PEOPLE BRIEFS: Lauren Bacall, Gordon Willis get honorary Oscar

Nov 16, 2009, 16:45 GMT

Oscar finally:- Lauren Bacall - 47th Annual New York Film Festival - Closing Night - "Broken Embraces" Premiere - Arrivals - Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, 1941 Broadway at 65th Street - New York City, NY, USA © Sylvain Gaboury / PR Photos

<#> Los Angeles - Screen legend Lauren Bacall has nabbed the elusive Oscar that evaded her throughout her distinguished career.

The actress, 85, was presented with a a lifetime achievement Oscar by Angelica Huston at a star-studded ceremony attended by the likes of Jack Nicolson, Warren Beatty, Steven Spielberg, and George Lucas.

'I can't believe it - a man at last,' Bacall joked at the Saturday night event that marked the first time the Academy has presented an award away from the main ceremony in February. It was not televised.

Bacall paid tribute to her husband and fellow actor Humphrey Bogart, who died in 1957.

'He gave me a life and he changed my life,' she said of the Hollywood legend.

B-movie producer and director Roger Corman was also given an honorary Oscar, as was cinematographer Gordon Willis, who worked on the Godfather trilogy, All The President's Men and Woody Allen films including Manhattan and Annie Hall.

The Irving G. Thalberg Award went to John Calley, whose producer credits include The Remains of the Day, Postcards from the Edge, Closer, The Da Vinci Code and its sequel, Angels & Demons.

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Courteney Cox will Scream again =

Los Angeles (dpa) - Courteney Cox is returning to the scene of one of her greatest horrors. The 45-year-old star of Cougar Town and Friends says she and her husband David Arquette are both returning to the horror genre in Scream 4, fourteen years after they met on the set of the first Scream film in 1996.

'There are really only a few of us that survived,' said Cox.

Cox and Arquette will reprise their roles as overzealous reporter Gale Weathers and bumbling sheriff Dwight 'Dewey' Riley and will be joined by Neve Campbell, who starred as the series' heroine, Sidney Prescott.

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Jolie and Pitt design jewelry line =

Los Angeles (dpa) - Celebrity couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie have designed a line of jewelry with the proceeds going to the Education Partnership for Children of Conflict, which Jolie co-founded in 2006.

The so-called Protector line features jewel-encrusted snakes in the shape of rings, picture frames, pendants and baby gifts such as egg cups and tooth boxes. They were inspired by a snake-shaped ring Jolie received when pregnant with daughter Shiloh which she considers a lucky charm that protects her family.

The line will be sold through jeweler Asprey in London, New York, Dubai, Beverly Hills and Tokyo with prices starting at around 500 dollars. In a statement, Jolie said the sales will benefit the organization she started to raise awareness and to fund the education of child victims of war, conflict and natural disaster.

'These are the children who most need a safe place to learn, a place to heal, a place to learn reconciliation, a place to build a better future and a place - to just be children,' she said. 'Yet the education for these children is often forgotten.'

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Ashlee Simpson-Wentz heads from Melrose Place to Broadway =

Los Angeles (dpa) - Ashlee Simpson-Wentz is to star in a Broadway version of the musical Chicago, just weeks after being ousted from the TV remake of Melrose Place, she announced Monday.

The singer-turned-actress, 25, will play murderess Roxie Hart in the hit musical, which has been running since 1996.

Simpson-Wentz previously played the role in 2006 in a West End production of the show in London.

'I'm honoured to be reprising my role as Chicago's Roxie Hart, returning to the stage and joining this amazing cast,' she said. 'Being on Broadway is a childhood dream come true.' <#>