Legally Blonde star Reese Witherspoon has become the latest celebrity to challenge the paparazzi after a scuffle and a chase through Hollywood. The actress is considering pressing charges of false imprisonment after over-zealous photographers blocked her car, so she couldn't drive off after working out at a Los Angeles gym last week. Witherspoon was so shaken by the experience and the car chase that followed that she called the police. A police spokesperson confirms Witherspoon was allegedly obstructed by members of the paparazzi while trying to get into her vehicle. She was then apparently blocked from pulling away, before being followed home by at least five vehicles and prevented from getting through her gate until security assisted her. No official charges have been filed yet.

The mother of Michael Jackson's child molestation accuser went on the attack in court yesterday, claiming the King Of Pop managed to "fool the world". The woman used a cross-examination by Jackson's lawyer Thomas Mesereau to lash out at the singer, often staring at him across the courtroom in Santa Maria, California, as she made her claims. The angry mother, who last week accused Jackson of kidnapping her and her family in February 2003, declared that the pop star "really didn't care about children, he cared about what he was doing with children." Then, staring at the superstar, she told jurors, "He (Jackson) managed to fool the world. Now, because of this criminal case, people know who he really is." Jackson is accused of molesting the woman's eldest son, giving the boy alcohol and conspiring to hold the boy's family captive to get them to rebut a negative TV documentary about the singer.

Hollywood hunk Mark Wahlberg has slammed Eminem, Matt Damon and Ben Affleck for giving a false impression of tough, impoverished childhoods in their music and films. The Planet Of The Apes star has lambasted Damon, his co-star in new movie The Departed, for romanticizing difficult upbringings in Good Will Hunting, his debut film with Affleck. Wahlberg - who blames his assault conviction 17 years ago on his harsh childhood - has also attacked rapper Eminem for idealizing his difficult formative years in his biopic 8 Mile, in an interview with Details magazine. The 33-year-old actor complains, "My childhood wasn't like some 8 Mile bulls**t where you go and have a rap-off. Or like West Side Story, where you all start dancing and s**t. If I make a film about my upbringing it's going to be about more than a f**king kid doing math, like in Good Will Hunting, you know what I mean?"

Hollywood couple Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck have laughed off rumors they married over the weekend - insisting they were celebrating the Alias beauty's 33rd birthday with a lavish party. The stunning actress erected a huge marquee in the garden of her Brentwood, Los Angeles home on Saturday, prompting speculation Garner would wed her Daredevil co-star. Hordes of paparazzi camped outside Garner's home as Alias creator JJ Abrams and Affleck's actor brother Casey Affleck and fiancee Summer Phoenix arrived at the bash. One guest added to the rumors when he joked to the photographers as he was leaving, saying, "that was the best wedding ever." As well as actual wedding ceremony rumors, Britain's News Of The World tabloid claimed Sunday Affleck would be getting down on one knee and proposing to his girlfriend of 10-months at the bash. Affleck's representative Ken Sunshine denied Affleck and Garner were married over the weekend.

An unreleased movie starring Burt Reynolds and Raquel Welch is at the centre of a $4 million lawsuit. Businessman Michael Paloma is seeking $4 million he says he invested in Forget About It, plus compensatory and punitive damages against Beverly Hills Film Studio, and all records for the movie which was filmed in the Mesa area of California last year. The lawsuit, filed in Maricopa County Superior Court in February, claims Paloma and director BJ Davis signed a memorandum of understanding to create the film studio. The agreement gave Paloma's company, Red Rock Entertainment, a 51 percent interest and Davis a 49 percent interest. The suit says Davis subsequently resigned as the studio's president and was replaced by Kimberly Kates, who agreed to finish the movie under the deal Paloma made with the Beverly Hills studio, then backed out, according to the complaint. The studio has changed its name to Bigscreen Entertainment. Bigscreen attorney Michael Gardiner says, "It is our position that we are 100 percent owner of the copyright, and it will be coming out. It's in post-production."

Actor Ethan Hawke is hoping Uma Thurman doesn't turn up to see him in his Broadway play Hurlyburly - because his character says a lot of harsh things about his ex-wife. The Training Day star, who co-stars with Parker Posey in the New York City production, split with Kill Bill beauty Thurman in 2003, and admits it would be a highly uncomfortable situation if she decided to show up for one of his shows. Hawke says, "I would love to have her come, but she hasn't come and I don't think she should. My character rants so much about his ex-wife that I think it would make the audience so uncomfortable, or at least the 10 people sitting near her. She's so tall, and everybody would be looking at her. Every night, sometimes when the house isn't very responsive, that's the first thing that goes through my mind: 'Is she here tonight? Why's everybody so quiet?'"

Movie star Russell Crowe almost became a Scientologist when he first arrived in Hollywood, reading books about the celebrity religion and watching videos. The Oscar winner has always been interested in different faiths - even though he was never christened - and tells his Cinderella Man co-star Paul Giamatti in America's Interview magazine he dabbled with Tom Cruise's controversial religion. He recalls, "I read Dianetics by L. Ron Hubbard (Scientology's founder), I got a couple of videos, and I took it all in. It just seems like a religion that is perfect for people who feel like they need a grounding, who feels that the world has run off on them. I've discussed this with Scientologists, and they don't disagree. With any of these religions, as long as the heart and soul is positive, then to me it's all good." In the interview, Crowe also tells Giamatti that he once dabbled with the Baha'i faith when he was growing up.

Action man Jackie Chan will raise awareness of the plight victims of December's Indian Ocean tsunami are facing, by leading a four-day goodwill visit to struggling Indonesian communities. The Rush Hour star will travel to the hard-hit region of Banda Aceh, northern Sumatra, to meet thousands of people left orphaned, injured or homeless by the deadly waves sparked by a vast undersea earthquake. And Chan will be joined by fellow Hong Kong film star Eric Tsang, last year's Miss World, Julia Garcia Mantilla and British Olympic gold medalist Daley Thompson for the charity trip, which will be filmed by Hong Kong satellite TV broadcaster Phoenix. Chan says, "I was moved by what happened, and society needs to know that although we've moved on four months since the disaster, the wonderful work done to restore order is just the tip of the iceberg. People are still suffering."

British actor Christopher Eccleston has wasted no time in finding his next big project after giving up on TV series Doctor Who after one season - he's reportedly in talks to play the villain of The Da Vinci Code. The Gone In 60 Seconds star is said to be the new favorite to play killer monk Silas in director Ron Howard's adaptation of Dan Brown's best-selling book, according to website DigitalSpy.co.uk. Jim Carrey was also rumored to be in talks for the role of the monk, who is a fearsome albino in the story. The Da Vinci Code, which will star Tom Hanks, Jean Reno and Audrey Tautou, begins filming in June.

Actor Chad Michael Murray is no longer a single man, after marrying his One Tree Hill co-star Sophia Bush on Saturday. Bush, 22, wore a Vera Wang gown and Murray, 23, donned a custom-made Ralph Lauren tuxedo to the ceremony, which took place in Santa Monica, California. The couple celebrated their nuptials with a reception at the ocean front Hotel Casa Del Mar. Murray and Bush got engaged in May, when the actor proposed in Australia, where he was filming his upcoming movie House Of Wax. The couple met on the set of their Warner Bros show and began dating in 2003.