Jailed sports star O.J. Simpson insisted he did nothing illegal on the night of a September 2007 casino hotel robbery, and had no idea men with him had guns, as he sought a retrial.

The 65-year-old former American footballer and actor, who did not testify at his 2008 trial, appeared relaxed as he gave a blow-by-blow account of the events of September 13, 2007 in Las Vegas.

Sony has won the global distribution rights to an animated film based on the hit game "Angry Birds," to be released in 2016, the entertainment giant announced Wednesday.

The film is being produced and financed by Finnish mobile gaming company Rovio, which has said the movie could result in it establishing an animation studio rivaling global giant Walt Disney.

Hit U.S. music producers Dr Dre and Jimmy Iovine have donated $70 million to the University of Southern California (USC), to found an arts and business academy, its president announced Wednesday.

The USC Jimmy Iovine and Andre Young Academy for Arts, Technology and the Business of Innovation will enroll its first class of 25 students in fall next year, said the Los Angeles based university.

Nicole Kidman and "Amelie" star Audrey Tautou kicked off 12-days of red carpet fashion at the opening of the Cannes Film Festival on Wednesday.

The prestigious Riviera movie meet provides both big fashion houses and up-and-coming designers with unparalleled opportunities to showcase their work before a global audience.

Egyptian telecoms tycoon Naguib Sawiris and French-Tunisian financier Tarak Ben Ammar unveiled a 100-million euro ($129-million) partnership to produce and distribute films and television programs in the Arab world and internationally.

Under the deal, Sawiris will buy a 30-percent stake in Ben Ammar's Italy's based Quinta Communications Italia, which made the announcement in a press release timed to coincide with the start of the Cannes film festival in France.

French actor Gerard Depardieu, who was granted Russian citizenship by President Vladimir Putin, is set to film a thriller in Moscow and Grozny with British actress Elizabeth Hurley.

Hurley revealed on Twitter on Wednesday that she was shopping for costumes in Moscow after arriving to make the film with the veteran French actor.

A pair of pearl earrings belonging to actress Gina Lollobrigida sold for an auction record of $2.39 million at Sotheby's Geneva as the veteran Italian star auctioned off some dazzling jewellery.

The lot, the highlight of Tuesday's auction, went under the hammer for more than twice the pre-sale estimate, and in doing so broke the previous record for pearl earrings set by a pair from the jewel box of fellow screen siren Elizabeth Taylor in 2011.

Hollywood actor Jon Hamm, best known as the dapper Don Draper in hit U.S. TV series "Mad Men", has begun shooting his new film in the home of Bollywood, according to those working on the movie.

Hamm is in Mumbai for the making of Disney's "Million Dollar Arm", based on a true story, in which he stars as sports agent J. B. Bernstein who discovers two Indian teenagers and signs them up to play baseball.

Health activists, doctors and movie fans hailed glamorous Hollywood megastar Angelina Jolie on Tuesday for her decision to reveal that she had had her breasts removed to reduce her cancer risk.

The 37-year-old actress underwent a double mastectomy to minimize the risk that she might develop breast cancer as a result of inheriting a "faulty gene," and chose to publicize her surgery as an example to other women and mothers.

The small Australian town of Wee Waa is readying for its global launch of the new album by French group Daft Punk, despite being pipped at the post with the music already available online.

Wee Waa, a farming town known as the "Cotton Capital of Australia", lies about 500 kilometres (310 miles) north-west of Sydney and Daft Punk are not attending Friday's event.