Uma Thurman will take Nicole Kidman's place in the forthcoming movie version of The Producers. Kidman was forced to pull out of the role of busty Swedish secretary Ulla in the film - which is due to begin shooting in February - because of scheduling difficulties. South African beauty Charlize Theron was reportedly considered for the role, but producers have opted for fellow blonde Thurman, according to PageSix.Com. Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick will reprise the roles they took to great critical acclaim in the Broadway, New York stage version of Mel Brooks' tale of crooked theatre producers Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom.

Teen screen star Ashley Olsen is using university to expand her acting knowledge too - she has signed up for drama classes. Olsen, 18, has been acting with twin sister Mary-Kate since she was a baby and they have both accumulated fortunes totaling $300 million from TV and movie careers. But Ashley, currently studying at New York University, accepts she still has much to learn. A source tells Star magazine, "(She) has secretly been attending a drama class two days a week at the prestigious William Esper Studio on New York's West Side." The class, which costs $295 a month, teaches the Meisner Acting Technique, which centers around students' exploration of spontaneity and improvisation.

Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire are being sued for $38 million, after allegedly trying to block a short film they made in 1995. According to reports, the pair filed a lawsuit in August in a bid to stop independent film Don's Plum from being released. They claim they agreed to make the short film to help out some friends, who would get screen credit when the picture was shown at film festivals. But court documents claim movie-makers John Schindler and RD Robb attempted to capitalize on DiCaprio and Maguire's success by releasing the film. All three parties reportedly reached an agreement, whereby the film was only played in Europe - but Schindler has now filed a suit of his own, alleging the two actors warned distributors they would never work with them again, if they released Don's Plum.

Singing sensation Whitney Houston infuriated Burt Bacharach at rehearsals for the 2000 Academy Awards - by singing the wrong song. The singer is currently clean after spending March in rehabilitation for drug addiction, but four years ago she was reportedly not so sober. In Steve Pond's forthcoming book, The Big Show: High Times And Dirty Dealings Backstage At The Academy Awards, which exposes a host of Oscar secrets, Pond reveals Houston's performance technique angered Bacharach. In the tome, Pond writes, "Houston's voice was shaky, she seemed distracted and jittery, and her attitude was casual, almost defiant." Despite Bacharach, the musical director of the 2000 Oscars, playing "Over The Rainbow" on the piano, Houston began singing "The Way We Were." Pond continues, "Finally, Bacharach (at wit's end) slumped over the piano, (putting) his head down on the keys." Producer Lili Zanuck cancelled Houston's appearance at the ceremony, explaining, "We didn't want to work for six months for this to be a show about how f**ked-up Whitney Houston was."

The sixth book in the Harry Potter series is already number one in sales - even though it won't be released until July 16. Just a day after the announcement that Harry Potter And The Half- Blood Prince will hit bookstores in both America and Britain in the summer, the latest installment in the teen wizard series is already at the top spot on the Amazon.com list in both the USA and the UK. A similar ranking is expected in American pre-orders of the JK Rowling book. To date, the Harry Potter titles have sold 250 million copies worldwide.

Actor Benicio Del Toro is finally ready to settle down with new girlfriend, model and actress Sara Foster, according to pals. The Fear And Loathing In Las Vegas star has been linked to a string of Hollywood beauties, including Alicia Silverstone and Scarlett Johansson, yet never came close to marrying - until now. Friends say the 37-year-old is smitten with his new belle, the 23-year-old daughter of Hollywood composer David Foster. A pal says, "He's head over heels in love with her. They will probably get married." A friend adds of Foster, who has previously been romantically linked to Leonardo DiCaprio, "She's sweet and definitely a party girl. But she's calmed down a lot recently."

Meet the Fockers star Dustin Hoffman is celebrating after becoming a first-time grandfather earlier this month - but the good news has led to him developing breastfeeding urges. His daughter Jenna and her husband Seamus welcomed their son Augustus into the world just three weeks ago, and doting granddad Hoffman admits the experience has given him strange desires. He says, "I have felt almost the tendency to lactate. We don't realize, but when we're formed in the womb, we have milk glands, before we're differentiated between male or female and before God knows whether to make you male of female. When you think about it, why should men have nipples? And yet we do. I didn't think about it until I started to drip!"

Veteran actress Blythe Danner fears she's angered her intensely private daughter Gwyneth Paltrow, after showing off a picture of the blonde beauty's baby Apple to the American media. Danner sat through an interview on TV show Extra as part of her promotional duties for new comedy Meet The Fockers recently, when she decided to display a snapshot of her British-born granddaughter. During the interview Danner admitted, "I'm probably not supposed to be showing this. My daughter doesn't like me to show this to the world. But how can you not? When you're a grandmother you can do anything you want."

Former Baywatch beauty Carmen Electra is heading back to the beach, after signing up to star in American TV series Summerland. The sexy actress will play a troublemaking divorcee in five episodes of the beach town drama's second season, which will begin airing next month. She says, "I get to come onto the show and stir things up! It's always fun to be the bad girl!" But Carmen insists her character's not really bad - just misunderstood. She explains, "I think I'm just a really sensitive person. And when you're super, super sensitive, you almost have to put a shield up. And I think that sometimes comes off as being sort of a bad girl."

Stolen gold and silver discs won by Ozzy Osbourne's band Black Sabbath have been recovered after thieves dumped them behind recycling bins. The discs were reported missing last week after a burglary at the home of Osbourne's former manager Patrick Meehan, in Kent, England. Kent Police say an anonymous tip led them to the eight discs, found Wednesday in a plastic bag dumped behind trash cans. Two other discs stolen in the haul - which included the albums Master Of Reality, Paranoid and Black Sabbath, Vol. 4 - had already been returned after being offered for sale on internet auction website eBay. The break-in came just weeks after Osbourne unsuccessfully tackled a burglar, who stole $3.6 million worth of jewels from his family's mansion in Buckinghamshire, England.