KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) ―Finishing art school, Haslin Ismail began as the typical struggling artist, selling just a few of his mixed media fantasy pieces for a few hundred dollars each over the ensuing five years.But in September, a buyer at one of a sudden spate of Malaysian art auctions spent 30,800 ringgit ($10,100) for a wall-sized Haslin painting full of outlandish images including a large human foot without skin.“It’s still quite risky to become an artist ... but actually there is positive deve

The K-pop boy band giants Big Bang recently performed in front of more than 24,000 fans at the Wembley Arena in London on Dec. 14 and 15, in the biggest solo K-pop concert the United Kingdom has ever had. The boys were originally only scheduled to hold one show, but due to popular demand, a second concert was added. The concert was part of the group’s ongoing worldwide tour, “Alive Galaxy Tour 2012,” which has brought more than 40 performances across the globe in 13 countries in Asia, North and

Gerard Depardieu, one of France's best-known actors, has chastised his country's Socialist prime minister for insulting remarks over his decision to move to tax-friendly Belgium and said in an open letter published Sunday that he's turning in his passport.The letter, which the weekly Le Journal du Dimanche said was penned by Depardieu, quickly propelled him into the spotlight, not for his acclaimed acting skills but for raising the sensitive issue of tax exiles as France looks to fill state coff

NEW YORK (AP) ― Hollywood has responded to the rampage at a Connecticut elementary school by pulling back on its offerings, and one star says the entertainment industry should take some responsibility for such violence.Fox pulled new episodes of “Family Guy” and “American Dad” that were to air Sunday to avoid potentially sensitive content. The originally scheduled episode of “Family Guy” had Peter telling his own version of the nativity story. The “American Dad” episode told the story of a demon

BEVERLY HILLS, California (AP) ― Steven Spielberg’s Civil War epic “Lincoln’’ led the Golden Globes on Thursday with seven nominations, among them best drama, best director for Spielberg and acting honors for Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones.Tied for second-place with five nominations each, including best drama are Ben Affleck’s Iran hostage-crisis thriller “Argo’’ and Quentin Tarantino’s slave-turned-bounty-hunter tale “Django Unchained.’’Other best-drama nominees put forward b

BERLIN,  (AFP) -- The Berlin film festival on Thursday unveiled its preliminary line-up for the February event including new releases from US director Gus Van Sant, South Korea's Hong Sang-soo and Ulrich Seidl of Austria.Van Sant will present "Promised Land", an ecological drama about fracking starring Matt Damon, Frances McDormand and John Krasinski at the 63rd Berlinale, taking place February 7 to 17.Organisers of the first major European film festival of the year said Hong Sang-soo, a critics