Naomi Watts to play Princess Diana in biopic

LONDON: British-Australian actress Naomi Watts is to play Britain's Princess Diana in a movie about the late royal's final two years, filmmakers have announced.

Producers said "Caught in Flight" would focus on a period when Diana, the former wife of heir to the throne Prince Charles, found "true personal happiness" shortly before her death in a 1997 car crash in Paris.

Diana wed Charles in a glittering ceremony in 1981, but the unhappy marriage ended in 1996. Charles wed his long-time companion Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005.

Watts, who won widespread critical acclaim for her role as Betty Elms in the 2001 psychological thriller "Mulholland Drive", said it was an honour to be able to play the "iconic role" of the woman known as the "People's Princess".

"Princess Diana was loved across the world and I look forward to rising to the challenge of playing her on screen," said the 44-year-old, who also won an Oscar nomination for her role as a recovering drug addict in "21 Grams".

The movie about the Princess of Wales, who was just 36 when she died, will be directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, best known for his epic 2004 film "Downfall" about the final days of Hitler. (AFP)

Diana Ross slept her way to the top

A new book has laid claims that American singer Diana Ross slept her way to the top of Motown in her quest to become the hit-making soul label’s top star.The book, “The Supremes: A Saga of Motown Dreams, Success and Betrayal”, an unauthorized biography by Mark Ribowsky, claims that Ross, 65, knew exactly from the first day she arrived at Motown what she needed to do to achieve her dreams.“Diana Ross, few knew outside of the Motown colony was on a fast track to rise to the top from the first day she got to Motown; not incidentally, that was also the first day she knew who(m) she wanted to sleep with to keep up the momentum,” the New York Post quoted Ribowsky as having written.“That, of course, turned out to be (Motown founder) Berry Gordy, but only after some other in-house romances. In no time, Ross would climb beyond (the Supremes) onto the A-list as a solo act, record six more Number 1 songs, and earn millions as well as top billing in two movies,” he stated.Ross' rep, Mark Young, did not respond to a call or e-mail, and there were no comments from Gordy either.