Naomi Watts

Naomi Watts was recently in news for being appointed as the ambassador for UNAIDS, a United Nations' body for global response to the deadly HIV/AIDS. Watts who joined the United Nations-led fight against AIDS, after a 5-day visit to Zambia, said she could "no longer stand and watch people die" and urged people to join the battle against the pandemic. "I urge people all over the world to join this effort because I, too, am learning that there is a role for each and every one of us," she remarked after her appointment.

United Nations has been using high-profile figures in politics, sports, entertainment industry and other fields to place focus on its various programmes. When asked whether she supported the George W. Bush administration's emphasis on abstinence to fight the disease, she tried to play safe. "While it is probably the safest way to avoid it, it is impossible for certain people to practice it. So I am big believer in use of contraception," said the star of films like King Kong, The Ring and Muholland Drive.

"AIDS, she continued, "is not just about facts and figures, but about faces and families." Watts also said she wished to fight stigmatization and discrimination as "that was one of the things that seemed to be hurting everyone in Zambia."

Jennifer Lopez

Jennifer Lopez recently was in new for suing by a television writer, who filed a lawsuit saying Jennifer Lopez and UPN stole his idea for a series based on his move from Brooklyn to Miami and involvement with modeling and nightclub scenes.

Jack Bunick's lawyer claims South Beach, a TV series executive-produced by Lopez that debuted January 11 on UPN, mirrors a script his client wrote in 1999 for a pilot episode of a show that would have been called South Beach Miami. Bunick's script was about 2 young men from Brooklyn who travel to South Beach, where one of them quickly gets involved with the club and modeling scenes, according to the federal suit.

A recurring theme in his script "is that the main character is from Brooklyn, New York, and that he is, in many ways, out of his element in South Beach, Miami," lawsuit said.

UPN's website says South Beach is about best friends Matt and Vincent, who "abandon their world as they know it and head to the alluring paradise of sandy beaches, beautiful people and hot spots in glamorous South Beach."


Bunick claims his agent spoke to UPN and sent a copy of his script to Lopez in February 2000 but he was never contacted by the network. He is seeking monetary damages.