Gere's Oscar show stint

Gere's Oscar show stint

Chicago actor Richard Gere has been announced as the latest star to present an Oscar at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles on 23 March.

Gere, who has not been nominated, will make his fifth appearance at the awards.

Chicago leads the field at the Oscars with 13 nominations.

Other celebrities confirmed include Jennifer Connelly, Julianne Moore, Denzel Washington, Colin Farrell, Meg Ryan and Will Smith.

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Beastie Boys' peace song

US hip-hop act the Beastie Boys have posted an anti-war song on their website which fans can download for free.

The band wrote the song, called In a World Gone Mad, because they felt "it would be irresponsible not to comment on what is going on in the world".

Band member Adam Yauch said: "A war in Iraq will not resolve our problems."

He added: "It can only result in the deaths of many innocent civilians and US troops. If we are truly striving for safety, we need to build friendships, not try to bully the rest of the world."

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Eastwood eyes lunar project

Clint Eastwood has bought the film adaptation rights to the official biography of US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

Eastwood will produce and direct a film based on the, as yet unpublished, book for Warner Bros but will not star in the movie himself.

The book, First Man: A Life of Neil A Armstrong, by James R Hansen, traces Armstrong's career from his time as a Korean War fighter pilot through to his experiences in the US space programme.

Eastwood said Armstrong was an enigmatic figure whose experiences would make for a fascinating film.

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Letterman still off screen

Celebrity guests will continue to cover for US talk show host David Letterman, who is recovering from an eye infection caused by shingles.

Bruce Willis, John McEnroe and Regis Philbin have already stepped in for Letterman on the Late Show on CBS.

It is Letterman's first absence from the show since he underwent open-heart surgery in early 2000.

A spokesman at New York's Presbyterian Hospital said his condition continued to improve, although a complete recovery would take some time.