Screenwriter Patrick Marber says he would have preferred having advance notice of his Oscar nomination.

Marber, shortlisted for Best Adaptated Screenplay for Notes On A Scandal, is not as spontaneous as he would like to be, due to not having anybody to look after his children.

“My wife and I don’t have much time to celebrate tonight,” he said in reaction to his nomination. “It’s hard to get a babysitter on such short notice. We don’t get out much with our three kids (who are aged 1, 3 and 5).”

50 Cent producer David ‘Disco D’ Shayman committed suicide yesterday morning. He was 27.

Shayman, who collaborated with 50 Cent on the rapper’s The Massacre album, was found in his New York home.

As well as 50 Cent, Shayman, who was born in St Louis, worked with other artists including Kevin Federline and also wrote music for TV shows.

He had reportedly been suffering from manic depression and was diagnosed as bipolar.

Veteran movie composer Philip Glass is set to turn this year’s Tibet House benefit concert into a old punk reunion after asking Lou Reed, Patti Smith and Deborah Harry to join him onstage.

Glass is the artistic director of the 26 February New York concert - the 17th annual Tibet House benefit.

Proceeds from the charity show, to be held at Madison Square Garden, will benefit the Tibetan Community of New York and New Jersey and Farm Aid.

Mandy Moore and Nicole Richie’s ex-fiance, Adam ’DJ AM’ Goldstein, have gone public with their new romance after getting cosy for the cameras at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah.

The new couple was spotted kissing and cuddling in a Park City coffee shop yesterday, just two months after pop star-turned-actress Moore split from actor Zach Braff.

Sources close to the couple tell website TMZ.com, “They’re definitely a couple. They’re the cutest thing you’ve ever seen.”

Reggae superstar Sean Paul is set to launch a one-man campaign to stop youth violence in Jamaica on his new album.

The Gimme The Light singer insists his upcoming dancehall release won’t be full of party anthems, but will deal with issues that concern him about his native country.

“The content is just a little different than what people expect from me,” he told MTV.

Funnyman Sacha Baron Cohen and songstress Amy Winehouse have scooped two of the most prestigious prizes at the South Bank Show Awards in London.

Baron Cohen was recognised in the Best Comedy category for Borat, beating Ricky Gervais’ comedy series Extras, while Winehouse fought off competition from the Arctic Monkeys to win the Pop category.

British Jewish talent has been recognised in the nominations for this year’s Academy Awards.

Leading the way to a potential Oscar is filmmaker Stephen Frears, who is in the running for Best Director for The Queen. He’ll be competing for the prize alongside such Hollywood heavyweights as Martin Scorsese and Clint Eastwood. The film has also been nominated for Best Picture, as well as Best Actress for Helen Mirren and Best Original Screenplay.

Veteran Israeli spoon-bender Uri Geller has denied falsifying his psychic powers, after being accused by magicians of relying on “tricks and stunts” for his hit TV show.

The star, who claims to be a paranormalist, is auditioning for others with similar powers on Israeli programme Uri Geller Looks For A Successor, but he has come under fire for allegedly lying about having genuine psychic powers.

Model Isaac Cohen says he is still dating pop star Britney Spears, despite comments she made to the paparazzi last Thursday suggesting the pair were “not together.”

The couple has been dating for several weeks and recently spent a lavish weekend in Las Vegas together.

Cohen insists the couple are still going strong, telling American publication Star on Friday that “everything is fine” between them adding, “I talked with her earlier today.”

Veteran rocker Billy Joel will perform the American National Anthem at the Super Bowl next month.

The Piano Man singer will take to the field at Miami, Florida’s Dolphin Stadium with the Chicago Bears and Indianapolis Colts to sing before the two American football giants compete for the sport’s championship on 4 February.

The six-time Grammy Award winner becomes the first performer to sing the National Anthem at the Super Bowl twice - he also performed at the big game in 1989.

Hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons is calling on Jewish rappers and entertainers including the Beastie Boys to join with him to help promote a campaign for racial equality.

The Def Jam founder is appearing today at a World Jewish Congress meeting in New York as a guest speaker in his latest effort to encourage people from all backgrounds and cultures to respect each other and outlaw racial hatred.

British jazz songstress Amy Winehouse loves getting new tattoos because they stop her from getting bored.

The Back To Black singer, 25, hates looking at herself in the mirror every day and seeing exactly the same reflection.

“I like looking at pretty pictures. I get bored looking in the mirror and seeing the same thing,” she says. “So I just keep getting more and more.”

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons has laughed off the racism row engulfing British reality TV, insisting there will always be prejudiced people in the world.

Celebrity Big Brother has created controversy in both Britain and India over allegations Bollywood beauty Shilpa Shetty has been subjected to a torrent of racial abuse since entering the programme’s sealed compound earlier this month.

Songstress Amy Winehouse has topped the album charts for the second week with her recent release Back To Black.

Winehouse, who was nominated for a number of Brit Awards last week, also has two singles from the album currently in the top 30 – Rehab, which was a top 10 hit, and current single You Know I’m No Good.

The North London jazz singer has also been in America recently performing gigs and trying to break into the US market.

Judith Sheindlin, better known as the formidable Judge Judy, has emerged as the richest Jewish female entertainer in the US, according to business magazine Forbes.

In a league of 20, Sheindlin came 13th, with a net worth of $95m, beating other celebrities including Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman and Christina Aguilera.

However, she still has a long way to go to topple number one Oprah Winfrey, who is currently worth $1.5bn.

Rock legend Gene Simmons is following in the footsteps of The Osbournes with his own reality TV show, Family Jewels.

Having already been a hit in the US, the 58-year-old Kiss frontman born Chaim Witz, is hoping the show, on satellite channel Biography, will appeal to the Brits.

The show, which is on every Monday from 10pm, follows Simmons’ private life and his relationship with his family, including his partner, actress Shannon Tweed, and two kids Nick and Sophie.

English actress Jane Seymour is coming back to the UK to star in ITV’s Ordeal By Innocence, based on the novel by Agatha Christie and featuring the popular Miss Marple character.

Seymour, best known for her lead role in Dr Quinn Medicine Woman, will be shooting the drama in London until next month. It is due to be broadcast at the end of this year.

Britney Spears has split from new boyfriend Isaac Cohen, three weeks after the pair began dating.

The Toxic singer and Cohen, both 25, were first seen together powerboating on 2 January off the coast of Marina del Rey, California and recently returned from a lavish weekend in Las Vegas.

On Thursday night, Spears was spotted at a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf cafe in Santa Monica, California where she was followed by a pack of paparazzi.

British funnyman Baron Cohen has hit back at claims he hoodwinked members of the public to make his Borat movie a more shocking and controversial movie.

Several members of the public exposed as racist and anti-semitic in the film claim their actions were taken out of context, but the 35-year-old Golden Globe winner insists the film was edited fairly.

Comedian Jerry Seinfeld has been left out of pocket after losing a legal battle with his former real estate broker.

Seinfeld opted not to pay Tamara Cohen her commission after buying a $3.95 million New York townhouse in 2005 - because she refused to show up on Shabbat - when the comic and his wife Jessica visited the home.

Veteran actress Maureen Lipman is to face Sir Alan Sugar as one of the celebrity contestants in a charity version of The Apprentice.

No-nonsense Sir Alan, who founded the electronics giant Amstrad, and is known for his ‘you’re fired’ catchphrase, will be giving Lipman and other stars, including Jo Brand, Rupert Everett and Ross Kemp, tasks to see how well they cope in a competitive business environment.

Death Wish director Michael Winner has blasted suggestions he may be forced to have his leg amputated.

The 71-year-old British filmmaker, who is currently fronting a TV advertisement for insurance company eSure, is being treated in a London hospital after suffering blistering to his leg while on holiday in Barbados earlier this month.

There were fears he would have to have the limb removed - but Winner has laughed off the claims.

Britney Spears’ current fixation with playing tonsil tennis with Jewish guys like Isaac Cohen and Jonathan “J.R.” Rotem may not be something new. Her former hubby Kevin Federline could have some Hebrew roots.

According to the website of Radar magazine, Federline is a name with Jewish connections. A search on the Ancestry.com genealogy site describes the name as:

Jewish theatre talent has been shortlisted at this year’s prestigious Laurence Olivier Awards.

Tom Stoppard’s Rock n’Roll, about Communist Prague , is leading the way with nominations in a number of categories, including Best New Play. Its stars Rufus Sewell and Sinead Cusack are also nominees, for Best Actor and Best Actress.

Patrick Marber’s Don Juan In Soho, an interpretation of Moliere’s play, is among the nominees for Best New Comedy, while Arthur Miller’s classic The Crucible is in the running for Best Revival.

Legendary boxer Muhammad Ali was honoured by his friend Billy Crystal on his 65th birthday last night.

The former heavyweight champion was watching When Harry Met Sally star Crystal perform at Arizona State University when the comedian called him up onstage.

Ali was then given a standing ovation for one minute, while Crystal’s wife Janice brought out a birthday cake.

Former The Clash star Mick Jones was so upset when he was kicked out of the band in 1983 he dyed his hair and donned a disguise so that fans wouldn’t stop him in the street.

The guitarist still lived in the same area of London as his ex-bandmates and the group’s most fervent fans. And rather than become a prisoner in his own home, he opted to hit the streets looking like an unshaven Michael Caine.