ShowBiz Ireland - ShowBiz Weekly : WEEK 43

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week 43-00
ShowBiz Weekly: news from the UK & US...

Former soccer star VINNIE JONES, who is now an in-demand actor in Hollywood, does not even play in friendly games any more for fear of being injured. "The pitches are so bad in Los Angeles and the first time I played I twisted my ankle,'' said Jones, who is currently filming Swordfish with JOHN TRAVOLTA and HUGH JACKMAN. "I cannot afford to risk getting injured because there's so much at stake.''

PAUL MCCARTNEY and KEITH RICHARDS renewed their old friendship when they met for the first time in years at a New York hotel party thrown by JENNIFER LOPEZ. The former Beatle and Rolling Stone spent the evening chatting over oldtimes and playing pool with Paul's daughter STELLA. Guests said they had left by 3am when police arrived in response to neighbours' complaints about the noise from the party.

CATHERINE ZETA JONES and JULIA ROBERTS will play sisters in American Sweetheart which begins filming in January when the Welsh actress returns from her honeymoon with MICHAEL DOUGLAS. She will portray a top Hollywood star and ROBERT DOWNEY JR. has been cast as her boyfriend.

Director LASSE HALLSTROM and his wife LENA OLIN worked together for thefirst time on the film Chocolat. The Cider House Rules director cast his wife as a woman who befriends the character played by JULIETTE BINOCHE. The film also stars JOHNNY DEPP and JUDI DENCH. "We always talked about doing something,'' says Olin. "He was easy to work with. He was wonderful and I now see why other actors love working with him.''

ANNE HECHE is joining ROBERT DOWNEY JR. as a guest star on Ally McBeal. The actress, whose highly-publicised affair with ELLEN DE GENERES ended last month, will appear in three episodes in what a source calls "a challenging comedic role''. Robert Downey Jr. has already signed on to play Ally's new love interest when the show begins its fourth season in America next week.

LOU DIAMOND PHILLIPS, who played rock star Richie Valens in La Bamba, isabout to become a television star. The actor, who was in line for the new male leading role in The X-Files which eventually went to ROBERT PATRICK, is to have his own series on the CBS network. Sources say it is expected to be a drama but Phillips is also open to comedy, having previously made a memorable guest appearance on Spin City as MICHAEL J. FOX'S longtime friend.

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