Natalie Portman signs on for comedy "Your Highness"

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Natalie Portman is joining Danny McBride and James Franco in the fantasy comedy "Your Highness."

Written by Ben Best and McBride, the Universal Pictures project centers on an arrogant, lazy prince (McBride) who must complete a quest to save his father's kingdom. Joining him on the quest is McBride's more heroic brother, played by Franco.

Portman will play McBride's love interest, a warrior princess.

Director David Gordon Green ("Pineapple Express," "All the Real Girls") is shooting the film this summer in Northern Ireland.

Portman is working on "Hesher," an indie drama that marks her inauguration as a producer. She next stars with Jake Gyllenhaal and Tobey Maguire in the drama "Brothers," a remake of Susanne Bier's Danish film.

Spielberg's 2011 Christmas Present to Fans: Tintin

Los Angeles (E! Online) – Belgium's intrepid cub reporter will be breaking his first big-screen story in time for Christmas 2011. Paramount Pictures and Sony Pictures Entertainment have announced that Steven Spielberg's big-budget gamble The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn will hit theaters Dec. 23, 2011.

The two studios are coproducing the 3-D motion-capture event film, the first in a pair the E.T. director is doing with Lord of the Rings master Peter Jackson (who will helm the sequel). But in an unusual move, Paramount and Sony plan to roll out Tintin internationally up to two months before the U.S. release.

The strategy is the reverse of Hollywood's normal distribution pattern, but makes sense since it enables the partnering companies to capitalize on the comic book character's popularity abroad and build buzz, since Tintin is not well known stateside.

The film, which Spielberg started shooting in January, stars Jamie Bell as the titular hero and Daniel Craig as the despicable pirate Red Rackham. Andy Serkis, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Toby Jones also star.

Tintin will face some family-friend competition during the 2011 holiday season, with Warner Bros. set to release Happy Feet 2 and Disney/Pixar unleashing The Bear and the Bow.

Nia Vardalos back in spotlight

LOS ANGELES (AFP) – Seven years after being catapulted to fame and fortune with her hit comedy "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", Nia Vardalos makes a long-awaited return to the big screen this month with another film that takes the Canadian-born actress back to her ancestral roots.

Vardalos, 46, became an overnight success in 2002, when the romantic comedy she wrote and starred in went on to become a monster hit, earning more than 350 million dollars worldwide after being made for only five million dollars.

The success of the film -- which also earned Vardalos a best original screenplay nomination at the Oscars -- allowed Vardalos to take her time deciding her next career move.

Although she starred in a short-lived television spin-off of "Greek Wedding", Vardalos has been largely inactive since 2002 preferring to focus on starting a family before relaunching her career with "My Life in Ruins."

Her new film, which goes on release in North America on June 5, sees her play a Greek-American history professor who returns to Greece to work as a tour guide in Athens.

Vardalos said the script for the film, which includes several scenes shot at the Acropolis and other historic sites, had fired her enthusiasm after years out of the spotlight as she attempted to start a family.

"When we got the permission to shoot this film, it was so exciting and it was the first that I had found something where I wanted to be on camera in for a long time," she told reporters in Beverly Hills.

"In 2004, I had come to the end of a 10-year infertility battle and I just chose to privately deal with it, so I stepped back out of acting," said Vardalos, who recently adopted a three-year-old girl with her husband.

"I was really happy to be offered a nice clean script that celebrates Greece and is a love letter to Greece," she adds.

Vardalos says that despite the commercial success of "My Big Fat Greek Wedding", her business relationships with her producers, who include actor Tom Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson, have not changed.

"The good news is that you strive for what happened with my first movie for your whole life," Vardalos said. "And so it happened and its like, 'oh that's over, the rest is gravy.'

"The greater news is that my producers are the same producers. They treated me like gold before 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' made a dime. And they don't expect anything from me, except let's have fun and let's tell fun stories."

Vardalos, who did not write "My Life In Ruins," continues to pen screenplays.

But she says she has resisted the temptation to try and regurgitate the formula from "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" in an attempt to score another commercial bullseye.

"I write little movies and then the rest is up to the audience," she said. "It's the audience that made 'My Big Fat Greek Wedding' a success.

"I think if you create with a financial goal in mind, artistically you are dead. Its best to tell fun stories and let the audience decide."

However Vardalos makes no apologies for the fact that "My Life In Ruins" and another upcoming film "I Hate Valentine's Day," which she wrote, directed and stars in, are both romantic comedies, like "Greek Wedding."

"I think that reviewers and the industry think that romance is dead," Vardalos said. "I think the audience wants it and needs it. I know I do.

"As I keep saying, as the average person, I like to escape into a movie. I like movies like 'Terminator' and 'Star Trek' as well."

Prince Harry plays polo on 1st official trip to US

NEW YORK – Prince Harry reminded New Yorkers on Saturday how much his mother had loved their city, then climbed onto a pony for a rousing game of polo to raise money for impoverished children in Africa.

On a brilliantly sunny day on Governors Island in New York Harbor, the 24-year-old prince drew a crowd that included stars like Madonna, actresses Kate Hudson and Chloe Sevigny, and rapper LL Cool J, but also lots of ordinary New Yorkers out for a rare sight: a polo game in the city.

"You see this out in the Hamptons, but not so much in the city," said Vincent Hodgins of Manhattan, who brought his two sons to watch the prince play.

The Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Polo Classic was a fundraiser for Sentebale, the charity that Harry has set up with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho to help poor children and AIDS orphans in that small African nation surrounded by South Africa.

"Prince Seeiso and I both lost our mothers when we were very young," Harry said in brief remarks before the match. "We set up Sentebale in their memory, and because my mother loved this city, it makes this occasion all the more poignant for me."

His team, named after the charity, proceeded to defeat the opposing Black Watch team 6-5. Harry assisted on the winning goal in the last seconds, drawing the biggest cheer of the afternoon. Both teams included prominent polo stars like Argentine Nacho Figueras, also a Ralph Lauren model, who played for Black Watch.

It was the second and final day of Harry's first official visit to the United States, which began with a sober visit Friday to the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attack. On Saturday morning, the prince toured Harlem's Children Zone, a community organization that offers families social and educational services. He and Prince Seeiso chatted with students working preparing for a Regents Exam.

"Who's the best pupil?" Harry asked the ninth-graders. "I was always the worst!"

Harry, the son of Prince Charles and Princess Diana, is third in line to the British throne, after his father and older brother, William. He's been dubbed the "party prince," and his New York trip seemed designed partly to counter that image with a focus on his charity work.

"I won't bore you with statistics, but please believe me when I say that Lesotho is a mere microcosm of what is so wonderful, but also so tragic about Africa today," he said before the match, reading from notes. "This beautiful kingdom has been ravaged by HIV/AIDS and poverty, leaving thousands of children without their parents."

The event was free to the public, but guests in the VIP tent on the opposite side of the field had paid from $50,000 a table down to $500 a head to picnic on the lawn. In true polo-watching fashion, there were more hats than at an Easter parade; for the women, they were topped by flowers, feathers and even butterflies climbing up a wire trellis.

Harry, though, was casual before the match in a navy blue blazer, open-collared shirt and white jeans, and loafers. And Madonna, accompanied by her sons, Rocco and David, was positively dressed down: She wore jeans and a denim jacket as she chatted with designer Marc Jacobs.

In the bleachers, Mike Hallman, visiting the city from North Carolina enjoyed the match with his family. "My kids have never seen polo before," he said. Added his 9-year-old son, Jason: "It's pretty exciting. I have never seen a prince."

Another spectator who'd never seen a polo match was LL Cool J.

"Hopefully, it'll be quite good," Harry told the singer during the reception.

"Are you going to win?" LL Cool J asked. "Mmmm. I don't know. Hopefully it's fixed," joked Harry.

The prince also said his visit had been "wonderful."

"It's been a whirlwind," he told The Associated Press. "I haven't had a chance to let the jet lag set in, and it's time to go already."

But his trip wasn't over after the match: Leaving Governors Island, the prince took a Coast Guard cutter up the Hudson River for an unannounced visit to the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum on Manhattan's west side.

He inspected the World War II aircraft carrier and checked out the cockpit of a retired British Airways Concorde jet. Museum president Bill White said the staff presented the prince with a section of the 1943 carrier's original wooden flight deck. Also present was a British Marine commando, Joe Townsend, who lost both legs while on duty in Afghanistan.

The prince's visit began Friday morning with a prayerful stop at ground zero. There, he spent about 15 minutes quietly speaking to a half-dozen relatives of 9/11 victims.

Harry then attached a wreath to a chain-link fence overlooking the Sept. 11 memorial under construction, bowing his head in silence for a few minutes. He also visited the firehouse across the street that houses Engine 10 and Ladder 10, which lost five members on Sept. 11, talking and laughing with firefighters there.

Later Friday, Harry formally named the British Memorial Garden in Hanover Square downtown to honor the 67 British victims of the terrorist attack. He also visited Manhattan's Veterans Affairs Medical Center, touring a clinic that treats veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and the prosthetics facilities.

How Can Angelina Jolie Be Pregnant Every Week?

Los Angeles (E! Online) – How can mags get away with proclaiming Angie and Brad preggers and in love one week, breaking up the next, ready to adopt the week after? Are they really that volatile? Do mags just make s--t up?

—Carly, via Facebook

We're talking about a pair of bazillionaire mega-movie stars. Why wouldn't Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt be at least partially as volatile as the headlines claim? Sure, mags are responsible for their own drama-queen headlines. But in general, when it comes to this couple, I am told that the crazy Brangie reports are at least believed to be true by the people who gather and write them.

Still, let's dig a little deeper and take a look at a few of the rumors you mention, starting with the constant whisperings of pregnancy...

Of course many mags have just gotten this story wrong at one point or another; Angie has birthed one single baby and one set of twins, despite rumors of her being pregnant every second of every day. In fact, according to Star, Angelina is carrying a fourth messiah child right this very millisecond. This could be true or not—I really can't say I care.

But remember, reporters rely on sources, some of whom are more connected than others. When there's a very clear-cut story about a pregnancy, there's usually a source, or someone, who heard something that led someone to believe that Angie was preggers.

"There are a lot of reasons why someone could report a pregnancy," says CoverAwards founder and former Life & Style editor Mark Pasetsky. "They could have someone tell them they are pregnant, or just trying to get pregnant."

Many magazines say one thing on their covers and report something quite different on the inside.

A headline may scream something like the oh-so-fresh phrase "baby joy," but inside, the copy is all about some couple just talking about a baby. Remember that candy-colored headline from OK! magazine proclaiming Shiloh and Suri to be "best friends"? That was based on a report of some vague conversation between the parents about maybe arranging a play date.

Read the whole story—if you can stand it—and not just the cover.

But the most important point to remember here is that some celebrity couples really are that dramatic. Would you really be all that shocked if Brangelina were one of them?

Kiefer Sutherland, designer resolve issues

NEW YORK – Kiefer Sutherland and the fashion designer he's accused of head-butting at a Manhattan night club said Friday they resolved their differences, clearing the way for the charges to be dropped. Sutherland and Jack McCollough issued a brief joint statement Friday to The Associated Press through Sutherland's attorney.

"I am sorry about what happened that night and sincerely regret that Mr. McCollough was injured," Sutherland said in the statement.

The star of Fox television's "24" was charged May 7 with third-degree assault in the alleged incident two weeks ago at a nightclub at the Mercer Hotel in the trendy SoHo neighborhood of Manhattan. The minor charge is comparable to a speeding ticket.

A spokeswoman for the Manhattan District Attorney's office declined to comment on whether the charges would be dismissed.

But now that Sutherland and McCollough say they have resolved their differences, a prosecutor may go before a judge and ask that the case be dropped. That could happen at Sutherland's next scheduled court appearance on June 22.

"I appreciate Mr. Sutherland's statement and wish him well," McCollough said in the statement.

McCollough, of the high-end Proenza Schouler fashion house, said Sutherland head-butted him and broke his nose after an argument. The two were out following the gala at the Costume Institute of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, a fancy affair studded with celebrities.

The story spurred a media frenzy as a swarm of reporters gathered outside the 1st Precinct in Manhattan to watch as Sutherland arrived for questioning and was charged. Photographers also shadowed Sutherland and McCollough while rumors swirled about the nature of their altercation and what role, if any, actress Brooke Shields might have played.

Sutherland, who has won a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his portrayal of dashing federal counterterrorism agent Jack Bauer on "24," pleaded no contest in October 2007 to driving with a blood-alcohol level above the legal limit of 0.08 percent.

He served 30 days in jail, in addition to 18 days for violating probation in a 2004 drunken-driving arrest.

Brazil fashion show to push for racial inclusion

SAO PAULO – Organizers of Sao Paulo Fashion Week have promised to take steps to try to make sure that at least 10 percent of the models walking the runways will be blacks or Indians.

State prosecutors say they struck a deal with the event's organizers calling for proof that they will attempt to convince designers taking part to promote racial inclusion.

Noncompliance by organizers could result in a fine of as much as 250,000 reals ($125,000) in a nation where nearly 50 percent of the population is black and there is a large Indian minority.

Prosecutor Deborah Kelly Affonso said the deal announced Thursday with Luminosidade Marketing & Producoes followed a state investigation. It stemmed from complaints the event recently had fewer black models.