Chatterbox: Jabba the Hutt meet Jake the Muss

With Star Wars: Episode II starting its shooting in Sydney this week comes the confirmation of the two Kiwi actors having signed on for the latest instalment in George Lucas' on-going sci-fi series.

Jay Laga'aia — soon to be seen on the small screen here in Street Legal — will be swopping the uniform of Water Rats' Tommy Tavita for a "loyal security officer" which probably guarantees him a silly helmet and an action figure. Meanwhile 13-year-old Aucklander Daniel Logan, who's appeared on Shortland Street and Hercules, is to play "a mysterious young boy" in Ep II according to the Star Wars official website. Meanwhile, the rumour continues that Temuera Morrison may also be up for a role.

Three Part Harmony: Tim Finn, Bic Runga and Dave Dobbyn are heading out on the road together for a national tour in coming weeks which marks Finn's and Runga's return from the United States where they've been touring and recording respectively, and Dobbyn's imminent new album.

Meanwhile the mayor of Pittsburgh, one Tom Murphy, declared a "Tim Finn Day" when the Kiwi troubadour recently played the Pennsylvanian city. He didn't get a parade but the proclamation should look nice on the mantelpiece in Mt Eden.

Ageing Gracefully Department: Sharon Stone, now 42 and now a mother of one adopted baby , has changed her mind about doing a sequel to Basic Instinct, the 1992 thriller which made her a star.

The $US15 million pay day she'll get for reprising the role should help paint the nursery ... meanwhile the man we call Arnie is reprising his cyborg-from-the-future role in a third Terminator movie ... and Harrison Ford is apparently considering playing Indiana Jones for a fourth time.

Complaints department: The
latest in a series of English complaints about Hollywood films has the city of Liverpool demanding an apology over Mel Gibson's American Revolution epic, The Patriot. The film apparently misrepresents a former Liverpudlian leader, Banastre Tarleton, as a ruthless butcher who revels in bloodshed and infanticide, said the Liverpool council.

Legal Department: Movie and music star Will Smith is being sued by old school hip-hop crew Grandmaster Flash And The Furious Five for a sample on a track of his Willennium album ... meanwhile a US court has ruled that the Rolling Stones improperly borrowed two of their big hits — Love in Vain and Stop Breakin' Down from legendary bluesman Robert Johnson.