LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - It's been a long hike from the Austrian Alps to the Hollywood Hills for Christopher Plummer, but the actor best known for playing the steely captain with seven children in "The Sound of Music" looks set to finally win his first Oscar.

Actress and producer Oprah Winfrey, who has dominated the US television talk show scene for a quarter-century, was honored with an Oscar statuette late Saturday for her outstanding humanitarian work.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Oprah Winfrey received an honorary Oscar for her charitable work on Saturday in what she called an unimaginable moment for a black woman who grew up poor in Mississippi and rose to the top of Hollywood stardom.

Director William Friedkin on Tuesday decried a trend in cinema of infantilizing audiences with stories ripped from comic books, at the North American premiere of his new film "Killer Joe."

Darkness descended on Venice on Friday as the film festival drew to a close, with tales of brutality, callousness, chilling indifference and failed relationships all vying for the Golden Lion award.

A documentary on the Irish rock band U2's dizzying rise to superstardom rocked Canada's largest metropolis as it opened the Toronto film festival.

A documentary on the Irish rock band U2's dizzying rise to superstardom rocked Canada's largest metropolis as it opened the Toronto film festival.

VENICE (Reuters) - Hollywood heartthrob Matthew McConaughey ditches romantic comedy in modern-day Western "Killer Joe," a film in competition at the Venice festival in which he plays a twisted detective who doubles as a hitman.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actor James Earl Jones will receive an honorary Oscar this year and Oprah Winfrey will be presented with a humanitarian award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced.

NEW YORK (Reuters Life!) - Winter nights are long and cold in Stockholm. Their chill permeates some recent Swedish fiction.

A blood-curdling scream echoes through the Roman Catholic chapel in Manila as Father Jose Francisco Syquia says a prayer of exorcism over a Satanic cult member believed to be possessed by the devil.

The low-budget and widely panned horror flick "The Roommate" opened at the top of the North American box office during a sluggish weekend, according to industry data.

The low-budget and widely panned horror flick "The Roommate" opened at the top of the North American box office during a sluggish weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.

Exorcism thriller "The Rite" cast out its demons to reach the top of the North American box office in its debut weekend, industry figures showed Monday.

Exorcism thriller "The Rite" cast out its demons to reach the top of the North American box office in its debut weekend, industry estimates showed Sunday.

"The Exorcist," the "Star Wars" sequel and "All the President's Men" were named to the Library of Congress National Film Registry, joining 22 other motion pictures honored this year as key reflections of US culture.

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A range of movies from comedy "Airplane!" to George Lucas' "The Empire Strikes Back" and 1906 short film "A Trip Down Market Street" were named to the National Film Registry on Tuesday, ensuring their preservation for future generations.

'Empire Strikes Back,' 'Saturday Night Fever' among films to be preserved in national registry. Darth Vader proclaiming he's Luke Skywalker's father, John Travolta preening in his underwear and an early 20th-century deaf activist communicating in sign language are among the images that will be preserved by the Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry.

Films selected to the National Film Registry for 2010. A list of the 25 films being added to the National Film Registry, as announced Tuesday by the Library of Congress:

'Empire Strikes Back,' 'Saturday Night Fever' among films to be preserved in national registry. Darth Vader proclaiming he's Luke Skywalker's father, Tony Manero preening in his underwear and an early 20th-century deaf activist speaking in sign language are among the images that will be preserved by the Library of Congress as part of its National Film Registry.