LAS VEGAS, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Hip-hop mogul Suge Knight has been charged with battery in an alleged incident involving his girlfriend in Las Vegas.

The Las Vegas Review-Journal said the Clark County district attorney's office has filed against Knight one count of battery and two counts of possession of a controlled substance for allegedly possessing Ecstasy and hydrocodone. The charges stem from Knight's Aug. 27 arrest for allegedly beating Melissa Isaac while brandishing a knife in a parking lot.

Las Vegas police have said they witnessed the episode.

Knight and his representatives were unavailable for comment regarding the charges, the Review-Journal said.

The co-founder of Death Row Records was convicted of assault in 1992 and placed on probation, then jailed twice for violating the terms of his probation.

People names Jackman 'Sexiest Man Alive'

NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- Australian actor Hugh Jackman has been named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive for 2008.

The 40-year-old film star has played superhero Wolverine in the "X-Men" trilogy and won a Tony Award for his work in the stage musical "The Boy From Oz." He will next be seen opposite Nicole Kidman in the big-screen epic "Australia."

Kidman said she thinks Jackman, a married father of two, is a good choice for People's highest honor.

"Women's jaws drop when Hugh walks into a room," she told the magazine. "Hugh is tough and romantic at the same time. Australian men are a different breed. They're rugged and they sweat."

Deborra-Lee Furness, Jackman's wife of 12 years, said the actor may have a "body of doom," but insists she likes "what's inside."

Asked what his wife's reaction was when she heard he had been declared People's 2008 Sexiest Man Alive, Jackman recalled: "God bless her, she said, 'I could've told them that years ago!' And then she said, 'Obviously, Brad wasn't available this year.' And I said, 'That was a joke, right?'"

Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Matt Damon are some of People's previous Sexiest Man Alive title-holders.

The magazine's 2008 list of sexy men also includes Daniel Craig, Jon Hamm, Zac Efron, Robert Buckley, Blair Underwood, Ed Westwick, Michael Phelps, Javier Bardem, Blake Shelton, Lang Lang, Robert Pattinson, Joshua Jackson and Mark-Paul Gosselaar.

Spears: My life's missing excitement

NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. pop star Britney Spears says her life is devoid of passion and excitement since a court gave her father and a lawyer control over her interests.

The judge's decision followed Spears's hospitalization for psychiatric treatment and her failed bid to regain custody of her two sons with her ex-husband Kevin Federline, who has legal and physical custody of the boys.

"(My life has) no excitement, there's no passion. I think it's too in-control. If I wasn't under the restraints I'm under, I'd feel so liberated. When I tell them the way I feel, it's like they hear, but they're really not listening," the New York Daily News quoted Spears as saying in "Britney: For The Record," a 90-minute documentary set to air Nov. 30 on MTV.

"I have really good days, and then I have bad days," she added. "Even when you go to jail, you know, there's the time when you're gonna get out. But in this situation, it's never-ending. It's just like 'Groundhog Day' every day."

Spears was referring to the 1993 movie in which Bill Murray's character relives the same day over and over again until he learns what's important in life.

"I always wanted to feel free. I think I've learned my lesson now, and enough is enough," Spears said.

Gervais penning 'Extras' special

LONDON, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- British comedian and actor Ricky Gervais says he is working on a one-hour special continuing his recently wrapped show-biz series "Extras."

The TV comedy, which Gervais co-created and starred in with Stephen Merchant, ended after two seasons with a Christmas special last year. Gervais and Merchant previously collaborated on the iconic British TV series "The Office."

Gervais said during an appearance on ITV1's "This Morning" that he has written a "rough storyline" for an "Extras" special, the BBC reported.

The writer-actor admitted he "has a lot to beat" since David Bowie, Robert De Niro, Ben Stiller, Orlando Bloom, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Kate Winslet and Daniel Radcliffe all made guest appearances on the show.

"I've got my sights set on a few people. Al Pacino, I've got a good idea for," Gervais said regarding who he'd like to see play themselves on the special new episode. "I bumped into Danny DeVito and Michael Douglas at the (Joe) Calzaghe fight in New York. I said, 'So, do you want to do 'Extras'? And (DeVito) went 'yeah' and I said, 'That's legally binding.'"

Gervais went on to say he misses "Extras" more than he does "The Office."

"I think it's got more legs than 'The Office,'" he added. "We can go anywhere with it. We never ended it like 'The Office,' it was quite open-ended. We thought it would be good for (my character) Andy to try to make it in Hollywood, because then he's starting again -- and if you think entertainment's cruel over here, it's just a completely different kettle of fish there."