English actress Carey Mulligan is set to play Eliza Doolittle in a remake of the film My Fair Lady. Mulligan, 24, will be following in the footsteps of late actress Audrey Hepburn, who had played the part of Doolittle in 1964. Actress Emma Thompson, who wrote the script for the new version of the film, disclosed Mulligan’s involvement as she attended the premier of her latest Nanny McPhee film. “I think Carey is set to play it, yes,” the Telegraph quoted her as telling BBC Five Live. She also said that she was keen for actor Hugh Grant to play the role of Henry Higgins that had originally been performed by late actor Rex Harrison. “I love Hugh so I’d love him to do it. He might want to, he might not want to, so we don’t know yet. But hopefully we’ll make it later this year,” Thompson added.

Atonement author Ian McEwan is turning the bestselling book into an opera following the success of its 2007 film adaptation starring Keira Knightley. The book, which was released in 2001, follows a love affair doomed by a child’s misunderstanding. Director Joe Wright’s movie, also starring James McAvoy, landed seven Oscar nominations and won the Academy Award for Best Original Score. Now writer McEwan is working on an operatic version with composer Michael Berkeley and poet Craig Raine – and he promises the finished show will be a grand affair. He says, “It’s not a chamber piece, that’s for sure.” Theatre owners in the U.K. Germany and the U.S. are reportedly interested in staging the Atonement opera and are eyeing a 2013 premiere.

Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp) appears to be a very busy man considering all he currently has on his plate and everything that lies ahead of him, but at least he always takes the time to fill in everyone on what’s going on. Depp recently appeared at a press event for Tim Burton’s Alice In Wonderland and advised Collider of a few things dealing with his upcoming projects including Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Rumors had been flying that his co-stars from the first three films, Orlando Bloom and Keira Knightley, would not be returning for the fourth film. Then it even had gone as far as the duo to say they wouldn’t be coming back to play the roles of William Turner and Elizabeth Swann respectively. So when Collider got Depp in front of them, they made sure to find out the absolute truth. Depp said, “Yeah, there’s no Keira or Orlando in there. I don’t know. I don’t think we’d ever throw too much Jack Sparrow in there. There will be a little bit of everybody.” It will be interesting to see how they write out the parts of two of the biggest characters in the franchise, but it’s definitely going to be done. Pirates 4 is scheduled hit the high seas (and theaters) on May 20, 2011. Source: Collider.com

Keira Knightley and Ashton Kutcher are the top celebrity inspirations for baby names in the UK today. All the little Keiras and Ashtons named after them will grow up alongside Judes (after Jude Law) and Scarletts (Scarlett Johansson), names which also make the top ten. Other celebrity-inspired names include Paris, Alexa and Rihanna for girls and Leonardo, Romeo and Guy for boys, according to the internet family history website findmypast.com. Debra Chatfield, marketing manager at findmypast.com, said: ‘Families and names are all important to us. It is fascinating to see how certain names have shown strong staying power, while other names haven’t survived social change or celebrity association. ‘There has been a revival of more traditional British names becoming popular again in recent years, with parents naming their children after grandparents and great-grandparents to ensure family names survive. ‘Possibly this is a reflection of the recent growth in popularity of researching your family tree, but Brits are also showing their creative flair with a plethora of celebrity and globally inspired names too.’

Dita Von Teese is a style icon in her own right and has her own distinct look so we were surprised to see she’s been taking red carpet inspiration from Keira Knightley. The burlesque dancer choose the same gorgeous Alexis Mabille to wear in Cannes as Keira wore to The Duchess premiere back in November. Alexis told Grazia of Dita: “Like with any woman I can’t tell you how she came to chose the dress. It’s an emotional coup de coeur maybe. She simply loved that dress! She saw it in my collection and ordered it straight away, alongside another – the bow patineuse pink one.” He added: “I love her work as an artist. The colour of the dress is so nice with her beautiful porcelain skin and the style is perfect on her sexy silhouette.” Keira may have beaten her to it but it’s no surprise Dita choose to stunning netted dress with bow pockets. It created such a frenzy when the actress wore it that Alexis now has a cuttings book dedicated entirely to that design! Thanks to FemaleFirst for these news!

Today is Keira’s 24th birthday and we want to wish her all the best! We hope that all her wishes come true and that she spends a wonderful day with her beloved ones!

Oscar-nominated costumes worn by Keira Knightley and Ralph Fiennes will be on show in exhibitions at Chatsworth House and Kedleston Hall. The outfits were worn by the stars in last year’s hit movie, The Duchess, with scenes being filmed at the two Derbyshire stately homes. The film has been nominated for two Academy Awards – for Best Costumes and Best Art Direction – at this year’s ceremony, to be held in Hollywood on February 22. Now Chatsworth House will be adding the wedding dresses worn by Keira Knightley, in the film’s marriage scenes, to their collection of artefacts from The Duchess. And Kedleston Hall has 12 new costumes to add to its display. The movie, which cost £13.5m, tells the story of the life of 18th-century aristocrat Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, who was known for her extravagant political and personal life. Read the rest of this entry…