Drew Barrymore and funnyman Zach Braff have sparked rumors they're Hollywood's new hot couple after they were spotted "making out" in a New York club. Barrymore, who has been romantically linked to moviemaker Spike Jonze since splitting from longtime boyfriend Fabrizio Moretti, made no secret of her affections for Scrubs star Braff when the two met up at Beauty Bar nightclub on Saturday. A reveler tells the New York Post, "Zach Braff and Drew Barrymore arrived and danced the night away... There was a lot of making out."

Nick Lachey is stunned by the furor surrounding raunchy photos of the pop star holidaying with his girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo, declaring, "Where's the scandal?" The former 98 Degrees singer and MTV presenter were photographed having sex in a hot tub in a private villa near Puerto Vallarta, Mexico, and their lawyer has issued a warning to media outlets demanding they refrain from publishing the images. Lachey tells America's OK! magazine, "Where's the scandal? I was in Mexico with my girlfriend of a year, celebrating our anniversary on a private vacation. It's not like I was caught with a Mexican hooker. We've all gone out and had a few too many and done something stupid. We've all made mistakes. This is the girl that I love. It's tough to see someone you care about be unfairly judged. It's hard for me as a man to see my girl go through that." Minnillo adds, "It was embarrassing. But we did nothing wrong. I felt personally violated. If I was being disrespectful I would (have) expected to be punished, but I wasn't. It's wrong." The couple's lawyer Marty Singer says, "The photos that were taken of our clients by a Mexican photographer violated Mexican law and were a clear invasion of privacy, and we have threatened to take legal action against third parties who publish the photos."

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe is still star-struck when he meets J.K. Rowling, the author of the fantasy series. Despite having played Rowling's boy wizard creation on screen for the past six years - he confesses he is overwhelmed by the author's presence. Speaking at the U.K. premiere of Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Radcliffe says," I still get star-struck. When you're around her, you sort of sit there thinking, you know, I'll just be very professional about this, we're work colleagues now, but inside I'm just thinking, 'Oh my god, she's written the book!'"

Veteran actor Paul Newman has donated $5,000 to a Michigan school to fund a class trip to Scotland. The 82-year-old sent a check to the drama department at Ypsilanti High School, enabling students to visit the upcoming Fringe Festival in Edinburgh. Newman left a note with the check, which read: "The enclosed contribution is sent with every good wish for continued success in your worthy endeavors." It is not the first time Newman has donated to the country's education. Last month, he donated $10 million to arts school Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio.

Controversial filmmaker Michael Moore hopes his new documentary Sicko will have a greater impact on society than his previous projects. Moore claims the films he made about school shootings and the aftermath of September 11th have been ridiculed - and he is desperate to be taken seriously. He tells Empire magazine, "I made Bowling For Columbine in the hope the school shootings would stop and that we would address the issue of how easy it is to get a gun in the United States and, tragically, those school shootings continue. I made Fahrenheit 9/11 and I said that we'd been led to a war under false pretense. I said it on the Oscar stage and I was booed off. It's my profound hope that people will listen this time."

Moviemaker Oliver Stone has responded to Iranian critics who called him "part of the Great Satan" as they refused his official request to make a movie about President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The Doors director approached Iranian officials at the beginning of 2007 and revealed his plans to turn the life of the country's leader into a biopic. But with Iranian/American cultural relations at a new low thanks to the portrayal of Persians in films like 300 and Stone's Alexander, Middle Eastern film authorities have denied the filmmaker access to Iranian locations. Responding to Stone's request, Ahmadinejad's media advisor has said, "While it is true that Oliver Stone is considered to be among the opposition in the U.S., the opposition is still part of the Great Satan." The director is taking the snub in his stride, stating, "I've been called a lot of things, but never a Great Satan. I wish the Iranian people well and I only hope their experience with an inept, rigid idealogue president goes better than ours."

Harrison Ford has branded his role playing a futuristic cop in Blade Runner "a f**king nightmare." The actor admits he was initially attracted to the role as Rick Deckard in the 1982 movie, but was not keen on the voiceover narrations. Ford claims director Ridley Scott agreed to remove them for the script - but was disappointed when the spoken words made the film's final cut. He says, "When we started shooting it had been tacitly agreed that the version of the film that we had agreed upon was the version without voiceover narration. It was a f**king nightmare. I thought that the film had worked without the narration. But now I was stuck re-creating that narration. And I was obliged to do the voiceovers for people that did not represent the director's interests."

Veteran British director Ken Russell is the latest moviemaker to leap to the defence of Tom Cruise, insisting Germany's Defense Ministry is wrong to ban filming on military sites because of the actor's controversial Scientology beliefs. Cruise is playing World War II hero Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg - who lead an unsuccessful plot to assassinate Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler - in new film Valkyrie. However, permission to shoot scenes on genuine army sites was denied last week by the country's Defense Ministry - allegedly because Scientology is viewed as a "money-making cult" instead of legitimate church by the German government. On Tuesday German director Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck waded into the debate, urging his government to be more tolerant and reverse the ban - and Russell agrees. Writing in British newspaper The Times he says, "It seems stretching it to make Cruise take the flak for his philosophy of choice while he seeks, with all sincerity and a huge amount of resources, to promote Germany's favorite son. Give the guy a break. Everybody knows Hollywood types are eccentric and daredevil weirdos, don't they? Where's the news in that?"

Troubled star Britney Spears has apologized for attacking a paparazzo's Suv with an umbrella earlier this year - insisting she was "rehearsing for a film role". The singer has attributed her bizarre behavior outside estranged husband Kevin Federline's house - the night before she entered rehab in February - to preparation for a part in a movie about a much maligned wife who swaps places with her husband. In a message to gossip site X17, she writes, "I want to apologize for the past incident with the umbrella. I was preparing a character for a possible movie role where the husband doesn't play his part so they swap places. Unfortunately I didn't get the part. I'm sorry I get carried away with my role!"