Morissette Lands Movie Role

HOLLYWOOD - Singer Alanis Morissette has landed a role in upcoming movie Radio Free Albemuth.

Morissette will play a young cancer sufferer in the movie adaptation of a novel by Philip K. Dick, the science-fiction writer behind box office hits Blade Runner, Minority Report and Total Recall.

The 33-year-old says, "I feel blessed to portray Sylvia and to be part of this story being told in film."

Whitaker to Star in 'American Gangster' TV Offshoot

HOLLYWOOD - Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe's new movie American Gangster already has a TV spin-off, which will star another Oscar winner, Forest Whitaker.

As American Gangster hits theaters, cable network Showtime has announced Whitaker will play Harlem drug lord Leroy Barnes in a new drama series called Mr. Untouchable.

Cuba Gooding Jr., yet another Oscar winner, portrays the New York heroin dealer, who was dubbed Mr. Untouchable by the media in the 1970s, in American Gangster.

Whitaker's film will follow the fortunes of Barnes, who built a drug empire that rivaled that of the Mafia.

Mr. Untouchable has no official ties to director Ridley Scott's American Gangster.

Strike Brings Top Talk Shows to a Standstill

HOLLYWOOD - Top late-night talk shows The Tonight Show, The Daily Show and The Late Show have become the first big victims of the Hollywood writer's strike.

Producers of the three programs scrapped plans to air on Monday night as the walkout kicked off, following a weekend of desperate talks to halt the strike.

The Tonight Show host Jay Leno briefly joined the picket line outside the NBC studios in Burbank, California--where his show is taped--after network bosses announced the show would immediately go into reruns.

David Letterman's The Late Show will also run a series of repeats this week, as will The Daily Show and a series of daytime talk shows.

The strike started on a noisy note as picketing writers began chanting loudly outside CBS and Paramount Studios in Hollywood early on Monday morning.

Those organized outside Paramount wore red strike T-shirts and carried signs reading, "Writers Guild of America on Strike."

McCartney Seeking Full Custody

HOLLYWOOD - Paul McCartney is seeking full custody of his 4-year-old daughter with Heather Mills, following the ex-model's suicide revelations on TV last Wednesday.

Mills, 39, ranted to a British interviewer that she was finding life impossible following a string of bad press--and had contemplated ending her life after her marriage to the former Beatle ended in May 2006.

But her TV confessions have worried McCartney, who fears their daughter Beatrice could be at risk from Mills' erratic behavior.

A close pal tells British newspaper The News of the World, "Paul fears Heather's lost the plot and needs help. He's deeply worried.

"She claimed to the world that her life's at risk. If that's true, so is Bea's and she must be with her dad.

"Paul's main concern is Bea's safety and well-being. Going for full custody is a last resort but he's really scared for his child. He doesn't feel he's got a choice now.

"Paul did plead with Heather to consider Bea before she went on these TV shows, but she ignored him. Now he's deeply concerned their daughter is growing more aware of the public war between them."

The estranged couple had previously agreed for Mills to take primary custody, with McCartney entitled to regular visits.

The news of McCartney's plans for full custody come as Mills faces questioning by social services about her ability as a mother.

A senior U.K. health visitor says, "There is a duty of care. We will investigate the claims that a woman has considered taking her own life and decide whether these claims can be substantiated. If there are grounds for concern we will decide on the next course of action."