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Attention aspiring manga artists! San Francisco Japanese-american news weekly The Nichi Bei Times is looking for entries for their Annual Manga Art Contest. Send in your best full-color artwork via...

Precious is a gruelling new film about violence and abuse in Harlem. So what's Mariah Carey doing playing a white social worker? Charlotte Higgins meets the cast and crewWhen Lee Daniels took his mother to an early screening of his film Precious, the harrowing yet oddly optimistic story of a Harlem girl who is serially raped by her father, he 'felt kind of bad. I felt people were looking into my private life, and I didn't want her to feel exploited. I didn't want African-Americans to be angry at me for telling this story.'Daniels, who produced the Oscar-winning Monster's Ball (2001), was not sexually abused as a child - although he was on the receiving end of violence growing up in New York; his father told him that, because he was gay, he was 'no good'. But Daniels was more worried that some black - and, indeed, white - audiences would prefer these kind of stories remain hidden. Precious, the girl who gives the film its name, is the victim of unconscionable cruelty, trapped in an appa

Filmmaker Praksha Jha who passed away on Sunday morning was cremated at the Oshiwara crematorium in suburban Mumbai on Monday afternoon. Among the Bollywood stars who were present during the ritual...

JT Thomas' victory over Stephen Fishbach on the Sunday conclusion to Survivor Tocantins was actually the series' lowest-rated finale to date. As a CBS press release noted, the finale 'placed first in its time period in viewers and key demographics, leading CBS to its 12th consecutive Sunday win in viewers,' although the finale was beaten just barely by Desperate Housewives at 10 p.m. 12.74 million people watched the two-hour finale, while 11.85 million stuck around for the reunion, although those numbers have some overlap, since CBS says the episode lasted until 10:08, when JT was revealed to be the second unanimous winner in the show's 18-season history. That's down five percent from last December's Survivor Gabon finale, which had 13.76 million viewers, and also down from the previously lowest-rated finale, last May's conclusion of Survivor Micronesia, which had 13 million viewers. Typically, more people tune in to December finales than May finales.The Two-Hour season Finale... [C

Elbow were the big winners at the Ivor Novello Awards in London today (21.05.09). The group - who won two BRIT Awards earlier this year and the Nationwide Mercury Prize in 2008 - scooped Best Contemporary Song for 'Grounds For Divorce' and Best Song Musically and Lyrically for 'One Day Like This'.

The shadow culture secretary, Jeremy Hunt, has said that Commons vote tomorrow in which the Conservatives will press for the licence fee to be frozen at £139.50 is about making a stand against BBC excess and forcing the government to 'explain its position' on the corporation's funding.Wednesday's vote on the annual licence fee increase is being forced by the Tories after the party leader David Cameron in March called for the licence fee to be frozen at last year's level of £139.50 - rather than rise by £3 to £142.50 - in response to the recession.The Commons vote on the increase is normally a formality. All three parties have whipped the vote, with the Lib Dems promising to support the government, meaning that the increase is almost certain to be passed.However, Wednesday's vote will be a warning to the BBC that if the Conservatives win next year's general election, as seems increasingly likely, the issue of the licence fee will return to the political agenda.Hunt said of the vote: 'It

WOODY Allen has won $6.7 million from american Apparel in the settlement of a potentially embarrassing court battle.

The Oscar-winning screenwriter talks about his latest film, working with director Bryan Singer and upcoming projects.

Monday night marked the first installment of "Dancing with the Stars" big finale, and the competition was fierce as the remaining three couples battled for the disco ball trophy. To see the full scoreboard for the entire season, click here. The night opened was an electric paso doble face-off, with all three couples -- Gilles Marini and Cheryl Burke, Shawn Johnson and Mark Ballas, and Melissa Rycroft and Tony Dovolani -- dancing different segments of the same song.

Legit News: Musical revival's ticket sales jump 15% -- 'Hair' seems to have gotten the biggest spritz from the Tony noms, with the revival seeing sales jump last week by 15% to land in the No. 6 spot in the top 10.