Hollywood actress Kirsten Dunst banned a writer from the set of her new movie after he allegedly criticised her acting ability.

British novelist Toby Young wrote the book on which the actress's new film - How to Lose Friends & Alienate People - is based, and visited the set on several occasions.

And on his second visit, Young made comments regarding Dunst's performance to a producer - and it led to the actress asking movie bosses to bar him from the studio.

Young says, "She overheard me giving the producer a note on her performance in a particular scene. At the time, I didn't think of it as a criticism, more as a helpful bit of advice, and the producer took it in that spirit. But Kirsten overheard this exchange and interpreted it as a complaint about her acting ability. It was after this, apparently, that she took Bob (Weide, the director) to one side and asked if I could be kept at arms length in future."

"Bob carried out this edict with a good deal of tact. I didn't realize it, but this was, in effect, Bob carrying out Kirsten's instructions." (LR/WNSPC/ZN)

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