'Harry Potter' spinoff book to be adapted for trilogy

Author JK Rowling has confirmed that "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", a spinoff of her "Harry Potter" series, will be brought to the big screen via a trilogy.

However, Rowling, 49, has said that the project will be "neither a prequel nor a sequel to the 'Harry Potter' series, but an extension of the wizarding world."

David Yates, who directed the final four films in the "Harry Potter" series, will helm the new project at hand.

Based on the magical creatures and characters inspired by the character Harry Potter's Hogwarts textbook, it will be set in the early 1920s, and will follow the adventures of author and Magizoologist New Scamander, reports mirror.co.uk.

The movies will be released in 2016, 2018 and 2020.

Michael Jackson tops Forbes list of highest-earning dead celebrities

Five years after his death, singer Michael Jackson is generating a fortune and is the top-earning dead celebrity, raking in an estimated $140 million in the past year for his estate, Forbes said on Wednesday.

He earned more than twice as much as singer Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 and came in second with $55 million, and three times more than cartoonist and Peanuts comic strip creator Charles Schulz, who took third place with $40 million.

"Few celebrities prove the point that there is (financial) life after death better than Michael Jackson," according to Forbes.

It is Jackson's second straight year atop the list. He regained the title in 2013, a year after being pushed into second place by actress Elizabeth Taylor.

Jackson's second album released after his death, "Xscape" debuted at No. 2 on the pop charts in the past year and the singer also appeared as a hologram at the Billboard Music Awards. Two Cirque du Soleil shows, "Immortal" and "One," account for much of Jackson's earnings along with his music catalogue and publishing empire.

Taylor, who died in 2011, came in at No. 4 with $25 million and reggae singer Bob Marley completed the top five with $20 million in earnings in the year to October 2014. Marley died of cancer at the age of 36 in 1981.

Singer John Lennon, the former Beatle who was gunned down in New York in 1980, was No. 7 with $12 million.

The 13 deceased celebrities included on Forbes list earned a total of $363.5 million.

Forbes compiled the list by talking to estate managers, lawyers and licensor and analysing estimated posthumous earnings between October 2013-14.

Sunny Leone's 'Leela' a family drama!

Filmmaker Bobby Khan has roped in adult star Sunny Leone for his "Leela" and says his directorial debut is a clean family drama, but adds that the actress' glamour quotient will be high and he would try for an U/A certificate for the movie.

"The script of the film is very strong and it's a clean family drama, but we do understand that since Sunny is part of the project, there is a lot of expectation from the audience, so I can't cheat my audience," Bobby told IANS.

The actress had scorched the screen with her bold avatar in "Ragini MMS 2" and "Jism 2".

"All I can say is though it is a family drama, Sunny's glamour quotient will be high in the film. There are a few scenes in the film which require a little boldness, but we have shot it subtly and not shown it over the top.

"As a director I will try my best to fight and get a U/A certificate for the film, so let's see," he added.

The film has been widely shot in Rajasthan.

Talking about Sunny's look in the film, Bobby said: "Sunny plays three characters in the film, so she has three different looks. I can assure you that Sunny will be seen in a never-seen-before avatar on the celluloid. I have tried to make her look like a Bollywood heroine and I hope the audience accepts it."

Eating fruit and vegetables makes you happy

Australian researchers say eating large amounts of fruit and vegetables can make you happier.

The University of Queensland (UQ) study, involving more than 12,000 people, concluded that eating eight or more portions of fruit and vegetables a day improves mental well-being, Xinhua reported.

UQ health economics researcher Redzo Mujcic told local radio that current guidelines on fruit and vegetable consumption were mostly focused on physical health, and not on mental health.

Mujcic's study looked at people's choices on fruit and vegetables, and rated these against their levels of satisfaction, stress and vitality.

"It comes up the more you eat the better, but there's also some optimal points. Eating about five fruits and five vegetables (per day) makes us the happiest we can be in that case," he told Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) radio.

However, Mujcic said fewer than 10 percent of those surveyed were eating the optimal 10 servings per day.

Penelope Cruz named 'sexiest woman alive' by Esquire magazine

Spanish actress Penelope Cruz has been named this year's "sexiest woman alive" by Esquire, the men's lifestyle magazine said on Monday.

The 40-year-old follows last year's winner, American actress Scarlett Johansson, to earn the honour chosen by Esquire editors.

Cruz, whose last film was director Ridley Scott's 2013 thriller "The Counselor," alongside husband Javier Bardem, will star in the upcoming Spanish-language drama "Ma Ma," and is currently in production on the Sacha Baron Cohen comedy "Grimsby."

The Madrid-born actress, who won a supporting actress Oscar for her performance as an emotionally volatile artist in Woody Allen's "Vicky Cristina Barcelona," told the magazine that she is no longer as attracted to dramatic roles as before.

"I had an attraction to drama," Cruz said in the magazine's upcoming issue. "Most of us have that, especially if you are an artist - you feel like you are tempted to explore the darkness. I could not be less interested now."

Cruz and Bardem, 45, have two young children together.

She rose to international prominence in 2001 with roles in Hollywood films "Vanilla Sky," and "Blow".

She also frequently collaborates with acclaimed Spanish director Pedro Almodóvar, who has called Cruz a muse while the actress told Esquire that the "Talk to Her" director is her "biggest source of inspiration".

American actress Mila Kunis, Barbados-born pop star Rihanna and South African actress Charlize Theron have all recently been given the distinction by Esquire.