LATEST: Paris Hilton has been fitted with an ankle bracelet and put on house arrest over fears for her health in jail. The socialite, who was serving a 23 day sentence in Los Angeles' Century Regional Detention Center for violating her parole following a 2006 drunk-driving arrest, was sent home earlier today, Steve Whitmore, a spokesperson for the County Sheriff's Department, said at a press conference. He revealed Hilton was issued with an ankle bracelet and released from prison at 2:09 am local time. As a result of her early release, the hotel heiress' sentence has been returned to the 45 days initially agreed in court. This will be served at her home and under the supervision of the Los Angeles Probation Office. She has already served five days. Whitmore said, "Paris Hilton will be reassigned to a community-based, alternative to custody electronic monitoring program. This means that she has been fitted with an ankle bracelet and sent home and will be confined to her home for the next 40 days." Details of the medical issue which forced Hilton's dramatic release are confidential, Whitmore added, but the decision was reportedly approved by doctors who examined the celebrity inmate yesterday. Although Hilton is officially confined to her home under the tagging system, her electronic ankle bracelet allows movement to a range of 3,000 to 4,000 square feet.

Knocked Up director Judd Apatow has denied claims his movie copies Canadian writer Rebecca Eckler's best-selling book Knocked Up: Confessions Of A Hip Mother-To-Be, insisting "they are two very different stories." Eckler filed a copyright infringement suit against Apatow and Universal Pictures in January, seeking unspecified damages. In the latest issue of Maclean's magazine, Eckler writes, "Both my book and the movie feature one night of passion and the nine months that follow. Fine. Whatever. But what got me was the fact that Alison (Katherine Heigl) was an up-and-coming television reporter; in my book, I was an up-and-coming newspaper reporter." In response, Apatow says, "The book Knocked Up is very different than the film Knocked Up. The book is about a woman who gets pregnant by the fiance that she loves on the night of her engagement party. The film is a very different story; the film is about a one-night stand between a pot-smoking slacker and an ambitious young woman that leads to a pregnancy and their attempts to get to know each other. Anyone who reads the book and sees the movie will instantly know that they are two very different stories about a common experience." The trial is set to begin in March 2008.

Fifteen actors from The Lord of the Rings movies have filed suit against film studio New Line, accusing the company of a breach of contract over merchandising. The New Zealand actors filed court papers in Los Angeles Superior Court last Wednesday, alleging New Line broke an agreement to pay them five per cent of an estimated $100 million profits from merchandising sales, such as caps, games and mugs. The actors' lawyer Henry Gradstein said New Line took "gross participation" fees that the company wasn't entitled to. Gradstein says, "The expenses will always be approximately 104 per cent. It's Hollywood accounting." This is the latest of several lawsuits New Line have been served with in relation to the film adaptation of the J.R.R. Tolkien classic novels. In 2005, director Peter Jackson accused New Line of withholding profits from the first installment in the trilogy The Fellowship Of The Ring, while producer Saul Zaentz settled out of court with the firm over the rights to the books. According to industry newspaper Variety, the fifteen actors filing lawsuits are: Noel Appleby, Jed Brophy, Mark Ferguson, Ray Henwood, Bruce Hopkins, William Johnson, Nathaniel Lees, Sarah McLeod, Ian Mune, Paul Norell, Craig Parker, Robert Pollock, Martyn Sanderson, Peter Tait and Stephen Ure.

Tom Sizemore has had his request for bail denied, following his surrender to a Los Angeles court yesterday morning. An arrest warrant was issued for the Saving Private Ryan star to determine whether crystal methamphetamine charges leveled against him last month violated the terms of a 2004 drug conviction. Sizemore, 45, was taken into custody when cops searched a car he was sitting in outside a hotel in Bakersfield, California on May 8, allegedly finding two bags of the drug and pipes. He has since pleaded not guilty to one count each of transportation and possession of methamphetamines, and three counts of possession of prescription drugs without the proper prescription. Shortly after his arrival in court, Sizemore's lawyer filed a motion to transfer the actor to another courtroom, fearing his client would not receive fair treatment from the presiding judge. The motion was granted and Sizemore will stay behind bars until a new judge is assigned to the case, reports Tmz.com. Sizemore's next hearing is scheduled for 19 June.

Actress Sarah Jessica Parker has confirmed a movie version of TV hit Sex & The City is in the works. Parker played Carrie Bradshaw and was an executive producer on the show, which ended in 2004. Speaking on TV show Entertainment Tonight, she said, "This is a very complicated puzzle to put back - not for the reason that people speculate about because as far as I know all of the actresses want to be together again for this movie. Somehow in my brain I think the timing is fortuitous because if we had done it years ago... we couldn't have done it now. I'm hopeful and very excited about it."

Paris Hilton is struggling after a little over two days in jail, sobbing to family members over the phone and complaining she isn't sleeping or eating. The heiress has served just over 48 hours of her 23 day sentence for violating her parole following a 2006 drink-driving arrest. But, according to Tmz.com, the 26-year-old is close to crumbling. Sources tell the site she has no appetite and is struggling to sleep in her noisy and "freezing cell" with just three small blankets and no pillow. Hilton's fellow inmates have extended her a warm welcome according to the sources, who claim other prisoners chanted "Paris! Paris! Paris!" as she passed them - as well as offering her gifts and words of support.

California police were called to the home of David Hasselhoff's ex-wife Pamela Bach on Monday following an alleged altercation between the warring pair. Hasselhoff and Bach are currently embroiled in a bitter custody battle over their two daughters Hayley Amber, 14, and Taylor Ann, 17, and attended a private court hearing in Los Angeles on Monday. However, website Tmz.com reports the couple had an argument before their court appearance on Monday. One source claims the former Baywatch star was "abusive" to Bach when he arrived at her Encino, California home to bring Hayley a pair of shoes, so she called police. Another source insists Bach was the angry participant and shouted at Hasselhoff when he refused to speak to her as he picked up some of Hayley's clothes. A source from the Los Angeles Police Department confirms police were called to house and the incident was reported.

Rocker Bono has become the first guest editor of Vanity Fair, and has made his mark by giving the July issue of the U.S. magazine 20 different covers. The crusading U2 singer has published a special Africa issue and gathered a galaxy of stars to feature in pairs on the many covers, which were all photographed by Annie Leibovitz. Among those teaming up are Muhammad Ali and Maya Angelou, Bono and Jordan's Queen Rania, Desmond Tutu and Oprah Winfrey, and U.S. President George W. Bush and Secretary Of State Condoleezza Rice.

Victoria Beckham's $20 million U.S. reality TV show has not been canceled, despite rumors the former Spice Girl had pulled the plug to watch soccer player husband David Beckham play for England Executives at American television network NBC have dismissed the speculation, as the six episode series is currently being filmed. A spokesperson for NBC tells the American edition of OK! magazine, "None of the gossip is true. They are shooting right now, and we'll be on air with it this summer." A TV film crew is following Beckham as she prepares to move into her new Los Angeles home next month when David begins his contract with La Galaxy.

Ben Affleck returned to his native Massachusetts on the weekend to help feed the poor and hungry. Affleck volunteered at the Greater Boston Food Bank in Boston on Sunday as part of the America's Second Harvest campaign, before joining fellow workers to sort food in the warehouse. The Pearl Harbor star said he became aware of the less fortunate residents of Boston while filming his full-length directional debut Gone Baby Gone in the north eastern city. He says, "We did a lot of location scouting . . . and you knock on a lot of doors and you go into a lot of homes . . . and I saw the need. What I saw sort of surprised me. I saw a lot of working poor."

Actress Jessica Alba spent half a year learning to play the violin so she would be convincing as a blind soloist in upcoming horror movie The Eye. The 26-year-old had no classical music knowledge before she signed up to star in the remake, and struggled to learn how to play the violin like a master. She says, "I don't know much, or anything really, about classical music - unfortunately - and I had to learn in six months to play Beethoven and Mozart. It was so hard, I practiced for hours."