Director Bob Clark, who helmed the modern holiday classic A Christmas Story and was the writer-director-producer of the Porky's films, died in a car crash with his son on the Pacific Coast Highway early Wednesday morning; he was 67. According to police reports, Clark's car was hit head-on around 2:30am by an SUV that swerved into Clark's southbound lane; Clark and his 22 year-old son, Ariel, were pronounced dead at the scene. The SUV driver, who was driving without a license, was arrested for suspicion of driving under the influence of alcohol and is to be booked for gross vehicular manslaughter. The director of the 1974 cult horror film Black Christmas as well as the 1980 Jack Lemmon drama Tribute (which nabbed Lemmon a Best Actor Oscar nomination), Clark scored a major box office success in the early '80s with the teen sex comedy Porky's, a surprise hit that he wrote, directed and produced which became the highest-grossing film of 1982 and one of the highest-grossing films ever in Canada. Clark went on to helm the sequel, Porky's II: The Next Day, a year later, but it was another 1983 film that would become his most memorable. Based on humorist Jean Shepherd's short story collection In God We Trust, All Others Pay Cash, A Christmas Story was the nostalgic and humorous tale of a young boy named Ralphie (Peter Billingsley) growing up in the 1940s who yearned for the ultimate Christmas gift, a Red Ryder BB gun. Also starring Darren McGavin and Melinda Dillon, the comedy (which Clark directed, co-wrote and produced) was a modest success in its initial box office run but gained a strong and steady following through the next two decades, becoming a TV staple during the holiday season and a consistent seller on DVD. Clark's other films included the Dolly Parton-Sylvester Stallone comedy Rhinestone, Turk 182!, From the Hip, and the two Baby Geniuses movies. Recently, there had been talk of Howard Stern producing a remake of Porky's, and Clark had begun development on a remake of one of his first films, the horror movie Children Shouldn't Play With Dead Things. --Mark Englehart, IMDb staff

Rolling Stones rocker Keith Richards insists he never snorted his father's ashes - his recent comments were made in "jest." The Gimme Shelter guitarist can't believe people took him seriously after he told British music magazine Nme he once snorted his dad Bert's ashes mixed with cocaine. He said, "He was cremated and I couldn't resist grinding him up with a little bit of blow. My dad wouldn't have cared. It went down pretty well, and I'm still alive." However, Richard's manager Jane Rose tells MTV.com that the hellraiser's comments were "said in jest. Can't believe anyone took (it) seriously."

Blood Diamond actor Leonardo DiCaprio is considering swapping Hollywood for Broadway later this year, to make his New York stage debut in drama The Basic Training Of Pavlo Hummel. According to FoxNews columnist Roger Friedman, DiCaprio's agents are currently negotiating the deal, that would see the actor recreate a role played on Broadway by Al Pacino 30 years ago. Pavlo Hummel is an American soldier stationed in Vietnam who has an African-American alter ego called Ardell. If he accepts, the 32-year-old will have to head to New York in the autumn, straight from the set of Revolutionary Road, to be directed by Sam Mendes and co-starring Mendes' wife Kate Winslet.

Hollywood star Halle Berry's new movie Nappily Ever After will include a scene where she shaves off all her hair. The Monster's Ball Oscar-winner admits she is terrified about the scene, in which she will mimic Britney Spears - who was filmed by the paparazzi shaving herself bald in a California salon in February. Berry says, "In the course of the story something bad happens to my character's hair and she shaves it all off. I'm scared to death but that's what I must do. I suppose going bald could be a little exciting too, thought, so we'll probably film the process from beginning to end."

Actor Luke Wilson has subtly hinted the rumored romance between his brother Owen Wilson and Kate Hudson is for real, after telling one US magazine the actress is "a very nice girl." Wilson and Hudson have spent months refusing to confirm or deny reports they're dating, but the Old School star tells People magazine his brother is "very happy" with the romance. And it seems the couple aren't hiding their love for each other anymore - diners in Santa Monica, California watched the pair make out during a recent meal out. One witness says, "From the second they walked in, they were all over each other. Kate even sat on his lap to give him kisses." Single mom Hudson split from her husband, rocker Chris Robinson, last summer.

Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt named their baby daughter after the actress' brother James Haven - he has revealed. Haven claims he was originally given Shiloh - which means 'messiah' or 'peaceful one' - as a middle name by his and Jolie's parents Jon Voight and Marcheline Bertrand, before they switched it at the last minute. The 33 year old actor tells Grazia magazine, "At the last second, my parents gave me Haven instead. So it was very cool when Brad and Angie came to me and said: 'We're thinking of names and our favorite is Shiloh. We know that was your original name, so would that be OK?'. I was almost in tears - I was so honored."

The Sopranos star James Gandolfini knew the show was going to be a hit when people became too scared to talk to him. The show follows the exploits of Tony Soprano as he juggles family life with his career as a mafia boss - and lead actor Gandolfini knew straight away the series would be a hit when people began to confuse him with his TV alter ego. Just after the show began airing in 1999, Gandolfini went to answer the door at his New York home. He recalls, "So I opened the door and the guy just turns white. All of a sudden I realize, 'Oh ... he thinks I'm Tony.'"

Patrick Dempsey is convinced his Grey's Anatomy co-star Isaiah Washington is a deeply changed man following recent counseling - but he's still keeping his distance from his fellow TV doctor. The two actors were involved in an on-set fight last October after Washington used a gay slur to attack fellow cast mate T.R. Knight. The controversy rumbled into 2007 when Washington repeated the gay remark at the Golden Globes. He has since apologized, met with gay community leaders and undergone counseling to help him with anger issues, and Dempsey feels sure the actor is a different person. He says, "I haven't spent enough time around him to honestly know what's going on with him... (but) you do have a feeling, when you look at him, that something is different, and that he is working on things. You can't get away from the fact he's doing a great job on the show; he does beautiful work. He's very passionate about it. He allows himself to feel deeply and sometimes that's very difficult to contain and control appropriately."

Critics will have to wait even longer to review Sir Ian McKellen's performance in the theatre production of King Lear, after his co-star was injured. Frances Barber, who plays the King's daughter Goneril, damaged her knee after falling off her bicycle, so the press night of the Royal Shakespeare Company production at Stratford-Upon-Avon in Warwickshire, England, has been delayed. Director Sir Trevor Nunn says, "It is very unfortunate that Frances' injury means we must delay the press performance of Lear. But Ian and I both feel that the production should be seen in its entirety and that it would be unfair on the understudy to be reviewed in only her second performance in the role. Frances will have to undergo surgery in the next few days. We are hopeful that she will recover and be able to resume her role in Lear."

Movie icon Julie Christie has confessed she has undergone minor cosmetic surgery and is often tempted to have more work done. The Oscar-winning British beauty, who stunned film fans in Darling and Doctor Zhivago, admits she had work done on her jawline in the mid 1990s and fears if might not be the last time she goes under the knife. She says, "I'm tempted every time I look in the mirror. You want to get your familiar face back when you see all the lines around your chin, neck, eyes, mouth, arms and everything else."