Flatley, 40, is about to start his new career as a movie star after making his last stage dancing appearance in July.

Details of the film, tentatively called Dream Dancer, are being kept under wraps, but the star warned it would be full of surprises.

He said: "There will be some dancing but it's going to be very different from what people expect. I think they will be surprised and it will raise a few eyebrows."

Sting's composing challenge

Sting: Driven crazy by the challenge

Pop star Sting is finding that recording a new album while also composing songs for Disney's upcoming animated film Kingdom of the Sun is a real challenge.

"I write the music and then they're supposed to animate it, but there are constantly changes being made," he said.

"It's enough to drive you crazy but that's OK because I'm crazy anyway and I'm enjoying it."

Sting also appears in the Freak The Mighty video in which he, former Police band member Andy Summers, Sharon Stone and others romp through the English countryside as King Arthur's court.

Making the video, he says, was "hilarious - riding around on horses, dressing up, generally messing around and not too much responsibility."

Shatner recording star track

William Shatner: Drawn back to studio by Ben Folds Five frontman

Star Trek actor William Shatner has boldly gone back to the music world, despite having his first LP, recorded 30 years ago, panned as one of the worst of all time.

The 67-year-old actor, who made his name as Captain James T Kirk, has made a guest appearance on a solo LP released this week by American singer and pianist Ben Folds.

Shatner's 1968 album The Transformed Man is widely regarded as one of the worst LPs ever made, with its spoken-word versions of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds and Mr Tambourine Man, although it has achieved cult status.

Folds, leader of the trio Ben Folds Five, recruited the star for his Fear Of Pop Volume 1 album, on the strength of Shatner's notorious LP.

"I've been a fan of that record for years," Folds told the New Musical Express.

Figgis takes on Hollywood

Mike Figgis: Director turns camera on Hollywood

British director Mike Figgis is working on a new documentary that takes a critical look at Hollywood, entitled Hollywood Conversations.

The director behind Leaving Las Vegas and The Browning Version, has been spotted in various locations around the town with a video camera but no crew, shooting candid moments with the rich and famous.

More than 40 notables, including Sylvester Stallone, Robert Downey Jr and some of Hollywood's leading studio executives and agents are featured in the documentary.

"Everybody has his own specific take on the industry," says Figgis, adding: "I love the fact that some people think I've sunk so low that I can't get a directing job anywhere."

Van Damme facing charges down under

Jean-Claude Van Damme: Facing assault charges in Australia

Action star Jean-Claude Van Damme has been charged with assault for allegedly grabbing and kissing a woman photographer in Australia last month.

New South Wales police said the 38-year-old actor's management had been served with the papers which they had agreed to forward to him.

The summons requires Belgian-born Van Damme, star of Universal Soldier and Timecop, to answer the charge in a Sydney court on 14 December. The incident allegedly occurred at a Sydney nightclub.

Leeves added to 50 Violins cast

British actress Jane Leeves, who plays Daphne Moon in the US sitcom Frasier, has joined the cast of 50 Violins, which has already begun filming in New York.

Leeves joins Meryl Streep, Gloria Estefan and Angela Bassett in the true story of a music teacher who teaches inner city kids to play the violin.

She will play Dorothea Van Hauften, who urges her husband, violinist Arnold Steinhardt (played by himself) to raise money for the school's music programme after it gets cut.