Welsh-born actress Catherine Zeta-Jones (R) chats to her husband, US actor Michael Douglas, as she arrives at the premiere of her film ‘Chicago‘ in Beverly Hills, California. The couple will appear also in the courtroom during the case of media abusing their wedding photos. PHOTO TASR/EPA
LONDON) - Hollywood stars Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones will bring a rare touch of glamour to Britain‘s fusty halls of justice this month when they testify in a court case over the use of their wedding photos. The raven-haired Welsh actress and her Oscar-winning husband are claiming „very substantial“ damages from celebrity magazine Hello! after it published unauthorised photos of their lavish wedding in 2000, London‘s High Court was told on Thursday.
The couple had sold exclusive rights to coverage of the wedding at New York‘s Plaza Hotel to rival magazine OK! for a reported one million pounds ($1.6 million). But Hello! spoiled its rival‘s exclusive by hitting the streets with its own secretly taken pictures of the star-studded event. Lawyer Michael Tugendhat QC, told the court during a preliminary hearing on Thursday that Hello! had breached the couple‘s privacy and confidentiality and caused them distress because of the poor quality of its pictures. He said the couple were intending to be at court in person for the full hearing on January 27.
Hello! denies the allegations and claims it was offered the pictures on the open market and was entitled to publish them. Zeta-Jones, 33, is currently appearing on movie screens in „Chicago“ and is expecting the couple‘s second child within weeks. Douglas, 58, is the son of veteran, dimple-chinned actor Kirk Douglas, and has starred in such films as „Wall Street“, „Traffic“ and „Romancing the Stone“.
Reuters
