BBC - Films - High Noon - 22nd December 2003

		Rings Kerchings! It's official! The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King has made a shedload of money since opening worldwide on 17th December. The final part of the JRR Tolkien trilogy amassed $246.1 million in five days, with $125.1 million of that coming from the American market. King took $26 million in the UK in its first four days - 25% up on The Two Towers' opening in 2002. The King's performance put the Queen of Hollywood in the shade: Julia Roberts suffered a rare box office misfire with Mona Lisa Smile. The 50s-set girl power pic grossed a miserly $12 million - which won't even cover Ms Roberts' salary. Poor reviews and rumours about behind-the-scenes power plays have given the movie anti-buzz. Guess we now know why the smile looks so pained.

		The Matrix Reviled The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions have failed to make the shortlist for next year's best visual effects Oscar. In what's an embarrassing snub to the FX-heavy sci-fiers, the Wachowski brothers' pics have been snubbed in favour of the following: Hulk The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King Master And Commander: The Far Side Of The World Peter Pan Pirates Of The Caribbean: The Curse Of The Black Pearl Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines X-Men 2 Three films will be nominated for the Oscar, with noms announced on 27th January 2004.

		The Vinyl Solution Scary Movie's Anna Faris and Dude, Where's My Car? star Marla Sokooff will join Jena Malone and Thora Birch in Vinyl, a movie about women involved with a rock band who are on the verge of being discovered. Vinyl is written and directed by Richard Zelniker, with shooting set to start in LA in February. Anna Faris can be seen before that in Lost In Translation, playing a loud-mouthed airhead actress (rumoured to be based on Cameron Diaz, although Faris herself has denied these allegations). She'll also be doing pratfalls for Scary Movie 3, opening here on 23rd January.

		Farrell Denies "Harassing" Jolie Self-styled Hollywood hellraiser Colin Farrell is set to take action against reports alleging he was a nightmare on the set of Oliver Stone's Alexander. The stories described Farrell as drinking as many as 45 beers in one night, and "harassing" his co-star, Angelina Jolie. The reports attributed the stories to Farrell's "personal guide", who suggested the actor "was clearly unhinged" and needed "psychiatric help". Speaking to New York gossip columnist Liz Smith, Farrell attempted to set the record straight. "Look, I accept a lot of what is said and written about me," he noted, "this is the job, this is the contract I signed, and certainly, I've helped the image along at times. But this latest is such an invasion, such a defamation of me as a human being and so incorrect. I wasn't even staying in the hotel where they have me banging on Angelina's door. "Anyway, this is not just about me anymore. I have a child, a son, and I have to take responsibility for what is true in my life and what is not true," Farrell said soberly (and there's a sentence we've never written before). "And so I intend to take legal action against those who invented this stuff. Steps are being taken right now." Farrell then proceeded to down 17 pints of Guinness and bed the female contestants on Pop Idol. (Only joking, Mr Farrell's legal team.)