US chat show host Ellen DeGeneres narrowly escaped serious injury in a three-car pile-up in Los Angeles yesterday . The Emmy-winning star escaped with just aches and pains when a female driver crashed into the back of a car which then collided with DeGeneres' Porsche while she was waiting at traffic lights on Sunset Boulevard. Sergeant Ken Buscarino of the LA police says, "Ms. DeGeneres had a little neck and back pain, but it doesn't look like anything serious." A 52-year-old woman was arrested on suspicion of drink driving.

Disgraced Hollywood star Mel Gibson has finally said sorry to the three police officers he insulted when arrested for drunk-driving two months ago. The Passion of the Christ actor sent a female officer a $500 bouquet with a note expressing "sincere apologies" and has invited her and her male colleague, James Mee, to the premiere of his new movie, Apocalypto. Gibson launched a blistering volley of abuse against the woman when escorted to his cell, calling her "sugartits", and subjected Mee, who is Jewish, to an anti-Semitic tirade when pulled over in his vehicle. A colleague of the unnamed female officer says, "Mel has sent her the biggest bunch of flowers she's ever seen with a note. She was quite touched and I'm sure that the two arresting officers will take him up on his invitation."

Desperate Housewives producers have launched an investigation in an effort to find out how a sex scene from the upcoming season of the show were leaked onto Internet site YouTube.com. Executives insist the provocative scene, featuring Marcia Cross and Kyle Maclachlan, was not an official leak. It's the first time rough footage from an in-production TV series has appeared on the popular YouTube.com site. A spokesman for ABC, the network behind the show, tells industry trade paper Daily Variety, "We are looking into the unauthorized clips of 'Desperate Housewives' on YouTube, and will be having them taken down."

Tom Cruise has apologized to Brooke Shields for criticizing her use of anti-depressant medication when she was diagnosed with post-partum depression following the birth of her first child. The Mission: Impossible actor and Shields became embroiled in a war of words last year when Scientologist Cruise accused the Suddenly Susan actress of failing to understand psychiatry. Following Cruise's comments, Shields hit back calling them a "ridiculous rant" and a "disservice to mothers everywhere". But Shields told Jay Leno on his Tonight Show on Friday that Cruise came to her house recently in an attempt to heal their relationship. She said, "He came over to my house and gave me a heartfelt apology. I was so impressed with how heartfelt he was. "I did not feel that he was trying to convince me of anything other than the fact that he was deeply sorry. And I accepted it." Cruise's lucrative contract with Paramount was reportedly cancelled last month because of the comments he made about Shields. Cruise's spokesperson Arnold Robinson says, "It is true that his friendship with Ms. Shields has been mended. "(But) he has not changed his position about anti-depressants, which as evidenced by the black label warnings issued by the FDA on these types of drugs, are unhealthy."

Sean Penn was the first choice to play Batman's biggest foe, The Joker, in the Batman Begins sequel, according to internet reports. Top Batman fansite Batman-on-Film.com reports Penn was offered the role ahead of Heath Ledger, who will play the villain in The Dark Knight - but he turned the part down. Penn's good friend Jack Nicholson played The Joker in the first 1989 Batman movie.

Veteran actress Dame Helen Mirren was bowled over by her reception at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday when she stumbled at a photocall for new movie The Queen. The 61-year-old star was honored with a five-minute ovation from critics for her portrayal of British monarch Queen Elizabeth II in the days following the death of Princess Diana in 1997. However, the unexpected accolade clearly overwhelmed the actress as she tripped up at a photocall for the movie, joking she'd fallen, "A**e over tit". Still visibly shaken at the premiere later, Mirren dropped her sparkly clutch purse on the red carpet.

Kim Basinger is being hauled back into court to face possible charges of contempt for allegedly violating ex-husband Alec Baldwin's visitation rights. The actress is accused by Baldwin of withholding vital information about their daughter, Ireland, including periods she could have stayed with her dad while Basinger was working out of town. He also claims on one occasion Basinger refused to tell him that their daughter was injured and required medical attention. On Friday Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert A. Schnider ordered the Academy Award-winning actress to appear in court next month to defend herself. Basinger's attorney Neal Hersh says, "This is nothing more than harassment. Theses allegations are specious and Kim looks forward to her vindication." The couple split in 2002 and have been locked in a bitter custody dispute ever since.

British movie-maker Robin Hardy is so upset about the remake of his cult film The Wicker Man, he has hired a legal team to make sure he isn't inaccurately connected to the new film. Hardy, who also appeared in the creepy 1972 film, insisted an internet writing credit was removed - because he doesn't want fans of the original film to think he was in any way a part of the Neil LaBute remake. And LaBute admits he didn't expect his new film to create such a negative fuss - as fans of the original hit the internet to blast the very idea of the remake. The film-maker upset fans by relocating the setting of the film from the Scottish Highlands to America and changing the sex of the film's chief villain from Christopher Lee to Ellen Burstyn. He says, "I understand how people are very territorial about what they like and I understand how the original actors and director can think, 'God, how can they touch us.' "But it's not something that I want people to judge whether they like one better than the other."

Harry Potter fans are horrified after learning the boy wizard will not play the game of Quidditch in the latest movie. Upcoming installment Order of The Phoenix omits the Quidditch - where pupils at Potter's Hogwarts school try to catch a winged ball - sequence contained in author JK Rowling's book. Film producers decided to axe the sequence due to time constraints. A studio spokesman tells British newspaper The Sun, "It would be wonderful to include every single page of the book. But as with Harry Potter films, elements have had to be omitted." However, the decision has left fans angry. On a Potter website, one disillusioned follower writes, "This makes me mad. I loved that part in the book and Quidditch plays a pretty big part."

Brad Pitt is putting his passion for architecture to good use in hurricane-ravaged New Orleans, Louisiana - he's the big name behind a new project to build affordable, green housing in the city. The movie star has sponsored a Global Green competition to find forward-thinking architects who can help rebuild New Orleans - and he was in Louisiana on Thursday to announce the winner, New York firm Workshop/APD. Pitt used the design competition's conclusion to make his own feelings known about the US government's reaction to the Hurricane Katrina devastation. In an exclusive interview this morning with breakfast news show Today, Pitt said, "The first responsibility is helping those that are most vulnerable and we failed, we failed miserably, and, to some extent, we're still failing. "We're a country of great ingenuity and the fact that we can't get in there and clean up this quagmire is ridiculous and it's shameful." Pitt's new Global Green initiative will create communities of low-income, stylish housing which makes the most of natural resources to cut bills by as much as 65 per cent. The movie star explains, "I love that it can be replicated and not in a cookie-cutter style. At the same time, where it really wins is, if done properly, we can completely get rid of the idea of an energy bill. "You can cut your energy bill down 65% just by the way you position your house, the way you structure it for airflow and ventilation and shielding from the sun." Pitt hopes American leaders embrace the new Global Green design initiative - and start supporting similar projects throughout the country. He adds, "We're still the most powerful nation in the world. Beyond policing the world we could be inspiring the world. We could be at the forefront of this kind of movement."