Dick Clark stood as an avatar of rock 'n' roll virtually from its birth and, until his death Wednesday at age 82, as a cultural touchstone for several generations of Americans.

His identity as "the world's oldest teenager" became strained in recent years, as time and infirmity caught up with his enduring boyishness. But he owned New Year's Eve after four decades hosting his annual telecast on ABC from Times Square. And as a producer and entertainment entrepreneur, he was a media titan: his Dick Clark Productions supplied movies, game shows, beauty contests and more to TV.

New York's Tribeca Film Festival, created a decade ago after the 9/11 attacks, opens Thursday with a touch of sparkle from Cannes thanks to new artistic director Frederic Boyer.

Boyer joined festival founders Robert De Niro and producer Jane Rosenthal for an opening presentation Wednesday in lower Manhattan where movies will be shown until April 29.

A new exhibit exploring human identity through the "Star Wars" universe and the epic sci-fi saga's quirky characters kicks off a multi-city world tour in Montreal on Thursday.

"Star Wars Identities" combines the latest scientific research in areas of psychology, neuropsychology and genetics with some 200 costumes, props, models and artwork from the Lucasfilm archives to ask the fundamental questions: who we are and how do we become who we are?

Thousands have backed a video appeal to Syria's first lady to speak out against violence, made by the wives of the British and German ambassadors to the United Nations.

In the video, Sheila Lyall Grant and Huberta von Voss-Wittig implore Asma al-Assad "to stand up for peace" and speak out against the deadly crackdown instigated by her husband President Bashar Assad.

A romantic comedy that opens at Indian cinemas this week tackles taboos about sperm donation and infertility, in the latest Bollywood film to experiment with traditionally off-limits content.

"Vicky Donor", which is released on Friday, tells the story of the unemployed and lazy Vicky, who is persuaded by a doctor to donate his sperm to make a living -- a job he then tries to keep quiet from his new girlfriend.

He'll make an exception for Martin Scorsese, but for Terence Winter, the creator of the hit prohibition-era television show "Boardwalk Empire", Hollywood just isn't up to scratch these days.

The Emmy-award winning writer-producer, who co-scripted "The Sopranos" before launching his own drama series three years ago, was guest of honor this week at a festival devoted to the booming genre, held at Paris' Forum des Images.

Hollywood star Angelina Jolie will step up her work for the world's refugees following her promotion to United Nations special envoy, the U.N. refugee agency said on Tuesday.

Jolie, a goodwill ambassador since 2001, will take on a "new and expanded" role as special envoy of High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres, the UNHCR said.

Robin Gibb's wife and youngest son were at his hospital bedside on Monday as the Bee Gees singer remained in a coma, having contracting pneumonia in his battle against cancer.

Dwina Gibb and her son Robin-John were seen visiting the clinic in west London where the 62-year-old star is being treated.

Disco group Boney M will join a candlelight rally in Seoul supporting North Korean refugees who fled to China and now face repatriation to their impoverished homeland, organizers said Tuesday.

Boney M, who was hugely popular during the disco era of the late 1970s, will join the rally outside the Chinese embassy, said concert promoter Btechnic in a statement.

Agence France-Presse and the news websites Huffington Post and Politico each won their first Pulitzer Prizes Monday as the prestigious journalism awards highlighted global issues and online reporting.

The New York Times won two Pulitzers, and the committee notably did not make awards for editorial writing or fiction in a year which saw Web journalism mark further gains.