Leonardo DiCaprio is likely to star as Alexander the Great in a new film about the all-conquering ancient Greek leader.

The epic is to be filmed by Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann and has been costed at �100m.

Producer Dino De Laurentiis told the Hollywood Reporter that DiCaprio, 27, was "such a great actor and can carry that part".

But Oliver Stone is also believed to be planning to make a film about Alexander, starring Irish actor Colin Farrell.

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Loren to get Venice honour

Italian actress Sophia Loren is to be given a lifetime achievement award at the Venice International Film Festival.

Loren, 67, was chosen for the Premio Pietro Bianchi 2002 by the National Union of Cinema Journalists in recognition of her impact on the Italian film industry over 50 years.

She will be at this year's festival after an absence of 20 years, to promote her role in Between Strangers, directed by her son Edoardo Ponti.

Loren will be only the first actress and second woman to receive the prestigious award, usually given to male directors and writers. Recent winners of the Premio are directors Michelangelo Antonioni and Bernardo Bertolucci.

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Snoop relative found dead

A brother-in-law of rapper Snoop Dogg has been found dead in a Las Vegas apartment where he barricaded himself in after allegedly wounding a police officer.

Police are investigating whether Jermaine Fuller died of a self-inflicted wound of had been shot while fighting with the officer, who was grazed on the side of his head struggling with Fuller.

The officer approached Fuller at a bus stop on Monday evening following a report of a man firing a gun. Authorities said the gunman ran and forced his way into an apartment.

A police team entered the apartment on Tuesday morning. The injured officer was taken to hospital in a serious condition, but is expected to recover.

Snoop Dogg, whose real name is Calvin Broadus, is married to Fuller's sister, Shante.

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Aerosmith tracks sold

A 50% stake in part of Aerosmith's back catalogue has been sold to US company Mosaic Music Publishing.

Under the agreement, Aerosmith will continue to own the other 50% of the collection of songs, written between 1973 and 1982, and Mosaic will be responsible for its administration.

The catalogue is comprised of seven albums, including Aerosmith, Get Your Wings and Toys In The Attic.

Songs include Walk This Way and Dream On - recently re-worked by Eminem as Sing For The Moment.

Mosaic also administers the entire ZZ Top catalogue and a collection of country tracks.

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Jackson backs donor campaign

Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is backing a campaign in New Zealand urging people to donate their organs.

He told a women's magazine in his home country that he was appalled to discover New Zealand had one of the lowest rates of donation in the developed world.

His comments were sparked by the plight of 11-month-old Katie Tookey, who suffers from a rare kidney disease and will need a transplant within the next five years.

"We have the skills here, the hospitals and the surgeons. What we lack is a population willing to give," he said.

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Author Pullman supports UK book centre

Award-winning author Philip Pullman is to donate many of his manuscripts to the Centre for the Children's Book in Newcastle as he believes they should stay in the UK.

Many authors' works end up in US universities and libraries, but Pullman, who wrote the best-selling His Dark Materials trilogy, said he was keen to ensure this did not happen to him.

However he added that he understood the necessity for many writers to sell their manuscripts.

Pullman, known for his outspoken views, also recently said at the Edinburgh book festival that novels must discuss morality or they will slip into the "trivial and worthless".