Renowned fashion photographer Helmut Newton has died in a car crash in Los Angeles. He was 83. Newton reportedly lost control of his Cadillac car after leaving Hollywood's Chateau Marmont hotel and crashed into a wall, and lost his life after being taken to Cedars Sinai Medical Center. The controversial photographer was famed for his love of black and white shots of nude celebrity females, having shot stars including Naomi Campbell, Claudia Schiffer and Jerry Hall for a range of publications including Playboy, Elle and Vogue. Playboy founder Hugh Hefner says, "He was a giant. He was a major talent that pushed the boundaries in terms of photography and influenced many, many other photographers in following generations."

Liza Minnelli, whose estranged husband David Gest is suing her for assault, has objected to having her pre-trial interview videotaped by his lawyer. Gest, 50, has filed a $10 million lawsuit against Minnelli claiming she regularly abused him during their brief marriage, and while she's willing to fight the "hurtful and false" charges in court, she refuses to do it before cameras. Gest's lawyer Raoul Felder, Gest's lawyer, says, "She doesn't want me to videotape her. They (Minnelli's lawyers) don't want it because they say it'll embarrass her," if it becomes public. During the hearing Thursday, Dorothy Weber, a lawyer for Minnelli, said of the videotaping, "It's putting her in a position of having a video that could end up in the press." Weber adds that Minnelli is also worried about "the potential for abuse" of the tape. New York State Supreme Court Justice Shirley Kornreich has indicated she may excuse Minnelli, 57, from an on-camera deposition - which Felder insists he'll appeal. He blasts, "I don't think there should be one rule for Ms Minnelli because she's a movie star and another rule for everyone else."

Pals of Ashton Kutcher have declared he plans to marry girlfriend Demi Moore in May - despite the actor publicly denying they'll wed anytime soon. The friends also add that Kutcher, 25, and 41-year-old Moore, who have been dating since April, are in a hurry to get down the aisle because they want to start having children together. A source says, "Ashton and Demi agreed to wait until they had been together for a year before getting married. The wedding will be a big family occasion, not a circus. This is the opposite of some crazy Britney Spears coupling. They are mature, sensible people and are going about it in a very smart way." The pal adds that over Christmas, "Ashton gave Demi a promise of marriage, along with a 19-carat diamond tennis bracelet that's worth around $17,000. Demi was ecstatic." Sources tell America's Star magazine that the couple have also included Moore's daughters from her marriage to Bruce Willis - Rumer, 15, Scout, 12, and Tallulah, 10 - in the wedding plans. The friend explains, "They have had family counseling and have listened carefully to the concerns of Demi's girls. The girls were encouraged to speak frankly. Fortunately, they love Ashton and appreciate how much he and Demi love each other. Bruce has (also) given his blessing."

Ben Affleck has thanked Britney Spears for her brief marriage to childhood pal Jason Alexander - because it's taken the attention off his romance with Jennifer Lopez. Spears shocked fans earlier this month, when she and Alexander wed in an impromptu Las Vegas ceremony, only to have their union annulled just days later. And while 22-year-old Spears has become the target of much mockery, she's won the support of Affleck, whose delayed nuptials with J.Lo have been focused on since early last year. He says, "Britney, yeah, I'm going to send her a check. I can't tell you how pleased I was - it was finally the big one that's pushed (me and J.Lo) off (the headlines). Which is really nice - nice for me. Poor thing."

Sarah Jessica Parker is trying to avoid a breakdown when Sex And The City wraps - by signing up for a string of new jobs. The actress, who is filming the final episodes in Paris, France, is hoping to stay busy in the coming months - so she doesn't have to think about the end of the hit series. She says, "You know I have ambulances lined up for February 4th! I can very much appreciate the emotion that comes along with discussing the end. This wasn't just a job. This changed my life. It changed my life both professionally and personally. I can't begin to know the great sadness that will be felt when I leave these people for the last time. I'm choosing not to think about it, because I have an enormous amount of work ahead of me. If I start allowing myself to ponder the great seismic shift that's coming, I don't think that I could come to work."

Charlize Theron and her Irish boyfriend Stuart Townsend have been thrown out of their favorite Los Angeles sushi bar - for being too greedy. The pair were barred from the Nasawa diner for ordering too much food. Theron says, "I have been going to this restaurant for three years. It's kind of like a date place for me and Stuart and we're good customers. We went and it's this place and the food is amazing and there's no menu and you basically eat what's fresh, which is great. He threw me out because I ordered too much food. The funny thing is we've been going so long that we've seen him do it to other people and it always kind of disturbed us, but it's always a funny story to tell to people. Now I can see everybody at the dinner table going, '..and Charlize Theron got totally kicked out.' I got kicked out in front of the entire restaurant. It has been a good year so far."

Sharon Osbourne was so elated to have her rocker husband Ozzy back with her in America, she paid for a sky-high banner to fly in the skies welcoming him home. Last month, the former Black Sabbath frontman suffered a range of life-threatening injuries following a quad bike crash on his English country estate. After weeks of recovery, Ozzy made his way back to California on last week, and immediately made his way over to his favorite eatery Lulu's Alibi, where he ate a baguette stuffed with French fries and covered with HP sauce and malt vinegar - named the Ozzy Sandwich in his honor. Owner Lulu says, "When he came in he looked amazingly well - he was in great spirits and was hysterically funny." And while he tucked into his favorite meal, a plane flew over the restaurant trailing a banner which read, "Welcome Home Ozzy!" Lulu adds, "It was paid for by his wife, and when he saw it, he was totally excited!"

Snatch star Jason Statham and his girlfriend, actress Kelly Brook spent on Tuesday night in a hospital in London, after a "horrifying" head-on car crash. The couple, who have been dating for five years, were both rushed to hospital with injuries after a Nissan collided with their Mini Cooper after swerving to miss a bollard in Sydenham, south east London. Smallville star Brook, 23, injured her back, while The Italian Job actor, 30, suffered burns from his airbag. A witness says, "It was a horrifying crash. It made a horrendous noise. It was a head-on crash. I wondered if anyone would survive it." Brook's mother Sandra, 41, laments, "Thank God they had seatbelts on otherwise they would have gone through the windscreen. They don't know much about what happened. They were driving home then all of a sudden they were hit head-on."

Reality TV newlywed Jessica Simpson refused to sign a pre-nuptial agreement with pop star husband Nick Lachey - because she'd happily give him half of everything if their marriage doesn't work out. Traditional Simpson admits the idea of a pre-nup was "too worldly" for her and so she refused to even consider sitting down with the former 98 Degrees star and signing her life away. She says, "If anything were to happen to me and Nick, I've had a great life with him and he would deserve half of everything I have. I don't even look at life where there's an end and I don't want to look at my marriage that way either."

Director Paul Verhoeven has been accused of slamming Sharon Stone's acting ability because she wouldn't have sex with him. Movie screenwriter Joe Eszterhas is causing panic in Hollywood with his new memoir, which unearths shocking revelations about hundreds of celebrities including Stone. And 59-year-old film veteran - who exposes his peers in Hollywood Animal - claims Basic Instinct movie-maker Verhoeven unfairly attacked Stone's on- screen talent because she refused to sleep with him on the set of the 1992 blockbuster, reports website Page Six. He writes, "Paul said Sharon Stone couldn't act. I think he was lying about Sharon. I think he was still angry that Sharon wouldn't have sex with him while they were shooting Basic Instinct."

Ashton Kutcher is bringing another of his hit TV shows to an end, after announcing the next season of That 70s Show will be the last. Kutcher and his sitcom co-stars have decided to bring the show to an end next year. Co-star Topher Grace says, "It's out of respect to the show. We have so much fun but you know when these shows kind of get lame after a while, well, we want to go out while it's still good. Ashton and I, our contracts are done this year but we actually signed up for another year. But we wanna end it."