Japanese director Ryusuke Hamaguchi says he was surprised by the international popularity of his Oscar-winning film "Drive My Car," but attributes it to the universality of the short story by Haruki Murakami on which it is based.

The movie centers on an actor played by Hidetoshi Nishijima who is directing a multilingual production of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." Still mourning the sudden loss of his wife, the actor, Kafuku, leads the cast in rehearsals in which they sit and read their lines flatly, ingesting the language for days before acting them out.

Grammy Award-winning songwriter Ed Sheeran won a U.K. copyright battle over his 2017 hit "Shape of You" on Wednesday, then slammed what he described as a "culture" of baseless lawsuits intended to squeeze money out of artists eager to avoid the expense of a trial.

The British pop star and his co-writers, Snow Patrol's John McDaid and producer Steven McCutcheon, had denied allegations that the song copied part of 2015's "Oh Why" by Sami Chokri, who performs under the name Sami Switch.

A new selfie "museum" in Sweden is flipping the script by making visitors both the artist and the exhibit.

The "Youseum" in Stockholm has no works of art on its walls. 

A Ukrainian ballerina who fled the war in her homeland and a Russian ballerina who quit the Bolshoi Ballet over the Russian invasion rehearsed on a stage in Naples ahead of a sold-out benefit performance Monday night to raise funds for the Red Cross and champion the cause of peace in Ukraine.

Naples' San Carlo Theater billed the event "Stand with Ukraine — Ballet for Peace."

Estelle Harris, who hollered her way into TV history as George Costanza's short-fused mother on "Seinfeld" and voiced Mrs. Potato Head in the "Toy Story" franchise, has died. She was 93.

As middle-class matron Estelle Costanza, Harris put a memorable stamp on her recurring role in the smash 1990s sitcom. With her high-pitched voice and humorously overbearing attitude, she was an archetype of maternal indignation.

Bright pink and all-over metallics were the fashion stories of the Grammys red carpet led by Saweetie in fuchsia Valentino and Tiffany Haddish in sparkling one-shoulder Prada as the music crowd did Las Vegas proud with a show of wild, whimsical and meaningful looks.

Saweetie's full skirt and bra top were paired with long matching gloves. Billy Porter, always a fashion standout, also went with fuchsia in a trouser look that had a sheer button-down shirt and long ruffled cape from Valentino.

Jon Batiste had the most Grammy Award nominations and his five wins outpaced everyone, yet he somehow seemed the biggest surprise on a joyous night for music that washed away some of the bad taste left by the Oscars a week earlier.

Batiste's "We Are" won the prestigious album of the year award Sunday over music heavyweights like Tony Bennett, Billie Eilish, Taylor Swift and Ye, who changed his name from Kanye West. Batiste ended his dance-filled performance of "Freedom" during the show by jumping on Eilish's table.

Oscars producer Will Packer said Los Angeles police were ready to arrest Will Smith after Smith slapped Chris Rock on the Academy Awards stage.

"They were saying, you know, this is battery, was a word they used in that moment," Packer said in a clip released by ABC News Thursday night of an interview he gave to "Good Morning America." "They said we will go get him. We are prepared. We're prepared to get him right now. You can press charges, we can arrest him. They were laying out the options."

The world's fair in Dubai, a tech-saturated site teeming with talking robots and solar canopies, sought to be the future.

Now, it's history.

Bruce Willis is stepping away from acting after a diagnosis of aphasia, a condition that causes loss of the ability to understand or express speech, his family said.

In a statement posted on Willis' Instagram page, the 67-year-old actor's family announced that Willis was recently diagnosed with aphasia and that it is impacting his cognitive abilities.