Former X-Files star Gillian Anderson is a married woman, after quietly tying-the-knot with her film-maker boyfriend Julian Ozanne in Africa. The couple exchanged vows on December 29 on Lamu's Shella island, off Kenya's Indian Ocean coast. Anderson, 36, and Ozanne, 42, were married in a civil ceremony by the local district officer and their union was blessed by a Kenyan priest, reports People magazine. The event was attended only by Anderson's immediate family - who had flown over from America - and a handful of close friends in the gardens of London socialite Kate Barker's Moroccan-style beach house. A Kenyan choir sang hymns in Swahili, and the bridesmaid was Gillian's 10-year-old daughter, Piper, from her previous marriage to movie art director Clyde Klotz. After the ceremony, the couple hosted a dinner of fresh lobsters, crab, and king-size prawns, and fireworks and a fire dancer provided the backdrop.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman has emerged as favorite to become the next James Bond, with bookmakers tipping him to take over from departing 007 Pierce Brosnan. Leading British bookmakers Ladbrokes and William Hill are offering odds of 2/1 on the Swordfish star slipping into the superspy's famous tuxedo for his next big screen outing - ahead of Closer star Clive Owen and third favorite Ewan McGregor. A Ladbrokes spokesperson says, "Hugh Jackman certainly appears to be the punters choice but we've seen more twists than the average Bond movie. At one point or another, Colin Farrell, Colin Salmon, Dougray Scott, Eric Bana and Ewan McGregor have been subject to serious support for the role." A decision on who will replace Brosnan has been delayed while a power struggle wages between Bond movie makers the Broccoli family and MGM over who should be offered the role. The spokesperson adds, "Who takes on the role could well depend on who comes out top in the power struggle behind the scenes. If the Broccoli family win we could well see an unknown actor, while if the money men have their way we could see a top star in the role. Last year, a source told us that the producers had a list of ten actors that they were looking at."

Director Peter Jackson and his screenwriter wife Fran Walsh will follow up this year's King Kong re-make with a screen adaptation of Alice Sebold's best-selling novel The Lovely Bones. American movie trade publication Daily Variety reports the Oscar-winners used their own money to buy the feature film rights to the grim tale from British production company Filmfour. The 2002 book is narrated from heaven by a 14-year-old girl who has been raped and murdered, as she follows the lives of those left behind to deal with the tragedy. Jackson and Walsh will begin adapting the screenplay with their partner Philippa Boyens next January, and will promote the project to studios when it is finished. Jackson says, "It's the best kind of fantasy in that it has a lot to say about the real world. You have an experience when you read the book that is unlike any other. I don't want the tone or the mood to be different or lost in the film."

A new TV biopic of Bob Dylan will feature no input from the man himself - because director Martin Scorsese wants the movie to be his vision of Dylan's life. Scorsese has been working on the project - which covers Dylan's early years, roughly from 1961 to 1966 - for TV network PBS's American Masters series. The Goodfellas film-maker has access to 10 hours of new Dylan interviews that were conducted by the rocker's manager. But Scorsese might submit to interviewing Dylan himself before his film is broadcast this summer, although he has no definite plans to do so yet, writes website Pagesix.Com. He says, "I'd not like to deal with the man directly. I'd like to create the story, to find the story, first of all, and then play it out the way I think it's right. I'm trying to make as honest a film as possible without unnecessary restrictions. But I think for me, of course, I'm on his side, so I might come out in terms of a pro-Dylan."

Angelina Jolie's relationship with Mr. And Mrs. Smith director Doug Liman was so poisonous her co-star Brad Pitt was forced to direct the sexy actress. Pitt and Jolie have been accused of having an affair on the film's set, prior to Pitt's shock split from actress Jennifer Aniston. But industry insiders say the actors were consummate professionals during the movie shoot, insisting the real concern for Pitt and Jolie will be how badly the film will do following Jolie and Liman's fall-out. One tells British magazine OK!, "You can tell when people are messing around, and they weren't. If they had an affair, it was well hidden. But Pitt took to directing Jolie because she and director Liman weren't getting along."

British composer Andrew Lloyd Webber is "giving serious consideration" to selling his entire business empire to an unnamed American corporation. The firm made the Phantom Of The Opera musician an offer in late 2004, valuing his Really Useful Company at "several hundred million pounds", writes British newspaper The Daily Telegraph. And Lloyd Webber is reportedly considering the offer - which would require him to sell the copyright to all his musicals and his half-share of 11 West End theatres in London. A source says, "Andrew is 56-years-old and he is much more interested in the creative areas of his world than anything else. He does not want to run businesses."

Wesley Snipes' performance in New Jack City triggered Jaime Foxx's quest for big screen stardom - because it made him realize black actors can succeed in white-dominated Hollywood. The film star, who has received rave reviews for his portrayal of late R&B great Ray Charles in Ray, insists 1991 movie New Jack City inspired his Hollywood career by proving black actors are not limited to stereotypical roles. The 37-year-old says, "My favorite film is New Jack City with Wesley Snipes. This was basically a black version of The Godfather and even though it was a hit it was more like an underground film. A lot of people don't know that Wesley Snipes played opposite Michael Jackson in the Bad video. He's the one who says, 'You ain't bad, you ain't nothing!' He went from that to this movie New Jack City and it was the first time you saw a black kid play a role like Al Pacino in Scarface or The Godfather."

Actor Wesley Snipes threatened to kill Blade: Trinity director David Goyer because he felt his all action character had been sidelined to make room for two new ones. The 42-year-old's co-stars, Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel, recently complained he had alienated himself from everyone working on the third installment of the vampire-fest, by remaining in character for the entire duration of the shoot. And movie insiders tell British magazine OK! that Snipes was so furious about his marginalized role, he made physical threats against Goyer. An insider confides, "Wesley made death threats against David. David was scared for his life." But a spokesperson for Goyer counters, "Wesley is a method actor. There's always a lot of tension on set."

Sharon Osbourne and Ozzy Osbourne have put their infamous Beverly Hills mansion on the market - because they can't bear to live in it now their famous children Jack and Kelly are moving out. The luxurious Los Angeles house was recently voted one of the most stylish homes on TV, by readers of British magazine BBC Good Homes. But Jack is eager to leave the lavish property to front an extreme sports television show, while Kelly Osbourne is fleeing the nest to star in US drama series Life As We Know It. Sharon tells US newspaper the New York Post, "Once Kelly and Jackie-boy go, it's way too big for us. They want their own homes now and Ozzy and I want a small house with a small garden for the dogs. We're not going to put a 'for sale' sign outside but a few brokers in town know that it's on the market."

Matt Stone has finally explained why Matt Damon's puppet in recent marionette movie Team America: World Police looks "retarded" - it was accidental. Stone, who made the satirical film with his South Park partner Trey Parker, was surprised when Damon's puppet came out of the oven looking nothing like they were expecting him to. He says, "When we looked at the plans for his head he looked good, but when we came out of the oven he just looked retarded. I think it was well thought out. Honestly, I think Matt Damon is one of the better actors around. I think he's a pretty great actor. He's pretty talented. And for no real reason, he is retarded in this movie."