Entertainment Today: Showbiz News

RICHARD HARRIS BATTLING CANCER

Film legend Richard Harris, seen most recently as Professor Dumbledore in "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" and Emperor Marcus Aurelius in "Gladiator," is reportedly battling cancer.

The New York Daily News reports the 72-year-old, Irish-born actor is undergoing chemotherapy for Hodgkin's disease at a private clinic in London.

Harris, who starred in "Camelot," "The Man Called Horse" and "The Guns of the Navarone," was admitted to University College Hospital in August, suffering from a chest infection, the News reports.

A stand-in was required to complete some scenes in his new film, "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets," which opens in the United States Nov. 15. It still is unclear whether he will be well enough to start shooting "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" this January.

RYDER TRIAL POSTPONED -- AGAIN

Winona Ryder's shoplifting trial once again has been delayed.

The Los Angeles judge hearing -- or trying to hear -- the case said the 30-year-old actress failed to appear in court Tuesday due to "an unusual circumstance."

Both sides in the case refused to reveal the nature of the mysterious circumstance that kept Ryder out of the courtroom. Beverly Hills Superior Court Judge Elden Fox, did, however, order Ryder to appear in court Wednesday to set a new trial date.

The star of "Dracula" and "The Age of Innocence" has been charged with stealing more than $5,000 worth of merchandise from Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills last December.

AND BABY MAKES FOUR...

Actors Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones are reportedly expecting their second child.

According to E! online, the child is due next spring, but there is no word on whether baby Douglas will be a boy or girl.

Zeta-Jones, who can be seen later this year in the hotly anticipated film musical, "Chicago," gave birth to her and Douglas' first child, Dylan, in August 2000. The couple was married three months later at New York's sumptuous Plaza Hotel.

ITALIAN 'PINOCCHIO' BREAKS RECORDS

If we're lying, our noses would grow...

Roberto Bernigni's "Pinocchio," the most expensive Italian film ever made, has set a new opening-weekend record at the Italian box office.

According to the independent movie survey company Cinetel Srl, the film based on Carlo Collodi's children's classic earned more than $6.93 million during its debut weekend.

Last year's fantasy hit, "The Lord of the Rings," which made $5.78 million in its first weekend, formerly held the title of Italy's biggest opener.

Just like his Academy Award-winning 1997 film "Life is Beautiful," the 50-year-old Bernigni both starred in and directed "Pinocchio." The film hits American theaters Christmas Day.

ANGELINA GONE TO THE WOLVES?

Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie reportedly is in talks with Warner Brothers to star in the horror film, "Bitten."

According to E!, the movie is based on Kelley Armstrong's novel about a female werewolf who tries to lead the "normal" life of a journalist, but who is drawn back to the pack when a rogue band of werewolves arrives.

'LA BOHEME' NYC PREVIEW DELAYED

Preview performances of Baz Luhrmann's "La Boheme" in New York City have been delayed.

The "Moulin Rouge!" auteur said in a statement Tuesday the show now will begin previews on Nov. 29 instead of the previously announced Nov. 26 to allow additional technical rehearsal time in New York following its successful run in San Francisco's Curran Theatre.

"Given the challenges of three principal casts performing in rotation," Luhrmann noted, "we have learned in San Francisco that our performers deserve additional stage time and technical rehearsals prior to their first performances. The slight delay in our preview schedule will allow us to do our work."