Mel Gibson has been officially charged with misdemeanor drunk driving, having an elevated blood-alcohol level and having an open alcohol container in his car following his highway arrest on Friday morning. In the charges against the Signs star, who has entered a rehab facility following the embarrassing encounter with a Los Angeles cop, it appears he allegedly attempted to flee the scene. Gibson faces a six month jail term if convicted on all counts. The Lethal Weapon actor's arrest last Friday was the result of a "death wish," according to press reports in the US. Gibson was caught by police on suspicion of driving under the influence after speeding and reportedly crossing lanes in Malibu, California. The star's publicist, Alan Nero announced Monday that Gibson had checked himself into rehab and "is fighting for his life." A source close to the Braveheart Oscar-winner tells veteran La Weekly reporter Nikki Finke that Gibson "was really on the verge of suicide because he felt he was helpless to alcohol and didn't know what to do about it. That's why he was driving around 90 miles an hour. This was a death wish. If that cop hadn't stopped him, this guy was going to be wrapped around a pole. This is such a bigger issue than 'Will he work again?' This is about his not wanting to live anymore. I've seen what he's gone through and what he's going through. You have to understand the disease of alcoholism. He was back in it. There's no doubt in my mind he was trying to kill himself that night." Gibson has come under fire for allegedly making anti-Semitic statements at the time of his arrest and has since issued an apology for his "despicable" behavior.

Jennifer Lopez has abruptly quit the much-anticipated big screen remake of classic 1970s show Dallas. The Maid In Manhattan actress was set to star opposite John Travolta - who will play JR Ewing - as his alcoholic wife Sue Ellen. Shirley MacLaine is in talks to star as Ewing family matriarch Miss Ellie and Luke Wilson is rumored to be taking on the role of Bobby Ewing. Lopez's representative Leslie Sloane Zelnick confirms to American publication Star, "She is out of Dallas." This isn't the first report of trouble regarding the film - earlier this year, Legally Blonde director Robert Luketic quit the project citing "creative differences" and was reportedly unhappy with casting choices. Bend It Like Beckham director Gurinder Chadha is now attached to direct the film. The role of Lucy Ewing has also been the subject of much speculation, with many of Hollywood's top young actresses vying for the part including Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohan and Kristin Cavallari. The role ultimately went to 19-year-old Katie Cassidy, who stars in the US family drama 7th Heaven.

The TV executives behind controversial cartoon South Park have rubbished reports they mocked Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic outburst with a full-page advertisement in Hollywood trade newspaper Variety. Broadcast giant US network Comedy Central have run an ad with the characters from South Park shouting, "C'mon Jews, show them who really runs Hollywood." But the cartoon figures are standing next to the church of Scientology's headquarters, and TV bosses insist the joke was poking fun at the Trapped In The Closet episode, which spoofed Tom Cruise and his religious beliefs. Comedy Central spokesperson Tony Fox tells the Los Angeles Times the timing is "Pure coincidence. It's a little bit of an inside joke at our expense for pulling the Scientology episode." Fox insists the ad was designed and approved weeks before Gibson's arrest on suspicion of drink driving and anti-Semitic outburst early Friday. The ad congratulates the show on its Emmy nomination for the controversial Scientology-themed episode which re-aired last week for the first time.

Lost star Naveen Andrews has been photographed on a California beach kissing a mystery blonde - just hours before describing his long-term relationship with actress Barbara Hershey as "good and pure." The 37-year-old star, who plays former Iraqi soldier Sayid on the hit show, has had a rocky relationship with Hershey since they started romancing in 1998. In January he admitted to fathering a son with another woman during a brief 2005 split from the actress, who is 21 years his senior. During an interview with American publication People just hours before his steamy beach romp on Saturday, Andrews insisted all was well with their relationship saying, "(My private life) seems to be dysfunctional, (but) what's actually going on...is good and pure." When contacted for a comment on the provocative photos, Andrews' representative tells the magazine, "I have no comment. Naveen and Barbara are still together."

Jennifer Aniston has turned to her close-knit group of girl friends after allegedly calling off her impending marriage to boyfriend Vince Vaughn. The actress is reportedly single again and is calling on best pals Courteney Cox, Sheryl Crow and volleyball star Gabrielle Reece to help her cope with another broken romance. According to America's Life & Style magazine, Aniston staged a girls-only get together at Cox's Malibu, California home on July 24 and has been referring to herself as "the new Jen" ever since. Aniston and Vaughn never officially announced their engagement, but US tabloids were rife with wedding plans. The all-girl power meeting was a chance for Crow to officially thank her pals for helping her through her breast cancer battle. In a recent interview, the rocker revealed that Cox and Aniston were among a small army of pals who stood by her as she faced her health crisis. Crow revealed, "I had this incredible tribe of women just descend upon me and carry me through the whole experience on their backs."

X-Men star Hugh Jackman is producing and starring in a remake of the classic musical Carousel. The original film was released in 1956 starring Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. The actor's production company is working with the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization for rights to use the music and lyrics the duo wrote for the 1945 stage musical. Jackman is set to play Billy Bigelow, a carnival barker whose temper puts him in the middle of a botched robbery and leads to his death. Stuck in purgatory, he's given one day to return and fix the problems he left behind - namely a teenager who has lot of his rebellious traits. Jackman is familiar with the part, having sung the role in a 2002 Carnegie Hall concert in New York City to honor Rogers & Hammerstein. Carousel was last revived on the Broadway, New York stage in 1994 in a Tony Award-winning run. Jackman won a Tony Award in 2004 for his portrayal of Australian songwriter and performer Peter Allen.

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation star Eric Szmanda is nursing a bruised ego after a large woman beat him up in a bar on Hawaiian island Kauai. The actor, who plays forensics sleuth Greg Saunders on the hit show, was holidaying with friends recently when they decided to check out a local tiki tavern on the island. After posing for pictures with fellow holiday makers and locals, Szmanda was leaving the bar when he was confronted by "a big Samoan woman." He recalls, "I thought she wanted to shake my hand, but she clocked me in the face." The actor is still none the wiser as to why he became a victim: "Maybe she didn't like my Hollywood kind in her bar." Hawaiian police detectives are investigating the bar brawl.

Ocean's Eleven producer Jerry Weintraub has built an exclusive on-set poker lounge for the cast and crew of sequel Ocean's 13. Stars like George Clooney and Brad Pitt will be able to gamble and live it up between takes in the Las Vegas-style gambling den in Los Angeles. Weintraub says, "It was inspired by Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack, guys I hung around with all my life, who made the original Ocean's Eleven." The Ocean's Club lounge will also double up as a cafeteria, where cast and crew will eat breakfast and lunch together - and there will be a 24-hour bar where the stars can hang out at the end of the day's filming. And the celebrities needn't worry about drinking and driving - there will be a 24-hour driving service to ferry them home if they sip one too many cocktails. Shooting on the third Ocean's film starts this weekend.

Madonna has won her battle to keep a controversial crucifixion routine in her Confessions concert in her upcoming TV special. Religious leaders were outraged when they first heard about the part of the show where Madonna, wearing a fake crown of thorns, descends on a suspended mirrored, disco ball-type cross. They urged the pop superstar to scrap the irreverent routine, but she refused - and now the singer insists it remains when the concert special, Live To Tell, airs in America in November. Kevin Reilly, an executive at NBC - where the concert special will air - says, "She felt like that was a cornerstone of the show. We viewed it and didn't see it as being inappropriate."

Janet Jackson has been banned from an exclusive restaurant in Paris, France, for reportedly failing to honor a reservation. The pop beauty enraged the management at the Arpege restaurant by not calling them ahead. A source at the classy nightspot tells America's New York Post, "She bailed out and didn't bother to call to cancel." Jackson's representatives insist the singer had not even booked a table at Arpege, but the ban still stands.