Hero starts to inform director on latest (4)
I believe the answer is:
idol
'hero' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'starts to inform director on latest' is the wordplay.
'starts to' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letters of 'inform director on latest' is 'IDOL'.
(Other definitions for idol that I've seen before include "Film star" , "Hero of screen or stage" , "Worshipped statue" , "Pagan symbol" , "Favourite" .)