ANTHONY HOPKINS - HOPKINS SLAMS AMERICAN CULTURE

Welsh actor SIR ANTHONY HOPKINS has condemned modern American media for breeding a celebrity-obsessed culture. The Silence Of The Lambs star - who became a U.S. citizen in 2000 and now lives in California - says he is most disturbed by the country's news coverage, which he believes sensationalises war. He says, "They (the media) are the body-snatchers. They have taken everything out of us. Look at American news programmes. Most of them are adverts. It's showtime, war as showtime. Those anchor people are all weird and strange. I wouldn't say they are insane but with the lipgloss - it's Disneyland." And the 69-year-old believes the result of glorifying scandal has taken shape in the public's disturbing fascination with celebrities: "The obsession with Anna Nicole Smith, the obsession with Paris Hilton. The whole world is obsessed. The national nightmare: Will Paris Hilton be released from jail? "You look at the magazines. Brad and Angelina - everyone is so breathless because 'Are they going to break up?' What is this about? It is insanity."