Ellen DeGeneres will host the Oscars for the first time in 2007. The comedienne-turned-US talk show host will take charge of the 79th Academy Awards on February 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. DeGeneres hasn't even appeared on an Academy Awards telecast, but ceremony producer Laura Ziskin is convinced she's the perfect choice to take over from this year's host Jon Stewart. Ziskin says, "Ellen DeGeneres was born to host the Academy Awards. There is no more challenging hosting job in show business. It requires someone who can keep the show alive and fresh and moving, as well as someone who is a flat-out great entertainer. Ellen completely fits the bill. I can already tell she is going to set the bar very high for herself and therefore for all of us involved in putting on the show." Emmy Award winner DeGeneres didn't waste any time in accepting the chance to host the Oscars. She says, "When Laura Ziskin called, I was thrilled. There's two things I've always wanted to do in my life - one is to host the Oscars. The second is to get a call from Laura Ziskin. You can imagine that day's diary entry." DeGeneres isn't new to show business' biggest stages - she has twice hosted the Primetime Emmy Awards telecast and co-hosted the show in 1994. She also earned acclaim for her first solo Emmy stint, which took place shortly after the terrorist attacks of 9/11.

Socialite Paris Hilton was arrested in the early hours of yesterday morning on suspicion of drunk driving. The aspiring pop star, 25, was pulled over by police in Hollywood around 12:30am, officer I. Isabella confirms. Isabella claims Hilton was stopped because she was "driving erratically" in her Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren. A police statement reads, "The officers observed that Hilton exhibited the symptoms of intoxication. A field sobriety test was conducted at the scene, and the officers determined she was driving under the influence." Hilton was on her way home from a charity event when the arrest took place. Her spokesman Elliott Mintz admits the reality TV star was arrested, but insists she only drank one margarita cocktail. Mintz says, "She's absolutely fine. She didn't appear in the least bit to be intoxicated." Mintz claims Hilton was tired after spending the day filming her new music video, adding, "The arrest was probably the result of an empty stomach and working all day and being fatigued." Hilton was picked up from a police station by Mintz, her sister Nicky Hilton and Nicky's boyfriend, actor Kevin Connolly, after being booked on suspicion of misdemeanor driving under the influence (DUI).

Pop star Jessica Simpson has fired her longtime publicist Rob Shuter after last week's debacle surrounding her supposed relationship with John Mayer. Both People and Us Weekly magazines ran cover stories suggesting the pair were dating and People even quoted Simpson as saying, "I'm in love!" According to news website Tmz.com, reports began surfacing this week that Mayer was furious with the coverage and felt used by the Simpson camp to help boost album sales. Simpson appeared on US talk show The View Tuesday, where she desperately tried to do some damage control stating, "I am actually not dating John Mayer." Sources tell Tmz the Simpson camp had been unhappy with Shuter for some time and that the Mayer fiasco "was the last straw" in a series of events leading up to the firing. Mayer posted a message on his official website last Thursday, soon after the story broke saying simply, "Really enjoying this song" above a picture for Public Enemy's hit "Don't Believe The Hype."

Lindsay Lohan was left devastated in London yesterday afternoon when her beloved Hermes Birkin bag was stolen from her trolley at Heathrow Airport. The actress/singer was traveling through the airport with boyfriend Harry Morton on her way back to America from the Venice Film Festival when she noticed the bag, containing jewelry and her asthma medication was missing. Lohan frantically contacted airport police, according to website Tmz.com, who confirmed, "The theft of a bag at Heathrow Airport was reported to police by a 20-year-old woman." Lohan's publicist Leslie Sloane has confirmed her client was robbed at the airport, adding, "She is begging for the return of the items. She doesn't care how she gets them back, she just wants her stuff back."

A larger-than-life statue of Sylvester Stallone as movie boxer Rocky Balboa is to stand proudly near the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art in Pennsylvania. The site featured in the first Rocky film and has become a tourist attraction ever since as film fans clamber up the steps with the Rocky theme ringing in their ears and salute the heavens at the top of the flight. Despite objections from snooty museum bosses, who insisted the statue wasn't artistic enough to stand before the building, the city's Art Commission approved a plan on Wednesday to place the bronzed Rocky there. The statue, donated to the city by Stallone in 1982, has been stored in a warehouse for years after it was removed from the museum steps - its first home. For a time it stood proudly in front of the Spectrum Sports Arena in South Philadelphia. And city officials aren't wasting time in returning the statue to its first home - a dedication ceremony is planned for today.

Beloved US actor Peter Boyle is fighting reports he's close to death after being diagnosed with a heart disease. The 70-year-old Young Frankenstein star, who became a TV favorite in Everybody Loves Raymond, has reportedly been denied a new heart because of his age and friends fear for his life. But the actor is refuting the claims, made in tabloid the National Enquirer, and his publicist Meghan Prophet insists he pulled out of a charity benefit in July because he was battling the flu and reports have made too much of his health. Boyle has suffered a stroke and a mild heart attack in the past, and friends tell the Enquirer they don't believe the actor is fully fit. A source tells the tabloid, "The general consensus is that he's too old and in too poor of health to qualify for a donor heart and even if they found a heart for him, they are afraid he is too weak to undergo major open heart surgery."

Former Dallas star Ken Kercheval has been arrested in Clinton, Indiana, for drunk driving. The 71-year-old star, who played Cliff Barnes, JR Ewing's rival in the hit 1980s TV series, was arrested Wednesday, after a routine traffic stop. Kercheval was charged with operating a vehicle with a blood alcohol level that registered .19 per cent by the time he was tested at the county jail, according to the National Enquirer. He was released the following morning, after posting $10,000 bail. The actor lives in Granada Hills, California, but owns a home in Indiana that he inherited from his mother. Kercheval was in town attending the Little Italy festival over the Labor Day weekend.

The author who famously duped America into believing his fictional work A Million Little Pieces was a memoir has settled a series of lawsuits filed by angry readers. James Frey's book became a best seller after Oprah Winfrey hailed it on her daily talk show, but the writer's memoirs were scrutinized by website thesmokinggun.com and the author was quickly shamed into admitting the book was littered with fiction. Frey and his publishers at Random House and have agreed in principle to settle lawsuits filed by readers who said they were upset by fabrications in A Million Little Pieces, according to published reports. In the terms of the new deal, all readers who bought the book in good faith on or before January 26, when Frey and Random House bosses confessed that parts of the book were made up, will be eligible for a full refund. Neither Frey nor the publisher have admitted any wrongdoing, according to the New York Times.

Expectant parents Elvis Costello and Diana Krall are celebrating all over again with the news they're expecting two babies. The singers originally thought they were getting one bundle of joy but were shocked to learn that six-month-pregnant Krall is having twins. Krall, 41, says, "I'm not kidding. I have twins on my mother's side as well. We know (the sex) and everyone's been asking me, but we're keeping that private because we just want to have something for ourselves." The babies will arrive just in time for the couple's third wedding anniversary on December 6.

Alias star Amy Acker and her husband James Carpinello have welcomed a daughter named Ava Grace. The baby, who weighed in at 7 lbs 4 oz, was born last Friday in Los Angeles. Ava joins older brother Jackson James, who is 19 months old. Acker's representative tells American publication People, "Amy, James and Jackson are enjoying the new addition to their family." The 29-year-old star played Jennifer Garner's nemesis Kelly Peyton on the show and also played Winifred "Fred" Burkle on the Buffy The Vampire Slayer spinoff Angel.