Award-winning Chinese director Xie Fei has slammed China's system of film censorship as wasteful and arbitrary, urging censors in an open letter to issue clearer rules on banned topics.

Xie, 70, won international awards for such 1990s films as "Black Snow" and "Woman Sesame Oil Maker", which was handed the top prize at the Berlin film festival.

Actress Amanda Bynes has resolved a misdemeanor hit-and-run case after entering into a civil settlement with other drivers.

Court records show Bynes entered a civil compromise to end the case and her attorney informed a Los Angeles court on Thursday. Bynes was charged with leaving the scene of accidents in April and August without providing the proper information.

La Scala boss Stephane Lissner has promised to cut ticket prices and take major productions to the provinces when he takes over the Paris National Opera in 2015.

Lissner said he wanted to open up opera to new audiences by using patronage funds to make tickets more affordable.

A man took a bus from Wisconsin to Nashville, climbed a fence at a home linked to singer Taylor Swift on Friday and told police he was there to surprise a woman on her birthday, authorities said. He is jailed on a trespassing charge.

The singer, who is overseas, turned 23 Thursday. Court documents show 24-year-old Jacob Nicholas Kulke, of Marshfield, Wis., was arrested early Friday after climbing a fence and secured gate.

Private memorials will be held in India and California for legendary Indian sitar player Ravi Shankar, a publicist said Friday, after his death earlier this week.

Concerts to celebrate the 92-year-old's life will be held next year in New York and London, he added, giving no further details about funeral or other arrangements.

The company that owns a luxury jet that crashed and killed Mexican pop superstar Jenni Rivera is under investigation by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

It has had two planes seized by the agency this year.

Oscar-winning Japanese animator Hayao Miyazaki's first film in five years -- a wartime romance -- will be released next year, its distributor has said.

Miyazaki, who created "Spirited Away", which won Best Animated Feature in 2003, and "Ponyo" (2008), will release "Kaze Tachinu", based on the novel of the same name, usually translated as "The Wind Has Risen", distributor Toho said on Thursday.

Australian actor Hugh Jackman got a Hollywood double whammy Thursday as he was nominated for a Golden Globe and got his star on Tinseltown's famous Walk of Fame on the same day.

Jackman, who is being tipped for possible Oscar glory for his role in upcoming musical adaptation "Les Miserables," said he couldn't believe the good fortune that his career has given him.

Death threats have been made against the Australian radio hosts at the center of the royal prank call tragedy, police said Friday, with station management reportedly hiring bodyguards and moving staff to safehouses.

Police have launched an investigation after a letter targeting presenter Michael Christian was seized, warning him there were "bullets out there with your name on it".

Written by Anthony Sargon

Romantic comedies have become quite tough to pull off. They’ve gotten increasingly formulaic, and they weirdly lack a crucial element: chemistry between the lead actors. Well, to this reviewer’s delight, “Silver Linings Playbook” is not only a great romantic comedy, but also one of the best films of the year.