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From staff and wire reports

Tarantino enlists star cast in 'Bill'

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Daryl Hannah has come on board and Lucy Liu is in final talks to join a high-wattage ensemble cast for Quentin Tarantino's long-anticipated next directorial effort, "Kill Bill," Variety reports

The Miramax Films project stars Uma Thurman as a woman who is shot by her husband, the title character, played by Warren Beatty. She emerges from a coma several years later to get her revenge, which puts her on a collision with murderous associates. His second-in-command, played by Hannah, is Thurman's nemesis. Liu plays Oren Ishi, queen of the Tokyo Yakuza.

Tarantino, the picture's writer and director, and producer Lawrence Bender, also have cast Michael Madsen as Bill's brother. The two were huddled in casting Thursday and couldn't be reached by press time.

Jacqueline Bisset also is rumored to be contemplating a part in the picture.

"Kill Bill" now has a start date in June, and will shoot in California, China, Japan and Mexico.

Rene Russo reacts to Rosie

NEW YORK (AP) -- While appearing on ABC's "Good Morning America" to promote her new movie, "Showtime," Rene Russo cried on Thursday and said how grateful she was to the lesbians who raised her after her father left.

She was inspired to talk about her childhood following a segment on Rosie O'Donnell's "Primetime Thursday" interview, in which O'Donnell reveals that she's a lesbian and discusses her opposition to a Florida ban on gay adoption. O'Donnell has three adopted children.

"I wasn't going to say this, but I was just listening to Rosie O'Donnell and I have to tell you, I wanted to burst into tears," Russo said, her eyes welling up.

"First of all, I want to say thank you to her. Second, I'd like to say that when I was born -- oh, I'm going to cry, but this is for you, Rosie -- my dad left and it was women in my life that were gay that raised me and that helped and nurtured me. ...

"I wanted to call my mom to say, look, mom, I'm going on national television to say thank you for all your friends, because she was just pretty much abandoned and a lot of her friends came and helped her to raise me and my sister," the 48-year-old actress said. "And if it weren't for that, I don't know where we'd be."

Russo's movie, "Showtime," a comedy co-starring Robert De Niro and Eddie Murphy, opens Friday.

Fox wins ratings knockout

HOLLYWOOD, California (Reuters) -- Pugilism paid off big time for Fox Wednesday as a much-hyped "Celebrity Boxing" showdown scored some of the season's best numbers for an entertainment special, Variety reports.

The hour-long event had the competition on the ropes, winning its 9 p.m. time slot with 15.48 million viewers.

Match-ups included Tonya Harding vs. Paula Jones, Danny Bonaduce vs. Barry Williams and Vanilla Ice vs. Todd Bridges.

Not surprisingly, the special did particularly well among men. Indeed, in key male demos, no other entertainment special has performed better this season. (CBS' "9/11" is being classified as a movie.)

Fox reality czar Mike Darnell said he believes viewers tuned in because of the unique nature of the hour.

"There's a fascination with celebrities in abnormal situations," he said. "And this was a very unique situation."

"Celebrity Boxing" scored a rousing 7.1 rating per 17 share in adults 18-49, according to Nielsen. Among entertainment specials this season, only CBS' Carol Burnett and Michael Jackson thrillers have done better numbers in this coveted demographic (not counting awards shows or sports broadcasts).

Union targets Crowe film

HOLLYWOOD, California (Reuters) -- The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) is drawing a line in the sand in Baja California, Variety reports.

The union, newly committed to hard-line enforcement of its rules, has specifically told its members to refuse to sign non-union contracts for Russell Crowe's mega-budget "Master and Commander."

The seafaring drama, a Peter Weir-adaptation of the Patrick O'Brian book series, is set to begin filming in the Mexican state this summer. SAG has insisted it won't budge from its May 1 deadline for "Global Rule One," a groundbreaking change in its enforcement of work rules to include disciplining members who work non-union outside the Untied States.

SAG spokeswoman Ilyanne Kichaven said the Guild recently became aware that casting directors on the film were seeking below-the-line actors to sign non-union contracts for the film. The union reacted by officially advising members of its San Diego branch that they should not sign such contracts.

Fox said the studio has no plans to ask SAG members to violate Rule One. "It is our intent that members of SAG will be employed under SAG contracts," a spokeswoman said.

Fox gave the green light to "Master" two months ago when Crowe committed to star. Crowe will play Royal Navy Captain Jack Aubrey, a soldier given his first command of a British sailing vessel sent to battle.

Jolie movie upsets Ethiopia

WINDHOEK, Namibia (AP) -- Ethiopian officials have complained that a movie starring Angelina Jolie being filmed in Namibia gives a biased portrayal of their country.

Ethiopia lodged a complaint with the Namibian government, saying "Beyond Borders" only shows the 1984 drought and starvation in the country and none of the progress made since then.

In the film, Jolie falls in love with a doctor who travels to Cambodia, Chechnya and Ethiopia to help war victims.

Scenes for the movie are being shot in Namibia instead of Ethiopia -- both countries have similar terrain -- because at the time filming was being considered in Ethiopia, the country was at war with neighboring Eritrea.

"The portrayal of happenings of 1984 in the film does not reflect the true image of Ethiopia today," said Tegenaw Goshu, spokesman of the Ethiopian embassy in South Africa.

There was no immediate reaction from the Namibian government Thursday.

Jolie, who serves as a goodwill ambassador for the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, said she had been wanting to shoot the film for three years, and that the script was one of the best she had ever seen.

Robert Plant to take stage

LONDON, England (Reuters) -- Robert Plant, former frontman of iconic rock band Led Zeppelin, is to perform at Britain's Isle of Wight music festival in June, festival organizers announced on Friday.

Making a comeback after a 32-year absence from Britain's summer music festival scene, the Isle of Wight was host to some of the greatest names in 70s rock, including the last live performance of guitar legend Jimi Hendrix.

"It's great that we have managed to secure this exclusive date and they've even agreed to play at least five of the original Led Zeppelin tracks," said John Giddings, Managing Director of Solo.

Giddings said Plant had recorded a version of Hendrix's "Hey Joe" for his forthcoming album and would perform it at the festival as a tribute to the guitarist. Hendrix died in London 18 days after his Isle of Wight appearance in 1970.

Plant's performance on the island off Britain's south coast with his current band Strange Sensations is the former Zeppelin vocalist's only United Kingdom appearance this year, booking agents Solo said in a statement.

Other acts lined up for the festival's opening event on June 3 include British bands The Charlatans, Ash and newcomers Starsailor. It runs until June 16.

The Associated Press & Reuters contributed to this report.