THE NOMINEES have been announced for the prestigious Directors Guild of America award - the winner of which is usually a dead cert for Oscar glory.

No surprises in who's up for it, with Brit hopeful Stephen Daldry scoring for "The Hours", Peter Jackson for "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers", Martin Scorsese for "Gangs of New York", Rob Marshall for "Chicago" and Roman Polanski for "The Pianist". The winner will be announced on 1st March.

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"THE PIANIST" star Adrien Brody has bemoaned the fact that Roman Polanski can't visit the US to promote his movie.

"Roman isn't available to do it so I feel the responsibility," says Brody. "It's too bad. Personally I wish he was here. I think he's here in spirit in a sense because he said so much with this film."

Polanski has been in voluntary European exile since 1978, when he fled the United States to avoid jail for the statutory rape of a 13-year-old girl. Poor old Roman, eh?

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THAT'S MAGIC! Abracadabra! Spellbinding! More cliches! "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets" is set for an April DVD release.

Details have emerged of the enchanting (sorry) extra features on this magical (we can't help ourselves) release. As well as the usual featurettes and interviews guff, it'll include 19 additional or extended scenes and detailed tours of the sets. For those with flashy DVD players, there's also the option to navigate through the extras using voice commands. Just like that!

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TEMPERS ARE running high at the Sundance Film Festival, where an audience member assaulted actress Anna Paquin after a screening of controversial drama "Buffalo Soldiers".

Enraged by the movie's portrayal of corrupt US soldiers stationed in 90s Germany, a woman lobbed a full bottle of water at director Gregor Jordan. Unfortunately, her aim was as off as her opinion, and she hit Paquin on the noggin. The movie - which stars Joaquin Phonenix and Paquin - is excellent, by the way.

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MALCOLM LEE - cousin of Spike and director of the charming comedy "The Best Man" - will next direct "The Rucker".

Set in Harlem, it's a basketball drama about two friends - one white and one black - who must compete for their league's most valuable player award, which could land one of them a lucrative contract in the NBA.

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WEDDING DRESSES are notoriously expensive, but few can match the price being asked for the gown worn in "My Big Fat Greek Wedding".

The meringue modelled by star Nia Vardalos is up for sale at $1.5 million. A lucky fella bought the dress at a charity auction last April, and has since seen its value rise in tandem with the comedy's extraordinary box office success.

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"DAREDEVIL" star Michael Clarke Duncan has been mocking his co-stars Ben Affleck and Colin Farrell. Duncan, who plays villain Kingpin in the comic book movie, says, "Mark Steven Johnson [the director] cut out the best parts of the fight scenes where I was mopping the floor with Ben Affleck. It got so bad that he begged his stunt doubles to stand in. I did all my own stunts. Every last one. Ben Affleck wimped out!"

As for Farrell, Duncan says he has "the energy of a rhino". Which is apparently a good thing. Whatever. "Daredevil" opens on Valentine's Day.

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MORE UNSUBSTANTIATED "Superman" rumours. Apparently Josh Hartnett is still considering playing the Man of Steel, but will only don the silly suit if Michael Bay directs. Oh, and Kelly Brook is going to play Lois Lane. And I'm going to be the next James Bond.