BREAKING NEWS: Variety reports that Christian Bale, star of American Psycho and Laurel Canyon, has been tapped to play Batman in Christopher Nolan's reworking of the Caped Crusader saga, set for a 2005 release; the official announcement came Wednesday afternoon from Warner Bros. Bale bested a slew of hot young actors for the part, most notably Jake Gyllenhaal, Joshua Jackson, Cillian Murphy, and Eion Bailey, all of whom also tested for the role of the comic book hero. Nolan, best known for the indie thriller Memento, is slated to direct the film (currently known as Batman 5) early next year from a script by David Goyer, writer of the Blade films. --Prepared by IMDb staff

Ben Affleck and Jennifer Lopez have postponed their weekend wedding plans because the big day has become a circus of media attention. The couple were hoping to keep their nuptials as quiet as possible, but when news leaked of a ceremony at Santa Barbara, California's Four Seasons Biltmore Hotel earlier this week, the stars chose to rethink their plans. According to entertainment news guru Pat O'Brien, who secured the only TV interview with the couple earlier this summer on his show Access Hollywood, the wedding is now off. Reports have been circulating all week about the big day, with only a handful of facts confirmed. These include J.Lo planning to wear a Vera Wang gown and Laura Mercier's Pink Beige lipstick, yellow and white roses decorating the unknown wedding chapel, and the couple's wedding bands being crafted by jeweler to the stars Harry Winston. Other information included the fact that the Sunday wedding was to be preceded by a Saturday night barbecue, and the couple were planning to stage their first dance as man and wife on a clear plastic floor built over a swimming pool. The reported postponement will be a blow to Affleck's best pal Matt Damon, who was flying back from the Czech Republic, where he's currently filming The Brothers Grimm, especially for the big day.

Matt LeBlanc is reportedly causing hostility on the set of the final season of hit comedy Friends amongst his co-stars by focusing more on his spin-off show. The actor - who will be reprising his character Joey Tribbiani in a new series - is reportedly boasting about his continued coverage on television, something which has left co-star David Schwimmer fuming, according to Britain's OK! magazine. A show insider says, "He says things like, 'When I'm the only one on TV next season, we're going to do things a little differently.' Most people just turn away and roll their eyes." Sources claim Schwimmer - who plays whining Ross Gellar - is angry he hasn't been offered a spin-off series of his own, something which is causing friction in his off-screen friendship with LeBlanc. The insider adds, "Matt has tried to make him feel better by offering him guest spots on the show."

Sharon Osbourne has shockingly revealed she briefly left her husband Ozzy earlier this year when he took to drinking and abusing drugs again. Rock god Ozzy took to the bottle during a troubled time for the family - the couple's 17-year-old son Jack was headed for rehab after developing his own addiction problems, and Sharon was undergoing treatment for colon cancer. And, Sharon tells American interviewer Barbara Walters on an upcoming edition of TV show 20/20, she was so panicked when Ozzy started taking prescription drugs that she walked away from him in despair. Sharon says, "I just said, 'You just have to stop, ' and he didn't. And I said, 'Well then, I'm going.' And I packed my bags, and I left. The minute I left, the next morning, he gave up drinking. But I needed to make sure that he was on a roll. That he really meant it. And, after four days, I came back to see him. And he was trying so hard. So hard. Still is clean and sober."

Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise is teaming up with his Top Gun co-star Val Kilmer to play a daring pilot for the second time in World War Two epic The Few. The movie will tell the story of American airman Billy Fiske, an Olympic athlete who risked imprisonment to fight alongside British forces before America joined the war. Fiske and a small group of men risked imprisonment by their native country by defying orders to remain neural in the bitter conflict and answering Prime Minister Winston Churchill's call to arms. Other names attached to the project are The Last Samurai scribe John Logan and director Michael Mann - who will also work with Cruise in upcoming movie Collateral.

Pop princess Britney Spears is promising her new album will be a deeply "sensual and sexual" affair. The LP, which includes collaborations with R Kelly, Sean 'P Diddy' Combs and Moby, is her first release in a traumatic two years that have seen the break-up of her parents' marriage, her split from long-term boyfriend Justin Timberlake and tabloid allegations of sexual indiscretions with a string of celebrity suitors. And Britney embraces shedding former wholesome, virginal image - marked in startling clarity by her lingering onstage smooch with Madonna at the MTV VMA awards last month - with her much-anticipated new album. Her joint effort with controversial soul star Kelly, a track called "Outrageous," lives up to the promise of its title. Lyrics include the line, "Oh, it's so hot, and I need some air, boy, don't stop, 'cause I'm halfway there." A collaboration with Moby shows further signs of a more mature Britney. The singer describes "Early Mornin'" as being about "going out at night and feeling like s*** the next day". But Britney insists her new sexier image isn't a reflection of a steamy personal life at the moment. She says, "Of course I'm not doing 'Baby One More Time' and those big, massive hits anymore. I think this record is where I'm at right now in my life. It's sensual, it's sexual. I'm probably writing about that subconsciously because I don't have that right now."

Queen of pop Madonna's new children's book is on track to be a global smash hit thanks to advances in digital technology and the huge public appetite for kid's literature following the Harry Potter phenomenon. The Music singer launches her first foray into fiction with The English Roses next Monday which will be printed in 30 languages and go on sale simultaneously in a staggering 100 countries. And publisher Nicholas Callaway, president of New York-based firm Callaway Editions, credits incredible technological breakthroughs with giving the Material Girl such a huge audience. He says, "This is a publishing first with regard to numbers of languages and territories. We have languages as varied as Chinese and Czech, Thai and Turkish, Hebrew and Hungarian. This would not have been technically possible 18 months ago. We send so many digital files through the Internet." And Callaway is certain Madonna and other children's authors have Harry Potter creator JK Rowling to thank for reinvigorating children's fiction. He adds, "Everyone owes a great debt to Harry Potter for introducing a new generation worldwide to the magic of children's books. Interest in children's books is on the rise and thankfully we are part of that trend."

Democrat diva Barbra Streisand insists she's a close friend of Republican politician Arnold Schwarzenegger - even though she's against his race to become Governor of California. The unlikely twosome have become firm pals after spending years in the movie business, and are always happy to talk through their political differences. But the People singer stops short of standing behind the Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines star in his political quest. She says, "I have dinner with him. We have a great time together. We enjoy each other enormously. We get into our political differences, and then we just laugh."

Actress Cameron Diaz has spoken out about the acne hell that plagues her life - and forces her to become phobic about germs. The 31-year-old Charlie Angel's is well-known for her problem skin, which flares up at times of stress and even caused her to miss the London premiere of her film Gangs Of New York earlier this year for fear of being photographed looking less than perfect. She admits, "Of course I know I am an attractive girl, and I'm pleased about that. But even I have a flaw. My skin is so over-sensitive I get inflamed spots at the smallest thing. If it's possible I even touch door handles with tissues. On days like that I just stay away from the mirror." But Cameron has other qualities that make up for her troubles - she has no need to exercise to keep her famous figure in shape. She laughs, "I wear high heels - that's my only fitness training and it gives nice legs. Sometimes I want to start playing tennis or going swimming but I'm too lazy for that. I like my bed."

Movie funnyman Bill Murray has cleared up his reported feud with Charlie's Angels co-star Lucy Liu, insisting it was a 20-minute row that blew up out of a misunderstanding. Gossips reported that Murray pulled out of the sequel because he didn't want to work with Liu again, but he swears nothing could be further from the truth. He explains, "We began rehearsing this scene and I said, 'Lucy, how can you want to say these lines? These are so crazy.' She got furious with me because she thought it was a personal assault, but the reality is she hated these lines as much as I did. But for 15 or 20 minutes there, we went to our separate corners and threw hand-grenades and sky rockets at each other. We made peace and I got to know her better from that day, and I feel very warmly for her now."

Country legend Johnny Cash continues to cheat death - he has been released from a Nashville, Tennessee, hospital, where was treated for an unspecified stomach ailment for two weeks. Cash checked out of Baptist Hospital Tuesday and is now at home "resting", according to his publicist. The singer, 71, has been in and out of hospitals for the past eight years since he was wrongly diagnosed with Shy-Drager Syndrome. He actually suffers from autonomic neuropathy, a disease of the nervous system that makes him susceptible to pneumonia. His latest hospital visit forced him to miss the MTV Video Music Awards last month in New York, where his video "Hurt" won an award for Best Cinematography.