Who's in

An extra Potter at the movies

Harry Potter was the center of seven novels, but he'll star in eight films. The final book in the wildly successful series will be made into two films, the Los Angeles Times reported on Wednesday.

Producers were expected to announce yesterday that J.K. Rowling's (pictured) last Potter installment, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, will be split into two parts on the big screen. The first film is slated for release in November 2010, with part two following in May 2011.

"It was born out of purely creative reasons," producer David Heyman told the Times. "Unlike every other book, you cannot remove elements of this book."

Filming began in September on the sixth Potter flick, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.

"It's been brilliant," said star Daniel Radcliffe. "It's also, I think, the funniest of the films so far."

The Potter film franchise has pulled in $4.5 billion at the worldwide box office.

Embattled Britney Spears turns hero

Pop star Britney Spears released a music video on Wednesday that features the troubled singer as an animated superhero in a futuristic world.

The music video premiered on Wednesday on dedicated website (www.BlackoutBall.com) and accompanies her latest single Break The Ice - the third from her 2007 album Blackout.

The release of the video, along with an upcoming acting role on US television comedy How I Met Your Mother, marks something of a comeback for Spears, 26, whose career has been sidelined by psychiatric problems and months of bitter child custody battles.

Reese Witherspoon to play monster

Reese Witherspoon is to play a giant in a new animated battle movie.

The Oscar-winning actress will team up with Hugh Laurie, Seth Rogen and Kiefer Sutherland, among others, to voice quirky characters in Dreamworks' upcoming film Monsters vs Aliens.

Witherspoon's character, Susan Murphy, becomes a monster, dubbed Ginormia, after she's hit by a meteor from outer space.

She's captured by the US military and taken to a top-secret compound, where other "monsters" are kept. These include the insect-headed Dr Cockroach (Laurie) and half-ape/half-fish Missing Link (Will Arnett). Sutherland will voice the aptly named General W.R. Monger.

The monsters team up to attack invading aliens.

Agencies

(China Daily 03/14/2008 page18)