The Hours Oscar winner Nicole Kidman is Hollywood's leading lady when it comes to her salary, according to trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter's annual Star Salary Top 10. The Cold Mountain actress has claimed the top spot on the new list thanks mainly to the paycheck she'll receive for next year's sci-fi blockbuster The Invasion. Six of the top 10 women on the list are Oscar winners, with only Charlie's Angels stars Drew Barrymore and Cameron Diaz, Kirsten Dunst and Jennifer Aniston yet to pick up an Academy Award. The new top 10 list is: 1. Nicole Kidman ($16 to $17 million per film); 2. Reese Witherspoon ($15 million); 3. Renee Zellweger ($15 million); 4. Drew Barrymore ($15 million); 5. Cameron Diaz ($15 million); 6. Halle Berry ($14 million); 7. Charlize Theron ($10 million); 8. Angelina Jolie ($10 million); 9. Kirsten Dunst ($8 to $10 million); 10. Jennifer Aniston ($8 million).

Mel Gibson has offered his support to disgraced comic Michael Richards, revealing he came close to penning a note to the former Seinfeld star after his racist rant in a Los Angeles comedy club. The movie mogul, who hit the headlines this summer for making drunken anti-Semitic remarks to a California highway patrol cop, insists he knows what Richards is going through. The comic is desperately trying to make amends with African-American groups after repeating the word "n**ger" in an angry rant aimed at two black hecklers during a recent show at The Laugh Factory. Gibson tells America's Entertainment Weekly magazine, "I felt like sending Michael Richards a note. I feel really badly for the guy. He was obviously in a state of stress. You don't need to be inebriated to be bent out of shape. But my heart went out to the guy... I like him." But Gibson remains a lone voice of support for Richards - Oscar nominee Queen Latifah has also weighed in with her verdict on the controversy. She says, "It's always disappointing when you hear someone that you really like say something really stupid and really foul and wrong... You pray for people like him."

Danny DeVito appeared on TV show The View yesterday morning still tipsy after a night of heavy partying with pal George Clooney. The star was promoting his new movie Deck The Halls on the show, and admitted he hadn't been to bed the night before. DeVito then cursed his seventh limoncello (a lemon liqueur) from the previous evening and launched into a boozy rant against President George W. Bush, much of which was bleeped out by network censors. The former Taxi star also revealed he and his wife Rhea Perlman made sure to "utilize every surface available" in the famous Lincoln Bedroom when they stayed at The White House as overnight guests of former President Bill Clinton. The show's co-hosts Rosie O'Donnell and Joy Behar seemed to be amused by DeVito's antics, while Elisabeth Hasselbeck, a staunch Republican, tried gamely to switch the conversation to non-political topics, but failed as DeVito continued on his political tirade. The show's creator, veteran newswoman Barbara Walters, appeared visibly uncomfortable as the interview progressed. DeVito's representative, Stan Rosenfield, tells entertainment website Tmz.com his client has requested Walters' phone number and that he would say "what needed to be said privately" to her.

Madonna's adoption of a baby David Banda can be legally challenged, a judge in Malawi ruled yesterday. A coalition of 67 human rights groups filed a petition after Madonna and husband Guy Ritchie were awarded 18-month interim custody and allowed to take one-year-old David out of the country. Activists pointed out intra-country adoptions are not allowed in Malawi and argued the Malawian government "fast-tracked" the adoption. They want involvement in an assessment of Madonna's fitness as a mother. At a court in the capital Lilongwe, Judge Andrew Nyirenda yesterday ruled that the groups can pursue an application for a full review of the custody order. He said, "The applications from both applicants are accordingly granted and they are both joined as amicus curiae."

Actor Michael Douglas narrowly avoided a frightening fall while attempting to christen a new art museum in Bermuda. The Wonder Boys star briefly lost his footing while standing in a cherry-picker basket 25 feet in the air during a traditional "roof-wetting" ceremony on Monday. Douglas, a benefactor of the Masterworks Museum Of Bermuda Art, was pouring rum on the roof during a traditional christening ceremony. The 62-year-old star managed to steady himself after losing his balance and downplayed the incident to The Royal Gazette newspaper saying, "I had a good laugh and stumbled. I had a little moment." The $9 million museum is scheduled to open next year and will house works depicting the island by Winslow Homer and Georgia O'Keeffe. Douglas, who owns a home in the British Atlantic territory with his actress wife Catherine Zeta-Jones, adds, "It will be a wonderful asset for the island."

Newlyweds Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes have recently purchased a British mansion to add to their collection of homes. The couple have paid $4.75 million for a six bedroom home just outside of London in Dormans Park, an exclusive community established in 1887 in Sussex, England. According to American publication Us Weekly, the estate, known as Rede Place, boasts an indoor swimming pool, an underground garage, a sports pavilion, a game room and a greenhouse. The property is also equipped with a high-tech security system and a staff cottage. The couple also owns homes in Telluride, Colorado and Beverly Hills, California. Sources say the purchase may have been something to do with Cruise's devotion to his religion - the couple's home is just down the road from the Church Of Scientology's newly opened UK headquarters in East Grinstead.

Celine Dion has cancelled the next five performances of her A New Day show and an appearance at the Billboard Music Awards because of a highly contagious respiration infection. The 38-year-old Grammy Award-winning singer is being treated for mycoplasma bronchitis, a contagious bacterial infection, and has been ordered to rest during her recovery. Performances of her show at Caesars Palace, which were created by former Cirque Du Soleil Artistic Director Franco Dragone, were cancelled from Wednesday through Sunday, after which Dion was scheduled to take a holiday break from the five-shows-a-week regimen before returning December 28. Dion also backed out of a scheduled appearance at the Billboard Music Awards in Las Vegas on Monday. A spokesman for A New Day says ticket-holders will receive refunds or can book other show dates.

Spider-Man villain James Franco is terrified of doing press interviews after co-star Kirsten Dunst got in trouble with movie bosses for giving away too much information to journalists. Franco, who reprises his role as Harry Osborn in forthcoming release Spider-Man 3, is keeping quiet about plot details, and refuses to confirm whether Dunst's recent teaser about "two-and-a-half" villains holds any truth. He tells Empire magazine, "Kirsten actually got into some trouble for that so I probably shouldn't repeat that mistake. But the second film suggests that I'm going to a dark place. I think people will be a little bit surprised about what happens."

Sweet Home Alabama star Ethan Embry's Studio City, Los Angeles home became the scene of a crime on Sunday night when the actor and a friend were mugged at gunpoint in his driveway. Embry called police after two men stole his watch and wallet after recognizing him in the street and waving a gun in front of him. Furious Embry almost went from being a victim to a suspect as he dashed into his house and came out brandishing a gun, which he fired at the muggers' Suv as they raced away, according to website Tmz.com. Police have refused to confirm whether the actor fired directly at the thugs' car and they won't be releasing the name of his female companion.

Pamela Anderson has filed for divorce from husband Kid Rock. The actress/model and the rocker both filed for dissolution of marriage at the beginning of the week but Anderson has won the race to the divorce courts. Anderson, who is represented by celebrity divorce lawyer Neal Hersh, cited irreconcilable differences as the reason for the split, which will effectively end the couple's three-and-a-half month marriage.