Actress Jennifer Lopez enjoyed a night clubbing in Miami, Florida, yesterday without her engagement ring - heightening reports her union with actor Ben Affleck is over. Meanwhile, Daredevil star Affleck was photographed holding hands with the same mystery brunette he was spotted with on Sunday - the day of his canceled marriage to Lopez. But friends of the Hollywood hunk insist the brunette - who accompanied him on a night out in Las Vegas on the day of his axed nuptials in Santa Barbara, California - is in fact his personal assistant Chay Carter, and pals add their relationship is based purely on friendship. With the brunette in tow yesterday, Affleck joked with photographers outside a Los Angeles eaterie, "What's going on? Who's here?" But while the actor refused to discuss J.Lo, the Maid In Manhattan beauty reportedly confided to her clubbing pals, "You're going to see a lot more of me." According to Britain's The Sun tabloid, Lopez partied at the glitzy Crobar establishment until 2:45 in the morning, with one stunned onlooker adding, "She had a really good time."

The opening of Nicole Kidman and Sir Anthony Hopkins' new drama The Human Stain is to be delayed in America to give the film a better chance of winning an Oscar next year. Despite having had its premiere in New York last week, the film will now open on October 31 - four weeks after its original release. Rick Sands, a spokesman for Miramax - the company behind the film - says, "This is a less competitive date for this quality, thought-provoking film. A new date will also allow the talent to travel more extensively in promoting the film."

Sharon Osbourne's first day as a chat show host turned into a very teary affair - she sobbed through an interview with country star Wynonna Judd and then made a family weep by handing out generous gifts. The reality TV matriarch couldn't hide her emotions when she chatted with Judd after she performed new song Heaven Help Me. Osbourne confessed the song had touched her deeply and then began to sob, leaving Judd to say, "She is a softie at heart. I love to see a strong woman be soft." The new chat show host was so upset she had to take off her false eyelashes. Then Sharon thrilled the eight kids of the Scott-Cardigan family, whose parents died earlier this summer, by presenting them with shopping vouchers, a new car, and free counseling. And there was more - Sharon's generous husband Ozzy handed the kids $1,000 each to "live life". The show also had it's funny moments - a cameraman was banished from the studio when Judd's pet dog Angel kept growling at him. Sharon explained, "Angel is a guest in the house and we're not going to be upsetting the guests." The Sharon Osbourne Show began its run on American TV yesterday

British actress Kate Beckinsale hated the tight-fitting leather suit she wore for new movie Underworld - because it was too hot, too cold and she couldn't go to the toilet. The Pearl Harbor star filmed the vampire film in Budapest, Hungary, during a savage summer and a fierce winter - and the whole experience was one of her most uncomfortable. She says, "The first week of shooting we were in the subway, and in Budapest and they go from insanely hot summers to winter overnight. The first weeks were really brutal with the suit and it took a long time to peel off and it made this kind of farting noise with everybody standing outside your trailer thinking it's really funny. I couldn't cool down at first and then I couldn't get warm." Beckinsale moans she was thirsty for much of the movie making because she couldn't drink for fearing of needing to dash to the toilet. She explains, "The suit had a zipper up the front, so it was a fetish one-piece. It would've been quick but I had that corset thing so nobody offered me any water. They would by pass me because I'd have to take off the corset and then undo the suit and freeze and get it up again, so they had to dehydrate me."

Movie hunk Jude Law has been comforting his distressed kids after they were caught up in a fire scare at their hotel in Manchester, England. The Talented Mr Ripley actor and his children, Rafferty, seven, and Iris, two, were forced to flee the Lowry Hotel when an alarm sounded on Saturday evening. But caring Jude hugged the tots outside the five-star establishment, before firemen confirmed it had been a false alarm. An onlooker says, "Jude was clearly very concerned about the fire alarm and had his kids close by him all the time. But he was very calm and kept them safe in his arms." The actor is in the city filming Alfie, a remake of the 1966 classic starring Michael Caine.

George Clooney's new TV project K Street had a helping hand from America's former First Lady Hillary Clinton. The movie hunk and production company partner Steven Soderbergh pitched the idea for their documentary/drama, all about what really goes on in the corridors of power on Washington's Capitol Hill, before they knew whether they could make a series. Their idea was to team real politicians up with actors to reveal what really goes on in American politics - but they only realized what an ambitious venture it was when cable channel HBO picked it up. Clooney reveals, "We did a TV pilot to get picked up by HBO, but before we did it that we were like, 'Let's see if we can actually do this. Can we actually put this together in this time?' Fortunately, Hilary helped us out with the test episode. It won't be shown, however." The show's consultant is Ronald Reagan's former aide Michael Deaver.

Pop babe Britney Spears stunned fans at a show in Las Vegas yesterday, when her female dancers ripped off her top to reveal a skimpy bikini. The singer - who was due to attend the postponed wedding of her movie pals Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck in Santa Barbara, California, on Sunday - performed the raunchy routine at a secret gig at the plush Hotel Palms. One excited fan says, "She tore the place apart. There she was on stage doing her thing with the dancing and the tunes. Then her dancers started taking hold of her all over. They grabbed her clothes and started lifting them off her." As well as the visual displays, Spears treated the crowd to tracks from her forthcoming album.

Pop sensation Hilary Duff has slammed fellow teen singer Avril Lavigne for criticizing her own fans. Canadian singer Lavigne has attacked her fans in the past for copying her signature style of wearing ties over tank tops. In one interview she ranted, "I sometimes see girls who are dressed like me and made-up like me. Get a life, you know?" But "So Yesterday" singer Duff believes Lavigne should show a lot more appreciation for her admirers. She says, "I think some of the things Avril said about her fans were kind of mean-spirited. She said that she was p***ed off at her fans for copying her style. I was like, 'You should be happy that these people like you and look up to you!'"

Superstar Michael Jackson's charity bash at his Neverland mansion in California on Saturday has proved to be a flop. The self-styled King Of Pop opened his theme park home to celebrity pals including Mike Tyson, Nick Carter and Aaron Carter and anyone else who could afford the $5,000 ticket price. But some tickets were sold for as little as $200 each and the event was nowhere near filled to capacity, with many guests - including Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck, who had been planning to get married that weekend - electing to stay away.

Movie hunk Keanu Reeves turned down six gorgeous glamor models who offered to help him celebrate his 39th birthday - in favor of dining alone. The Matrix actor preferred his own company as he dined on pasta at Dan Tana's restaurant in Los Angeles on September 2, and Keanu didn't regret his decision to ignore the bevy of beauties. He said, "No thanks, I'm happy spending the big day alone."