Show Biz: Spielberg back at desk after kidney surgery

* Oscar-winning director Steven Spielberg has had a kidney removed after doctors found an "irregularity" on the organ.

Spielberg, aged 52, the director of such films as Saving Private Ryan and Schindler's List, is back home recuperating after the surgery performed at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre, the film-maker's spokesman, Marvin Levy, said.

"A complete recovery is promised, and no follow-up treatment is necessary," Levy said.

He declined to go into detail about the "irregularity."

* A who's who of film and broadcasting industry figures attended the opening of Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson's film unit at Lower Hutt.

Jackson's Wingnut Films bought the former National Film Unit from Television New Zealand. It is said to be Australasia's only one-stop post-production laboratory offering a 16mm and 35mm laboratory and sound production facilities. It is estimated to be worth between $1 million and $3 million.

Prime Minister Helen Clark said the industry had untapped potential and reaffirmed the Government's commitment to look at establishing a development fund to attract investment.

"I'm sure that in the future, as in the past, some form of government support and facilitation is going to be needed," she said. "That's why we've said we want to work with the Film Commission and other relevant players to investigate the establishment of a film development fund to attract more investment into the industry."

The fund would enable new film-makers to go on to make further films with bigger budgets, she said.

* Hollywood's hottest couple will be hoping that life does not imitate art in an upcoming project.

Tom Cruise has snapped up the rights to a quirky British novel about infidelity, and is lining up his wife Nicole Kidman to star in it with him, Daily Variety has reported.

The book, Heartswap, is about two beautiful best friends in their late 20s who are thrilled to find they've got engaged at the same time. During a drunken celebration, they agree to attempt a seduction of each other's partners, as a test of their devotion, only to have the boys fail the fidelity test miserably and with devastating consequences.

* Following in the footsteps of singers Ricky Martin and Gloria Estefan, actress Cameron Diaz has opened an elegant restaurant in Miami Beach. Diaz - whose father was the son of Cuban immigrants - and her partner Karim Masri opened their Asian restaurant, dubbed Bambu, on touristy South Beach.

* Jane Fonda may return to the big screen following her split from husband, media magnate Ted Turner.

According to reports Fonda said she is interested in getting back to show business though she insisted she would never leave her adopted home of Atlanta in order to move back to Hollywood.

No projects have yet been lined up for the woman who was once America's hottest female screen star and also its most left-wing political activist. But a sign that Fonda is serious about returning to circulation will come at the Oscar awards ceremony in March where she will appear as a presenter.

* Geri Halliwell is reuniting with the Spice Girls - but only because the British pop band is being sued by an Italian scooter -maker over her departure. In a case that began in London's High Court yesterday, Aprilia Spa is seeking nearly $NZ4.8 million in damages, claiming that a sponsorship deal with the famous girl band was thrown into chaos when Halliwell quit in May 1998.

The company, which brought out an edition of its Sonic scooter called the "Spice Sonic," says its publicity was geared around the entire five-member group.

The Spice Girls are suing Aprilia, for $NZ600,000 they say they are owed as part of the sponsorship deal. - NZPA