ENTERTAINMENT BRIEFS: Murphy, Pacino to star in Salvador Dali movie

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Al Pacino is to star as Salvador Dali in a biographical movie about the great artist, with actor Cillian Murphy to play his protege.

Dali & I: The Surreal Story will span the 1960s to the '80s, when most of Dali's major work was behind him and he became more flamboyant. Dali also developed a mentor-protege relationship with a young art dealer named Stan Lauryssens, to be played by Murphy.

Dali is scheduled to begin shooting in early 2008 on location in Spain and New York.

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Search on for Kung Fu star

Los Angeles (dpa) - The search is on for a star to portray the lead character in the big screen remake of the 1970s classic TV series Kung Fu.

Warner Bros Pictures has hired Max Makowski (One Last Dance, Taboo) to direct the movie but issued a casting call for the lead role, which is described as: "Male, 20-35. A handsome mix of East (Chinese/Asian) meets West (American). A man with the emotional capacity of a young Clint Eastwood. Charismatic and charming, Caine was raised by Shaolin monks after his mother's murder and became a highly skilled fighter. In addition to being a strong actor with the right look, the actor for this role should be athletic and although not required, some martial arts training, gymnastics or ballet are a plus."

The production is eyeing a March 8 start for shooting in China.

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Prince to sue YouTube

Los Angeles (dpa) - Diminutive pop star Prince plans to sue YouTube and other major websites for unauthorized use of his music.

Prince said that YouTube could not argue that it had no control over which videos users posted on its site.

"YouTube ... are clearly able (to) filter porn and paedophile material but appear to choose not to filter out the unauthorized music and film content, which is core to their business success," Prince said in a statement.

In addition to YouTube, Prince also plans legal action against online auctioneer eBay and Pirate Bay.

"Prince strongly believes artists as the creators and owners of their music need to reclaim their art," the statement said. "These actions mark a historic moment for music artists in terms of the battle to regain control of their rights on the Internet."

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Ricky Gervais on This Side of the Truth

Los Angeles (dpa) - Ricky Gervais (The Office) will take on the starring role in This Side of the Truth, Variety reported Thursday. Gervais will co-direct the film with his co-writer Matt Robinson in what will be his feature directing debut.

This Side of the Truth is set in a contemporary world where no one has ever lied. Gervais will play a performer who tells the first lie and harnesses its power for personal gain.

"My character works in the film industry, where actors are really readers who tell completely factual stories," Gervais told Variety. "My character's a loser who's about to lose his job, and who's lumbering through the 1300s. All he's got to work with is the Black Death. But once he lies and pretends he's found lost stories, he becomes the greatest storyteller in the world."

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Larry King to get square

Los Angeles (dpa) - CNN's talk show host Larry King is to get a square named after him in Los Angeles. The site of the square is a city block that surrounds a CNN building in Hollywood.

The City Council voted Wednesday to rename the block Larry King Square in recognition of King's 50 years in broadcasting.

King, who started his career at a Miami radio station in 1957, hosts CNN's longest-running interview programme, Larry King Live.

The council also agreed to name an intersection near Paramount Studios I Love Lucy Square, after the classic TV show starring late comedian Lucille Ball and Lucy Casada, who owned a popular restaurant there called Lucy's El Adobe Cafe. dpa ag ff