Eddie Murphy is to star in a television film under development byHBO about Washington's colorful and controversial former mayor Marion Barry, the U.S. cable channel said Tuesday.

In an email to Agence France Presse, it confirmed a report in The Washington Post that Spike Lee will direct Murphy -- seen most recently in the comedy caper "Tower Heist" -- in the still-untitled project.

The glittering gems, fabulous clothes, accessories and memorabilia amassed by Elizabeth Taylor are up for sale — but any would-be buyers had better have some deep pockets.

Taylor's necklaces, earrings, pendants and rings with diamonds, sapphires and other gems will go on auction at Christie's auction house in New York City starting Tuesday. Among the high-profile items is a diamond bracelet given to the "National Velvet" and "Cleopatra" actress by Michael Jackson, with an estimated sale price of $30,000 to $50,000. A 33.19-carat diamond ring given to her by Richard Burton, whom she married twice, is estimated to sell for $2.5 million to $3.5 million.

Michael Jackson's 13-year-old daughter Paris is working on her movie debut -- and she will talk about it in public for the first time this week.

Paris, who was 11 when her father died in 2009, will star in a live action/animated called "Lundon’s Bridge and the Three Keys," based on a famous book series for teenagers.

Steven Spielberg announced in New York a sequel to his 3D movie version of the comic book hero Tintin.

He told a press conference Sunday that "Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson would direct the new film and that he had already chosen the book by the Belgian author Herge that would serve as the basis for the script.

The Oscar statuette given to Orson Welles for his critically-acclaimed masterpiece "Citizen Kane" is being sold at auction this month, organizers said Monday.

Bids for the slightly-tarnished golden Oscar for 1941 best screenplay -- worth an estimated $1 million -- will end on December 20, said Los Angeles auctioneer Nate D Sanders.

A low-budget film inspired by the life and death of a racy 1980s B-movie actress was the surprise Bollywood hit of 2011, in a year that started slowly but finished well.

A packed, back-to-back schedule of World Cup one-day cricket and the Indian Premier League Twenty20 tournament ensured that cinema audiences were down in the first half of the year.

Two classic 1960s episodes of the BBC science fiction series "Doctor Who", thought lost forever, have been found, the British Film Institute said Monday.

The missing episodes, dating from 1965 and 1967 and starring William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton respectively in the title role, were bought at a village fete in southern England in the mid-1980s, the BFI said.

Soul singer Amy Winehouse topped Britain's album chart Sunday more than four months after her death, with music lovers buying almost 200,000 copies of the record "Lioness: Hidden Treasures."

The posthumous collection of alternative versions of classics, unreleased tracks and covers hit the number one spot after being released last Monday.

Holiday romance "New Year's Eve" led North American box office charts over the weekend, although sales were sluggish, industry estimates showed Sunday.

The star-studded romantic comedy featuring Michelle Pfeiffer and Zac Efron, with appearances by Robert de Niro and Halle Barry, scored $13.7 million for its opening weekend, according to Exhibitor Relations.

Meryl Streep may be considered one of the finest actresses around, yet she says she believed her career was over 20 years ago.

Streep, now 62, tells Vogue magazine she was offered three different roles to play a witch after turning 40. She believed it meant women in her age group were "grotesque on some level," and told her husband "It's over."