By Owen Gleiberman - Entertainment Weekly

In decades of tracking the Academy Awards, I honestly can’t recall any category, in any year, when a race was as fiercely, thrillingly white-hot competitive as this year’s Best Actor race. Just think about it: Not one, not two, not three, but four of the nominees each stands a very real chance of winning. Consider each scenario, and you’ll realize it’s true. When Jennifer Lawrence gets up to present the Best Actor award and tears open that envelope, if she ends up saying, “And the Oscar goes to…Chiwetel Ejiofor for 12 Years a Slave,” it will not be a shock, because Ejiofor, playing a man who endures the torments of the damned, and must hold in his emotions (even as he shows them to us), and must somehow, on top of all that, figure out a way to keep his faith burning, has been justly acclaimed for being incredible beyond words in that movie. If Lawrence says, “And the Oscar goes to…Matthew McConaughey for Dallas Buyers Club,” it will not be a shock, because McConaughey, this year, is the official front-runner, and has been justly coronated for giving a tough, sinewy, moving, and anger-singed performance that is widely viewed as the culminating act of his 20-year career in Hollywood.

Quentin Tarantino is to attend France's equivalent of the Oscars -- its Cesar awards -- in Paris on Friday along with actress Scarlett Johansson, organizers said.

The "Django Unchained" director will be giving an honorary Cesar to the "Don Jon" and "Her" actress, the awards president, Alain Terzian, told Agence France Presse late Sunday.

A critical and commercial success, "Frozen" marks a second renaissance for Walt Disney's legendary film studio -- and is widely tipped to win its first ever Oscar for best animated feature next weekend.

The movie, which has made nearly $1 billion, is the culmination of a revival driven by fierce competition and the studio's purchase of rival Pixar in 2006, bringing boss John Lasseter into the Disney fold.

Police say actor Sam Worthington has been arrested in New York City for punching a photographer after the man kicked Worthington's girlfriend in the shin.

The 37-year-old "Avatar" actor was arrested on an assault charge following the incident Sunday evening.

Maria Franziska von Trapp, the last survivor of the Austrian musical family whose escape from the Nazis was immortalized in "The Sound of Music," has died, her half brother told U.S. media on Saturday.

Von Trapp, 99, died at her home in the northeastern U.S. state of Vermont on Tuesday of natural causes, Johannes von Trapp told CNN.

Italian luxury shoemaker Alberto Moretti unveiled his new collection in Milan on Saturday, with ruched collar designs, brassiere gold chains and macaroon patterns in a "rock" take on the style of France's last queen, Marie Antoinette.

"She is a figure who can be interpreted in a thousand different ways," the dandyish 38-year-old designer, dressed in a red-checked jacket and leopard-skin loafers, told Agence France Presse in his showroom.

Four months after Paris fashion bid farewell to Marc Jacobs, the man who transformed Louis Vuitton into a global style giant, all eyes will next week be on his successor.

Former Balenciaga designer Nicolas Ghesquiere's first show for the Parisian luxury brand will be the highlight of nine days of ready-to-wear catwalk shows for autumn/winter 2014-15 due to begin on Tuesday.

Placido Domingo, one of opera's most popular superstars, went back to his roots late Friday to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the now defunct New York company that launched his career.

Since its first performance in 1944 the beloved New York City Opera launched the careers of thousands of singers -- none more glittering than that of the Spanish tenor -- and pioneered a unique platform for American opera.

Giorgio Armani sees the irony.

The female models — all belonging to the target audience for his younger line Emporio Armani— arrive in leather leggings and he fits them in wide-legged trousers that evoke ankle-length skirts.

Versace showed off a bold collection on Friday with red fur coats, knee-high lace-up boots and military epaulettes as a decision nears for the sale of a minority stake in the family firm.

Creative director Donatella Versace said the collection was about feminine "attitude" and the typically brash Fashion Week catwalk began with the gates of an imaginary palace being opened.