Training Day director Antoine Fuqua is in talks with Fox Searchlight to shoot a big-screen biopic of rapper Biggie Smalls. The film will be scripted by Cheo Hodari Coker, the last journalist to interview him before his murder, and co-produced by the rapper's mother, Voletta Wallace. Biggie Smalls, born Christopher Wallace and also known as the Notorious BIG, was a 400lb giant of the East Coast rap scene. He was shot dead in the spring of 1997, six months after the driveby killing of rival rapper Tupac Shakur. Both murders remain unsolved to this day, although Nick Broomfield's 2002 documentary Biggie and Tupac suggested that the crimes were at least partly connected to the West Coast record label Death Row, run by renegade producer Suge Knight.

Andy Serkis is the latest actor to sign on for the teen espionage outing Stormbreaker. Adapted from the novels by Anthony Horowitz, the film will follow the adventures of Alex Rider, a pint-sized member of MI6 played by Alex Pettyfer. Serkis remains best known for being the flesh-and-blood basis of the CGI Gollum in the Lord of the Rings trilogy and recently reunited with director Peter Jackson on the remake of King Kong. In Stormbreaker he will take the role of Mr Grin, the henchman of crime boss Darrius Sayle (Mickey Rourke). Other actors who have already committed to the project include Ewan McGregor, Bill Nighy and Stephen Fry.

Pete Postlethwaite was yesterday made an honorary fellow of Liverpool's John Moores University for his outstanding contribution to the dramatic arts at the city's Anglican Cathedral. "This award beats an Oscar," said the 60-year-old actor, who hails from nearby Warrington. He added: "This is a real honour for me and I am thrilled to bits especially as I always wanted to come to this university." For the record, Postlethwaite was nominated for an Oscar for his role in 1993's In the Name of the Father. Other notable screen roles include Brassed Off, The Usual Suspects and The Lost World: Jurassic Park.