Before the Internet, The Daily Show or music videos, an irreverent comedy troupe launched "Saturday Night Live" in 1975, unaware it would transform American humor and become the country's most successful comedy show of all time.

On Sunday the late-night powerhouse's cast members past and present, including superstars like Bill Murray and Jimmy Fallon, gathered in the Big Apple for SNL's improbable 40th anniversary reunion, celebrating the skits that have become a part of America.

Tens of thousands of people defied a thunderstorm Sunday to pack Rio's Sambadrome as elite dance schools paraded in dazzling costumes and revelers shed inhibitions at street parties.

An estimated crowd of more than 72,000, from great-grandmothers to babes in arms, swayed and cheered on their favorite samba school in hours-long parades in Rio's annual party to end all parties.

Cheered by her famous family, Victoria Beckham brought a sexy vision of fall/winter to an intimate New York runway show and confided plans to open a second store in Asia.

The one-time pop star, mother of four and wife of retired English football superstar David Beckham, has won plaudits in the fashion industry for designing beautiful collections that flatter women's bodies.

Audiences were more than curious to check out the big-screen adaptation of the racy phenomenon "Fifty Shades of Grey" this weekend. The erotic R-rated drama sizzled in its debut, earning an estimated $81.7 million from 3,646 theaters in its first three days, distributor Universal Pictures said on Sunday.

In addition to destroying Valentine's and Presidents Day weekend records, "Fifty Shades of Grey" has also become the second-highest February debut ever, behind "Passion of the Christ's" $83.9 million opening in 2004.

"The Grand Budapest Hotel" and "The Imitation Game" won big one week ahead of Hollywood's award-season Oscars showdown, snagging top prizes at the annual Writers Guild of America awards ceremony Saturday.

Director Wes Anderson accepted the trophy for best original screenplay for his comedic caper about a concierge who befriends the lobby boy at the Grand Budapest Hotel in the fictitious Republic of Zubrowka.

With only a week to go before the Oscars, the all-important Best Picture prize appears locked in a two-horse race between dark comedy "Birdman" and coming-of-age drama "Boyhood."

But as Hollywood counts down the days to next Sunday's show, some are suggesting that controversial blockbuster "American Sniper" could yet surprise, and best the two indie films.

Billionaire Michele Ferrero, who became Italy's richest man with a confectionery empire built on his popular Nutella spread, died on Saturday at the age of 89.

"I have learned with emotion of the passing of Michele Ferrero, a true entrepreneur, known and loved in Italy and abroad," Italian President Sergio Mattarella said in a statement.

Sherlock Holmes star Benedict Cumberbatch married pregnant fiancee Sophie Hunter on Saturday, according to British media, with British actress Keira Knightley among the stars joining the celebrations.

Cumberbatch, 38, who has been nominated for his depiction of World War II codebreaker Alan Turing in "The Imitation Game", wed theater director Hunter, 36, at a ceremony attended by close friends and family on the Isle of Wight, off the south coast of England, according the Daily Telegraph.

The son of actor Jackie Chan apologized to the public Saturday and asked for a second chance following his release from a six-month jail sentence for allowing people to use marijuana in his apartment.

Jaycee Chan, 32, said at a news conference that he was rededicating himself to his family and entertainment business career. He said he had "no reason, no excuse" for the behavior that led to his arrest in August alongside Taiwanese actor Ko Kai and others.

With Beyonce, Rihanna and Diddy among the front-row celebrity royalty, Kanye West rolled out his Yeezy Boost shoe line for Adidas on Thursday as his baby North fussed in mama Kim Kardashian's arms next to a stone-faced Anna Wintour.

Models, men and women, wore minimal neutral tights or street wear in red, green and black to let the shoes shine in a tech-driven unveiling that included a simulcast to 42 theaters on three continents around the world.