Legendary Swedish film director Ingmar Bergman, who influenced a generation of film-makers with his often stark works on themes of mortality and sexual torment, died on Monday at the age of 89.

The self-taught film-maker and scriptwriter died in the morning at his home on Faro Island in the Baltic Sea, Cissi Elwin, chief executive of the Swedish Film Institute, said.

“It’s a very big loss today,” Elwin said. “It’s very, very strange and very unreal because Ingmar Bergman is so much (a part of) Swedish film.”

Earlier this month, Bergman put in a brief appearance at the annual celebration on Faro Island of his half-century career but remained in a wheelchair and seemed very tired, she said.

Bergman was famed for films such as “Wild Strawberries,” “Scenes From a Marriage” and “Fanny and Alexander” a classic that won four Oscars which brought Sweden a reputation for melancholy but made him an acknowledged master of modern cinema.

His work, in all, encompassed 54 films, 126 theatre productions and 39 radio plays.

His cinematic masterpieces often dwelt on sexual confusion, loneliness and the vain search for the meaning of life themes he ascribed to a traumatic childhood in which he was beaten by his father, a Lutheran minister.

“He was one of the great ones,” Jorn Donner, producer of Bergman’s “Fanny and Alexander,” told Reuters.

“I knew him for more than 50 years.”

“Fanny and Alexander,” the director’s last big screen production which was heavily autobiographical, tells the story of an upper-class Uppsala family before World War One.

The boy protagonist, Alexander, and his sister Fanny are mentally and physically abused by their stepfather — a bishop modeled on Bergman’s father. Alexander at last uses supernatural powers to take a sinister revenge.

News of Bergman’s death prompted an outpouring in local media while Swedish television interrupted regular broadcasting to pay homage.

“I believe that it is hard to fully comprehend the contribution that Ingmar Bergman made to Swedish film and drama,” Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said in a statement. “His works are immortal.”

Elwin said the Swedish Film Institute planned a memorial night in August and would invite film historians and colleagues from the acting world to pay tribute to Bergman.

Offstage, Bergman’s private life often thrust him into the limelight. He was married five times to beautiful and gifted women and had liaisons with his leading actresses. Bergman had nine children.

Bergman told Reuters in a rare interview in 2001 that personal demons tormented and inspired him throughout his life.

“The demons are innumerable, appear at the most inconvenient times and create panic and terror,” he said at the time. “But I have learnt that if I can master the negative forces and harness them to my chariot, then they can work to my advantage.”

He gained international recognition with the 1956 film “The Seventh Seal,” set in the Middle Ages, in which a crusader searching for God and the meaning of life plays chess with Death. It won the jury prize at the 1957 Cannes film festival.

He won Academy Awards for best foreign language film in 1960, 1961 and 1983, and a collection of his work was last month added to the UNESCO store of history’s greatest archives.

Socialite Paris Hilton has slammed reports she was smoking marijuana at a Hollywood nightclub with her close pal Kimberly Stewart’s ex-fiance Cisco Adler on Wednesday morning. Paris is utter crap and the ones who keep writing and reporting about her are no better than she is. Paris is nothing but a finished girl, she is repetitive unvaried, and she is monotonous. She has nothing to do after coming out of jail. She could land only a single interview and has since then just passing her time kicking her butt. Same for the reporters, they nothing to write about so they just keep following Paris and even if she went to the loo they would sit down in the cabins and write lengths about it as if it were a fiasco. Paris has been doing these acts for years now and yet they find it worthy enough to write about, please come you guys what happened to major breaking news , you guys have become as dull as our lovely celebrities.

Shanna Moakler’s most recent split from husband Travis Barker has been “devastating,” she says “We separated, and for me it’s very disappointing,” Moakler, 32, admitted while attending the HER Energy Drink Luau, a benefit for the Nicole Brown Foundation at L.A.’s Playboy Mansion on Saturday. “I consider him the love of my life.” Can we ask her what she did to save the marriage, most of these rotten tomatoes don’t even move a nail to sought out their differences and some time later when being interviewed at parties like this one, they are so diplomatic saying all the good things about their partner. Well all I can appreciate about this lady is at least she didn’t take this chance to have a swipe at Travis. All said and done it’s time for both of them to move forward in their own ways hopefully meeting success and keep options open to meeting each other when ever there is a flutter in the heart.

Gerber Products Company is teaming up with actress Alison Sweeney to help educate moms about toddler nutrition. Sweeney, mother of two-year-old son Ben, is the new host of the NBC’s hit reality show The Biggest Loser and well-known for her Emmy Award-winning role as Sami Brady on the network’s daytime drama Days of our Lives. “When Gerber shared its findings from a recent survey of moms, I was shocked to learn that many toddlers weren’t getting the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables in a day,” Ms. Sweeney said. Very nice thoughts but they are missing a point here, if there so concerned about the well being of children then firstly they need to open classes to educated moms who not to make more Britneys and Lindsay Lohans in our communities. There might be a good number of children whose diets are not adequately nutritious but there even greater numbers who run the risk of being addicted to drugs and alcohol. Parents more than ever need to learn how not to create such clones for our beautiful society.

Bollywood’s star actor Sanjay Dutt, on whose shoulders rides about a billion rupees in investment of the Indian film industry, was sentenced to six years in prison for illegally possessing “dangerous” weapons in the 1993 Mumbai bombings as one of the longest criminal trials in India ended Tuesday. The 48 year old actor has already served a 16 month jail term when the charges ever first framed for the 1993 Mumbai (previously Bombay) blasts. This is how the courts should act with actor or that matter any body, the law should be fair and not biased to celebrity whether in India or be it in Hollywood. It is said that Sanjay was shell shocked same a Paris Hilton. Six years is like his career is finished. But the central court judge said that this was not the end for him and he can challenge the judgment in the Indian Supreme Court. Still he has somehow saved his life in a way, as originally he was charged under the Indian anti-terrorist act TADA but later on was charged with illegal possession of an AK-56 under the Arms Act which probably saved him from a harsh punishment. This sentence should be flashed all over the world to let Celebs know that there is no evading the law.

This Moore guy always struck me as a grandstanding ham whos only motive was to put himself in the spotlight. But I have changed that view since seeing Sicko. At this point I actually think that he is trying to use his documentary powers for good. To show people how corrupt and contrived our government and society has become. His Cuba stunt was well done and powerfully illustrates how screwed up things really are… it goes without saying that Bush is a tool for wasting more American dollars to Subpoena Moore for a film that highlights the corruption and imbalance in our health care system. Sometimes the end does justify the means, let’s see where this goes. And you know, 11% of Sicko’s box office sales on August 11 will be donated to help those workers from 9/11 and other workers who need help. I’m going to see it again on that day. Funny, I think this “unwarranted” subpoena is going to only help market the movie. Good!

It seems that Britney Spears has a temper and she’s not afraid to use it. In her latest run in with the paparazzi she wasn’t afraid to fly off the handle. On Sunday Spears had been driving in Beverly Hills when she had to pull over to attend to her sons who were crying in the back seat. The paparazzi who are constantly following her took advantage of the situation by moving in for photos and blocking her exit. It’s reported that Britney actually asked them politely to leave her and the kids alone. When they refused she unleashed a flurry of insults on one of the overweight camera men. She told him to run because he needed to and to try Weight Watchers. The barbs were accompanied by explicit language. I can’t say I blame her. They were preventing her from dealing with her children and from driving away. That is illegal. It’s unfair that they can get away with endangering innocent kids. Britney might be crazy but I’m thinking cameras in your face don’t help you when you’re trying to be normal. Give the girl a break already.

Early Tuesday morning actress Lindsay Lohan was arrested in Santa Monica, California for driving under the influence of alcohol. It’s no secret that Lindsay just got out of rehab a couple of weeks ago after a six week stay. She also just turned 21, the legal drinking age. It’s reported that police pulled Lohan over just after two in the morning. She is already scheduled in court August 24th for her first DUI charge. The strange thing here is that since leaving Promises rehab facility she has been wearing an ankle bracelet that monitors her alcohol intake. A press conference is expected to take place to confirm the reports. This is most likely another hoax story just like the one that said her newest movie was cancelled. That ended up being false and this may be as well. If she really was wearing that bracelet then it just doesn’t make sense that she would have been able to make it that far without some kind of intervention.

Sorry ladies, but Usher is no longer single and available. The singer and dancer just announced that he will be getting married to Tameka Foster at record exec L.A. Reid’s home. It is expected to be a small and private ceremony with only 70 to 100 people in attendance. Foster is a stylist who has worked with stars like Toni Braxton and Lauryn Hill. The couple is also expecting their first child together in the fall. It looks like Usher has really grown up. Earlier this month Usher addressed accusations that he was being led or manipulated into getting married. I guess that’s wishful thinking as far as the jealous fans go. It’s not surprising for things like that to be said. The wedding is set to take place this Saturday afternoon. Better start counting down girls. It’s only hours away until Usher is no longer a free man.

Ever since Bob Barker announced his retirement from the hit game show “The Price is Right” there has been constant speculation about who will replace him. I found it surprising that they had no plan to end the show. Many people have been rumored to be taking the famous hosts place, even Rosie O’Donnell. It was announced Monday that Drew Carey will indeed be the new host. He’s best known for the lead role in the sitcom named after him. He was also part of the famed show “Whose Line is it Anyway?”. Carey is also hosting a prime time show called “The Power of 10”. He confirmed his new game show gig on David Letterman’s show. I can’t see anybody being able to successfully fill Bob Barker’s shoes. I wonder what kind of effect it will have on the people clambering to be in the audience. Will the appeal be the same with Drew Carey on that stage? I can’t even picture it.

Alexander Pete Schreiber was born Wednesday in Los Angeles and weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Watts’ publicist Robin Baum said Thursday.

It’s the first child for the Australian actress and her boyfriend, actor Liev Schreiber.

Watts, 38, and Schreiber, 39, co-starred in last year’s “The Painted Veil.”

Watts also has starred in “King Kong,” “Mulholland Dr.,” “The Ring” and its sequel. Schreiber’s credits include “The Manchurian Candidate,” the HBO movie “RKO 281″ and the Broadway play “Talk Radio.”

Rumors began swirling Watts’ was pregnant, by boyfriend Liev Schreiber shortly before the Oscars. Watts showed off her growing baby bump Oscar night in a strapless yellow Escada gown.

The company seemed to give away her secret releasing a statement on the night saying Naomi’s dress “set off her most precious new asset - the baby she is expecting with longtime boyfriend Liev Schreiber.”

Zachary Quinto, best known for playing the villainous Sylar in “Heroes,” will don a pair of pointy ears to play Mr. Spock in the newest installment of the Star Trek feature franchise and he’ll be joined by Leonard Nimoy, reprising the role that he created.

J.J. Abrams, who is directing the 11th “Star Trek” film, currently untitled, revealed the casting Thursday at the San Diego Comic-Con International confab. The actors joined Abrams onstage as he made the announcement.

Plot details were not revealed about the Paramount Pictures film, though it is believed to revolve around the first encounters between a young Spock and Capt. James T. Kirk at Starfleet Academy.

Abrams, the prolific co-creator/executive producer of “Lost” and director of Paramount’s “Mission: Impossible III” also will serve as a producer and co-writer on the film, which is scheduled for a December 2008 release.

Quinto’s credits also include the TV series “So Notorious” and “24.”

Also at Comic-Con, Steven Spielberg appeared via satellite to announce that Karen Allen, who starred opposite Harrison Ford in the original “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” will appear in the upcoming untitled sequel to that franchise.

As far as platonic liars go, Paula Abdul is one of the weirdest. Ever since People magazine said that she was drunk she had been under constant scrutiny. Not only that but she is extremely insistent that she has never even been drunk in her life. How many people who have spent a large amount of their life in Hollywood have never been drunk? What a total lie. I can’t possibly believe that. When she sat down with Matt Lauer the other day he asked her twice if she had ever been drunk. The second time she admitted to sipping cocktails on occasion. Her new reality show “Hey Paula” is getting mixed reviews. Some viewers find her to be very moody. She was also asked about her love life and tried to be evasive. She is currently dating restaurant hot spot owner J.T. Torregiani. I’m surprised that anybody cared enough about what Paula Abdul is doing that they gave her a TV show. Hopefully it won’t last as long as American Idol has. Isn’t that punishment enough?

The Nine Network has appealed for privacy for media personality Deborah Hutton following the death of her brother and “vicious rumour and speculation” about her private life. Today’s statement by Nine and Hutton’s manager Harry M Miller follows the death this week of her brother Rod Haylock and a recent newspaper gossip item about her long friendship with Olympic gold medal-winning women’s hockey star Danni Roche. Sometimes good people who a part of the media community to get trageted by vested interest. She was for 10 years was editor of The Australian Women’s Weekly and remains a TV spokesperson for the magazine. It hurts that her friends and coleagues in the media would take such an untimely shot at her private life when she is moring the death of her brother.

Chinese actor Chen Kun on Thursday donated 100,000 yuan (13,200 U.S. dollars) to his flood-struck hometown. The actor, who is currently shooting a film in Hong Kong, learned about the disaster from a local newspaper and then told his agent to make the donation. The donation might seem to be too high in terms of dollars but what is commendable is that fact that as soon as he knew about the disaster he quickly made arrangements for supply relief material. Sometimes people can so a better job than the people’s elected administrators who are usually busy in their ‘more important’ jobs of milking money from the people who elected them (administrator’s way of thanking the voters). Though he was filming in Hong Kong he did not let a little distance be a deterrent in reaching to his people.

These two comedians are as bad as two divas fighting over the same man. The two came to actual blows last week with Lovitz initiating the attack. Lovitz insists it was because Dick threatened his life once by saying he wished the Phil Hartman curse on him. They had formerly been friends but fell out when Lovitz accused Dick of being the reason Hartman became re-addicted to cocaine. Now Jon Lovitz is saying that he is being thanked for taking care of Andy Dick and that if Dick is smart he will avoid him like the plague. This is Hollywood craziness at its best. It’s not as common to see these male disputes as it is with female fights. It’s much more entertaining. Two incredibly weird so called comedians fist fighting backstage at a show is something I would have liked to see. This will certainly be interesting to see how it plays out. Although let’s hope they don’t actually kill each other.

Britney Spears reportedly put her Beverly Hills mansion on the market again. Apparently she’s looking to make a new start. She is selling the house fully furnished. The asking price is $7.495 million dollars. She had put the house up for sale following her time in rehab but then took it off. She also has a Malibu home on the market going for $12 million. It’s beyond ridiculous to me that people with so much money can be so selfish. Why not feed a small country with your millions or do something else that really makes a difference. One person alone does not need millions or billions of dollars. It’s nothing but selfish to sit on all of that money while people are starving and suffering everywhere. I have no sympathy for anyone who has the resources to help and the willingness to refuse.

Courtney Love hasn’t done much to better her life in the last few years. She recently played a show where she made jokes about being anorexic. She chain smoked through the entire show and made remarks about drinking Ensure shakes for her eating disorder. She came out wearing a Marc Jacobs bustier and would not have looked too bad if not for the heavy circles under her eyes. She looked like she was on some junk. Her makeup was a disaster and really running around her eyes. It’s awful to see people like this. They reach a point where they no longer want to help themselves. There is nothing left for the rest of us to do but shake our heads and say how unfortunate it is. I can’t imagine how hard it must be for her daughter watching her mother’s downward spiral. Although, I do have to give Courtney credit for being here and not taking the easy way out like Kurt did.

For some reason its huge news that David and Victoria Beckham have arrived in Los Angeles. For months now everyone has known they had planned the big move. It wasn’t long after she arrived that Victoria Beckham, aka Posh Spice phoned Ryan Seacrest’s radio show to talk all about it. She mentioned how they received such a wonderful reception from Americans and then went on to say that they plan to keep their children out of the spotlight as much as possible. My question is where did they think they were moving to? L.A. isn’t exactly known for its celebrity privacy. When Ryan asked her about her non-existent smile she admitted to wanting to smile more now that Americans do so much. That’s odd. Why should she care now what people think of her? She did mention that she is a very boring person and that there are more interesting celebrities than her family. Agreed. I’m already bored writing about them.

Courtney Thorne-Smith has been on television for several years now. Some of us remember her from the trashy prime time soap opera days of “Melrose Place”. Currently she is starring opposite Jim Belushi on his hit TV show, “According to Jim”. Her spokesperson has recently confirmed to the press that she is expecting her first child with her husband Roger Fishman. It will also be the couple’s first wedding anniversary this January. Another nice happy story coming out of tinsel town. These stories are starting to pop up more often lately. It seems to be a nice way of balancing out all of the trash and diva stories. One can only take so much drug and anorexia talk before a break is needed. There is no word yet on how the pregnancy will fit into the show. Perhaps they will write it in for some laughs. If not then sitcoms have that classic way of hiding it while making it totally obvious.