A Los Angeles auction house sold a collection of 15 Oscar statuettes for more than $3 million on Tuesday, two days after this year's Academy Awards show, organizers said.

The gold-plated prizes, sold despite an official protest by Oscars organizers, included a Best Screenplay Academy Award for the iconic movie "Citizen Kane," given to Herman Mankiewicz in 1941.

Organizers of the Cannes Film Festival have chosen to honor Marilyn Monroe by selecting a photo of the Hollywood sex goddess for the poster of this year's event.

The organizers said in a statement Tuesday that "50 years after her death, Marilyn remains one of the major figures of world cinema, an eternal and contemporary reference of grace, mystery and seduction."

Grammy-winning singer Celine Dion announced Tuesday she had canceled a string of upcoming shows in Las Vegas due to a virus-triggered problem with her vocal chords.

The Canadian-born star was due to sing at Caesars Palace in a series of shows through March 18, but has called them off after being ordered to rest her voice for six to eight weeks.

Paris Fashion Week kicked off Tuesday with the in-crowd abuzz at the prospect of style icon Hedi Slimane designing for Yves Saint Laurent, and rumors putting a newly-free Raf Simons in the wings at Dior.

Opening with a day devoted to young designers, the Paris autumn-winter collections round off a month of women swear shows that have sent fashionistas, models and media trooping on a style trail from New York to London and Milan.

Egyptian film-makers and critics denounced the authorities on Monday for blocking the screening of a "taboo" film about a love story between a Christian woman and a Muslim man.

"We denounce the fact that censorship authorities have prevented the screening of Hesham Issawi's 'Cairo Exit' at the Luxor African Film Festival," dozens of film-makers and critics said in a signed statement.

Actor James Spader's stay at "The Office" will be short.

NBC said Monday that Spader, who appeared in last season's finale and more this year as the oddball boss Robert California, won't be back next year.

Pakistan's first Oscar winner launched a campaign on Tuesday, hoping that her documentary about survivors of acid attacks can help eliminate a crime that disfigures hundreds of women each year.

"Saving Face" by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won the short documentary category at the Academy Awards on Sunday.

Yves Saint-Laurent confirmed Monday that Italian designer Stefano Pilati was quitting but did not name his successor.

"The house will disclose the name of the new creative director in the coming weeks," a company statement said, adding that Pilati would present his last collection for YSL on March 5.

Iranians took to the Internet and mobile phones on Monday to proclaim their pride and joy at their country's first win at the Oscars -- and at the speech by triumphant director Asghar Farhadi putting culture above politics.

Messages filled SMS servers and social networks moments after the movie, "A Separation," was awarded the best foreign language Oscar at the U.S. Academy Awards.

"Xena: Warrior Princess" actress Lucy Lawless was arrested in New Zealand Monday after occupying an oil-drilling ship for three days to protest plans to search for oil off Alaska, Greenpeace said.

Police climbed a 53-meter (175-foot) drilling derrick on the Noble Discoverer ship in the North Island port of Taranaki and arrested Lawless along with five other Greenpeace activists, the environmental group said.