Sharon Stone is back in trouble with animal rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), after revelations she forced filmmakers to mutilate a spider.

A teenage Irish actress was today catapulted into Oscar contention after she landed a coveted acting nomination in the Hollywood Golden Globe Awards.

American actor Karl Malden, who won an Oscar for his performance in the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire, has earned another honour for his portrayals in westerns.

Rod Steiger, the beefy, intense actor who won the Oscar as best actor of 1967 for his role as the unrelenting Southern police chief in In the Heat of the Night, died today. He was 78.