• Billy Elliot won two prizes at the Evening Standard Awards last night. Teenage actor Jamie Bell, who plays the lead role as an aspiring dancer in a northern mining town, took the Best Newcomer Award whilst Julie Walters, who plays his ballet teacher, was named Best Actress. Mike Leigh's comedy based on Gilbert and Sullivan's Mikado, Topsy-Turvy, also won two awards, for Best Film and Best Actor for its star Jim Broadbent.

• Rumours that Courtney Love will portray Paula Yates in a film about the tragic TV presenter's life (see earlier story) appear to have been confirmed by Love herself. The lead singer of Hole, who met Yates only days before she died, will write the script herself if she has to, according to Showbiz Ireland. Love believes that the chance meeting was a sign: "We exchanged numbers and made plans to hang out." She told the Irish Star newspaper: "I still can't believe she's dead. But I believe that I met her for a reason. And now I'll bring her true story to the world."

• Two new three-minute cartoons directed by Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard are available to view on the American film site Countingdown.com from today. The films, called Steven's Dreams and Ron's Dreams, star animated versions of the two directors who also narrate. Philip Nakov, co-founder of the site, says fans will get a different look at the directors. "In a film, the director is telling a story," says Nakov. "In this instance, they are telling a story that happened to them, which is a very personal look, and hopefully the fans will get to know the directors a little better."