James Bond producers are still looking for a new Bond girl even though latest 007 adventure, Casino Royale, has already started shooting in Prague, Czech Republic. Pre-production on the film started last week without two key ingredients - a leading lady and a villain. Crash writer/director Paul Haggis, who is writing the script for actor Daniel Craig's first outing as superspy Bond, let slip about the lack of a Bond girl during a recent Hollywood Reporter interview. He says, "They're talking to three to four girls right now. Every week I read that there's a new Bond girl, and I call them (the filmmakers) and they say, 'No, you idiot.'" Haggis' announcement comes weeks after former Miss Italy Caterina Murino lost out on the chance to play 007's latest love interest. She'll play a smaller role in the new film. Angelina Jolie, Rachel McAdams and Thandie Newton have all been considered for the role of sexy Vesper Lynd in the new Bond movie.

Fans of The Lord Of The Rings were furious on Monday when producers announced previews of the stage show were to be postponed. Over 4,000 patrons from around the world were eagerly anticipating the film's stage debut in Toronto, Canada - which was originally scheduled for today. But theatre executives didn't feel the $23.7 million play was ready to be unveiled and postponed the previews until Saturday. Producer Kevin Wallace insists the delay was necessary to make certain that the production is "in the best shape possible, before we show it to its first audience." Disappointed fans have been discussing the ticket fiasco on The Lord of the Rings website, theonering.net, with one fan commenting, "Nice of them to let me know only three days in advance so I can't get out of my hotel reservation."

Director Steven Spielberg has leaped to the defense of his latest movie Munich, after fundamentalist Jews attacked the Oscar-nominated film for allowing the Palestinian side of the story to be portrayed. Munich, which is up for five Academy Awards next month, tells the based-on-fact story of the murder of 11 Israeli athletes by Palestinian terrorists at the 1972 Munich Olympics and the retribution by Israel's secret service Mossad. Jewish Spielberg insists the film is an unbiased portrayal of the horrific events and hopes the movie will act as a "prayer for peace" in the troubled Middle Eastern region. He says, "The Jewish community, have grown very angry at me for allowing the Palestinians simply to have dialogue and for allowing (screenwriter and frequent critic of Israeli policies) Tony Kushner to be the author of that dialogue. Munich never once attacks Israel, and barely criticizes Israel's policy of counter-violence against violence. It simply asks a plethora of questions. It's the most questioning story I've ever had the honor to tell. For that, we were accused of the sin of moral equivocation. Which, of course, we didn't intend - and we're not guilty of." In December, Jewish author Jack Engelhard attacked the film, saying, "Spielberg is no friend of Israel. Spielberg is no friend of truth."

Pregnant actress Rachel Weisz is already panicking about what to wear at the Academy Awards ceremony in March - because of the increasing size of her baby bump. Weisz, who has been nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Constant Gardener, insists she may have to decide what to wear at the last minute - depending on the shape of her tummy. She says, "I have to put my thinking cap on for the Oscar dress. The problem is I am five-and-a-half months pregnant and all the bits and bobs keep changing size and shape and that's a bit tricky for designers. It may well have to be a case of wearing whatever fits on the night."

Hollywood couple Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams were too tired from nursing their baby to celebrate their Oscar nominations on Tuesday. By the time the nominations were announced at 5.30am the Australian heart-throb and former Dawson's Creek star were exhausted because their three-month-old baby Matilda had repeatedly woken them up throughout the night. Ledger and Williams have been nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively for their performances as husband and wife in Brokeback Mountain. Ledger was woken by his publicist telling them the good news shortly after the early morning nominations announcement was made in Los Angeles. He says, "We gave each other a little kiss and fell back asleep." Despite being installed as an early favorite for the Best Actor statuette, Ledger is still taken aback to receive a nomination in the coveted Best Actor category. He adds, "I never really have great expectations for my work or the movies I'm in. It's a wonderful surprise."

Hollywood heart-throb Matt Dillon found his Oscar nomination bittersweet on Tuesday - because he is the only member of the Crash cast to be nominated for a performance in Paul Haggis' acclaimed deconstruction of racial tension in Los Angeles. The actor has been nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as a racist Los Angles cop alongside George Clooney (Syriana), Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain), Paul Giamatti (Cinderella Man) and William Hurt (A History Of Violence). Dillon says, "I'm very excited about it, but at the same time, part of me wishes that some more of my fellow cast members could have gotten nominated, too, 'cos there certainly were worthy performances. I wouldn't say overlooked because it's not a competitive sport, but Terrence Howard was certainly worthy. Don Cheadle, Thandie Newton. Ryan Phillippe was terrific. Michael Pena, Sandra Bullock. I really feel that. So I'm proud to represent the cast. But we all did it together. It's the best ensemble I've worked with." Howard is nominated for Best Actor for his performance in Hustle & Flow.

Beloved US TV star Dick Van Patten is recovering after suffering a stroke. The 77-year-old Eight Is Enough star was taken to Cedar Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles last month after suffering a diabetic stroke, but the fun-loving actor is already bouncing back from the health crisis. Van Patten, who suffers from Type 2 diabetes, sustained some speech impairment and paralysis from the stroke, but he's already well on the way to making a full recovery. He says, "I thank my lucky stars that my stroke wasn't that bad. I could have easily died. What happened was I eat desserts and I'm not supposed to - I cheated. Then my blood sugar level suddenly shot up to a dangerously high level."

Zach Braff and singer/actress Mandy Moore are reportedly heading for a wedding after the Scrubs star quietly asked her to marry him late last month. The couple are staying tight lipped about their plans, but Braff, 30, popped the question and presented Moore - his girlfriend for the past 18 months - with a $450,000, 4-carat princess-cut diamond-and-platinum Neil Lane engagement ring. Moore's past boyfriends have included tennis ace Andy Roddick and actor Wilmer Valderrama. Insiders tells America's In Touch magazine that the wedding is being scheduled for next April, when both stars celebrate their birthdays.

The Red Shoes movie star and ballerina Moira Shearer died on Tuesday. She was 80. The Scottish dancer passed away in Oxford, England, according to her husband Ludovic Kennedy. Following her acclaimed performance in The Red Shoes, Shearer experimented further with her Hollywood career by starring in The Man Who Loved Redheads and Peeping Tom, before returning to her dancing roots. As a ballerina, Shearer starred in classic shows including Les Sylphides, as well as playing Sleeping Beauty's Aurora. Kennedy paid tribute to his late wife, saying, "She was full of spirit and also she was very beautiful. She moved wonderfully gracefully as you would expect of a ballet dancer."

Hollywood beauty Lucy Liu arrived in Pakistan on Tuesday as she began a tour of areas ravaged by October's earthquake. The Kill Bill beauty is expected to spend time with children affected by the horrific natural disaster as she travels with the United Nations Children's Fund (Unicef). She follows in the footsteps of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt, who spent three days in the region in November. The 37-year-old is scheduled to leave Pakistan today.