Avril Lavigne is hooked on acting after appearing in two movies last year, and is now looking for serious big screen roles. The singer loaned her voice to an animated character in Over The Hedge and made a brief appearance in Fast Food Nation, and she confesses she has an appetite for more.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Wilmer Valderrama and the producers of American Idol are getting into business together. The actor, who starred in Fox's That '70s Show and has branched into production (MTV's ''Yo Momma'') and movie roles (Fast Food Nation), will develop and possibly star in series projects for FremantleMedia North America.

Master of disguise Sacha Baron Cohen hits the road to explore America as the crude Kazakstani reporter Borat in feature mockumentary Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan that brings one of the Da Ali G Show star's most popular characters to life on the big screen. Also on DVD: Let's Go To Prison and Fast Food Nation.

Aspiring actress Avril Lavigne has conceded launching a Hollywood career is harder than she anticipated. The 22-year-old took a break from music last year to concentrate on movies, but only signed to two projects - animated film Over The Hedge and ensemble piece Fast Food Nation - because she was left unimpressed by the majority of scripts she read.

Wilmer Valderrama found it difficult playing an illegal immigrant in new movie Fast Food Nation because it reminded him of his own youth. The actor, who is of Colombian and Venezuelan descent, sees no problem with immigration, particularly as the American population is a melting pot of people from all over the world.

Acclaimed film director John Singleton, actor Michael Pena of World Trade Center, Wilmer Valderrama, of Fast Food Nation, and singer/songwriter Fanny Lu will be the featured guests at the Tenth Annual "Noche de Gala" dinner benefiting the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts (NHFA) in Washington, D.C., on October 3.