Warner Bros chairman and chief executive Kevin Tsujihara has confirmed the rumours that Ben Affleck will direct a stand-alone Batman movie. The actor portrayed the caped crusader Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice, which is still in cinemas, and was thought to be the studio's top choice to helm a solo Batman movie. Tsujihara confirmed on Tuesday at CinemaCon, an annual gathering of theatre owners in Las Vegas, that they were moving forward with him in the director's seat. The Batman feature is part of ambitious plans by Warner Bros for an expanded DC Comics cinematic universe, similar to that built by Disney and Marvel. Warner Bros has at least 10 films in the works, including Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman and two Justice League movies. Not surprisingly, those films occupied a major portion of the Warner Bros presentation, signalling that the studio is moving forward despite some reports that Batman v Superman had not performed quite as well at the box office as the studio would have liked. – AP
Chopra slams ex-manager’s suicide claims
Following the suicide of Indian TV actress Pratyusha Banerjee on April 1, Priyanka Chopra's former manager, Prakash Jaju, made some shocking claims, saying that during her early days in Bollywood the actress tried to kill herself at least three times. Reacting to the rumours, Chopra, 33, told Press Trust of India: "This is utter… First of all, it's so sad that Indian media has given credibility to the man, who was in jail because of harassing me, without checking the history who the person is. So, I have nothing to say because there is no credibility to this person." Jaju, who managed Chopra between 2000 and 2004, served 67 days in jail after Chopra's father filed a complaint against him for harassing his daughter. Meanwhile, Chopra says she is unsure whether she will be able to take up the invitation to attend the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. "Right now I am too busy with [US TV show] Quantico and [upcoming movie] Baywatch. That's why I am not sure if I will dine out with Obama. Not that I don't want to, but I am not sure," she said at an event in New Delhi where she was awarded the Padma Shri for her contribution to Indian cinema. She received India's fourth-highest civilian honour from President Pranab Mukherjee. She said it was "the best award I have ever received". – Sonali Kokra, — AP
Will.i.am films video at Louvre
Singer will.i.am revealed to the world the results of his most unlikely collaboration yet after he was allowed to spend an "awesome" night inside the Louvre museum. The Black Eyed Peas frontman shot a video for his song Smile Mona Lisa in the Paris landmark as a tribute to his hero, Leonardo da Vinci, and found the place "so cool" he decided to make a documentary about it. In the music clip, will.i.am appears in some of the museum's greatest masterpieces, including as a gun-toting revolutionary in Delacroix's Liberty Leading the People, while singer Nicole Scherzinger slips into the clothes of the enigmatic Mona Lisa. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is scheduled to open in the capital this year. – AFP
Reality-TV star David Gest dies in London hotel
David Gest, a music producer, reality TV star and the former husband of Liza Minnelli, was found dead on Tuesday at a hotel in London. He was 62. His friend, Imad Handi, confirmed his death. "David was truly larger than life. He was not just a huge talent and a dear friend but a showbiz icon," Handi said. The Metropolitan Police said officers were called to "reports of an unexplained death of a man in his 60s" at the Four Seasons Hotel in London's Canary Wharf on Tuesday morning. They said that a post-mortem would be carried out to determine the cause of death, but it was not being treated as suspicious. Born in 1953, Gest was raised in southern California, where he befriended Michael Jackson and his family. He worked as a music promoter and TV producer, and was introduced to Minnelli by Jackson when Gest produced the King of Pop's 30th anniversary tribute concert for television in 2001. The couple married in 2002, with Jackson as best man and Elizabeth Taylor as maid of honour. They separated in 2003. – AP