The economic recession is now hitting cultural and art activities hard and show organizers are sparing no effort to fill seats.

President Nicolas Sarkozy awarded U.S. actor and director Clint Eastwood one of France's top honors on Friday, hailing him as a cinema legend and a symbol of the type of America that the French adored.

The Academy Awards won't be presented until March, but the first Oscar statuettes of the season are set to be handed out Saturday night at a private, black-tie dinner in Hollywood.

When Canada's transport minister decided to name his cat Thatcher, he likely never thought it would cause quite the stir it did during a gala dinner earlier this week.

A mosaic of the late Michael Jackson composed of 230,000 paintbrushes by Albanian artist Saimir Strati entered the Guinness World Records as the world's largest paintbrush mosaic on Friday.

Director Martin Scorsese is receiving the Cecil B. DeMille Award for lifetime achievement at the Golden Globes. The award will be presented to Scorsese at the 67th annual Globes on Jan. 17.

There's still some life in the “Saw” horror franchise, despite the disappointing performance of the latest installment. Indie Hollywood studio Lionsgate said on Thursday it was moving ahead with “Saw 7,” which will be in 3-D.

Brought back from the brink of financial ruin by a philanthropist's US$30 million gift, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles celebrates its turnaround this weekend with the most ambitious exhibition of its own iconic collection.

Pop star Rihanna flaunted a blonde look Thursday to present new album “R Rated” but let the music speak for itself, refusing to answer any questions on ex-boyfriend Chris Brown who assaulted her in February.

In his second novel, Asia scholar Ian Buruma tells the epic tale of Japan's transformation from a military state with imperial ambitions to a peaceful economic superpower through the vivid fictionalized life story of real-life actress, journalist and politician Yoshiko Yamaguchi in The China Lover.