French actor Michel Serrault has died. He was 79. The movie star passed away at his home in Honfleur, France after a long illness on Sunday. Serrault garnered worldwide critical acclaim for his performance in 1978 comedy movie La Cage Aux Folles - the film was nominated for three Oscars and the actor won the first of three Cesars for the film. After beginning his career on the stage, he began working on a cabaret act with playwright Jean Poiret which proved a huge success in the music halls of Paris. But it wasn't until Serrault landed a role in Henri-Georges Clouzot's 1954 French thriller Les Diaboliques that he hit the big screen. He was married with two daughters - one of whom passed away in a car crash in 1977.

Former U.S. Vice-President and Live Earth co-organizer Al Gore's son has pleaded guilty to possession of illegal drugs and will enter rehab to avoid serving time in prison. Al Gore III agreed to spend 90 days in a residential rehab clinic during an Orange County, California court hearing on Monday. The 24-year-old was pulled over by police for speeding on Independence Day. During a search of his hybrid Prius, cops found a stash of prescription drugs, including 140 Vicodin pills, and marijuana. Gore had faced three years and eight months in prison. Orange County District Attorney spokeswoman Susan Kang-Schroeder denied Gore is receiving preferential treatment: "This is what anyone coming off the street would be eligible for. Gore didn't get any more or any less than anyone else."

Actor Johnny Depp is bringing Hunter S. Thompson's autobiographical novel The Rum Diary to the silver screen - seven years after he was announced as the leading man. Depp was cast to play the role of Thompson in 2000, co-starring with Nick Nolte in the tale of a journalist's adventures as he moves from New York to a San Juan newspaper in Puerto Rico. Benicio Del Toro and Josh Hartnett were also appointed to star in the movie in 2002, but the actors, including Nolte, are no longer involved in the film. The revived project will now be produced by Depp and The Departed filmmaker Graham King - who has acquired the full rights to the book. The Rum Diary will be penned and directed by Withnail And I writer Bruce Robinson, with shooting expected to begin after Depp finishes filming his current movie, Shantaram, with Bollywood actor Amitabh Bachchan.

Acting legend John Wayne has been honored with a statue at the National Cowboy and Western Heritage Museum in Oklahoma. A larger-than-life bronze statue of the Academy Award-winning star - measuring eight feet and eight inches in height - was unveiled on Saturday with two of Wayne's grandchildren, Anita LaCaba Swift and Nick Kuhle, present at the ceremony. Swift says, "It's always an amazing thing for our family whenever we get to be out among his fans because he's almost been dead for 30 years, but there are 3-year-old children who come up to me and tell me how much they love him." Kuhle adds, "It's just incredible. It was great to have an icon like that as your grandfather." The tribute is to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the year of Wayne's birth. He died in 1979 of stomach cancer.

Jessica Alba split with Cash Warren because he was terrified of commitment, according to the pair's pals. The actress reportedly ended her two-year relationship with the production assistant last week, after months denying the romance was on the rocks. Now friends reveal the break-up was relatively amicable, but prompted by differences in the couple's long-term aspirations. One tells the New York Daily News, "He (Cash) wasn't ready for marriage, and Jessica is. It's simple as that. It's kind of cold that the press is saying she was just finished with him, because it isn't like that." And pals cite close friend Eva Longoria's recent French nuptials as the event that finally pushed her: "Seeing Eva get married made Jessica wistful. That was the reason Jessica seemed to be in a terrible mood in Paris."

Lindsay Lohan's mother has fired back at tycoon Donald Trump after he advised the actress to "get a new set of parents" as part of her ongoing recovery. Dina Lohan admits she was upset by the glib comments Trump made to the New York Post the day after her daughter was arrested for drunk-driving and cocaine possession. She has responded by releasing a statement explaining she was "disappointed" by Trump's words. Dina writes, "I've always had a great admiration for your business sense and I've read all your books and learned from them. Your own brother died of alcoholism and you own Trump Vodka? You say Lindsay needs new parents? Such a rash statement without backing it with fact? I am a single mother of four children doing what I can during this difficult time! Do a background check of both parents and you will find the truth! Shame on you... so many families suffer from this, yours included. We need solutions not opinions!"

Actor Mel Gibson has sold his Malibu mansion for a staggering $30 million, according to local reports. The Californian mansion has a mere six bedrooms, but boasts a private terrace on the beach, along with a gym, a swimming pool and a wine cellar. Gibson made a $6 million profit on the Mediterranean-style beachfront property after buying it for $24 million in 2003. The Signs star's latest sale is his second in as many weeks - earlier this month he sold off his 76-acre Connecticut estate for $40 million, also to an unnamed buyer. The actor-turned-filmmaker still owns properties in his native Australia and Guanacaste, Costa Rica. He also owns Mago Island in Fiji, which he bought in 2004 for $16 million.

Movie executives at Paramount scrapped an idea to wrap up The Godfather movies with a fourth film - because they refused to pay an ailing Mario Puzo. Director Francis Ford Coppola offered to help the dying author pen the screenplay for a final film for free, but penny-pinching studio bosses still refused to greenlight the idea. Ford Coppola, who initially balked at the idea of directing sequels to his 1972 masterpiece, admits he was so desperate to help Puzo before he died in 1999 that he offered to co-write the screenplay for no charge. He recalls, "He and I cooked up an idea for what there would be for The Godfather IV and we went to Paramount... and we said, 'Look, Mario is not well. Hire him to write this Godfather IV script, I will help him, do it for nothing...' Mario was very concerned to leave his kids some money and they just never made the deal... Mario died and it was heartbreaking."

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline's brief marriage is officially over. The couple's divorce was granted on Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court. Judge Scott Gordon signed the decree hours after Spears and Federline's lawyers appeared in court to settle the ongoing divorce battle. Spears' attorney Laura Wasser made a motion to keep the custody and child support provisions secret, on grounds that making it public would be harmful to the couple's sons Sean Preston and Jayden James. Judge Gordon granted that request, pending a hearing on August 14. But Tmz.com claims the divorce settlement will net Federline $35,000-a-month.

Ozzy Osbourne's daughter Kelly Osbourne has confirmed she will take to the London stage in hit musical Chicago. The singer-turned-actress, 22, will play Mama Morton in the West End version of the show - a role made famous by Queen Latifah in the movie adaptation when she was a more mature 32 years old. Kelly says, "It's been a dream of mine to be in the West End, I can't wait to work with such an amazing cast." And Chicago producer Barry Weissley adds, "We're very excited that Kelly is joining the production. She's internationally recognized, she's unique - it's the perfect match."