Sam Taylor-Johnson to direct '50 Shades' movie
Producers say British visual artist and filmmaker Sam Taylor-Johnson has been signed to direct the movie version of erotic best-seller "50 Shades of ...

WHITE HOUSE NOTEBOOK: Obama ditches jacket
President Barack Obama invoked President John F. Kennedy's famous Cold War speech in Berlin 50 years ago in his Brandenburg Gate speech Wednesday.

Italian icons find no respite from tax man
Sophia Loren wore green silk and sunglasses for her date with the taxman, Luciano Pavarotti a suit and sneakers. Diego Maradona gave up his diamond ...

Critics hail Daniel Radcliffe's latest stage turn
Daniel Radcliffe has won magical reviews for his latest stage role as a disabled Irish dreamer in Martin McDonagh's "The Cripple of Inishmaan." The ...

'Nightline' anchor Moran heading to London for ABC
ABC News "Nightline" anchor Terry Moran is getting a new posting as the network's London-based chief foreign correspondent. Moran will head overseas ...

Dolce and Gabbana convicted of tax evasion
A Milan court on Wednesday convicted the designers Domenico Dolce and Stefano Gabbana of tax evasion. They were found guilty of failing to declare 200 ...

Elizabeth Taylor's first wedding dress up for sale
The gown Elizabeth Taylor wore at the first of her eight weddings is for sale. You'll need at least 30,000 pounds ($47,000) to buy it and a tiny waist ...

Burberry showcases latest menswear in London
Womenswear and accessories like handbags may be the mainstays of the luxury goods market, but right now menswear is where the growth is. That appears ...

Fashion secrets revealed in LVMH's open day
Members of the public in six European countries are being given a rare glimpse into the secret inner workings of the fashion industry, as part of ...

Adele honored by Queen Elizabeth II
Adele is getting a new medal to go alongside her Grammys and Academy Award — an honor from Queen Elizabeth II. The "Rumor Has It" and "Skyfall" singer ...

Stemme shines as Isolde in Wagner's love story
Can watching two people suffer for four hours be enjoyable? The Vienna State Opera makes it happen with its new production of "Tristan and Isolde.

Actress Johansson sues over French book
Actress Scarlett Johansson is suing a French publishing house over a novel that uses her name and image and explores the challenges of being beautiful
German police break up international art ring
German police said Thursday they have broken up a multi-million-euro (-dollar) international forgery ring which specialized in producing bogus works ...

Archery soaring after London Olympic success
From blockbuster movies to hit TV shows to greater Olympic exposure, archery seems to be hitting all the right targets. Elite archers are competing ...

Review: John Guare's '3 Kinds of Exile' affecting
There are many ways to find oneself in exile, deliberately or accidentally. Playwright John Guare has written three affecting stories about mid-20th ...
Prada earnings up 14 percent thanks to Asia sales
The Prada fashion house says it will concentrate on expanding its presence in international markets and cutting costs this year after reporting ...
IOC opens TV rights bidding in Asia
The IOC has opened the bidding process for broadcast rights in Asia for the 2014 and 2016 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee says it will ...

Helen Mirren talks royalty and 'Doctor Who'
Helen Mirren is a star of stage and screen — and now stage on-screen. Mirren's award-winning performance as Queen Elizabeth II in "The Audience" will ...

Scottish fiction writer Iain Banks dies at 59
Scottish writer Iain Banks, who alternately wowed and disturbed readers with his dark jokes and narrative tricks, has died, his publisher said. He was ...

Pooches, owners march for more dog-friendly Paris
Some Parisians want just a little bit more of their city to go to the dogs. At least 100 pooches — with owners in tow, holding leashes — marched near ...
Italy protests Vienna pub making fun of mob's dead
Italy has complained to Austrian authorities on Saturday about a Vienna pub selling sandwiches named after Italians slain by Sicilian mobsters.

East German artist Willi Sitte dead at 92
Willi Sitte, one of East Germany's most eminent artists and a key representative of Communism's preferred socialist realism painting style, has died ...

Indonesia axes bikinis for 2013 Miss World pageant
Miss World has axed the famed bikinis from this year's pageant in Indonesia, replacing the skimpy swimsuits with conservative beach sarongs amid ...

Study sheds light on origins of French winemaking
Scrapings from the bottoms of 2,500-year-old pottery containers have shed new light on the origins of French winemaking. A team of archaeologists led ...

Lofty art: Painting visible only from Eiffel Tower
Art is often seen as lofty — but perhaps none more than a new roof installation in Paris that's only visible from the top of the Eiffel Tower.