Shamed director Roman Polanski is set to return to America, to stand trial on charges of having sex with a 13-year-old girl 25 years ago. The Oscar-nominated Polish-born movie maker was arrested in 1977 at the home of pal Jack Nicholson and charged with six felony counts, including rape - after accusations he had sex with the teenager. The 68-year old pleaded guilty to having sex with a minor, but fled to France before his sentencing was to take place. He has since refused to return to the states, for fear of arrest, but has carried on making films - mainly on location in his new home city of Paris. But Polanski - whose wife Sharon Tate was murdered by members of the notorious Manson Family at their Hollywood home in 1969 - is reportedly planning to return home to face charges, after striking a deal with American lawmakers. According to Los Angeles news station KTLA, Polanski has made a deal with the Los Angeles district attorney's office so that he will avoid a jail sentence for the sex charges. The LA district attorney has refused to confirm speculation of the deal, but court records show that Polanski's attorney has met twice with the DA and an L.A. Superior Court judge in the last year - seeking to find a safe way for his client to return to America. Polanski even has support in his campaign for repatriation, from the girl he had sex with. Now a 38-year-old mother living in Hawaii, the un-named woman says, "I have no objections to his return to the US, if that is the case. I'm glad that he's worked out his legal problems."

Friends star David Schwimmer has been promoted from being the face of Los Angeles' Rape Treatment Center - to director. The TV hunk, who plays Ross Geller on the hit show, believes its his job as a celebrity to draw attention to important causes. The 35-year-old says, "To be perfectly honest, I feel I have a duty to use my celebrity status in a positive way. Most rape victims are women, so the bulk of the discussion is loaded towards women. I thought I could find a way to approach the subject of rape in such a way that men are going to respond to it." Two of his former girlfriends are victims of the violent crime. He says, "One was a child at the time, who was abused by a family friend. And then she was raped again when she was 16 in a date-rape situation." The Center started out offering crisis services for rape victims who came to the casualty department, and then branched out into providing counselling and therapy. Schwimmer continues, "My most devastating moment was when a 13- year-old girl told me her story. At that moment, I realized just how important this center really is. Nothing else had ever made me connect with reality like that." He also gave support to Cosmopolitan magazine's campaign to make it illegal to possess or distribute the "rape drug" GHB. He enthuses, "I think Cosmo's campaign is great, and that the possession and distribution of any of these 'rape drugs' should be illegal."

Following engagement reports, it turns out Julia Roberts' ex-boyfriend Benjamin Bratt has secretly married his Pinero co-star Talisa Soto. According to the star's publicist Ina Treciokas, the ceremony took place on Saturday in San Francisco, where Bratt grew up and owns a home. Treciokas says the pair wed "at an intimate family gathering, a day that perfectly celebrated their love and happiness". The actor had only just announced that he was engaged to Soto, which sources say was a deliberate move to throw suspicious minds off the scent of their impending nuptials. Bratt, 38, and Soto, 35, fell in love while co-starring in Pinero, the 2001 film about hard-living Puerto Rican poet-playwright Miguel Pinero. Bratt split with Roberts last year after a four year relationship, with some reports claiming Bratt had grown frustrated at the Oscar winning actress' refusal to marry.

Julianne Moore is said to be delighted after giving birth to her second child The stunning actress delivered a healthy baby girl last week. The bundle of the joy joins four-year-old boy Cal - from her current relationship with director Bart Freundlich.

Pretty actress Toni Collette has caused a storm in Hollywood over her under-arm hair. Her refusal to shave her armpits led to hysteria in Tinseltown - just as Julia Roberts caused worldwide debate by flashing hairy pits at Notting Hill's premier in 1999. The 29-year-old says, "I remember one time, when a big Los Angeles studio had serious concerns about my underarm hair. I was about to begin shooting a film and they wanted me to shave off my hair. I was told a series of hysterical meetings followed, because it's just not accepted in Hollywood that actresses should have hair under their arms. I wasn't fitting in with the norm."

Sexy actress Cameron Diaz had to be seriously convinced to appear in the sequel to action movie Charlie's Angels. Diaz was reluctant to retread old ground and give up some promised time off - but, despite finally signing up when she was handed a record breaking $20 million paycheck, she claims it was friendship and the script which tipped the balance. The 29-year-old, paying tribute to co-stars Lucy Liu and Drew Barrymore, says, "I knew that I wanted to work with the girls again but I wasn't sure that I would want to do it in Charlie's Angels, because I felt that it was something I had already done - I don't like to revisit things much." However, one look at the new script convinced her to reprise her role as leggy blonde Natalie. She explains, "I read the script. I saw it was totally fun and it reminded me of how much fun we had and how great it was. It was a hard decision to make because I'm taking this year off and I told myself I wouldn't do anything until the end of the year." The girls will start training for the physically taxing movie in June, with shooting beginning in September.

Legendary actor Clint Eastwood's move into politics has moved up another notch. California's Governor Gray Davis has appointed the star to the state Parks And Recreation Commission, which has been confirmed by the America's Senate Rules Committee. Davis named Eastwood, a former mayor of Carmel, California, to the panel in November. The nine-member commission shapes policies for more than 260 state parks.

Frasier star Kelsey Grammer has made a six-figure donation to his old high school in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pine Crest School will use the TV actor's cash to help the 1,600- student school build a middle school campus and make renovations. The school is currently in the midst of a $15 million fundraising drive. Pine Crest's vice-president for development, Larry Edwards, says, "Mr. Grammer has been generous enough to give the school the discretion to use the money for its capital campaign as it sees fit." Grammer adds, "I like what the school has done and what it plans to do."

Spider-Man star Willem Dafoe doesn't like being around bridges - because they give him suicidal tendencies. The American actor, 46, often feels unfulfilled if he walks away from bridges without having flung his body over the edge - an experience which he has luckily not yet experienced. He says, "I'm one of those people who when I go over a bridge, I want to jump. It's just this intense tickle in the back of my throat. It's like I'm on the verge the whole time I'm walking over that bridge, and I'm not going to get a release until I jump."

Actress Sandra Bullock is joining the big leagues in Hollywood after being offered $14 million for her next movie. The stunning brunette is close behind Julia Roberts and Cameron Diaz in becoming one of Tinseltown's highest paid actresses and is $2 million-a-movie ahead of Latina Jennifer Lopez. Sandra will receive the hefty pay cheque to reprise her role as Federal Bureau Of Investigation (FBI) agent Gracie Hart in the sequel to last year's hit Miss Congeniality. Gracie will use her beauty queen skills to help her new mission posing as a model to find a serial killer. And Castle Rock Entertainment producers are hoping to tempt back Michael Caine, who put on a hilarious performance as pageant handler Victor Melling.