Good sport Halle is catnip for Razzies

Halle Berry was greeted with loud cheers when she made an unexpected appearance at the Razzie awards in Hollywood last weekend…

Halle Berry was greeted with loud cheers when she made an unexpected appearance at the Razzie awards in Hollywood last weekend to collect her award as worst actress of 2004 for Catwoman, which also took the Razzies for worst picture, director and screenplay.

Parodying her tearswept Oscar acceptance speech in 2002, Berry said: "Oh my gosh, oh my God. I never in my life thought that I would be here, winning a Razzie. It's not like I ever aspired to be here, but thank you. It was just what my career needed - I was at the top and now I'm at the bottom."

She added: "I want to thank Warner Brothers for casting me in this piece of shit," as she dragged her agent on stage and warned him: "Next time read the script first".

Fahrenheit 9/11 also took four Razzies: worst actor to George W. Bush for his performance as president; worst supporting actor to Donald Rumsfeld; worst supporting actress for Britney Spears's cameo; and worst screen couple for "Bush and Condoleeza Rice or his pet goat".

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You couldn't make it up

This year's award for worst Oscar night faux pas goes to comedienne Joan Rivers, who was interviewing the celebs as they paraded up the red carpet on Sunday. When best actress nominee Imelda Staunton hovered into view, Rivers asked her if she had met the character she plays in Vera Drake, adding, "Or is she dead now?" Staunton patiently explained that Vera Drake is, in fact, a fictional character.

Nyman returns to Ireland

Anyone who attended the Michael Nyman Band's exhilarating performance at the National Concert Hall in 1992 will welcome the news that Nyman returns with his full ensemble for two concerts. Both will be presented by Note Productions, at Cork Opera House on April 11th and at the NCH in Dublin the following night. The concert in Cork, part of the European City of Culture programme, will be preceded by an RTÉ Lyric FM public interview with Nyman in the Opera House at 6pm on April 11th.

Nyman first came to fame with his scores for Peter Greenaway's movies, notably The Falls, The Draughtsman's Contract, A Zed and Two Noughts, Prospero's Books, and the short Making a Splash. His many other credits include the scores for Monsieur Hire, The Hairdresser's Husband, The Piano, Carrington, Gattaca, The End of the Affair, Wonderland, The Claim, The Actors, Nathalie, and a contribution to 9 Songs.

Quentin gets forensic

Quentin Tarantino will direct the final episode in the current season of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, the top-rated show on US TV. Tarantino has come up with an original story for the episode, which is expected to be broadcast in the US on May 19th.

Tarantino's plotline will put one of the CSI team in "serious jeopardy", according to one of the producers, who said: "Quentin knows everything there is to know about CSI, and he is into its whole mythology. He had a great idea, and it was so much fun to have him in the room. We are positively giddy."