Ben Affleck has ruled out the possibility of ever starring in a sequel to his 2003 hit Daredevil - because he doesn't want to do any more action movies. The Hollywood hunk, ex-fiance of Jennifer Lopez, tried his hand at such high- octane films as Armageddon, Pearl Harbor and last year's box office flop Paycheck, but has decided it's time to give up on the genre. He says, "I can't imagine doing another action movie. I'm not interested." Instead, Affleck is enjoying the adventure of new challenges, like the holiday comedy Surviving Christmas, which hits American cinema screens on November 19. He adds, "It's the kind of script you would normally expect someone like Mike Myers, Adam Sandler, Will Ferrell or Eddie Murphy to be in. Instead, it's me trying my hand at comedy."

A doorman refused to let Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and George Clooney into a top Italian hotel recently - after mistaking the actors for vagrants. The movie heart-throbs are currently filming the Ocean's Eleven sequel Ocean's Twelve in Rome and were caught in a rain storm while out jogging. Upon returning to their suites at their exclusive temporary residence at the Exedra A'boscolo, the security employee stopped the soaked stars from entering. An onlooker tells Britain's Empire magazine, "Bedraggled and dripping, they returned to their hotel, only to be told to hop it. The pair were eventually able to tell him that they were not, in fact, vagrants and were permitted shelter amid a flurry of apologies."

Sex And The City star Kim Cattrall is fighting back at reports that she and her former castmates on the show didn't get along. The actress, who played sexy Samantha Jones on the hit show, claims the press are simply trying to extend the life of the series, which ended last month, by digging up dirt on its stars. And Cattrall insists too much is being made of fact she didn't share a house with her co-stars during a location shoot in Atlantic City, New Jersey for season five. She tells America's TV Guide magazine, "I had a house. They had a house. We worked 18-hour days. At the end of the day, I didn't care where I slept as long as I slept... It was just the way it was." Cattrall also blasts rumors that she and co-star/producer Sarah Jessica Parker refused to talk to each other towards the end of the show's run. She adds, "That's somebody's perception. The reality is you work every day in the trailer, and she's over this end and I'm over at that end, and the music is blaring. I never, ever had a fight with her. We had discussions. I care about the work. She cares about the work."

Liza Minnelli has defended herself against critics who blasted her for wearing fur - blaming controlling husband David Gest for insisting she donned the real thing during their brief marriage. Minnelli outraged animal rights organization the People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals (PETA) when she started to wear fur again in recent years after shunning it in the past. And when she bumped into PETA representative Dan Mathews recently at the Human Rights Campaign dinner honoring Barbra Streisand in Los Angeles, he told her, "You came to a PETA party in New York 10 years ago and renounced fur, but now you've begun to wear it again, which broke our hearts. What gives?" According to news website Page Six, Minnelli, who wore fur on Oscar night at New York hot-spot Elaine's, replied, "It was David. I prefer fake, but he insisted I put on the real thing. He was horrible. I'll only ever wear fake from now on." Minnelli is now on Peta's "probation" list.

Californian police want to question Lisa Marie Presley concerning her revelations about ex-husband Michael Jackson on Australian television yesterday. The Lights Out singer told Aussie talk show host Andrew Denton she saw "things going on that I couldn't do anything about" during her 20-month marriage to the self-proclaimed King Of Pop. When asked on primetime program Enough Rope to elaborate, Presley replied, "And don't ask me what sort of things, because I'm not going to answer. But just stuff." Santa Barbara cops are planning to quiz Presley about her life with the Thriller star, upon her return to America. Jackson is currently awaiting trial to fight charges of performing lewd or lascivious acts on a child under 14 and administering an intoxicating agent.

Hollywood star Brittany Murphy infuriated journalists during her recent promotion of new movie Uptown Girls in Britain due to her "really erratic behavior". Murphy shocked assembled reporters when she decided to lie down in the middle of a press conference and put a napkin over her head, explaining she was tired of people looking at her. The 8 Mile star also repeatedly rubbed a journalist's hand, telling her she looked cold, until the reporter finally forced Murphy to let go, as she was unable to write anything. Then a TV crew had to abandon attempts to interview the 26-year-old because she kept singing, rather than answer their questions. Murphy's representatives explained her client's behavior was due to her natural warmness, according to The Scoop website. They explain, "Brittany's just a really sweet person. You know how some people have that wall built? She's very warm and welcoming. She's an outgoing person. She's not one of those people who sits there cold in a chair."

Scottish actor Alan Cumming has slammed American President George W Bush's stance on gay marriage - branding him "out of step" with public opinion. The openly bisexual X-Men 2 star, who now lives in the US, was horrified to hear that the Republican leader plans to outlaw the practice and has urged liberal- minded Americans to use their vote this year to oust him. Alan, 39, says, "President Bush wants to make an amendment to the Constitution to ban gay marriage. I think he is wrong and out of step with the way attitudes are changing around the world. What is so scary about gay people getting equal rights? Why shouldn't everyone have the option to go and officially register their relationship? But more importantly to me, why should gay people not get the health, tax and other benefits for their partners and families that straight people get."

Hollywood star Val Kilmer is being sued by a London gallery after he reportedly pulled out of an agreement to exhibit his photographs for the first time in Britain. The actor had agreed to show photos he had taken behind the scenes of his latest movie Wonderland, in which he plays famous seventies porn star John Holmes, at Camden's Proud Gallery. However, gallery owner Alex Proud says he has launched a six-figure suit against Kilmer for pulling out of the show, due to begin on April 1, at the last minute. Proud says, "Val Kilmer has undoubtedly breached his contract we had by unilaterally deciding to pull out of the show. It's going to cost us a lot of money and we are pursuing him legally. He says he wants to concentrate on another film but heaven only knows why he can't also deliver the exhibition. I'm obviously pretty disappointed because it would have been exciting, but that's Hollywood scruples and morality for you."

Actress-turned-novelist Pamela Anderson has hired a ghost writer to help her with her first two novels. The former Baywatch babe has reinvented herself as a fiction writer - and has been handed a $250,000 advance to pen two romance books Above The Waist and Below The Belt. But the 36-year-old confesses she has had more than a little help putting pen to paper - publishers Simon And Schuster have recruited an established author to help her hone her skills. But she insists, "All the plot lines and characters are mine. Now people might have a hard time writing me off as a bimbo."

Legendary tenor Luciano Pavarotti was consumed with emotion on Friday - when he performed his last ever staged opera. The Italian singer, 68, took to the stage in New York City's Metropolitan Opera to star in their production of Giacomo Puccini's Tosca. After the performance, the rapturous crowd gave Pavarotti an 11 minute ovation while he struggled to keep his feelings in check. The Nessun Dorma star was given four curtain calls and was only allowed off the stage after showing signs of discomfort as he paced the boards. Pavarotti has pledged to perform in concerts until October 12, 2005 - the date of his 70th birthday.