"It was a complicated situation, and I'm not sure how it was handled at their end, but it certainly wasn't handled properly at mine," said the star of films such as The Godfather Part II and The Untouchables. Protests: "I was a guest in their country, and the last thing I would want to do is to offend anyone. I love Italy." The Italian media speculated that De Niro snubbed the Milan award because of accusations that his portrayal of Mafia men damaged the country. US-based group the Order of Sons of Italy said last month that he should not be granted Italian citizenship. The citizenship ceremony was postponed after the group's objections but is still due to go ahead. De Niro defended the parts he played, saying: "The characters I play are real. So they have as much right to be portrayed as any other characters." He also said the protesters had ignored scores of other parts he had played in his career. De Niro was born in New York after his great-grandparents emigrated to the US from Ferrazzano, in Italy's central Molise region, at the end of the 19th Century. The Sons of Italy group's president, Joseph Sciame, wrote to Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi to complain about De Niro receiving the award. He wrote: "He has done nothing to promote the image of Italians. He has damaged their image by constantly playing criminal roles that tarnish their reputation." But the government rejected the group's request to not grant De Niro citizenship.

MICHAEL JACKSON'S LAWYER QUITS

UNPRECEDENTED RECORD OPENING FOR SHREK SEQUEL

Computer animated sequel Shrek 2 has broken box office records in the US, taking $11.8m (£6.7m) in one day. It has scored the biggest midweek opening to date for an animated feature, beating the record set by Pokemon: The First Movie in 1999. A spokesperson for Dreamworks, which made the film, said the opening "exceeded all of our expectations". Shrek 2, which features the voices of Mike Myers and Cameron Diaz, is in competition at the Cannes Film Festival. Unprecedented:  The film is also set to break another record in the US over the weekend, by being screened in 4,163 cinemas - making it the largest debut of all time. "This is unprecedented - I've never seen a movie open in that many theatres," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations, which tracks cinema audiences in the US. Dreamworks head of distribution Jim Tharp said they had had an increase in the number of screens available to show the film, meaning they were able to expand past the 4,000 mark. The original film, which also competed at Cannes when it was released in 2001 and won best animated feature at the Oscars, made $267m (£151m) at the US box office and $455m (£258m) worldwide. The sequel sees Myers and Diaz reprising their roles of the green ogre Shrek and his sweetheart, Princess Fiona. Eddie Murphy, who supplied the voice of Shrek's sidekick Donkey, also returns, while cast newcomers include John Cleese, Jennifer Saunders and Antonio Banderas.-BC.

A US judge has ordered Britney Spears to explain why she has not responded to a lawsuit filed by diet pill makers. The companies behind Zantrex-3 claim Spears' lawyers

threatened to sue them for using her image without permission. Zoller Laboratories, DG Enterprises and Basic Research LLC are asking a federal judge in Utah to declare they have not violated any state or federal laws. Spears failed to respond by 1 September and now has until 22 October to do so or the companies will win by default. The action arose after Spears was allegedly seen spilling a bottle of Zantrex-3 at London's Heathrow Airport last year. Second time lucky:The Utah-based companies capitalised on the media interest by using Spears in their advertising. The lawsuit was filed in November in Salt Lake City but it took months to serve Spears with the papers. The pop star recently split with the manager who has guided her career since she was 13 years old. Larry Rudolph said he and the singer had "mutually agreed not to renew their nine-year management relationship". Meanwhile, the singer formalised her marriage with dancer Kevin Federline last week, almost three weeks after their Los Angeles ceremony. Spears, 22, and Federline, 26, filed for their marriage licence on 7 October, her publicist said.

WENDY JAMES FIGHTS BACK

Wendy James, the seductive former singer with punk-pop band Transvision Vamp, is back with her first album in 11 years. She burst onto the music scene in 1988 with the boisterous I Want Your Love, which along with Baby I Don't Care helped Transvision Vamp notch up seven top 30 hits in the UK. The forthright James earned the band acres of media coverage yet, despite American, Australian and European success, Transvision Vamp split in 1991. "We were the definition of a pop band," says James. "We shot into the sky, burned brightly then exploded. Pop." Musical shift:  The decision to quit was mutual, she says, after three albums and a gruelling world tour which left the four-piece exhausted. "If our record company had given us some time off, Transvision Vamp may have been able to continue for a few more years," she reflects. "But by then music had moved on. People were into Public Enemy, De La Soul and the Madchester scene. Suddenly being in a white pop band wasn't such an exciting proposition." After her solo career made a