British actress Kate Winslet marries for third time

British Oscar-winning actress Kate Winslet has married for the third time, her publicist confirmed on Thursday. The 37-year-old, best known for her starring role in the 1997 blockbuster Titanic, married Ned RocknRoll, a nephew of music and aviation tycoon Richard Branson.

Thousands sign petition to deport Piers Morgan over gun comments

More than 48,000 people have signed a petition that they posted on the White House website demanding that British CNN talk show host Piers Morgan be deported over comments he made on air about gun control. Morgan last week lambasted pro-gun guests on his show, after the Dec 14 mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where a gunman shot dead 26 people, including 20 children.

Twenty years after Quentin Tarantino unveiled his first film Reservoir Dogs, the director has turned his eye to America's slavery history, spinning a blood-filled retribution tale in his trademark style for Django Unchained. Tarantino, 49, has become synonymous with violence and dark humor, taking on the Nazis in Inglourious Basterds and mobsters in Pulp Fiction.

Fracking culture war stirs up Hollywood and its celebrities

Not so long ago, fracking was a technical term little known beyond the energy industry. Now it's coming to Hollywood, as the fierce battle between environmentalists and oil firms is played out in several forthcoming films. Hydraulic fracturing, the controversial drilling technique also known as fracking, has lifted US energy output dramatically, despite warnings from critics who fear it pollutes water deep underground.

Elvis Presley, The Beatles top list of most-forged autographs

Elvis Presley and The Beatles top the list of most-forged celebrity signatures in 2012, with less than half of their autographs for sale certified as genuine, memorabilia authenticators PSA/DNA said on Thursday. The King and The Fab Four British rockers, who topped the list two years ago when it was last released, joined notable figures such as former US President John F. Kennedy and late pop star Michael Jackson on the list of most-forged celebrity signatures.

Director Peter Jackson's return to Middle Earth took $36.7m last weekend, dwarfing its competition, according to the BBC. It easily beat Tom Cruise's latest action movie, Jack Reacher, which came second with $15.6 million. But a drop-off in The Hobbit's takings, down from $84.8 m last week, suggests it will struggle to match the success of the final Lord of The Rings film. The Return of the King made $1.2 b worldwide after its release in 2003. At the time, it was the second highest-grossing film ever, although it has since been overtaken by the likes of Avatar and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2.

Ministry and Rigor Mortis guitarist dies on stage at 47

Mike Scaccia was performing onstage at the Rail Club in Fort Worth, Texas, as part of a 50th birthday celebration for Rigor Mortis singer Bruce Corbitt, when he collapsed, according to MSN.com. Shortly afterwards, he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Scaccia was born in Babylon, New York, on July 14, 1965, and formed thrash metallists Rigor Mortis in 1983. Six years later, the guitarist was invited by Al Jourgensen to join Ministry.

Reuters

(China Daily 12/30/2012 page4)