Actress Carrie Fisher nearly turned down her famed role Princess Leia in Star Wars, because she wanted to play Han Solo instead.

The actress was undecided about accepting the Princess Leia part, because she wanted the iconic role that made Harrison Ford famous in the 1977 sci-fi blockbuster.

“I really wanted to play Han Solo but that part wasn’t available,” she says. “I knew it was a movie I wanted to be a part of but I didn’t really want to be the Princess.”

The co-creators and executive producers of Will and Grace have settled a lawsuit claiming they didn’t receive millions of dollars in revenue owed them from the hit show with TV network NBC.

David Kohan and Jason ‘Max’ Mutchnick sued NBC in December 2003 for $55 million. NBC denied their claims and countersued.

The terms of the settlement have not been released.

Kohan and Mutchnick’s attorney Ronald Nessim says: “We are very satisfied with the settlement.”

Amy Winehouse downed alcohol to calm her nerves before appearing live in front of thousands of fans at the weekend’s Coachella Festival in California.

The Rehab singer says she was so nervous about playing the live gig she even forgot some of her song words and turned to drink after her first three songs.

“I’m not really a confident person and I was really nervous,” she says. “But as soon as my set finished, I wanted to do it all over again.”

Former Jeeves And Wooster star Stephen Fry wants to revisit the show - and is hoping his co-star Hugh Laurie will join him for the revival.

The 90s British show, which is based on the PG Wodehouse adaptation, was a huge hit in the UK and funnyman Fry feels its time to see the characters again.

Movie beauty Natalie Portman is backing a programme aiming to provide women in developing countries with small loans.

The Closer actress has been working with loan company Finca International and has seen first hand the difference a small monetary advance can make.

Russian business tycoon Roman Abramovich has once again emerged as the richest Jew in Britain. According to the annual Sunday Times Rich List, Abramovich, who made his fortune from oil is said to be worth £10.8bn.

The Chelsea Football Club owner is also the second wealthiest person in Britain, behind steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who is worth over £19 billion.

Amy Winehouse refused to let a British tabloid kiss and tell get the better of her at the Coachella Festival in California this weekend - she spent it smooching her new fiance.

The Rehab singer split with Alex Claire in March and quickly got engaged to Blake Fielder-Civil after a whirlwind one-month romance.

Reformed wildman Robert Downey Jr’s drug and alcohol-abusing past helped him land the role of a crime fighter in new comic book adaptation Iron Man.

Director Jon Favreau wanted a star who has had to battle considerable personal demons for the role of Tony Stark - and Downey Jr’s past, which included a year in prison on substance abuse charges and several visits to rehab, was perfect.

Record company mogul Clive Calder has emerged as Britain’s only music billionaire according to the annual Sunday Times Rich List.

Worth an estimated £1.3bn, South African-born Calder, 61 founded Zomba, home to a range of artists including Britney Spears, Will Smith, Billy Ocean and Backstreet Boys.

A British-citizen, the Jewish billionaire has been dubbed the Howard Hughes of the music industry as he guards his privacy and according to reports, has only ever done one interview.

Hollywood star Adam Sandler has defended his controversial new movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, claiming the film sends out a positive message about homosexuality.

In the movie, Sandler stars alongside Kevin James as a heterosexual fireman who pretends to be gay in order to receive domestic partnership benefits.

And despite the project coming under fire from gay rights activists, Sandler insists there is “nothing wrong” with the message in the film.

A 39-year-old guitar owned by glam-rock legend Marc Bolan was the most expensive item sold at a Rock and Pop Memorabilia Auction by Christie’s in London on Thiursday.

The Gibson Flying V electric guitar went for £36,000. Bolan used the guitar for a number of recordings as well as TV appearances including Top Of The Pops in 1971 while performing the classic Get It On.

Music manager Jonathan Shalit who famously discovered Charlotte Church is looking for four singers aged 20-35 for his new project.

Broadway4 will consist of two singers from the UK and two from the USA and will perform popular Broadway songs. An open audition in London on May 1 looks set to attract hundreds of applicants.

Jazz songstress Amy Winehouse has sparked fears over her health after she was seen out in Hollywood this week sporting a very slender frame.

The photos showing the soul singer with dangerously skinny legs were published in British newspapers this morning.

The Rehab star recently announced her engagement to boyfriend Blake Fielder-Civil after a whirlwind one-month romance - just weeks after splitting from longterm ex, Alex Claire.

Actor Jeff Goldblum wasn’t worried when he encountered immigration problems entering Israel, because he knew he could call on the country’s consul general to give him a helping hand.

The Independence Day star encountered trouble when he was told there was a problem with his passport, meaning he wouldn’t be able to travel from America to Israel.

But after making a few calls, Goldblum was joined by the consul general himself in less than 10 minutes.

Actor Michael Brandon will make a TV comeback in popular British police drama Dempsey And Makepeace.

New York-born Brandon, who played Lieutenant James Dempsey in the Eighties show, will appear alongside wife and co-star Glynis Barber in a revival of the series, which ended in 1986.

He says: “We’ve got a script now and it’s going to be happening very soon. We’re very excited about it.”

Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg are going back to war as the producers of a new US cable TV mini-series about the World War Two battles between America and Japan.

The movie star pals, who joined forces for Saving Private Ryan and acclaimed mini-series Band of Brothers, will revisit the Second World War again in The Pacific.

Star Wars actress Carrie Fisher and movie moguls Garry Marshall and Brett Ratner will serve as judges on Steven Spielberg’s new reality TV contest On The Lot.

The trio will join director Jon Avnet as the four people responsible for dismissing wannabe filmmakers who fail to impress on the upcoming show.

The much-anticipated new show will debut in America next month, when 50 hopefuls pitch their projects to the judges, who will then narrow the competition down to 18 wannabes.

Composer Marc Shaiman has claimed the Henry Mancini Award in recognition of his outstanding achievements and contributions to the music of film and television at the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers Film and Television Music Awards.

Rob Reiner and Billy Crystal presented the award to Shaiman, while other famous pals like Robin Williams, John Travolta and Queen Latifah recorded video tributes.

Hollywood actor Zach Braff is the latest big name to pull out of upcoming Fletchl, Fletch Won, after being offered the chance to develop his own movie.

The Garden State star joins celebrated director Kevin Smith, who also walked away from the project.

Sequel director Bill Lawrence, who also oversees filming on Braff’s hit sitcom Scrubs, says: “Zach is writing and directing his own film at Paramount. I’m very happy for him. We were looking forward to doing this thing together, but when you get an opportunity like that, you’ve got to take it.”

British singer Marianne Faithfull fears she will be a “penniless pensioner” and is desperately trying to save cash to fund her retirement.

The former girlfriend of rocker Mick Jagger hopes money from her upcoming European tour, Songs of the Innocence and Experience, will enable her to live in comfort.

Veteran comedy writers Laurence Marks and Maurice Gran have teamed up with Asian comedian Sanjeev Bhaskar to write Mumbai Calling, a sitcom set in an Indian call centre.

The Jewish duo are best known for such hits as Birds Of a Feather and Shine On Harvey Moon.

The sitcom, which will have a pilot show made in India and the UK, will be shown later this year on ITV1.

Actor Shia LaBeouf is worried he’ll forever be associated with ruining the Indiana Jones franchise if the upcoming sequel is a critical or commercial failure.

The 20-year-old has been cast as star Harrison Ford’s “sidekick” in the Steven Spielberg/George Lucas movie - and he’s worried the film won’t live up to expectations.

Superstar Barbra Streisand is considering a return to European stage after over a decade of absence.

The Way We Where singer and Yentl actress has rarely performed since her 1998 marriage to actor James Brolin, but staged a long-awaited comeback to the US stage last year.

Michael Douglas is set to play a real-life attorney who tackled the Ford motor company on behalf of a crippled Texas mother.

The movie star will play Tab Turner in upcoming courthouse drama Tragic Indifference.

Turner took on the bosses of the motor giants in 2000 after Texas housewife Donna Bailey was left paralysed in a car accident.

Bailey’s Ford Explorer flipped over in the crash. Her attorney helped win her a huge settlement from Ford.

Hollywood star Zach Braff has decided to fulfil his longterm ambition to own a Harley Davidson motorbike - but is terrified his mother will make him take it back.

The 32-year-old Scrubs star is taking riding lessons in a bid to master the superbike.

But Braff also admitted he was worried his folks would order him to take the powerful two-wheeler back.

Veteran comedienne Joan Rivers is running the New York Marathon for the first time later this year - at the age of 74.

Rivers, who turns 74 in June, is determined to finish at least half the 26 mile race, which takes place on 4 November.

When asked if she will complete the course on US TV show The View, Rivers said: “Who knows? I’m running four miles up in the country… I’m going to make it at least halfway, damn it.”