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Who's Rip Off Today Then?

Sarah Ferguson has topped the fastest movers list for the past hour. That's what going on holiday with the Queen and being sprayed in the face with a bottle of champagne does for you. Eagle-eyed traders have pounced on SARFER stock - she got 2170 column inches on Saturday. Seven celebs got more press coverage than she did, but at 1.80 with a potential dividend of 2.33 her yield is already over 100 per cent and her price has shot up by nearly 47 per cent in the last 24 hours. Tom Hanks is another fastest mover - that'll be the herd of nuns chasing him. He's notched up a few controversial inches surrounding his new film based on the Da Vinci Code. Certain religious groups are literally having 'nun' of it. Tom costs 2.85 and as yet has no potential dividend, but once today's inches are inputted that should all change. Simon Cowell is another fastest mover. His price has gone up 35.93 per cent in the last 24 hours leaving him a bit pricey at 9.24. He may be fairly quiet all year round, but put a tone deaf dork with a funky dance routine in front of him and he becomes a lean, mean, column-inch-generating-machine. The X Factor starts on Saturday and we can't wait (for the inches). One to avoid today is Prince Harry. He costs an absolute fortune at 1228.73 with a potential dividend of 1.29. Who on earth is buying him? And do you want to buy this piece of old rope we're selling, it's a bargain, honest.

Children cook up royal food treat

Photo: Charles and Camilla enjoyed the fruits of the students' labour.

The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall have sampled further organic delights as they visited an "edible school yard" near San Francisco. Camilla enjoyed a slice of pizza while Charles told children he was "thankful for all nature's gifts" as he ate some autumn harvest soup. All the food was made by children, who are taught how to grow and cook organic food at the garden in Berkeley. The US visit earlier took in a farmers' market in the Californian hills. Camilla, taking a mouthful of the pizza, made with potato, onion and rosemary from the garden, said: "I'm always eating." The prince warned her: "Don't darling - it's hot," noticing she had some food stuck on her lip. Inside the kitchen, the couple sat with children to enjoy the soup. The garden was dreamed up by one of America's best-known restaurateurs, Alice Waters. Her Chez Panisse Foundation, named after her own restaurant, transformed wasteland at the Martin Luther King Middle School into the one-acre garden 10 years ago.

Charles and Camilla

Photo: The prince wore a University of California tie.

Up to 350 children, between the ages of 12 and 14, now have weekly lessons on how to look after chickens and prepare their own food. Ms Waters, who accepted the idea that she was the US equivalent of Jamie Oliver, said she thought the royal visit would bring much-needed recognition to the project. "Everybody needs a prince," she added. Camilla, wearing a long blue coat, and Charles, wearing a University of California tie, were greeted with huge cheers as they arrived at the school. They were greeted by Ms Waters and Maria Shriver, wife of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. The royal couple shook hands with pupils. Frankie Whitty, 12, said Charles had asked her about her homework. "He asked me if I'd seen the new Harry Potter film," she said. "But it hasn't come out yet." The couple's tour of the US has so far included visits to Ground Zero in New York and to people affected by Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. In San Francisco they also toured the farmers' market before watching the popular Beach Blanket Babylon musical.

Theron: "I started changing her ways, focusing on her craft rather than her career."

Photo: Actress Charlize Theron smiles during a press conference for the movie North Country during the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Monster Oscar made Charlize Theron more than another pretty Hollywood face, but it took her a while to get there. Since her high-profile coming out party in 1996's 2 Days in The Valley, she had been involved in a series of movies that either bombed critically, or commercially, or both. But rather than worry about it, the 30-year-old Theron says she started changing her ways, focusing on her craft rather than her career. Her award-winning portrayal of the Monster serial killer was the beginning of that new vision.

And now there is North Country, a telling expose of sexual harassment and the precedent-setting Minnesota class action suit that resulted from it. Opening Oct. 21, the Niki Caro film features Theron as the divorced mother of two who initiates the suit after trying to survive unwanted advances at an iron mine near the small town where she lives. With that kind of ammunition, Theron and director Caro, of Whale Rider fame, decided against elaborate physical remodelling for the lead actress, although she did agree to gain 25 pounds, rounding out her model-thin five-foot-10-inch figure. Physically, they kept the movie simple. Emotionally, they tried to keep it subtle. But what was most unsettling? "The events took place not 40 years ago, but in 1989 and the case was settled in '95," says Theron, still shaking her head in disbelief. North Country is a difficult story to tell, but both Theron and Caro decided to hire a first-rate cast to tell the tale with lots of finesse. Most notably, they signed two other best actress Oscar winners: Sissy Spacek (Coal Miner's Daughter), who plays Theron's mother, and Frances McDormand (Fargo) who portrays Theron's best friend. Fact is, it's the first time three best actress Oscar winners have appeared in the same film. So North Country's Oscar potential must have figured into Theron's rationale for doing the film. "I don't really think that way," she says. "It would be selfish and self-centred to say I might have a chance ever again in my career." That doesn't mean she'll stop challenging herself with assorted acting experiences. As she looks back, she agrees "it wasn't an easy journey," especially arriving in Los Angeles as a former model with a South African accent and ambition, but not much else. It was during her early days in Hollywood that she experienced her only moment of sexual harassment: "Most people understand pretty quickly that I won't put up with much."

But I just got to L.A. and didn't have an agent," Theron recalls. "A famous director [whom she won't name] had arranged a meeting," but it ended up being rescheduled for his house on a Saturday night. "I had never been on a movie audition in my entire life so I thought, 'Well, maybe that's what they do.' "The director answered the door in his pajamas and served drinks. "I lasted about 10 minutes and left," she recalls. Perhaps times have changed but Theron says she hasn't, although she's in a more secure place professionally -- and personally. Her five-year relationship with Irish actor Stuart Townshend helps. "He challenges me and keeps me on my toes," she says. And so do her varied roles. On the lighter side, Theron is featured in five episodes of the sitcom Arrested Development this season. Later this year, she can be seen as the statuesque hired killer in the film version of the animated MTV show Aeon Flux.It's the film in which she injured herself attempting a hand spring. "I landed on my neck with my body straight," says Theron, who suffered a herniated disc in her third and fourth vertebrae last year. After seven weeks of bed rest, "intense physiotherapy and cortisone treatments," she was back on the shoot. "The show," Theron proudly says, "did go on."- By Bob Tomson.

Photographer charged in Witherspoon incident

Photo: Actress Reese Witherspoon in Beverly Hills, California.

ANAHEIM, California- A photographer was charged with child endangerment and battery for allegedly striking a five-year-old child with his camera and shoving another out of the way to take pictures of Reese Witherspoon and her children. Todd Wallace, 44, was charged Friday and was due back in court Wednesday, Assistant City Attorney Patrick Ahle said. The photographer also is charged with battering the five-year-old's mother, who is a friend of Witherspoon, and two employees at a Disney theme park, said Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick Martinez. Wallace became angry when the Legally Blonde star and her friends declined to be photographed Sept. 2 at Disney's California Adventure and cursed them, Martinez said. Wallace was initially cited for misdemeanour assault and battery of the two employees. The incident left some of the children in tears. Tabloids must realize that "battering and endangering a child to get a picture for their magazines is criminal and not business as usual," said Witherspoon's lawyer, Blair Berk. A phone message left for Wallace early Saturday was not immediately returned. He served more than four years in prison after a 1993 conviction of second-degree burglary and receiving goods by fraud, according to state corrections records. In August, prosecutors decided not to charge photographers whom Witherspoon said chased her from her gym and trapped her outside the West Los Angeles gated community where she lives with her husband, actor Ryan Phillippe, and their two children

Nearly naked Pam is back in China ads

Photo: An advertisement of anti-fur campaign featuring actress Pamela Anderson is posted at a Shanghai subway station.

SHANGHAI, China- A year after raising the censors' hackles with bus stop ads, Pamela Anderson's nearly naked image is returning to China on phone cards telling people not to buy fur. The Canadian-born actress appears topless with her back to the camera and an arm partly hiding her right breast behind the slogan, "Give fur the cold shoulder," in English. Behind her, an image of falling snow appears above Chinese characters reading "Cold shoulders are nothing compared to the pain they feel" and "Please don't wear fur." Government-owned China Telecom and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals have printed 70,000 of the phone cards, a toned-down version of Anderson's bus and train stop ads that were altered three times to reduce the amount of skin on show before being approved for public display, the animal rights group said recently. "The people of China deserve to know about the immense suffering of animals killed for their fur," said Anderson in a statement released by PETA. "Once people know that animals are electrocuted, drowned, bludgeoned to death and sometimes skinned alive, they realize fur is disgusting and that there's

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Esquire Magazine names Jessica Biel sexiest alive

Photos: 1. Jessica Biel at her unveiling as Esquire magazine's 2005 'Sexiest Woman Alive' in New York Thursday. 2. Posing by the upcoming magazine cover

Jessica Biel has been proclaimed "the sexiest woman alive" by Esquire magazine. The actress dons the cover of Esquire's November issue, following last year's honouree, Angelina Jolie. The 23-year-old Biel, who began as a teenager on the family TV series 7th Heaven, plays a supporting role in the upcoming Elizabethtown and starred earlier this year in Stealth. "It seemed like it would be great -- having named Anglina Jolie sexiest woman of the year last year -- to try to come up with somebody who was on everyone's radar screen, but who was also fresh," said Esquire editor-in-chief David Granger. "It just seemed like Jessica Biel's moment." The magazine also picks a woman for three older age brackets: the Chinese actress Gong Li, 39; the 47-year-old Sharon Stone; and Rene Russo, 51. "It's easy to appreciate womanhood without any consideration of age," Granger says. "Youth isn't the automatic turn-on it used to be."

Bank of Italy Governor Antonio Fazio Bank of Italy governor steps down

Bank of Italy governor Antonio Fazio has resigned, a central bank spokeswoman has announced. Pressure had been mounting on Mr Fazio to quit following a scandal over the sale of Italy's Banca Antonveneta. Mr Fazio is facing an investigation into suspected insider trading and abuse of office relating to his handling of the bank takeover battle. He is accused of favouring an Italian buyer in the takeover of Banca Antonveneta earlier this year. Mr Fazio has strenuously denied the accusations and repeatedly stated that he behaved properly when deciding to recommend Banca Popolare Italiana (BPI) over Dutch rival ABN Amro. Allegations first emerged in July when leaked transcripts of a phone-tapped conversation suggested that Mr Fazio had favoured BPI over its Dutch rival in the battle for control of Banca Antonveneta.

Despite calls for his resignation from many of Italy's political elite, including Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, the 69-year-old career central banker refused to resign. Under current Italian law, the governor of the Bank of Italy is entitled to remain in office for life. However, Mr Fazio's position became increasingly untenable after prosecutors in Milan revealed they were investigating him for alleged insider trading. The pressure increased on Monday when Italy's Economy Minister Giulio Tremonti said he wanted parliament to change the laws governing the Bank of Italy, paving the way for Mr Fazio to be replaced. Former BPI boss Gianpiero Fiorani - a close associate of Mr Fazio's - was arrested last week on suspicion of embezzlement and market rigging.

Devout catholic: The European Central Bank (ECB) said its president, Jean-Claude Trichet, had been informed by Mr Fazio that he had intended to resign. "The ECB fully respects this decision," the bank said in statement. The scandal surrounding the takeover of Banca Antonveneta had threatened to damage international confidence in Italy's banking sector. The country's fragmented industry is widely seen as an attractive proposition for many investors because of the high profit margins and potential for restructuring at many Italian banks. Until the scandal surrounding Mr Fazio blew up in July, he had been regarded as a safe pair of hands at Italy's central bank. For years he projected an image of the Bank of Italy as an incorruptible institution. He also ensured Italy was ready to ditch the lira and adopt the euro in 1999. Although the subsequent banking scandal saw much of the political establishment turn against him, Mr Fazio - a devout catholic - still received support from the Roman Catholic Church and the right-wing Northern League. A spokeswoman for the Bank of Italy said Mr Fazio had handed in his resignation to a member of the bank's Superior Council.

Miller to star in van Gogh film

Photo: Sienna Miller can soon by seen in the film Casanova.

Actors Sienna Miller and Steve Buscemi are set to star in a US remake of a movie by the murdered Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh. Alfie star Miller, 23, will star alongside the Fargo actor in a remake of Interview, the website of Van Gogh's Dutch production firm said. Buscemi, 48, is directing the film about a psychological tussle between a journalist and a soap-opera actress. In July Mohammed Bouyeri was convicted of shooting and stabbing van Gogh. Film-maker Van Gogh, a strong critic of radical Islam and a distant relative of the 19th-Century painter Vincent van Gogh, was killed as he cycled through Amsterdam. His murder in November 2004 stunned the Netherlands. His production company said filming of the Interview remake was scheduled to start next month. Two other remakes of Van Gogh films are also being planned for, it added. The Dutch and US producers said part of the profits would be put into a fund in his memory which supports freedom of speech in film-making.

Sharon aide promotes Munich film

Photo: Steven Spielberg's film has stirred fierce debate in Israel.

Director Steven Spielberg has hired one of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's key aides to market his film Munich in the country. The film, about the killing of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Olympic Games, opens in Israel next month. Eyal Arad, who helped plan the recent Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, has arranged a Tel Aviv screening for the widows of the murdered sportsmen. "We are talking about a film that has generated a lot of interest," he said. "Naturally that sort of interest can entail some negative reactions as well as positive reactions," he added, calling Israel an "important market" for the film. The film has caused controversy among former members of Israel's intelligence community, with Avi Dichter, a retired head of the Shin Bet intelligence service, likening the film to a children's adventure story. "There is no comparison between what you see in the movie and how it works in reality," he said.

Historical accuracy: The film is based on the 1984 book Vengeance, which is said to be based on the confessions of an officer from the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad who broke ranks in protest at its "aggressive tactics". It portrays a team of hitmen torn by questions of conscience and on the run from Palestinian gunmen. That version of events has been rejected by historians in Israel and elsewhere. But one of the widows who saw Spielberg's film said a lack of historical accuracy may have worked in Spielberg's favour. Ilana Romano - whose weightlifter husband was among those killed - said it overlooked the 1973 incident when Mossad agents targeting a Palestinian fugitive mistakenly killed a Moroccan waiter in Lillehammer, Norway. "Had Spielberg wanted to harm Israel's image, he would have included the Lillehammer affair," she said. "Don't let's over-analyse Spielberg's film."

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