Crowe to headline Foster film

Gladiator star Russell Crowe is set to star in the new film directed by Jodie Foster, Flora Plum.

Crowe starts shooting with Clare Danes - star of TV series My So-called Life and Romeo + Juliet - in Florida in September.

The 36-year-old, who was nominated for his role in The Insider, will play a circus freak who takes a starving young woman (Danes) under his wing.

It will be the third film as director for Foster, best known as an actress.

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Robbe video 'too nasty' for TOTP

The video for Robbie Williams' latest single, Rock DJ, has been censored by Top Of The Pops because it is deemed too gory for early evening viewers.

A TOTP spokeswoman confirmed the video would be shown on the show but be stopped "before it gets too nasty".

In the video, Williams tears off skin and organs to grab the attention of a bevy of women who then feast on him.

The full-length version will be shown on the TOTP repeat at 1.45am on Sunday.

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Film costume suppliers found dead

A mother and daughter who supplied vintage clothes for movies like Titanic have been found slain in their homes.

Susan Varner, 50, was found dead on Wednesday evening, shortly after her mother, Suzanne Arena, 79, was found murdered in a neighbouring county.

Varner's ex-husband Reginald, 53 was arrested after police stopped him for speeding and saw an axe in the car.

The victims' work on Titanic won the film an Oscar for best costumes in 1998.

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Director Lee slates Patriot epic

Mel Gibson's Revolutionary War epic The Patriot is "a complete whitewashing of history," director Spike Lee said in a letter to The Hollywood Reporter.

The director of racially-charged films, Malcolm X and Do the Right Thing slammed the filmmakers for ignoring blacks and the issue of slavery.

"How convenient was it for Mel Gibson's character not be a slaveholder?," he reasoned. "The Patriot is pure, blatant American Hollywood propaganda."

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Lee unites Asian talent in latest film

Taiwanese director Ang Lee wants to unite Chinese from all over South East Asia in his first martial arts film, Crouching Tiger, Sleeping Dragon.

"Chinese are united together by their shared culture, not by political power," Lee said. "This is how a Chinese-language movie should be made."

"I was searching for a lost China - a China that has long existed in my mind."

The film stars Hong Kong's Chow Yun-Fat and Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh.