British star Tom Wilkinson is still in shock at the news of his Oscar nomination - but he's convinced he has no chance of winning. The British star has been picked in the Best Actor category for his role alongside Sissy Spacek in In The Bedroom. And Wilkinson says he hasn't yet recovered from the shock of hearing about his nomination. He says, "It's such a great honor to be nominated for an Oscar. It hasn't really hit me. Half the thrill is the nomination, it is a reward to my going to Hollywood and taking a chance." But Tom is remaining realistic about his chances of getting the award at next month's ceremony. He adds, "The competition in my group - oh my goodness. I think I know who is going to win it and his name isn't Tom Wilkinson."

Macaulay Culkin has vowed to stand by his mother, as she fights to defend herself against lawsuits blaming her for a high- rise apartment fire that killed four people. The 21-year-old star's mother Patricia Brentup was left devastated when a New York City judge ruled a jury will decide if her actions helped spread the 1998 blaze, which also injured 24 people. A pal says, "Mac was solid as a rock for his family then and he is now. He told his mom, 'I won't let them persecute you. I'm here to help in every way.' He made Pat understand that if push comes to shove, she can depend on him to support her to the bitter end. Poor Pat was so moved by Mac's promise that she cried." Culkin had already moved out of the Upper West Side building when the blaze broke out in one of the family's three 19th-floor apartments just two days before Christmas in 1998. Brentup, a mother of seven, fled the 51-story high-rise with her children, but she left some doors open, and families of the dead and injured believe that allowed the fire to spread.

Darryl Hannah has found the perfect way to fight aging and keep her sexy figure - pole dancing. Daryl had to perfect the erotic moves for her role in Dancing At The Blue Iguana, and the 41- year-old actress insists it is the ideal way for women to keep in shape. She says, "I worked hard to learn pole tricks and got in amazing shape. I don't have a pole at home - but there's something in my barn that functions as one. If women had poles, they could stay in great shape."

The old saw "what goes around comes around" has new meaning in the life of rocker Ozzy Osbourne. The singer, famed for making music that drives parents crazy, found himself getting his own back via loud music at his daughter's recent birthday party. Reported by the Associated Press, the party was taped for his new MTV reality show The Osbournes. During the shindig, viewers will be able to see Osbourne trying to be heard over the thumping techno music as he admonishes his daughter's friends not to smoke. He is heard to finally exclaim about the party tunes, "What is this? It's music to get a brain seizure by." (This report was compiled by IMDb staff)

Ocean's Eleven star Andy Garcia insists that he and his co-stars - George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts and Matt Damon - are not the new Rat Pack. Unlike his predecessors - Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. starred in the 1960 original - Garcia is no martini-swilling party hopper, a result of the strong Catholic family upbringing he experienced as a child. The son of an English teacher mother and lawyer father, he and his family left Cuba under Castro's regime to join thousands of other immigrants in Miami in 1961. It meant his parents taking low- paid work, while Garcia junior would collect empty bottles on the beach for cash. Neither Garcia or his older brother or sister complained - for they knew they were in America for a reason. Garcia, who picked up Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for his portrayal of Cuban jazz musician Arturo Sandoval, explains, "I'm in exile because my father wanted me to have a voice - a free voice - and that's a freedom I hold very dear."

A host of stars attended the fifth wedding of Joan Collins in London Sunday. Collins, 68, married 38-year-old theatre boss Percy Gibson in a secret ceremony at the capital's swanky Claridges Hotel Sunday afternoon. The event has already grabbed more headlines for the non- attendance of Collins' pal Elton John and her sister Jackie Collins. But the bash still attracted guests as glittering as former James Bond star Roger Moore, singer Shirley Bassey and Elton John's partner David Furnish.

Sylvester Stallone is suing his former manager over shares the actor owned in the Planet Hollywood restaurant chain. Stallone claims Kenneth Starr gave him bad advice over whether to sell his stock in the chain, and has filed a lawsuit for more than $10 million. Stallone insists Starr told him not to sell his shares, while telling others the restaurant chain was going bankrupt. The actor kept his stock and when he finally sold his interest in March 2000 - he received less than $300,000. Starr's spokesman Dan Klores says, "This suit is completely groundless."

The man found guilty of stalking Hollywood star Gwyneth Paltrow has lost his appeal against the conviction. A court heard in December 2000, how Dante Michael Soiu sent hundreds of letters, emails and packages to Paltrow and visited her parents' home. He was convicted and sentenced to a high-security psychiatric hospital after being found to be insane. Soiu appealed the decision, but the 2nd District Court of Appeals in Los Angeles has ruled there was "no merit" to his claim there was insufficient evidence to prove he intended to cause fear.

TV's Sex And The City stunner Cynthia Nixon was asked for her autograph while sitting in a Broadway toilet. The redhead, who plays Miranda, was watching a play when she made a mad dash to the lavatory. But no sooner had she whipped down her knickers and plonked herself down, than the door swung open. A mad fan pointed at the embarrassed red-faced star and said: 'Can I have your autograph?' The angry actress reveals, "I was not amused. I told her to shut the door but the worst thing was when I came out she tried to hug me. She was clearly a fan of the show but I was too mad by then."

Ravishing Rebecca Romijn-Stamos may sizzle screens in her movies, but she's proved to have very few magical powers in the kitchen. When Rebecca and her husband John Stamos tied the knot almost four years ago, the lovebirds wrote their own wedding vows. John promised, "I'll never, ever let you cook," while Rebecca assured him, "I promise I'll never cook."

Heather Locklear carries a $1,000 custom-made miniature shopping cart in her car whenever she's out purchasing groceries with her four-year-old daughter Ava. Little Ava used to scream and toss items out while sitting in regular carts, but now she feels so "grown up" pushing her own that she behaves like a little angel. But Locklear has a new problem: Ava usually gets tired after just a few aisles and the actress ends up with two sets of wheels on her hands.