Brokeback Mountain co-stars Heath Ledger and Michelle Williams are preparing to wed, according to press reports in the US. The Australian actor and his 26-year-old fiancee were spotted picking up a marriage licence in Brooklyn, New York last week. The pair met while filming the hit 2005 Oscar-winning movie and recently bought a Brooklyn townhouse together. The couple have a one-year-old daughter, Matilda Rose. Representatives for the notoriously private couple have refused to confirm the wedding rumors. Both Ledger and Williams received Oscar nominations for their roles in Brokeback Mountain.

Hollywood star Owen Wilson has rubbished speculation he is to propose to Kate Hudson after being spotted with his mother looking at rings in a jewelry shop. The Life Aquatic actor Wilson and his mom were shopping in jewelers Harry Winston in Dallas, Texas. The actor is rumored to be dating his You, Me & Dupree co-star Hudson, who split from her Black Crowes frontman husband Chris Robinson in September. An onlooker says, "They were looking at a huge, pear-shaped, flawless diamond engagement ring." However, a representative for Wilson says, "Owen's mother was looking for jewelry for herself."

Quirky road movie Little Miss Sunshine and classroom drama Half Nelson will lead all contenders at the Spirit Awards in February after picking up five nominations apiece yesterday. The two films will compete with American Gun, The Dead Girl and Mexican movie Pan's Labyrinth for the Best Film prize, while Little Miss Sunshine's Alan Arkin and Paul Dano are both nominated for Best Supporting Actor honors. Ryan Gosling will compete for the Best Actor prize for his portrayal of a teacher with a drug problem in Half Nelson. Gosling's co-star Shareeka Epps is also nominated for Best Actress. Maverick filmmaker Robert Altman, who died last week, earned a Best Director nomination for his final film, A Prairie Home Companion, while new 007, Daniel Craig, is also among the Spirit Supporting Actor nominees for his portrayal of a murderer in drama Infamous. The awards, formerly known as the Independent Spirit Awards, will be handed out in Santa Monica, California on February 24.

Cameron Diaz was left hiding her blushes and her flesh on Us TV yesterday when she realized she was showing a little too much bare skin on comedienne Ellen DeGeneres' talk show. The actress chose to wear a brown mini-dress on the show, but quickly realized it was inappropriate when she had to sit down for an interview. As the quick-thinking host kneeled in front of her to stop viewers and audience members seeing too much of Diaz, the Charlie's Angels star quipped, "I was told to keep my legs together." DeGeneres then offered Diaz a napkin to cover the top of her thigh. Diaz showed off her cooking skills on the show, bringing DeGeneres a full turkey dinner she and her sister cooked for Thanksgiving. There was also a dessert treat - a three-layer pie cooked up by boyfriend Justin Timberlake from his grandmother's secret recipe. Diaz boasted her pop superstar beau is also a great baker, adding, "That's (pie) like crack cocaine right there, the one time you eat it, it's over."

Charlie and the Chocolate Factory filmmaker Tim Burton has slammed reports Sacha Baron Cohen has signed up to star in upcoming film Sweeney Todd, insisting talks with the Borat funnyman are far from concluded. Earlier this month, media outlets claimed Cohen had landed the coveted villain role of Adolfo Pirelli opposite leading man Johnny Depp and Burton's partner Helena Bonham Carter. But Burton tells movie magazine Empire, "It's very early days of discussions. I don't know that got out there. The internet is a very strange place." The film adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's musical is scheduled to begin filming in February.

American TV host Matt Lauer and his wife Annette welcomed a son named Thijs yesterday. This is the third child for the Today show anchor, 48, and his 41-year-old wife, who also have a son, Jack, five, and daughter, Romy, three. Spokesperson Megan Kopf tells American publication People, "The baby was born at 9:37am in New York City. He weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces. Mom, Dad and baby are all very happy." The baby's unusual name - pronounced 'Tice' - is a shortened form of Matthijs, which is Dutch for Matthew. Kopf adds, "Annette is Dutch and in following with her heritage, the baby was given a Dutch name."

Lindsay Lohan is the favorite to play the lead in an upcoming film about Stevie Nicks. The Mean Girls star will act and sing in the movie, which will focus on the Fleetwood Mac star's wild years in the late 1970s and early 1980s. An industry insider tells American publication Life & Style, "She feels like she's found a dream role in a story about Stevie Nicks at the height of Fleetwood Mac's fame. Lindsay loves the music of that era, and people have told her she has the same distinctive gravelly voice as Stevie's." Lohan, who also hopes to produce the biopic, even has a leading man in mind - her Chapter 27 co-star Jared Leto, who is slated to play Nicks' on/off lover Lindsey Buckingham.

Britney Spears is cleaning out her closets with an online auction of memorabilia to raise money for the Britney Spears Foundation for children in need. As well as clothing and accessories, the pop star is also selling homework she completed when she was a teenager as part of the 170-lot auction. One item on the block is a page from the singer's junior high school notebook containing her handwritten book report on a translation of Sophocles' Antigone. The essay, which is estimated to go for between $500 and $700 when auctioned at Christie's on December 4, was composed in black ballpoint pen on both sides of the page and comes with a yellow note card decorated with the book's title. The report received a respectable grade of 88 out of 100 points and on the back of the page Spears' teacher wrote comments such as "Nice cover" and "Watch out for spelling mistakes."

Hilary Duff and Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden have confirmed they have split after nearly two and half years together. Madden made a DJ appearance at Chicago, Illinois hotspot Enclave last Wednesday, where he told clubgoers he was no longer with Duff. The band's manager Steve Feinberg tells American publication People, "I can indeed confirm that Joel is single. We are not going to elaborate on Joel's personal life but I will say they have split." According to a witness at the Chicago club, Madden cited the couple's age difference as the source of the problems in their relationship. Madden, 27, and Duff, 19, only went public with their relationship last year.

Oscar winner Ellen Burstyn is set to share her life with movie fans by launching her own website and filling it with memoirs and family photos. The Exorcist star was so charged by the response to her recently released memoirs, Lessons In Becoming Myself, she decided she wanted to share more about her turbulent life. The new site will feature personal photographs, anecdotes from film sets and recollection of meetings the actress had with celebrities and world leaders like Jackie Gleason and Mahatma Gandhi. Burstyn is also hoping to add a diary section in the New Year, where she will correspond with fans daily.