CelebSpice

They’ve carved out a private little chunk of life – not to mention an island – together, but now Johnny Depp and his other half, Vanessa Paradis are bringing their natural chemistry to the screen for My American Lover.

Depp told BangShowbiz (via The Playlist) that he’s agreed to star in the film, which will track French feminist and thinker Simone de Beauvoir’s relationship with American novelist Nelson Algren.

Lasse Hallstrom, who has worked with Depp on What’s Eating Gilbert Grape and Chocolat, is the man to direct the film which will most likely be taken from de Beauvoir’s collection of communiqués between the pair in the 1940s, A Transatlantic Love Affair: Letters To Nelson Algren.

And while he waits for Depp’s sched The Danish Girlule to clear (the actor’s been shooting The Tourist with Angelina Jolie and then reports to the ocean for Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides), Hallstrom will busy himself taking over sex change drama, which Thomas Alfredsson had been set to direct. With Gwyneth Paltrow and Nicole Kidman starring, that’ll kick off shooting in May.

Just a couple of days after the announcement that Gwyneth Paltrow was joining the already all-star cast of Steven Soderbergh's Contagion, we now learn via The Playlist that erstwhile Morpheus Laurence Fishburne is also in talks to co-star. Expect Jack Nicholson, Meryl Streep, Robert De Niro and Harvey Keitel shortly.*

Sounds like the film is juggling this stonking acting roster by taking on multiple intersecting global plot strands, giving everyone something to do. The script by Scott Z Burns (The Bourne Ultimatum, The Informant!) involves an international pandemic. Fishburne, along with Matt Damon, Marion Cotillard, Kate Winslett, Jude Law and Gwynny, would be part of a team of doctors and scientists called on by the Centre for Disease Control. So the dream team start off together, but separate off into their own stories as they take their expertise out into the field.

Soderbergh is knocking this one out in between Knockout and Liberace, and the $60m project has, since we last reported, been picked up by Warner Brothers. Fishburne's involvement does, however, depend on scheduling: he's also got some Predators to fight.

*Not really. But then again...

Nicole Richie designed her own engagement ring.

The TV star - who revealed her betrothal to Good Charlotte rocker Joel Madden during an appearance on 'The Late Show With David Letterman' this week - worked with renowned celebrity jeweller Neil Lane on the band, which sports a flawless four carat, round diamond.

Lane told People magazine: "We designed it together. Nicole was lovely and wonderful to work with on it! She wanted a beautiful, special ring and wanted to be intimately involved in the design."

The jeweller - who has previously created pieces for a host of stars, including Gwyneth Paltrow, Madonna, Nicole Kidman and Charlize Theron - also revealed Joel let his wife-to-be have complete control over the design.

He added: "Joel just wanted her to have her dream ring."

It was on Monday (15.02.10) that Nicole, 28, confirmed she is engaged to Joel - with whom she has two children, daughter Harlow, two, and five-month-old son Sparrow.

Joel, 30, later revealed his joy with a posting on his twitter page.

He tweeted: "Yep. I'm engaged. Very happy. Yeah we've been engaged for a while so you're all kind of late on that. But Thanks for the hooplah all the same. (sic)"

He racks 'em up and knocks 'em down. Steven Soderbergh is currently at work on Knockout, but before he starts Liberace with Michael Douglas, there's the small matter of global virus threat movie Contagion. As previously reported it's set to star Matt Damon, Kate Winslett, Marion Cotillard and Jude Law. Now Deadline Hollywood are reporting that Gwyneth Paltrow has been added to the starry cast.

We don't know much yet about Contagion, so its tough to speculate about Gwynny's role. But we'll say this: despite the snarky publicity she often gets, she's proved again and again - Royal Tenenbaums, Proof, Two Lovers, Iron Man - that she can be damn good, so we're all in favour of her joining forces with Soderbergh.

Contagion has been written by The Informant's Scott Z Burns, inspired by a discussion about germs on the Informant set. Douglas Adams always said that getting a movie made in Hollywood was like trying to grill a steak by having a succession of people come into a room and breathe on it, but it turns out that if someone as much as sneezes around Soderbergh, a film gets made.

Gwyneth Paltrow and Chris Martin have upset their London neighbours over plans to build a fence.

The couple - who have lived in their £3.5 million North London property since 2004 - have been blasted for their "over the top" security measures after requesting planning permission to erect a 10-foot metal security barrier.

A neighbour told the Daily Telegraph newspaper: "It's rather over the top. Who cares who he is? You can't get round the side of the houses and into the gardens anyway. Other houses in the street are as much at risk of opportunist burglaries as his is. We don't ask for huge fences between our homes."

The couple's plans involve replacing a smaller wooden fence on top of a brick wall, for security reasons.

Chris and Gwyneth - who have five-year-old daughter Apple and three-year-old son Moses - are not the only famous faces to have annoyed their neighbours with troublesome outside structures.

Gwyneth Paltrow, Troy's Garrett Hedlund, Leighton Meester and Country star Tim McGraw have all signed up for musical drama Love Don't Let Me Down.

Tobey Maguire is producing the movie, which sees a rising young singer/songwriter (Hedlund) becoming involved with fallen Country crooner Paltrow.

But even as they attempt to reignite her career with a tour, romantic complications with her hubby/manager (McGraw) and a beauty queen-turned-warbler (Meester) threaten to bring them all down.

Yes, it sounds like we're in for a lot of tunes about sick cows and how women done their men wrong (and vice versa), but Country music has come on in leaps and bounds over the years, scraping its way into the mainstream.

Shana Feste is the writer/director behind the film, which at least feature the proven pipes of Paltrow and the slightly experienced (as in huge-selling) abilities of McGraw.

No idea when it'll hit these shores, but it starts shooting in - where else? - Nashville this coming January.

Gwyneth Paltrow has joined Nicole Kidman in The Danish Girl, Tomas Alfredson’s Let The Right One In follow-up about the world’s first transsexual.

Kidman came on board back in September, signing on to play Einar Wegener, a man who became Lili Elbe after a sex-change operation in the 1930s. Paltrow, replacing the previously-cast Charlize Theon, will play Einar’s wife, Greta, a painter who first asks her husband to don a dress to stand in for one of her models, sending Einar down the path to irreversible change.

One thing’s for sure: this is going to be one heck of an interesting relationship, and a real chance for Paltrow and Kidman to get their teeth into two meaty roles. Steady…

Alfredson is directing from a script by Lucinda Coxon, who adapted the novel by David Ebershoff.
 

Chris Martin's publicist says the married British rocker did not make out with actress Kate Bosworth, contrary to a U.S. tabloid report claiming he did.

"This story is entirely untrue," Martin's representative told Usmagazine.com.

Martin has been married to Oscar winner Gwyneth Paltrow for six years. They are the parents of two young children.

Another source told Usmagazine.com Martin and Paltrow are "more than fine" and the musician's alleged encounter with Bosworth "simply never happened."

"(Bosworth) may have been in the same room with him, but he is not having an affair, was not kissing her or holding her hand," the insider said.

Getting in some cardiovascular action, Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted making her exit from a dance class in North London today (October 12).

The “Shakespeare in Love” actress looked natural with her sans makeup face as she strolled past paparazzi after an intense workout.

In related news, it seems Gwyneth’s kids are big fans of her friend Beyonce Knowles, so much so that they call her Aunt B.

An insider told press, “Apple always refers to Beyonce as Aunt B. If she’s looking at the TV or a magazine she’ll always get Gwyn’s attention and say: ‘Look at Aunt B!’ It’s adorable and Beyonce finds her nickname cute and endearing. She is great with children and loves to visit with them and she showers Apple with attention. She is a great faux aunt!”

Making the most of her time in Paris, France, Gwyneth Paltrow was spotted leaving the Ritz Hotel for some afternoon fun today (October 6).

The “Shakespeare in Love” actress looked decidedly annoyed with the paparazzi as she made her way out into the City of Lights, sporting a light grey trench coat with black stockings and black boots.

In related news, Gwyneth has revealed that her killer form hasn’t come easy, especially given the fact that she has two kids. “It takes a lot of effort. But there is a great reward at the end. It’s like anything in life. You have got to work to get something; you don’t get anything for free.”

She continued, “The thing that really takes me by surprise is that when you really commit to something you can change anything and you can do anything. When I met my trainer Tracey Anderson and I really started following her program I felt like ‘I cannot believe that I can put on a bathing suit or wear these costumes that are tiny and short or whatever and feel good about myself.’”