ACTOR Nicolas Cage has said he researched his Oscar winning role as an alcoholic Hollywood producer by studying similar roles played by Dudley Moore and Jack Lemmon.
"Many alcoholics are very sweet people. They cry easily. They sing. They can be gentle. I wanted to focus on the childlike quality of the drunk," Cage said.
The director of a film based on the alleged erotic visions of Teresa of Avila is to challenge Britain's medieval blasphemy laws before the European Court of Human Rights.
The immediate issue is the fate of a 20 minute film, Visions of Ecstasy. Geoffrey Robertson QC, representing film maker Nigel Wingrove, is to argue that the blasphemy laws, which date from 1189, infringe the freedom of speech guaranteed by the European Convention on Human Rights.
The Duchess of York has revamped her image in a series of photos published this week by Hello! magazine - slimmer, pale faced and bereft of her hallmark freckles.
The estranged wife of Prince Andrew, a frequent target of criticism from the British press, created the new look with the help of a fashion photographer and make up artist.
President Nelson Mandela's former wife, Winnie, spent 222,015 rand (£40,000) with out permission in 1994 to travel with private bodyguards while she was a deputy minister, South Africa's Auditor General said yesterday.