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Celebrities attending this year's Academy Awards have reportedly been asked to avoid the red carpet.

Oscars organisers are hoping that some stars will use an "off camera" back entrance in a bid to inject surprise into the ceremony and boost slumping viewing figures, according to the LA Times.

However, the report has sparked outrage among some members of the fashion community who rely on the red carpet to promote their brands, as well as media outlets who cover the pre-show arrivals.

Academy spokesperson Lesley Unger denied that all guests have been told to boycott their traditional entrance but admitted that "there is a hope that some of the people who present will be a surprise".

She added: "I can tell you that there will definitely be actors and actresses on the red carpet... This isn't a fashion show, and it's not the first consideration when producers make creative decisions about the show."

The report comes after organisers revealed that this year's ceremony will be completely revamped. Among the confirmed changes are the axing of the opening monologue, keeping presenters top secret and shaking up how nominees are introduced.

"There are presenters walking. There will just be some surprises," said Melody Korenbrot, who works for the PR firm that promotes films for Oscar campaigns. "I don't think these publicists know what's happening, and they're just trying to figure it all out.

"A secret has been kept, which is amusing in this town."

The 81st annual Academy Awards will take place at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on February 22.

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A GI Joe game that ties in with the summer blockbuster is to arrive on consoles and handhelds.

Published by Electronic Arts and Hasbro, the game will pick up after the events of the film and use aspects from the franchise's history.

Game senior producer Matt Marsala told Eurogamer: "Fortunately for us, Hasbro was very open to our ideas, so they opened the vaults for us when it came time to decide what content we wanted for the game.

"They allowed us to pull from the last four decades of GI Joe history, which included some of the coolest characters and vehicles, many of which have never been seen in a game before."

Developed by Double Helix, who worked on Silent Hill: Homecoming, the title will be released on Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PS2, PSP and mobiles.

It is expected to be released by the film's arrival on August 7.

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Leonardo DiCaprio has been honoured for his role in combatting global warming.

The Revolutionary Road star was given the International Green Film Award at the eighth annual Cinema For Peace Gala in Berlin, Germany.

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev presented the trophy in recognition of DiCaprio's efforts to promote green living through his environmental documentary The 11th Hour.

Accepting his award, DiCaprio praised new US President Barack Obama, predicting that the Democratic leader will prove an influential figure in the fight to stop global warming.

"In America, we finally have an administration in Washington that wants to fight alongside you," he said. "I sincerely believe that President Obama will be proactive in combatting some of the most complex environmental issues facing us.

"Realising the opportunities of a green revolution for our country will hopefully make America an environmental leader."

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Halle Berry has revealed that she is going bald for her next movie.

The X-Men star told Essence that she is shaving her head in preparation for her role in Nappily Ever After.

"I'm shaving it off!" she said. "I know. Here comes the controversy, but... it'll grow back - I hope!"

Berry plays a woman called Venus Johnson who shaves her head and changes her life after she splits with her boyfriend when he will not propose.

Explaining her decision to take the part, she said: "I don't want my daughter to look back at my work and think, 'Mum sold out'.

"I want to leave a legacy that she can be proud of. A film has to be really special for me to leave the house. I have to love it. I mean really, really love it."

The actress is mum to 11-month-old daughter Nahla, her first child with model partner Gabriel Aubry.

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Holy bad news, Batfans. Looks like a Dark Knight sequel is at least two years away.
Director Christopher Nolan has inked a deal with Warner Bros. to helm Inception, based on his own screenplay. The sci-fi action film "set within the architecture of the mind" aims to begin shooting this summer and hit theaters in summer 2010, according to studio.
In case anyone's forgotten, Knight was a box-office monster, scoring the second-highest gross of all time. Additionally, deceased star Heath Ledger has scored a Best Supporting Actor prize in nearly every award show this season, with only the Oscars to go.
Batman lovers should be used to exercising patience though. Three years passed between the first Christian Bale-fronted venture, 2005's Batman Begins, and last year's The Dark Knight. During that span Nolan released the fantasy thriller The Prestige, starring Bale and Hugh Jackman as rival magicians.

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Chris Martin has admitted that he found an Oscar form in his house and used it to vote for Mickey Rourke.

The Coldplay singer told radio station Key 103 that he read the instructions on the document, which explained how Academy members are supposed to fill it out.

Martin said: "You've got to put your top five in order and if the number one that you've chosen isn't really doing very well, then they move on to your number two and include that with the one that is doing well.

"I did get a say on that form. I got to put a vote in. I voted for Mickey Rourke. Isn't he great in that film?"

Rourke won the Best Actor award at last weekend's BAFTAs for his part in The Wrestler and is up for the same prize at the Oscars later this month.

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Sam Raimi's Ghost House Pictures has acquired remake rights to two European horror films.

According to Variety, the Spider-Man director wants to launch English-language versions of Spanish film Anguish and Danish horror Room 205.

Anguish, written and directed by Bigas Luna, centres on two girls who find that their lives are beginning to follow the plot of the horror film they are watching. Jake Wade Wall has written the adaptation.

Room 205, meanwhile, revolves around a college freshman whose finds that her room is haunted. Original director Martin Barnewitz will oversee the remake, to be titled The Dorm, from a script by The Grudge's Stephen Susco.

Raimi, who rose to attention in Hollywood directing the Evil Dead series, will return to the horror genre with this May's Drag Me To Hell.

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Joaquin Phoenix has claimed that he will not turn his back on his fledgling music career and return to acting.

Despite rumours that his interest in rapping is a hoax, Phoenix insisted that upcoming movie Two Lovers will be his last.

He told The AP: "I'm not one of those people, like, when I break up with my girlfriend, I don't ever see her again.

"I see her as friends, but do I ever think about getting back together? No, when I do something, I do it. So I have no intention."

Two Lovers director John Gray expressed disappointment that Phoenix would not act again and confirmed that he has seen the star's home studio.

"If he's not serious about it then he really went to ridiculous lengths," he said.

Phoenix added that he enjoys the wordplay, storytelling and "raw emotion" of hip-hop music, but conceded that people will make fun of his new career no matter how well he performs.

Earlier this week, the former actor said that his bedraggled look was a deliberate attempt to separate himself from his movie star persona.

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Director Brett Ratner has insisted that his new Beverly Hills Cop movie will not be toned down from the original.

Ratner told MTV that the fourth instalment in the action-comedy series, which will see Eddie Murphy reprise his role as Axel Foley, will not be watered down to appeal to a broader audience.

"It's a hard R," Ratner said, referring to the movie's intended US rating classification.

The director added that he plans to drop 'IV' from the title because it will be a "reinvention" of the series.

"I'm going to reintroduce it to a contemporary audience," he explained. "I'm going to take the best of the first two films and put it into the new one."

The original Beverly Hills Cop grossed $316 million worldwide on its 1984 release and spawned two sequels, the last of which arrived in cinemas 15 years ago.

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A new sequel in the Alien Vs. Predator series will be published by Sega.

The Japanese publisher has confirmed that Rebellion, creator of the original Aliens Vs. Predator game, will return as the developer.

The franchise, which has spanned several movies and comics, became a critically acclaimed first-person PC game in 1999 that allowed players to play as either a Predator, Alien or human soldier.

The independant Oxford-based developer recently made The Simpsons Game and the PlayStation 2 version of Call Of Duty: World At War.

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Samuel Bayer has signed up to direct the Nightmare On Elm Street remake, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

The horror movie, greenlit last month by New Line, will be a reimagining of the Wes Craven-created Freddy Krueger series, which centred on a serial killer who attacks his victims in their own dreams.

Bayer has yet to direct a feature film but has an extensive track record helming music videos. His work includes Nirvana's iconic 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' promo and Robbie Willams's 'Angels'. He is also attached to direct noir thriller Fiasco Heights and the Near Dark remake.

Platinum Dunes trio Michael Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form will produce Elm Street from a script by Wesley Strick.

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The Wachowski Brothers have been offered the chance to direct a new Superman trilogy, according to Ain't It Cool News.

Speaking at the Berlin Film Festival, frequent Wachowski collaborator James McTeigue (V For Vendetta) said that Warner Bros has approached the pair about steering the superhero franchise after Superman Returns helmer Bryan Singer declined an offer to reboot the series.

McTeigue, who has worked with the Matrix pair on six movies, admitted that he is enthusiastic about the prospect of the brothers working on a new Superman, but said that they are still considering the offer.

The Wachowskis, who last directed Speed Racer, also have comic book adaptation Plastic Man lined up. McTeigue added that he will likely direct Plastic Man and provide second unit support on Superman should the brothers decide to helm the latter movie.

The Superman franchise has grossed more than $800 million since the release of the first Christopher Reeve-led adventure in 1978.

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The Dark Knight's Christopher Nolan will write and direct science-fiction action film Inception for Warner Bros.

The movie is described by The Hollywood Reporter as "a contemporary sci-fi actioner set within the architecture of the mind".

The British filmmaker will steer Inception before moving on to his third Batman feature. He is looking to begin production this summer for a summer 2010 release.

Warner Bros president Jeff Robinov expressed his delight at collaborating with Nolan again, calling him "a visionary filmmaker who continually raises the bar with each movie he makes".

Nolan is also attached to a big screen remake of The Prisoner.

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Thom Yorke may contribute some songs to the soundtrack of the upcoming Terminator Salvation movie.

The film's director Joseph McGingty Nichol - also known as McG - told the New York ComicCon convention that the Radiohead frontman may be involved.

McG said: "We talked about [composer Gustavo Santaolalla] getting with Thom Yorke from Radiohead, which I thought would be a very interesting combination."

Although the filmmaker opted for Simpsons theme-writer Danny Elfman ahead of Santaolalla, he said that he and Yorke may still "do a couple of sounds for the movie".

Earlier this year, Yorke's bandmate guitarist Jonny Greenwood picked up a Kermode Award for his work on the soundtrack of There Will Be Blood.

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Tom Cruise is expected to star opposite Denzel Washington in spy thriller The Matarese Circle.

The adaptation of Robert Ludlum's 1979 novel, which is being helmed by David Cronenberg, is scheduled for release in 2010, according to Variety.

Ludlum's book follows the story of enemy spies who are forced to work together against a conspiracy. The film will update the story from the Cold War to the present day.

Wanted writers Michael Brandt and Derek Haas are penning the script.

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Harry Potter stars Daniel Radcliffe and Tom Felton have paid a hospital visit to the stuntman who was injured on the set of their latest film.

David Holmes, 25, was reported to have lost the feeling in his hands and legs after plunging to the ground while rehearsing an aerial stunt for Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows last month.

According to the Daily Mail, the actors visited Holmes at a North London hospital on Tuesday, where he is reportedly receiving specialist spinal care.

Felton, who plays Potter's arch nemesis Draco, was accompanied by his girlfriend, who was photographed crying outside the medical centre.

Radcliffe previously heaped praise on his stunt double, describing him as "an amazing gymnast".

Production on Deathly Hallows resumed last week after a Health and Safety Executive deemed the set safe enough to reopen.

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Richard Gere has admitted that he hates the title of his forthcoming movie The Hunting Party.

In the film, Gere plays a journalist who tracks down a war criminal loosely based on Radovan Karadzic, the man dubbed the "Butcher of Bosnia".

The actor told thelondonpaper: "I hate it. No-one could come up with a better one, so we were stuck with it.

"It was originally called Spring Break For Bosnia, but the irony of that didn't work. Plus we were told, if you had 'Bosnia' in the title, people would go, 'Mmm...no!'"

Gere added that Americans often lack knowledge of the rest of the world, making it hard for them to identify with other nationalities, and that the time he spent in Kosovo, Macedonia and Albania sensitised him to the old struggles of their citizens.

Earlier this week, former war reporter Martin Bell praised The Hunting Party for its realistic depiction of conflict in the Balkans.

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The Jonas Brothers have revealed that they want to write a song for the New Moon soundtrack.

Speaking to MTV, the popstars said that they are huge fans of Stephenie Meyer's vampire franchise, and would love the chance to be involved in the film adaptation of the follow-up to last year's Twilight.

"[Twilight] was obviously a huge success, and if they asked us to be a part of [the sequel], that would be great," said Nick Jonas. "It would be really cool."

However, he confessed that the band's hectic schedule meant they had not actually seen the first film yet: "We're looking forward to seeing it. We've been a little busy, so it's kinda hard to get the movies, but we'll see it."

Older brother Kevin added: "Typically, we'll get the advance DVDs and watch them on plane rides or something. So hopefully we'll do that."

The Twilight soundtrack, which featured Paramore and Linkin Park, was a commercial success on release last year.

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Drew Barrymore has confessed that her favourite screen kiss was with Adam Sandler.

Speaking to People, the actress admitted that she has a soft spot for Sandler, who she first starred opposite in 1998's The Wedding Singer.

Describing their kiss, she said: "It was really innocent and unsalacious. It's a kiss that means love and not necessarily sexuality and I just find it really romantic and fun.

"I think Adam is the greatest guy, so it's easy to be in love with him."

Barrymore and Sandler teamed up for a second time in 2004 with romantic comedy 50 First Dates.

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Sam Mendes is reportedly planning to adapt ITV1's Lost In Austen for the big screen.

The programme, which was broadcast last year, followed a literary fan who swaps places with Pride And Prejudice character Elizabeth Bennet and is transported back to the 18th century.

According to The Guardian, a film adaptation is being developed by Mendes's Neal Street Productions in partnership with the show's original UK producer Mammoth Screen.

"There has been a huge amount of interest in a film version of Lost in Austen," revealed an insider.

"The TV serial was so acclaimed it's a great stamp of approval on the high concept approach that they took to the story and all the executives are really excited to re-imagine it for the big screen, looking to the best film talent possible to make it a massive box office hit."

The Revolutionary Road director will serve as executive producer on the project, which is described as being in an early stage.

Austen was widely praised by critics but struggled in the ratings during its four episode run.