Pacino set for TV role

Hollywood star Al Pacino is to make his TV debut playing a man who refuses to accept that he is dying of Aids in a new US mini-series.

The actor, who starred in The Godfather, will appear with Meryl Streep and Emma Thompson in Angels in America, based on Tony Kushner's acclaimed play about the lives of two couples in the 1980s.

"I've never done television. I guess it was natural thing for me to go from movies to the theatre," he said.

US network HBO is to make the $40m, six-and-a-half-hour series, which due to be screened this autumn.

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Woodward makes film 'return'

Oscar-winning actress Joanne Woodward is expected to star opposite her husband Paul Newman in her first screen role for 10 years.

Woodward will play a manipulative widow who owns a popular restaurant, with Newman starring as the father of the diner's manager.

The pair have appeared in more than a dozen films together, the most recent being Mr and Mrs Bridge in 1990.

She won an Oscar for her performance in The Three Faces of Eve in 1957.

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Ruben Blades takes up law

Actor, singer and former Panama presidential candidate Ruben Blades is returning to his roots to become a lawyer.

The Grammy award-winning musician said he graduated with two law degrees before leaving Panama 30 years ago, but did not want to practise law under a military dictatorship.

The 55-year-old, who came third in Panama's 1994 presidential elections, plans to work as a lawyer for five years before returning to music.

His films include Assassination Tango and Salma Hayek's forthcoming project, The Maldonado Miracle.

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Hayek makes directorial debut

Salma Hayek is to direct television film The Maldonado Miracle after initially turning down the offer to make the movie.

Her directorial debut centres around a small town who's residents faith is tested when a statue of Jesus appears to be shedding tears of blood.

"I felt so honoured but I passed at first. Then I did Frida and when I came back, I said 'I need to find something that I'm passionate about,'" said Hayek.

The film will air in the US on the Showtime channel on 12 October.

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Weaver to star in Shyamalan film

Sigourney Weaver has joined the cast of M. Night Shyamalan's thiller The Woods.

The film is set in 1897 and tells the story of a community who live in the woods near a mythical race of creatures.

The actress will appear alongside Joaquin Phoenix and William Hurt in the Walt Disney feature, due for release next year.

Phoenix starred with Mel Gibson in Shyamalan's 2002 film, Signs.

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Italian film scores at Czech festival

Italian film Facing Window has won the $20,000 grand prix prize at the 38th annual Karlovy Vary International Film Festival in the Czech Republic on Saturday.

The Italian, British, Turkish and Portuguese co-production also scooped the awards for best director (Ferzan Ozpetek) and best actress (Giovanna Mezzorgiorno).

The film is about the unusual relationship between a young woman stuck in an unhappy marriage and her 80-year-old neighbour who is still living with the horrors of his World War II experiences.

Facing Window is the most successful Italian movie of the year so far in its home country.

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US TV beckons for Trisha

Daytime TV host Trisha Goddard is set to launch a US TV career.

The presenter of ITV1's confessional show Trisha is currently in discussions with a number of US networks to find a role on American screens.

Goddard found fame in the UK after she was drafted in as a replacement for Vanessa Feltz, who hosted a similar show before being sacked by ITV.

She had made her name as a presenter on Australian TV before attracting the attention of UK TV bosses.

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Sharon Osbourne to host talk show

Sharon Osbourne, the wife of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, is to host her own talk show on US TV.

The show, to be launched in September, will see Sharon delving into human interest stories and chatting to stars.

"I could never be as good as Oprah... I won't be recommending books. That's not my thing. My experience is life," said Osbourne, who recently beat cancer.

Sharon will have a live link to her home so she can chat to Ozzy - and hopes to use her children as reporters.