Lord Of The Rings actor Sean Astin plans to make his directing debut on the long-awaited Fantastic Four movie - if studio bosses give him the go- ahead. The 32-year-old star hopes to film the Marvel comics adaptation, despite facing competition from Traffic director Steven Soderbergh with George Clooney as Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards. Astin says, "I'm a friend of George Clooney too. I think he would make a perfect Reed." Although the ambitious actor remains cagey about exact details, he confirms that he under consideration to direct the mega-budget film. He adds, "Yes. I'm in the running to direct this $100 million to $130 million movie which the studio wants to release in 2004. I've got a meeting scheduled but I can't talk about it yet."

The cast and crew of hit sitcom Friends have been stunned by the arrest of two drug dealers on the program's set this week. The two men - Ricardo Jacob, 46, and Wilman Martinez, 33 - were seized at the Warner Bros. studios by Los Angeles police while shocked members of the Manhattan-set show looked on. According to reports, the two men stand accused of selling cocaine and marijuana to various employees of the company and were caught thanks to a two- month surveillance operation by officers. Sergeant William Barry says, "There are all sort of rumors that cast and crew of such shows as Friends and ER, as well as high-profile producers, were involved in this bust. However, I cannot confirm or name anyone that helped police with their enquiries and gave officers any leads that led to the arrests of these two suspects." At present, Friends stars Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Matt LeBlanc and David Schwimmer are filming the final episodes of the smash hit show.

Despite fears the early votes deadline for the Oscars would cause problems, organizers have confirmed the number of nominations received by Saturday is consistent with previous years. The Academy Of Motion Picture Arts And Sciences feared there would be fewer votes because the prestigious ceremony takes place in February instead of the usual March, but a spokesman for accountancy firm Pricewaterhousecoopers, which is counting the ballots, insists voting was "running normally across the board". But the Oscar academy's executive director Bruce Davis admits, "I won't deny that we were all holding our breath. Our East Coast members hadn't absorbed the new schedule." The announcement of Oscar nominees this year is on January 27.

Spanish siren Penelope Cruz's Hollywood dream is hinged on the success of upcoming movie Sahara - after her previous films failed to catapult her to the top of the acting 'A' list. Tom Cruise's sexy girlfriend is said to be deeply disappointed that films such as Captain Corelli's Mandolin and Vanilla Sky failed to elevate her to the same status as his ex-wife Nicole Kidman. And competitive Cruz - who found fame in her native country thanks to a string of Pedro Almodovar hits - is determined to capture the public imagination with her role in the Matthew McConaughey-starring action film. A source says, "Penelope is ambitious but hasn't really been acclaimed as an 'A' list actress yet. She's better known for being Tom's girlfriend and is hoping this movie will put her on the map in her own right." Cruz, 29, will fly out to Morocco next month to begin filming her role as a UN scientist trying to avert an environmental crisis.

Hollywood star Matt Damon has finally opened up about his true feelings for his Stuck On You co-star Eva Mendes. Since meeting during filming of the Farrelly Brothers movie, Damon and Mendes have been discreetly dating - but the Oscar winner has finally gone public about his new love. Damon gushes, "She is awesome. She is so beautiful, she is such a good actress, she is so smart, she's really funny. And she's a normal person too, the world is her oyster basically." Damon will next be seen onscreen in summer sequel The Bourne Supremacy.

Actor Scott Bairstow has been sentenced to four months in jail for an attack against a 12-year-old girl. The former Party Of Five star was originally charged with second-degree child rape but entered a modified guilty plea last month to a reduced charge of second-degree assault. Bairstow, who has been in the Snohomish County Jail in Everett, Washington, since December 5, could be freed in 37 days with credit for time served and good behavior. The actor was also ordered to undergo a sexual deviancy evaluation and 12 months of supervision after his release.

Bette Midler is so "mortified" to be nominated for a Grammy in the same category as late singer Rosemary Clooney, she's considering pulling out of the running altogether. In an unprecedented twist, her album Bette Midler Sings The Rosemary Clooney Songbook is up against an actual Clooney recording, The Last Concert, for Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album. The other nominees are Barbra Streisand, Rod Stewart, Tony Bennett and KD Lang. Midler says, "I'm mortified. I'd really like Rosemary to win that Grammy. I can't believe I'm up against her. I'm going to look into withdrawing. I just think it's bad form if I won. You know, she never won a Grammy." Midler, who had earlier planned to give her award to Clooney if she won, will find out the fate of the Grammy when the awards take place on February 8. Clooney, aunt of Hollywood hunk George Clooney, died in 2002 from lung cancer complications. She was 74.

Hollywood veteran Robert Redford is poised to spark controversy when he visits Cuba to meet the wife of infamous revolutionary Ernesto 'Che' Guevara. The Oscar winner shocked Tinseltown by meeting communist leader Fidel Castro, friend of Guevara, in Cuba in 1988 - and was interrogated by US Treasury Department agents upon his return to America. However, Redford is heading back to Cuba on Friday to show Guevara's widow Aleida March his new movie The Motorcycle Diaries - based on the Marxist's trip to South America as a 23-year-old medical student. The movie received a standing ovation when it was screened at the Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, on Saturday.

Pop hunk Nick Carter and hotel heiress Paris Hilton shed their image as contented lovers on Sunday when a minor squabble turned into a vicious row. The sexy couple - who have been inseparable since they started dating after Christmas - announced they were smitten with each other at the Sundance Film Festival on Saturday, but the following day cracks were reportedly beginning to appear in their union. Paris became angry at Sunday's Motorola bash in Park City, Utah and she was spotted exchanging fierce words with her new beau, according to the New York Daily News. However, merely 10 minutes later, she was back in his arms and kissing the Backstreet Boy favorite.

Hollywood star Ben Affleck speaks better Spanish than his fiancee Jennifer Lopez, even though she was raised by Puerto Rican US immigrants. The Daredevil hunk - who has just returned from a vast European tour promoting new movie Paycheck - stunned journalists in Madrid by holding a press conference in Spanish. His Latina fiancee, however, reportedly struggles to converse in her parent's native tongue. Ben says, "Many people think that Jennifer has taught me but I learnt it at 13 because I lived in Mexico when I was a teenager."