Actresses Catherine Deneuve and Laura Linney are to be honored at next month's Los Angeles Film Festival. The pair were chosen because they "embody the raw promise of a fine performance", according to festival director Christian Gaines.

*Courteney Cox has heard so many media lies about her marriage to David Arquette, she has become invincible against any press falsehoods. The couple wed in 1999 after meeting on the set of horror film Scream in 1996, and are still happily married, despite tabloid reports to the contrary.

Kirsten Dunst has signed a deal to step behind the camera and direct her first movie. The star will make a short film based on a ghost story sent to a women's magazine by a reader.

Happy Birthday to Jerry Maguire kid Jonathan Lipnicki (1990), Hanson drummer Zachary Hanson (1985), Seattle Mariners outfielder Ichiro Suzuki (1973), reggae singer Shaggy (1968), folksinger John Wesley Harding (1965), actor Jeff Goldblum (1952), French actress Catherine Deneuve (1943), Mickey Mouse Club alum Annette Funicello (1942), prolific actor Christopher Lloyd (1938), psychedelic psychologist/author Timothy Leary (1920; d. 1996), Alfred Hitchcock film actress Joan Fontaine (1917), baseball hall-of-famer Jimmie Foxx (1907; d. 1967), one third of The Three Stooges, Curly Howard (1903; d. 1952), and Hungarian pianist and composer Franz Liszt (1811; d. 1886).

Helen Mirren and Ben Affleck have taken the acting honors at this year's Venice Film Festival in Italy. Mirren was named Best Actress for her performance as British monarch Queen Elizabeth II in "The Queen," while Affleck was a surprise win as Best Actor for his part as 1950s TV Superman actor George Reeves in Hollywoodland.

* Clerks II director Kevin Smith will fill in for recovering film critic Roger Ebert on his movie review TV show, "Ebert And Roeper," next week. Ebert is recovering from complications he suffered during cancer surgery in June.

British starlet Keira Knightley is the new face of Chanel's Coco Mademoiselle fragrance. The beauty succeeds Nicole Kidman, Kate Moss and Vanessa Paradis in fronting an advertising campaign for a Chanel perfume.

Teri Hatcher broke down in tears during a press conference yesterday as she spoke about her painful memories of being a child sex abuse victim. The star was talking at an event in Beverly Hills, Calif., to announce the Women's World Awards, which honor female achievements. She won the ceremony's World Actress Award last year.

The spanking scene from the movie Secretary has been named the "Sexiest Moment on Film" by a new survey. DVD company Lovefilm conducted the poll, which gave the top honor to the scene in the movie where Lee, played by Maggie Gyllenhaal, is spanked by her boss, played by James Spader. Gyllenhaal narrowly managed to beat her brother Jake, who claimed number two spot for his kiss with co-star Heath Ledger in Brokeback Mountain.

"If anyone invents a ray gun which, when used, undoes every face job in Beverly Hills, well, I want to be around when whoever it is pulls the trigger." Cameron Diaz isn't a fan of plastic surgery. "Sex was never any good for me for anything other than having children and keeping the gardeners happy." Comedienne Roseanne Barr talks about her special employee bonus plan.