Paquin and Moyer welcome twins

Plus Amy Poehler and Ricky Gervais are among Emmy presenters, Joss Whedon takes on Shakespeare, James Cameron says Avator 4 will be prequel, DreamWorks unveils plans for 12 new films and Avril Lavigne talks wedding dress.

Anna Paquin and Steven Moyer. Dan Steinberg / AP Photo

Anna Paquin and Stephen Moyer are the proud parents of newborn twins. Their representatives confirmed that Paquin gave birth to the babies a few weeks early but say they're in good health and their parents "are overjoyed". The statement didn't specify when the babies were born or the sex of the children. They are the 30-year-old Paquin's first children. Moyer, 42, has two children from previous relationships. The True Blood stars were married in 2010. * AP

Poehler and Gervais to hand out Emmys

The seven-time nominee Louis CK and The Office's Ricky Gervais are among the stars who will be handing out this year's Emmys, in a ceremony hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. Other presenters include Ginnifer Goodwin, the star of Once Upon a Time, and Mindy Kaling, the star and creator of the new comedy The Mindy Project. Jim Parsons, who is nominated for The Big Bang Theory, and Amy Poehler, nominated for Parks and Recreation, are also set to be on hand. The 64th Emmy Awards will be held on September 23. * AP

Whedon takes on Shakespeare

Joss Whedon, the writer-director behind The Avengers, has unveiled a passion project at the Toronto International Film Festival: his adaptation of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. He rounded up friends and family for the low-budget Much Ado, shot for 12 days at his Los Angeles home. Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof from Whedon's TV series Angel star as the leads. "It was the best vacation I ever took," Whedon said. "I've literally never been happier. Every day, my best friends that I hadn't seen since I'd been away doing Avengers for so long came to my house to do my two favourite pastimes, film and Shakespeare." * AP

Cameron: Avatar 4 will be prequel

James Cameron is still writing Avatar 2 and 3, but he already has a premise for the film's fourth instalment. "It will be a prequel that goes back to the early expeditions of Pandora, and kind of what went wrong with the humans and the Na'vi," the director told MTV. The Star Wars-like storytelling of going back in time after the completion of a trilogy is, he says, "the logical thing because we'll have completed the thematic arc by the end of three. The only thing left to do is go back".

DreamWorks unveils 12 new films

DreamWorks Animation has announced a 12-picture release slate for the next four years. Included are How to Train Your Dragon sequels in 2014 and 2016, as well as the Seth Rogen-voiced BOO: Bureau of Otherworldly Operations in 2015. Also planned are some intriguing titles such as Happy Smekday!, The Croods and - for Bollywood fans - Mumbai Musical.

Lavigne talks wedding dress

Avril Lavigne promises a unique wedding dress when she marries the Nickelback rocker Chad Kroeger. "Either it's something I'm going to design, or collaborate with another designer," she said after presenting her Abbey Dawn clothing line at New York Fashion Week. * AP