New film role for Winona

Actress Winona Ryder has landed her first movie role since being convicted of shoplifting from a posh store.

US trade newspaper Variety today reports that the 31-year-old Oscar-nominated actress will appear in comedy Eulogy with Ray Romano, star of US television show Everybody Loves Raymond.

Directed by Michael Clancy, who also wrote the script, Eulogy is a black comedy about three generations of a dysfunctional family who come together for the funeral of the family patriarch.

During the gathering, a host of family secrets and hidden relationships are discovered.

The movie also stars Debra Winger, Hank Azaria, Monica Potter and Rip Torn and filming begins next month.

Ryder, whose last film was the comedy Mr Deeds opposite Adam Sandler, has been carrying out community service in Los Angeles since being found guilty of shoplifting last year.

She was also placed on three years probation and fined after being convicted of stealing designer clothes and accessories from exclusive store Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills during a 2001 pre-Christmas shopping spree.