French film star Gerard Depardieu was accused this week of headbutting an Italian photographer who tried to snap him in Florence in the company of a young woman.
"Everyone recognized him in the San Lorenzo market and many people took his photo," according to Dario Orlandi.
"I followed him but at a distance with a long lens. When we got to the entrance to Medici chapel, he signaled to me to come over. When he approached me he had his hands in his pockets and without warning headbutted me in the face."
Orlandi was taken to the accident department of a local hospital and treated for bruising and told to take four days off work.
Comic movie star Mike Myers will take on the wild-child persona of Keith Moon, the late drummer of legendary British rock band The Who, in a new Hollywood movie about the group, the industry press said.
The star and creator of the Austin Powers spy spoof movies, who last appeared on the big screen in the children's film The Cat in the Hat, has for years harbored dreams of playing the raucous rocker Moon, Daily Variety said.
The movie, which has not yet been given a title, will be produced by The Who frontman Roger Daltrey along with Nigel Sinclair of Spitfire Pictures who have been working on the ambitious project on and off for a decade.
Moon's famed penchant for destroying drum sets and bandmate Pete Townshend's smashing of guitars helped to forge The Who's rebellious image.
"[Myers] was so busy co-writing and playing four characters in [Austin Powers] that the project never quite came together. He is eager to make it happen now," the industry staple quoted sources as saying.
Moon was as wild offstage as on, earning himself a reputation for trashing hotel rooms, cars and friends' homes, often throwing furniture out of high windows and destroying the plumbing with firecrackers.
The hard living caught up to Moon, who died in 1978 at the age of 32 after overdosing on an anti-seizure medication, Heminevrin, taken as part of a program to wean him off alcohol.
A Canadian folk group is suing members of the popular British bands Pulp and Radiohead, and makers of an upcoming Harry Potter movie, their manager said.
The Wyrd Sisters are claiming US$34 million plus damages from entertainment giant Warner Bros, Pulp singer Jarvis Cocker, and Johnny Greenwood and Phil Selway of Radiohead.
The three musicians appear in the movie adaptation of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as the fictitious Weird Sisters band, a monikor The Wyrd Sisters claim is too similar to their own.
Their "involved, spectacular and memorable" performance in the film threatens to usurp the Canadian band's identity, The Wyrd Sisters said in court documents.
The lawsuit sparked an angry backlash from Pulp and Radiohead fans.
On their Web site, The Wyrd Sisters responded: "If we went somewhere new to play, after this movie is released, how many people would show up expecting the fellows from Radiohead?"
"This band has been our child. We gave birth to her, gave her a name and made many sacrifices to prepare her for the world out there," they said. "Legally and morally, the name is ours."
The Wyrd Sisters also hope to block the November release of the film in Canada.
The group, which currently includes Kathy Brown of the Crash Test Dummies, was formed in 1990 and has released eight albums.
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