BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - Asian filmmakers who have watched in envy as US superheroes have won billions at the international box office are determined not to let Hollywood have everything its own way.

COLOMBEY-Lesotho-DEUX-EGLISES, France, Oct 9, 2008 (AFP) - When Charles de Gaulle died in this farming village 38 years ago, world leaders journeyed to Paris to pay homage to France's soldier-statesman.

INTERLAKEN, Switzerland, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - In a crowded Swiss cafe nestled in the picturesque Alpine town of Interlaken, Indian film star Anushka Shetty tries to catch the attention of fellow actor Gopichand Tottempudi.

He ignores her, she throws a tantrum, sending a coffee cup flying in front of a crowd of bystanders.

LONDON, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - James Bond actor Daniel Craig has had cosmetic surgery after being injured on the set of the latest Bond movie, he revealed in a new magazine interview.

The 40-year-old actor, who was recently spotted wearing an arm sling, revealed that he had to have eight stitches in his face after being accidentially kicked by an unnamed co-star on the 'Solace' set.

PARIS, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - The handwritten lyrics to one of singer Jacques Brel's most melancholic songs, 'Amsterdam', fetched more than 108,000 euros (148,000 dollars) at a Paris auction on Wednesday.

The text scribbled on a school notebook was one of 95 lots up for grabs at a Sotheby's sale held 30 years after Brel's death and despite protests from his family.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 8, 2008 (AFP) - Troubled pop singer Britney Spears is ready to go on trial to clear her name for allegedly driving without a California license, her lawyer J. Michael Flanagan said in court on Wednesday.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - 'X-Files' star David Duchovny has completed rehabilitation treatment for sex addiction and is preparing for work on a new film, the actor's lawyer told People magazine Tuesday.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Hollywood starlet Anne Hathaway is to star in Tim Burton's movie adaptation of Lewis Carroll's 'Alice in Wonderland,' entertainment industry press reported Tuesday.

PARIS, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - French film legend-turned-activist Brigitte Bardot took a swipe at Sarah Palin on Tuesday, saying the US vice presidential candidate was a disgrace to women.

'I hope you lose these elections because that would be a victory for the world,' Bardot wrote in an open letter to Republican John McCain's running mate in the November vote.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Actor Nick Nolte suffered a minor hand injury on Tuesday as he fled an electrical fire that gutted his Malibu mansion, police in Los Angeles said.

The 67-year-old 'Tropic Thunder' star suffered a small cut to his right hand as he broke a window to escape flames, sheriff's department lieutenant Scott Chew said.

LONDON, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - The production company behind a BBC comedy sketch that provoked outrage in the Philippines for being racist said Tuesday that the show was 'absurd' and should not be taken seriously.

MUMBAI, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - From Islamic extremism to the life of call centre workers, Bollywood is branching out from its traditional song and dance based genre to tackle contemporary issues that reflect the modern India.

PARIS, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Pablo Picasso's kinship with the great masters of Western painting, his lifelong urge to celebrate, rework and subvert their art, goes on display in a major exhibition opening Wednesday in Paris.

BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Chinese film-maker Pan Jianlin struggles to find the right words to describe what he saw at the Muyu Middle School, six days after the earthquake that devastated Sichuan province.

LONDON, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - China's leading young artists will be showcased when London's giant Saatchi Gallery reopens Thursday in a new venue after a three-year closure.

The Saatchi Gallery reopens its doors with an inaugural exhibition, 'The Revolution Continues: New Art From China', featuring some 30 top artists.

PARIS, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - Dozens of records, notebooks, guitars and knick-knacks that once belonged to the singer Jacques Brel go under the hammer Wednesday in Paris, 30 years after his death, despite protests from his family.

SANTIAGO, Oct 7, 2008 (AFP) - 'Lord of the Rings' star Elijah Wood is to open a new fashion exhibition in Chile's capital on Wednesday at the start of a two-week South American vacation, organizers of the show and media said.

The world's most famous Hobbit will unveil the 'War and Seduction' exhibition at the Museum of Fashion in the east of the city.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Legendary Hollywood director Steven Spielberg and his longtime partner Paramount Pictures formalized their divorce on Sunday, but intend to stay good friends, announced Paramount.

DHAKA, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - On the busy streets of Dhaka, Omar Ali snakes his way through the city's gridlocked traffic, pedalling passengers around town on his cycle rickshaw.

As one of an estimated one million rickshaw drivers in the Bangladeshi capital, the 45-year-old blends in on his colourful three-wheeler -- until one of his clients recognises his face.

DUBAI, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - A Dubai-based real estate company said on Monday it plans to build a multi-billion-dollar themed entertainment development in South Africa, the largest of its kind in the African continent.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 6, 2008 (AFP) - A Walt Disney movie about a pampered chihuahua forced to fend for herself on Mexico's mean streets took a bite out of the North American box-office this weekend, final figures showed Monday.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Hollywood directing legend Steven Spielberg is leaving his longtime partner Paramount Pictures to form a new Hollywood-based film venture worth 1.5 billion dollars with India's Reliance ADA Group, Paramount announced Sunday.

LONDON, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Half the tickets for Britain's Glastonbury music festival were snapped up Sunday on the first day they went on sale, organisers said -- despite the event not taking place for another eight months.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - A new Walt Disney film about a rapping chihuahua that mixes Aztec warrior history and romance jumped to the top of the US and Canadian box office over the weekend, figures showed Sunday.

The eighth Marrakesh International Film Festival will in November pay
tribute to British cinema and honour recently deceased Egyptian
director Youssef Chahine, organisers said

CHICHEN ITZA, Mexico, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Spanish tenor Placido Domingo sang in the Maya language and in Mariachi costume at a concert in the pre-Hispanic pyramids of Chichen Itza, southeastern Mexico, late Saturday.

LOS ANGELES, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Hollywood directing legend Steven Spielberg is leaving Paramount Pictures to form a new film venture, the company announced Sunday.

The director of such legendary works as 'Jaws,' 'Raiders of the Lost Ark,' 'E.T: The Extraterrestial' and the 'Indiana Jones' franchise, is to form a new movie venture with India's Reliance ADA Group.

PARIS, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - More than two million people thronged the streets of the French capital overnight Saturday for a 'White Night' of musical and cultural events, officials said.

US rocker Patti Smith was a top draw at the seventh edition of Paris' 'Nuit Blanche', which also featured a light and sound show by Japan's Ryoji Ikeda in front of the Montparnasse skyscraper.

BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 5, 2008 (AFP) - Chinese film-maker Pan Jianlin struggles to find the right words to describe what he saw at the Muyu Middle School, six days after the earthquake that devastated Sichuan province.

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, Oct 3, 2008 (AFP) - Jury deliberations in O.J. Simpson's robbery and kidnapping trial extended into the evening here Friday, 13 years to the day after the American football legend was acquitted of murder.

BUSAN, South Korea, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - It is the first time Anna Karina has made it to South Korea in person, but the actress's image has been deeply ingrained on the local consciousness since the 1960s.

O.J. Simpson was found guilty of robbery and kidnapping here Friday, 13
years to the day after the American football legend was acquitted of
brutally murdering his ex-wife and her friend.

Thirteen years after being cleared of the horrific murder of his
ex-wife and her friend in a verdict that shocked the world, the long
arm of the law has finally caught up with O.J. Simpson.

LONDON, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Television bosses were forced to change an episode of a staple daytime soap opera after 'dozens' of complaints over a jibe directed at Scottish football side Rangers, it was confirmed Saturday.

NEW DELHI, Oct 4, 2008 (AFP) - Twentieth Century Fox announced Saturday it had struck a multiple movie agreement with a top Indian producer, part of a Hollywood trend to reach out to Indian cinema.

Fox STAR Studios, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp, said it had clinched the deal with Indian producer Vipul Amrutlal Shah, one of the most successful producers in Hindi-language cinema.