Paul McCartney says appears to be phone hacking victim

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Former Beatle Paul McCartney said on Thursday that he appears to be a victim of the newspaper phone hacking scandal in Britain and will be talking to police when he finishes a U.S. tour. Speaking to journalists in Los Angeles via satellite from Ohio, McCartney said he did not have the full facts but called phone hacking by British newspaper journalists a "horrendous invasion of privacy."

Michelle Williams in "Marilyn" film gets NY debut

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "My Week with Marilyn," starring Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams as 1950s sex symbol Marilyn Monroe, will see its world premiere at the New York Film Festival in October, organizers said on Thursday. Directed by Simon Curtis, the film is based on a week that writer Colin Clark worked as an assistant with Monroe while she was filming "The Prince and the Showgirl" in the United Kingdom in the early summer of 1956.

Redmond O'Neal pleads not guilty to drug charge

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Redmond O'Neal, son of actor Ryan O'Neal and Farrah Fawcett, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to charges of possessing heroine and having a handgun following his arrest earlier this week in a routine traffic stop. It was the latest trouble for O'Neal, 26, who has battled drug dependency in the past and who saw his mother die after a long, public battle with cancer in 2009.

Afghan TV series pokes fun at government with "The Ministry"

KABUL (Reuters) - Britain and the United States poke fun at incompetent, arrogant middle managers in the television comedy "The Office," but in Afghanistan the target is a fictional minister of garbage in a new series called "The Ministry." Instead of a series mocking drab office life in impoverished Afghanistan, where there is widespread unemployment, "The Ministry" mockumentary puts a satirical spin on some serious issues such as corruption, drug trafficking and nepotism.

Rapper Lil Wayne slapped with $15 million lawsuit

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Rapper Lil Wayne has been slapped with a $15 million lawsuit by a Georgia company that claims he stole the song "BedRock," according to a lawsuit filed in New York. Georgia-based production company Done Deal Enterprises accuses the rapper, whose real name is Dwayne Carter, of copyright infringement for the song that Done Deal claims it created in 2009.

Action director Brett Ratner to produce Oscars

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Forget song and dance at the Oscars. Get ready for action, adventure and special effects when the world's top movie honors are given away in Hollywood next February. Oscar organizers on Thursday picked Brett Ratner, the director of movies such as the "Rush Hour" cop series and comic book flick "X-Men: The Last Stand" to co-produce the upcoming Academy Awards alongside veteran Don Mischer.

McCartney recalls fear after 9/11, says music heals

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Paul McCartney on Thursday recalled the shock and fear that engulfed New York in the aftermath of the Sept 11 attacks and what he called the magical power of music in helping to heal those wounds. Speaking ahead of the television broadcast of his 9/11 documentary "The Love We Make", the former Beatle said that the concert he helped organize after the attacks was one of the most worthwhile moments of his career.