As a lifelong aviation enthusiast and qualified pilot, filmmaker Klay Hall was the logical choice when Disney was seeking a director for its latest animated offering, "Planes."

A spin-off of Pixar's phenomenally successful "Cars" franchise, "Planes" was initially envisioned as a video project, released through the Disney Toon Studios division.

American actress Karen Black, who shot to fame in the 1969 counter-culture classic "Easy Rider," died Thursday in Los Angeles, her husband said. She was 74.

Black, who starred alongside Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper in the film, died after battling cancer.

Ecstatic organizers of a Swedish music festival said Wednesday that Syrian singer Omar Souleyman has finally been granted a visa after an initial application was refused.

"Amazing news! Omar Souleyman has just been granted an entry visa to Sweden! So tomorrow at 18:15 he will be on stage," promoters said on the website of the Gothenburg festival, Way Out West.

Just a day after Andrea Casiraghi and Tatiana Santo Domingo confirmed their late summer wedding date, Charlotte Casiraghi reportedly has her own good news to share: She's engaged and pregnant, writes People.

Charlotte and her boyfriend, Gad Elmaleh, are reportedly expecting their first child. The Monegasque noble, daughter of Princess Caroline, granddaughter of Grace Kelly and fourth in line to the throne, started dating French actor Elmaleh in 2012 after her split from Alex Dellal.

Lady Mary will be mired in grief as season four of "Downton Abbey" begins, mourning the loss of her husband, Matthew.

But a string of suitors awaits when she's ready to live again, said Michelle Dockery, who plays Mary in the hit drama that will return to the Public Broadcasting Service's "Masterpiece" next January.

Dustin Hoffman is doing well after being successfully treated for cancer.

A spokeswoman for the 75-year-old actor-director confirmed a People.com report Tuesday that says Hoffman is "feeling great and in good health" after undergoing cancer treatment.

The U.S. distributor of acclaimed Australian film "The Sapphires" has reportedly apologized for the DVD cover which prompted outrage by placing the female Aboriginal stars of the movie in the background.

The DVD on sale in Australia shows the women clearly, but in the U.S. version they are "blue washed" and placed in the background while Irish actor Chris O'Dowd -- who plays their manager in the film -- is front and center in full color.

Israel has authorized the young winner of the Arab Idol talent competition to move from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank as a "humanitarian gesture," an official said Tuesday.

"General Eitan Dangot, coordinator of government activities in the (Palestinian) territories, accepted a West Bank residence request for Mohammed Assaf," the defense ministry official said.

Elton John is recovering after an operation to remove his appendix.

The musician's publicist says John had the surgery last week at Princess Grace Hospital in Monaco, near his home in the south of France.

Denzel Washington will narrate a PBS documentary about the 1963 March on Washington for civil rights.

The network told the Television Critics Association on Monday that the actor had just completed taping his narration for the film "The March" airing Aug. 27, a day after the 50th anniversary of the march that featured Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech.