Fashion Wire Daily - It sweltered in Rome this week, yet the clothes on the runway of Alta Roma, the city's fashion season, were sturdy enough to withstand a gale force wind and classical enough to fit into a repeat of La Dolce Vita, set in the same date as the original.

Reuters - Actor Heath Ledger won rave reviews from Australian critics on Friday for his final performance as the Joker in the new Batman movie, fuelling speculation of a rare posthumous Oscar.

Reuters - In Hollywood, even "final offers" seem to get sequels. The Screen Actors Guild on Thursday delivered a counter-bid to the contract proposal major studios had presented the union last week as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, and the two sides spent a few hours discussing their positions before parting company again.

AP - Her parents are in the middle of a tawdry divorce, her brother is in jail and she's cut off contact with her mom because of her mother's teenage boyfriend. It would seem that with all the drama engulfing Brooke Hogan these days, the last place she'd want to be is in front of the cameras.

Reuters - In Hollywood, even "final offers" seem to get sequels. The Screen Actors Guild on Thursday delivered a counter-bid to the contract proposal major studios had presented the union last week as a take-it-or-leave-it proposition, and the two sides spent a few hours discussing their positions before parting company again.

AP - It's difficult to separate the movie from its mystique.

AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Screen Actors Guild rejected the latest contract offer from Hollywood studios on Thursday but claimed it was willing to negotiate and presented a counterproposal.

AP - "Captain America: The Chosen" (Marvel Comics. 168 Pages. $24.99), by David Morrell and Mitch Breitweiser: David Morrell has done something totally new: The best selling author of action thrillers has written a comic-book series. It all happened because a Marvel Comics editor suggested that Morrell, who created the famous character "Rambo" in his novel, "First Blood," would make a good pairing with another military icon, Captain America.

AP - LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Screen Actors Guild rejected the latest contract offer from Hollywood studios on Thursday but claimed it was willing to negotiate and presented a counterproposal.

Reuters - Australian two-time Oscar nominee Judy Davis on Friday won A$140,000 (67,000 pounds) plus costs in a defamation suit against local media company News Ltd, controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Reuters - It's tough being a rock star.

AP - Christie's auction house has sold John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to "Give Peace a Chance" for $833,654.