"The Hobbit" may be a shortish book about diminutive heroes, but Peter Jackson on Wednesday said he was right to elongate the children's story into no less than three epic movies.

The New Zealand-born director has come under fire from some quarters for the trilogy, which opens in the U.S. this month with the nearly three-hour-long first installment "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey."

It may take a big spoonful of sugar to make this go down: Julie Andrews says that her four-octave voice is not coming back.

The Oscar and Tony Award-winning actress said in a recent interview that a botched operation to remove non-cancerous throat nodules in 1997 hasn't gotten better. It has permanently limited her range and her ability to hold notes.

It was all fun. Wednesday as the New York indie pop band with the oddly-spelled name picked up no fewer than six Grammy nominations in its breakout year.

During a gala nomination ceremony in country music's hometown of Nashville, fun. found itself in the running for best album ("Some Nights") and best record (the morose hipster drinking anthem "We Are Young").

The latest James Bond movie, "Skyfall", has become the highest-grossing film in British box office history, its producers said on Wednesday.

The 23rd episode of the spy series, starring Daniel Craig as Agent 007 for a third time, has taken a record £94.3 million ($151.7 million, 116.1 million euros) at British and Irish cinemas in its first 40 days, producers said.

French actress Sophie Marceau said Wednesday the growing appetite for content created by new media such as YouTube and cable television posed a threat to creative and original film-making.

Speaking at a French film festival news conference in Singapore, the "Braveheart" and James Bond actress said the need to feed popular new media platforms may cause filmmakers to make uninspired and uniform movies.

LAMICE embodies a new generation of "e-artists" whose creations are only available on the internet, through her page www.lamice.com, a press release said Wednesday.

Energetic believer and multi-talented, she puts her music art to light in an innovative way thanks to the technologies.

Anderson Cooper says a reporting assignment turned into a temporary blindness scare.

On his talk show Tuesday, Cooper said he was in Portugal last week working on a story for "60 Minutes" and spent two hours on the water. The newsman says that later, he developed a burning sensation in his eyes and lost sight for 36 hours.

Prince William is visiting his pregnant wife Kate in a London hospital, where she is spending a second day being treated for acute morning sickness.

William arrived at the King Edward VII private hospital just before noon.

Hugh Hefner and Crystal Harris are again taking steps toward the altar, more than a year after the centerfold canceled their previous engagement and was branded a "runaway bride" in Playboy.

The couple obtained a marriage license Tuesday at a courthouse in Beverly Hills.

Julian Lennon -- the oldest son of the voice of the Beatles -- will exhibit a new collection of his melancholy photographs, called "Alone," at a prestigious art show to raise money for his charity.

In his second visit to Miami to promote his photography, Lennon is selling about a dozen prints with prices ranging from $3,500 to $5,500, modest by the standards of the popular international Art Basel Miami Beach show.