In brief: Dickie Attenborough attacks violence in movies

Lord ‘Dickie’ Attenborough, the actor and Oscar-winning film director who made his name playing a gangster in the 1947 film Brighton Rock (above), says violent films are partly responsible for the rise in street crime. He told the Brighton Evening Argus that because knives were commonplace in films, they had become "part of normal existence"…The Royal Shakespeare Company has taken steps to ensure that its production of Hamlet, starring the Doctor Who actor David Tennant, is not spoiled by TV fans coming to Stratford with bags of series memorabilia for the actor to sign. A spokesman for the RSC says: "Due to the huge amount of interest in the RSC's current production of Hamlet, only Royal Shakespeare Company or production-related memorabilia will be signed by members of the company"...Russell Brand, the louche London comedian, is to host this year's MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles on September 7. The 33-year-old is better known in LA since his well-received role in the comedy film, Forgetting Sarah Marshall...Dave Rowntree, the drummer with the band Blur, has lost his bid to become a London councillor after being beaten by a Conservative rival for the Church Street seat in Westminster…