Entertainment - AFP

HONG KONG (AFP) - A friend of Gao Xingjian, the first and only Chinese writer to win the Nobel prize for literature, recently managed to find a pirated copy of his banned work at an underground Chinese bookstore.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Will Smith, Johnny Depp and Eddie Murphy were the best paid Hollywood actors in the past year, according to Forbes magazine's special issue "Entertainment All Stars."

GIVERNY, France (AFP) - Mr Bean wrecking a Whistler or Julia Roberts expounding on a Pollock: in much the way James Bond films help cocktail connoisseurs improve their drinks skills, Hollywood in the past half century has provided key insights into US art.

LONDON (AFP) - Dubstep artist Burial is the surprise early favourite to claim Britain's prestigious Nationwide Mercury Music Prize, awarded annually for the country's best album, according to bookmakers on Wednesday.

VIENNA (AFP) - Austria's annual tuxedo-and-ball-gown shuttle in Mercedes and Rolls across a storybook landscape returns Saturday with the start of the Salzburg Festival, one of the world's most prestigious music fests.

LONDON (AFP) - London's Royal Opera House triggered an energetic debate about "culture for the masses" Wednesday after limiting tickets for a prestigious premiere to readers of a tabloid newspaper.

TOKYO (AFP) - Hundreds of Harry Potter fans dressed up in costume Wednesday as they snapped up the Japanese translation of the seventh and final book of the series, a year after it appeared in English.

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - The youth wing of Malaysia's opposition Islamic party on Thursday slammed an upcoming concert by an Indonesian songstress, saying her hip-swivelling dance moves were "too sexy and immoral".

BEIJING (AFP) - London-based Internet television service provider Joost said it launched a Chinese service Wednesday with local portal TOM Online to tap the world's largest online market.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Hundreds of dilapidated stars on Hollywood's "Walk of Fame" are getting a much-needed four-million-dollar makeover ahead of the landmark's 50th anniversary, a business group said.

MOSCOW (AFP) - Dozens of black-clad emo music fans protested Saturday in the Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk against plans by Russian lawmakers to ban their style from the country's schools, REN TV television reported.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - US actress Heather Locklear, who starred in the hit television show "Melrose Place," has left a facility where she was treated for anxiety and depression, People magazine reported Wednesday.

LONDON (AFP) - The race row between punk icon Johnny Rotten and indie rocker Kele Okereke continued to rumble on Tuesday after the Sex Pistols star responded to allegations that he attacked the Bloc Party singer.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Sacha Baron Cohen, better known as "Borat," has sold Fox film studios a comedy, "Accidentes," about an ambulance-chaser-turned-hero, which he will produce and possibly star in, Variety magazine said Tuesday.

BEIJING (AFP) - Sting, Dave Matthews and a host of other music stars have added their voices to the pro-Tibet movement on a potentially sensitive album for China ahead of the Beijing Olympics, promoters said.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Batman sequel "The Dark Knight" rewrote the box-office record books last weekend as audiences flocked to see late actor Heath Ledger in his last completed film role, figures showed Monday.

VIENNA (AFP) - The Richard Wagner bicentenary is still five years off and the Bayreuth Festival's 100th edition even further along in 2011, but this year's events on the fabled Green Hill in Germany will make history for another reason.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - Batman blockbuster "The Dark Knight" soared over the North American box-office with a record-breaking opening weekend, estimates showed, with audiences flocking to watch the late actor Heath Ledger in his final film role.

HONG KONG (AFP) - Terry McBride, the Canadian best known as the manager of pop megastar Avril Lavigne said the music industry's obsession with stemming the flow of illegally downloaded material is futile and short-sighted.

LONDON (AFP) - London rapper Dizzee Rascal sat atop the British singles charts for a third week running Sunday, while McFly's latest song entered the rankings at number two.

MADRID (AFP) - Pablo Picasso's masterpiece Guernica is in a "stable but serious" condition, Spanish art experts told El Pais newspaper's Sunday edition.

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) - French film-maker Jean-Stephane Sauvaire brought the horror of Liberia's civil war to UN headquarters this week with the screening of "Johnny Mad Dog", his brutal portrayal of child soldiering.

QUEBEC CITY, Canada (AFP) - Paul McCartney showed off his newly-acquired French language prowess Sunday at a concert decried by Quebec nationalists as a second British invasion.

LOS ANGELES (AFP) - New Batman film "The Dark Knight" soared over the North American box-office with a record-breaking opening weekend, eclipsing the previous all-time mark set by "Spider-Man 3," industry estimates said Sunday.

TOKYO (AFP) - Hayao Miyazaki's first full-length film in four years hit screens across Japan on Saturday, putting aside speculation that the Oscar-winning Japanese animator had made his last picture.

OTTAWA (AFP) - Sir Paul McCartney has told Quebec separatists to "smoke the pipes of peace" amid controversy over his upcoming performance on Sunday to mark Quebec City's 400th anniversary, media said Friday.

NEW YORK (AFP) - Fans and collectors spent more than 800,000 dollars on belongings of soul legend James Brown -- including a medical bracelet that fetched 32,500 dollars -- that Christie's put on the auction block.

PARIS (AFP) - French first lady Carla Bruni's new album took the third spot on the music charts, behind British rock group Coldplay and French entertainer Laurent Voulzy, after its release in France last week.