Hollywood superstar Julia Roberts has agreed to appear in her next movie for just $20 - after she was tricked by George Clooney. The former E.R. star was desperate to get the gorgeous actress to appear in Ocean's Eleven (2001) but he knew executives did not have the cash for her usual $20 million fee. So joker George rang Julia, mentioned a figure of "20", and sent her the script with a $20 bill inside it. Julia saw the funny side and agreed to play gangster's moll Beatrice Ocean.

Robert De Niro was so convincing as a baddie in his latest movie, Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, The (2000), even his co-star Rene Russo was terrified of him. Russo says the Godfather, The (1972) star, who went through three-and-half hours a day in make-up to play the role of Fearless Leader, had her trembling with fear. She says, "Bob's amazing. He made me nervous, just like Fearless Leader should be but he was so fun to work with. All that hair and makeup. " And Russo, who plays evil cartoon character Natasha Fatale, adds she found playing a villain more fun than she could have imagined -especially as she got to vamp it up. She says, "She was my favourite character I've ever played. I got to look like a drag queen. I loved playing a baddie. I loved the wardrobe, the make-up and the hair and the accent."

Pregnant actress Catherine Zeta Jones has been sending an army of personal assistants out to scour Los Angeles for the latest in designer baby clothes. The stunning star is expecting her first child with fiance Michael Douglas this summer. But, instead of shopping herself, Jones has been sending her staff out to snap up the latest in European fashion for newborns. The owner of Los Angeles trendy child store Les Mignons says, "Catherine hasn't been in here herself but a whole crew of people turned up saying they were shopping for her last week. "They looked at everything and ended up buying quite a few outfits. I just hope Ms Zeta Jones likes the ones they picked out. They said that she preferred European baby clothes because Europeans put more time and effort into what their kids wear."

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz once worked as a volunteer for Mother Teresa of Calcutta. The stunning All About My Mother (1999) star, who received a call from Calcutta asking her if she'd go and work with them, says she expected the saintly nun to be a larger-than-life figure. Instead, she found a tiny, shoeless woman sleeping on the floor in the middle of her charges who put Cruz to work soon after they met her. The filmstar, who spent days bathing, cooking and cleaning for the sick and impoverished, says she discovered the smallest thing is what mattered the most to them. "They want you to just put your hands on their chests. " she says. "And then, like - so much happiness, just with that contact. It's like the hunger of love. And when you have to do something else and someone is starting to cry because you are taking your hand away.... I cannot explain." And Cruz says she treasures the experience of working in the slums of Calcutta as one of the most valuable of her life. She says, "I was the lucky one that I could spend time with them and I want to go back because they gave me so much. I've never seemed so useful in my life."

Basic Instinct (1992) star Michael Douglas has made up with his mother after slamming her for comments she made about his father in a book last year. Diana Darid Douglas, who was married to Spartacus (1960) star Kirk Douglas for six years, claimed he was a "sexually voracious bird of prey" in her autobiography In The Wings Michael denounced the comments and has hardly spoken to his mother since, but the two patched things up in an emotional reunion when the Falling Down (1993) star invited her to his wedding to actress Catherine Zeta Jones. A family friend says, "Michael was understandably upset by what his mother wrote about his father. But time is a great healer and he is so buzzed up about his wedding that he wants it to be a special occasion for everyone, whatever may have been said in the past."

A buffalo made famous in the smash hit movie Crocodile Dundee (1986) is to be stuffed and put on display in an Australian pub. Charlie the water buffalo, who was hypnotised in a showdown with Paul Hogan in the 1985 movie, had to be put down last month after catching pneumonia. He was popular with locals at the Adelaide River Inn where he spent his final years with owner Ian Cobb who runs the pub. Cobb is now paying to have Charlie stuffed so he can continue to welcome visitors to the bar.

George Clooney is on a mission to cut Mark Wahlberg down to size - because he keeps upstaging him. Clooney, who co-stars with the former rapper in Three Kings (1999), and the upcoming Perfect Storm, The (2000), says he's fed up of Wahlberg stealing his thunder - and is plotting his revenge. He says, "You watch Three Kings (1999) - he's the lead in it. He's the star. I remember watching him and going, 'the little f**ker. I'll kill him'. And he's the lead in this one, too. So I'm not going to act with him anymore. I'm going to say, 'Now that you've taken two movies away from me, make me some money.'" And Clooney says, when it comes to Wahlberg, he's going to be merciless in his treatment. He adds, "I'm going to sell him down the river. My thing now is to catch Mark at the top and ride him into the ground. Ski him into oblivion."

Dad-to-be Jerry Seinfeld is going to make a great father, according to his Seinfeld co-stars. Seinfeld's new wife Jessic Sklar is expecting their first baby in November, and co-star Jason Alexander says Seinfeld has been practicing for the role for years. Alexander says, "I would imagine Jerry will be wonderful as a dad. He has a nephew that he's been devoted to him for as long as I've known him and he's a wonderful uncle so I should imagine that will transfer very well. " But he adds that, since the couple moved into Billy Joel's former mansion in Hamptons, none of his friends have been able to keep tabs on the funnyman's progress. He says, "He hides a lot - he's got that big compound out in East Hampton and he gets lost on his own property so he hasn't been seen in a while.

Martial arts superstar Jackie Chan will receive a special achievement award at Indian cinema's equivalent of the Oscars, being held tonight (25JUNE00) at London's Millennium Dome. The International Indian Film Awards (IIFA) are being held for the first time ever, marking Bollywood's position as the world's second biggest film industry. Like the Oscars, it is expected to attract a massive global audience, being broadcast live on a digital platform by Sony. The glittering guest list features some of the biggest players in cinema from India and from across the world. Famous Names presenting the awards are Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie, American Beauty (1999)'s Thora Birch, Miranda Richardson, musician Finley Quaye and Mercury Music Prize winner Talvin Singh. The cross-section of India's favourite actors and film-makers includes Amitabh Bachchan, Sunil Dutt, Dilip Kumar, Twinkle Khanna, Preity Zinta and Raveena Tandon.

The estranged husband of Harry Potter novelist J.K. Rowling is entitled to half her fortune - but he says he's only interested in winning her back. The author, whose next book is set to net around $960 million, has been married to Portuguese Jorge Arantes for seven years and they have a six-year-old daughter. Under Portuguese law, unemployed Jorge could receive half of her wealth but his mother Marilia Rodrigues says he's not interested in the cash. She says, "He just wants her and his daughter Jessica with him. Joanne has asked him for a divorce, but Jorge refused to sign the papers and was angry at the thought of getting divorced."