Carl Williams was so nearly in the right place at the right time in both his fights for the heavyweight championship of the world. "The Truth", as people who knew him liked to call him, lost on points over the ancient distance of 15 rounds to Larry Holmes in 1985. The ringside experts and fans in Reno that night overwhelmingly believed Holmes had lost for the first time in 48 fights, but the judges denied Williams. Holmes lost for the first time in his next fight.

Who knew that Uma Thurman's father was the first Westerner ever to become a Buddhist monk? He popularised the faith in the US long before Richard Gere leapt aboard the saffron bandwagon.

Gillian Flynn used her experience of being laid off after a decade as a journalist to “find a way into” her protagonist Nick, who suffers the same fate in Gone Girl.

Another film?

Actor told talkSPORT Radio: 'I don’t see what we are being given back'

Reports of death of drugs baron known as El Chapo blamed on a government 'mix up'

Welshman promises to silence “disrespectful”  American – but the odds are heavily against him

So, you like cowboys and you're mad for the Mafia. Why take two bottles into the shower, though? Get Vegas, the wash'n'go solution to all your cowboy/mobster needs – a crime drama that, as its creator, Nicholas Pileggi, puts it in the elevator pitch, might reasonably be summarised as "John Wayne versus Edward G Robinson".

My father and I shared a love of film His mother was an usherette in a cinema, and he'd watch every movie twice a week for free. I discovered the afternoon black-and-white films on TV, such as [1948 crime drama] Key Largo, at a young age. It was a very formative experience as [these films] absorb into your consciousness.

Our pick of the best on the box this festive season

James Marsden will star opposite Elizabeth Banks in Walk of Shame.

A collection of Beatles memorabilia owned by George Harrison's family is expected to sell for six figures at auction next month.