For half a century Syria's filmmakers were forced to work under a numbing state censor or choose exile. But a flow of images beamed online from the conflict zone, spotlighted in Paris this week, may contain the seeds of a new Syrian cinema.

The French capital's Forum des Images film center is showcasing some of the gems to have slipped past the censors since the 1970s, alongside raw and urgent images born of the revolution.

The final "Twilight" vampire movie held on for a third week to the top spot at the North America box office, narrowly holding off the latest James Bond effort, preliminary estimates said Sunday.

"The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn, Part 2," the fifth and final installment of the wildly popular series, took $17.4 million, said industry tracker Exhibitor Relations, pushing the film's three-week total past $250 million.

Costumes worn by Michael Jackson commanded hundreds of thousands of dollars at auction, and Lady Gaga was among the collectors.

Gaga tweeted Sunday that she bought 55 pieces in the sale administered by Julien's Auctions and said she plans to keep the items "archived and expertly cared for in the spirit and love of Michael Jackson, his bravery and fans worldwide."

Led Zeppelin, Dustin Hoffman and David Letterman were among seven performers honored for their lifetime contribution to U.S. culture at a glittering awards ceremony late Sunday that is the climax of Washington's social calendar.

This years's honorees of Washington's John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts also included blues musician Buddy Guy and Russian-born ballerina Natalia Makarova.

Jennifer Lopez wowed thousands of fans in Indonesia, but they didn't see as much of her as concertgoers in other countries — the American pop star toned down both her sexy outfits and her dance moves during her show in the world's most populous Muslim country, promoters said Saturday.

Lopez's "Dance Again World Tour" was performed in the country's capital, Jakarta, on Friday in line with promises Lopez made to make her show more appropriate for the audience, said Chairi Ibrahim from Dyandra Entertainment, the concert promoter.

Pope Benedict XVI greeted thousands of clowns, acrobats, puppeteers and even a pair of lion cubs on Saturday as the circus came to town for an unusual papal performance.

Benedict clapped and watched amused as circus workers flipped, flopped, juggled and twisted before him in what the Vatican has called a historic audience to make street performers and other itinerant entertainers feel like they belong to the church.

South Korean pop sensation Psy was the big winner at the Mnet Asian Music Awards in Hong Kong Friday, with thousands of fans a screaming testament to the spread of K-pop and "Gangnam Style".

The 34-year-old, wearing a white suit and baggy checkered pants, not only performed his infectious tune at the Korean music awards show, he also picked up gongs for song of the year, best music video, best dance performance and global favorite artist.

Oscar host Seth MacFarlane is inviting college students to join him on stage at the Academy Awards.

The "Family Guy" creator made a surprise appearance at UCLA to announce a contest sponsored by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and mtvU that will allow winning college students to appear on the Feb. 24 Oscar telecast.

NBC is hoping to breathe new life into a vintage Broadway musical by casting chart-topping country singer Carrie Underwood as the star of its revival of "The Sound of Music" next year.

In a statement Friday, the U.S. television network said Underwood, 29, will play Maria von Trapp in a live telecast of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical first produced on the Great White Way in 1959, or 24 years before she was born.

Milan, Paris, London, New York and... Manila. It's hardly the center of the fashion world but more than 2,000 models have taken to the catwalk in a Philippine shopping mall to claim a new world record.

A total of 2,255 men, women and children, from strutting seasoned professionals to stumbling first-timers, took part in the record for the most models to walk down the runway at a single event.