Star Trek's bold debut

Patrick Stewart and fiancee Wendy Neuss at last week's Las Vegas premiere

The ninth Star Trek movie became the top film in the US when it opened at the weekend.

Star Trek: Insurrection debuted at number one at the US box office, replacing Disney's animated insect adventure A Bug's Life, according to studio estimates.

Insurrection, which is scheduled to open in the UK on New Year's Day, grossed $22.4m, almost twice the takings of A Bug's Life.

But it was one of the weaker openings for a Star Trek film - First Contact opened at over $30m in 1996.

The films gets its European gala premiere in London on Tuesday.

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Reed talking about comeback

Oliver Reed: Pencilled in as a retired gladiator

British actor Oliver Reed is talking with director Ridley Scott about making his big screen comeback.

Scott would like to cast the 60-year-old hellraiser in his new action epic Gladiator. Reed is pencilled in for the role of a retired gladiator called Proximo.

The film will star Russell Crowe from LA Confidential, along with Joaquin Phoenix and Amistad star Djimon Hounsou.

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Quaid for Iguana remake

Dennis Quaid: Following in Richard Burton's footsteps

Dennis Quaid is to star in a remake of the John Huston film Night Of The Iguana, released 35 years ago.

Quaid will take the Richard Burton role of a defrocked clergyman who becomes a tour guide in Mexico but cannot get away from his weakness for women.

Several top actresses are also said to be interested in the roles originally played by Deborah Kerr and Ava Gardner.

It will be produced by Ray Stark, who also produced the original.

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Duran play on the Internet

Duran Duran: Live on the Web

Duran Duran fans will be able to see them live on the Internet when the 1980s group broadcasts their Manchester show on their Website.

The sell-out show, at the Manchester Apollo, will be shown live on Saturday night from 2100 GMT.

Singer Simon Le Bon said: "It is exciting for us, we only decided to do this last week.

"At the moment, we are only touring the UK, so this gives fans all over the world the chance to see us perform."

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De Niro set for cartoon movie

Robert De Niro: Set to be Feerless Leeder

Robert De Niro is reportedly close to co-starring in a live action and animation version of US cartoon series Rocky and Bullwinkle.

The Oscar-winning star of Raging Bull and Taxi Driver appears likely to star as the sinister Feerless Leeder in the adaptation of the US cartoon series.

Jason Alexander from Seinfeld is also set to appear in the film, taking the role of the viilainous Boris Badenov.

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Murdoch joins The Simpsons

Rupert Murdoch: Superbowl trouble with Homer Simpson

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch has added his voice to an episode of cartoon series The Simpsons.

He spent half an hour in a recording studio taping his lines for a sequence in which Homer and friends sneak into Murdoch's box at the Superbowl game.

In the segment Murdoch discovers them putting their hands into the onion dip and calls in security guards.

"He was all for it and was a good sport. He thought it was funny," said executive producer Mike Scully.

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British duo join Ryan movie

Meg Ryan: Producing Lost Souls

British actors John Hurt and Ben Chaplin have joined the cast of supernatural thriller Lost Souls.

The film, produced by Meg Ryan, will star Winona Ryder as a woman trying to convince a crime writer that he is the target of a satanic conspiracy.

Ryan is already planning a sequel to be called All Fall Down. It is described as a story of "sexual temptation with an unsettling supernatural dimension".

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Eddie Murphy gets Nutty again

Hollywood star Eddie Murphy is planning to make a sequel to his hit 1995 film The Nutty Professor.

On this occasion the plot will concentrate on the five members of the Klump family - all played by Murphy. "Almost every scene in the sequel will have to be shot five times," explained special effects producer Rick Baker.

The film is expected to be ready for release by Christmas 1999.