show, an aristocratic vampire who falls for a woman - in a run scheduled to last three years.

The musical penned by Jim Steinman is based on a 1967 Roman Polanski picture.

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Burton's daughter makes stage debut

The daughter of legendary actor Richard Burton has won her first starring role on the Broadway stage.

Kate Burton, 43, will play the title role in a production of Hedda Gabler by Ibsen, reports the Sunday Times.

Critics have already said that the role could land Burton a prestigious Tony theatre award.

Burton, whose stepmother was Elizabeth Taylor, had previously made a living doing voice-overs for commercials.

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Five star admits 'breakdown'

Ritchie Neville from the pop group Five has told how his failed relationship with singer Billie Piper led to "a sort of a breakdown".

The singer told Star magazine that a subsequent car crash and rift with his bandmates led to a crisis.

He said: "I lost my head, I really did. There was one side of me that said throw the towel in, everything's gone."

Neville added that nothing had gone wrong in his life until then. Billie Piper went on to marry DJ Chris Evans.

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Matrix sequel delayed

The release date of the long-awaited follow-up to 1999's blockbuster The Matrix has been delayed.

The futuristic sequel, which will once again star Keanu Reeves, was set for a Christmas 2002 release but will now not reach cinemas until summer 2003.

"It's a staggering project," explained producer Joel Silver as the reason for the delay. "There's so much dealing with it, it's unbelievable."

A third Matrix film is also currently in production.

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REM and Pearl Jam head awareness gig

Pearl Jam, REM and Alanis Morissette are among the confirmed acts for Groundwork 2001, a hunger awareness charity event to take place in Seattle.

The event, scheduled for 14-16 October, will raise funds for the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation to coincide with World Food Day on 16 October.

Madonna - Groundwork's chairperson - may also appear at the event.

A Groundwork disc will offer previously unreleased tracks by Madonna, Moby, David Gray, Sheryl Crow and Tom Waits.