Sean Penn is to get an honorary French film award in a Paris ceremony next month in recognition of him being a cinema "living legend", the organizers said in a statement.

The 54-year-old is a "mythical actor, a politically active personality and an exceptional director," said the French Academy of Cinema.

Taylor Swift on Tuesday scoffed at a hacker who took over her social media accounts and threatened to release nude pictures, with the pop star saying none existed.

The singer's Twitter and Instagram accounts were briefly seized by at least one hacker who vowed to release naked pictures of Swift if supporters paid enough in the form of the virtual currency bitcoin.

At Paris' high-octane couture week, what happens on the catwalk is only half the story.

Academy Award winner Goldie Hawn and her daughter Kate Hudson made a surprise appearance at Atelier Versace in an atypical family night out in Paris. But the real frenzy didn't start until the 35-year-old "Almost Famous" star turned her back to the paparazzi.

The stars were aligned at Dior's Haute Couture fashion show in Paris on Monday.

First, American-Israeli actress Natalie Portman -- the advertising face of Dior's "Miss Dior" perfume -- was sitting in the front row, somewhat less stiffly than her Queen Padme persona from the "Star Wars" prequels.

Ava DuVernay, the director of the Martin Luther King historical movie "Selma," is set to again team up with the film's star David Oyelowo for a new project about Hurricane Katrina.

DuVernay and Oyelowo, who were both finalists at this year's Golden Globes, will "develop a new narrative feature film chronicling a sweeping love story and complex murder mystery during the time of Hurricane Katrina," Participant Media said Monday. 

The Church of Scientology has lashed out at a film about the controversial group at the Sundance Film Festival, calling it false and based on "obsessive, disgruntled former Church members."

The dismissive reaction -- also denouncing "vengeful apostates" -- came a day after the world premiere of "Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief," directed by Oscar-winner Alex Gibney.

Greek singer Demis Roussos, best known for operatic pop ballads in the 1970s and 1980s, died in Athens at the weekend aged 68.

The entertainer had been admitted to the Igia clinic some time ago with an undisclosed illness and the medical facility issued only a brief statement on Monday announcing his death.

Colombia's Paulina Vega was crowned Miss Universe Sunday, beating out contenders from the United States, Ukraine, Jamaica and The Netherlands at the world's top beauty pageant in Florida.

The 22-year-old model and business student triumphed over 87 other women from around the world, and is only the second beauty queen from Colombia to take home the prize. 

Rihanna, who has topped the charts with a pop-driven R&B sound, has unveiled a new acoustic song in a collaboration with Beatles legend Paul McCartney.

Rihanna unexpectedly late Saturday released the new single, "FourFiveSeconds," which features the Barbados-born singer's signature robust voice but has a minimal backdrop of McCartney's guitar strumming without percussion or electronic elements. The song also features verses sung by rapper Kanye West. 

Toto, which packed arenas with 1980s hits such as "Africa" and "Hold the Line," will release its first album in nearly a decade in March followed by an extensive tour.

The Los Angeles-area rockers said they regarded "Toto XIV," their first album of new material since 2006, as a sequel to 1982's "Toto IV," which jumpstarted the band's career.