Johnny Depp and the makers of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise have swapped the high seas for the wild west in "The Lone Ranger," as they seek to reboot an American pop culture icon.

Having earned more than $3.6 billion at the box office with the "Pirates" blockbusters, producer Jerry Bruckheimer and studio giant Disney wanted to give a new take on the traditional western adventure.

The cute babbling Minions who played supporting roles in 2010's animated blockbuster "Despicable Me" take center stage in the sequel, a film tipped to rival the original's stellar success.

In fact the little yellow men -- voiced by the films' French directors with a merry sprinkling of multi-lingual gibberish -- have proved so popular that they are to get their own movie next year.

Will it be a girl called Alexandra, or a boy called Wayne? No one outside Buckingham Palace knows but it has not stopped punters from around the world betting on Britain's royal baby.

Bookmakers say they expect that wagers on the arrival of Prince William and Catherine's first child will outstrip those for the couple's wedding in 2011, previously the biggest market for so-called novelty bets.

"Ava Gardner: The Secret Conversations" (Simon & Schuster), by Peter Evans and Ava Gardner

"I'm tired of remembering," actress Ava Gardner laments during one of many sessions with the ghostwriter working on her memoir. "I'm sick of trying to explain myself all the time."

U.S. pop diva Jennifer Lopez appeared at a birthday bash for Turkmenistan's hardline leader but would have abstained if she had known of "human right issues of any kind" regarding him, a spokeswoman said Monday.

And she only wished "Happy Birthday" to Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov as a "gracious" last-minute favor when asked to by a Chinese oil company which organized the weekend event, her publicist said in a statement.

There are only a couple of models in the world who own not just the clothes they wear when they walk the runway but, by their sheer magnetic presence, command the entire show and with it the undivided attention of every spectator in the room.

One such model is Naomi Campbell.

Puppeteers from the Israeli version of Sesame Street protested Monday against Israel's closure of a Palestinian children's puppet festival, arguing that puppet theater poses no threat to Israeli security.

Ariel Doron, the voice of Elmo on the Israeli version of the popular children's television show, and Yousef Sweid, who plays an Arab Muppet on the show, created a Facebook group named Puppets4All calling on Israel to permit the festival. Two other Israeli Sesame Street puppeteers, along with a number of fellow Israeli actors, uploaded photos to the Facebook group holding puppets and signs protesting the closure.

Who won video of the year again?

The BET Awards were barely about the awards as wild performances stole the night.

The Rolling Stones showed they've still got it as they finally took to the stage at Glastonbury with an electric performance that organizers said was the highlight of the British festival's history.

Frontman Mick Jagger, wearing a glittering green jacket, bounded onto the Pyramid Stage on Saturday night with the energy and enthusiasm of a man half his age.

A performer with the world-famous Cirque du Soleil circus died after plunging from a high wire before a horrified crowd at a Las Vegas show, the organization confirmed on Sunday.

Sarah Guyard, who media reports identified as a 31-year-old mother-of-two, fell to her death towards the end of the circus's popular Ka production staged at the MGM Grand on Saturday.