After almost a decade in which torture films dominated the box office, horror movies are returning to ghostly thrills with a new slew of low-budget productions making big money for studios. The success of 2009's "Paranormal Activity" - which was made for $15,000 and grossed more than $107 million at U.S. box offices - has fueled a thirst in audiences and movie studios for things that go bump in the night. Halloween audiences previously gripped by the gory "Saw" franchise about a sadistic serial killer are flocking this season to see supernatural horrors, with "Sinister" and "Paranormal Activity 4" providing otherworldly scares for the spooky festivities. The supernatural trend, with very little blood, started this year with "The Woman in Black" and "The Apparition", and will spill into 2013 with upcoming horror films including "Mama", "Evil Dead", "Carrie", and ghostly spoof "Scary Movie 5", which will parody "Paranormal Activity". More»

Egyptian record-breaker Mustafa Ismail passed a Japanese doping test and proved his biceps were not the result of surgical implants, Al-Ahram Arabic language news website reported Saturday. The 24-year-old amateur bodybuilder won a 2013 Guinness World Record last month for his 31 inch biceps and agreed to undergo medical tests to quell rumours that his muscles are fake. According to the report, Japanese doctors did not find any scars from syringes of his arm. The real-life Popeye told UK daily tabloid The Sun that he had "nothing to hide." "I agreed to do it. I am nothing but proud of what I have achieved as an unknown and amateur bodybuilder," he added. Ismail eats two kilograms of chicken, beef and fish a day, Al-Ahram added. More»

Tom Cruise filed a $50 million defamation lawsuit on Wednesday against magazines that claimed he had abandoned his daughter, Suri, following his divorce from actress Katie Holmes. The "Mission: Impossible" star filed the lawsuit in U.S. court in Los Angeles against the publishers of celebrity magazines "In Touch" and "Life & Style." Cruise's attorney Bert Fields said in a statement. "Tom is a caring father who dearly loves Suri. She's a vital part of his life and always will be. To say he has 'abandoned' her is a vicious lie. To say it in lurid headlines with a tearful picture of Suri is reprehensible," Cruise's lawyer, Bert Fields, said in a statement The lawsuit refers to two cover stories published by the magazines in July and September with the headlines "Abandoned by Daddy" and "Abandoned by her dad." The September story from "In Touch" claimed that six-year-old Suri, the only child of Cruise and Holmes, had gone more 44 days without seeing him. More»

Russell Means, who played a leading role in The Last of the Mohicans, has died at the age of 72. Means played Chingachgook, the adopted father of Daniel Day Lewis's character Hawkeye, in the 1992 film. Means was also a former American Indian Movement (AIM) activist, who helped lead a 1973 uprising at Wounded Knee. The actor and activist died on Monday at his ranch in Porcupine, South Dakota, a spokeswoman for the Oglala Sioux Tribe said. Donna Salomon, the tribal spokeswoman, called Means' death a "great loss" for the tribe. In August 2011, Means announced he had inoperable throat cancer and told the Associated Press he was eschewing mainstream medicines in favour of traditional Native American treatments. The Last of the Mohicans was his first film role and he went on to also appear in films such as Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers. More»

Director Tim Burton has received a BFI fellowship at this year's London Film Festival awards, along with his actress partner Helena Bonham Carter. "It's good because there's no jealousy at home," Bonham Carter told reporters. "It's very thoughtful for them to give us both one at the same time." Burton received his honour from actor Sir Christopher Lee, while his partner was presented hers by Sir Trevor Nunn. French drama Rust and Bone was named best film at Saturday's ceremony. The film, about the intense relationship between a whale trainer and a bare-knuckle boxer, was praised by jury president Sir David Hare for its "heart, violence and love". Lead actor Matthias Schoenaerts collected the prize on behalf of Rust and Bone's director, Jacques Audiard. It marks the second time the Frenchman has received the festival's best film award, having previously been honoured in 2009 for his prison drama A Prophet. More»

The brains of teenage girls with behavioural disorders are different to those of their peers, UK researchers have found. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry study of 40 girls revealed differences in the structure of areas linked to empathy and emotions. Previous work has found similar results in boys. Experts suggest it may be possible to use scans to spot problems early, then offer social or psychological help. An estimated five in every 100 teenagers in the UK are classed as having a conduct disorder. It is a psychiatric condition which leads people to behave in aggressive and anti-social ways, and which can increase the risk of mental and physical health problems in adulthood. Rates have risen significantly among adolescent girls in recent years, while levels in males have remained about the same. Fear detector In this study, funded by the Wellcome Trust and Medical Research Council, UK and Italian researchers conducted brain scans of 22 teenage girls who had conduct disorder and compared them with scans of 20 who did not. More»

Big hits from the likes of Adele and Calvin Harris helped British artists earn £188m in overseas royalties last year, according to PRS for Music. The organisation collects royalties from 150 countries on behalf of 90,000 UK songwriters, composers and music publishers. During a "particularly strong" 2011, UK songwriters and composers earned £187.7m globally - up 10% on 2010. Income earned abroad has doubled in the last decade, the PRS added. Royalties are generated any time a song is played - whether it is on TV, radio, online or at a live event - and distributed between composers and performers. PRS said that revenues had jumped from £88m in 2002 for two reasons: The popularity of British music abroad and "improved licensing". Live music incomes saw substantial growth from £2.2m to £21m since 2002, due to sell-out stadium concerts for acts such as The Rolling Stones, Muse and Paul McCartney. More»

One couple has boldly gone where no other has gone before by tying the knot in Britain's first Klingon wedding ceremony at a Star Trek convention to celebrate the much-loved TV series in London on Friday. The couple, 23-year-old Jossie Sockertopp and 29-year-old Sonnie Gustavsson, came from their native Sweden to marry at the "Destination Star Trek London" event, which will see 17,000 "trekkies" flock to London's ExCel centre this weekend. The pair, who met four years ago at the retirement home where they both work, were inspired to hold the ceremony after watching an episode of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", in which Klingon character Worf marries science officer Jadzia Dax in a traditional Klingon ceremony. "We saw the clip from the series...and we thought it was very romantic about beating hearts and a battle for each other. We really liked it, that's why we want to do this," Sockertopp said. It took around three months to plan the event, which was Britain's first wedding ceremony to contain blessings in Klingon, the guttural-sounding language spoken by the Star Trek characters of the same name. The bride eschewed the traditional human white dress for a floor-length red robe with a diamante headdress, matching her husband-to-be. Prosthetic foreheads with deep wrinkles and stringy black manes completed the look. More»

Britney Spears has been accused of once being a heavy drug user by the lawyer representing her former manager. Osama "Sam" Lufti is suing Britney Spears for breach of contract. His attorney, Joseph Schleimer, told the court that Spears used his client as a "scapegoat" to cover up her use of amphetamines including speed. The accusations refer to the years that Lufti was Spears' manager, before he was let go from her team in 2008. Lufti is suing the star's mother, Lynne Spears for defaming him in her book Through the Storm: A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World. He is also suing Jamie Spears, the singer's father, for punching him. More»

Pop star Beyonce will headline next year's Super Bowl half-time show in New Orleans, it has been announced. The NFL confirmed the news after the singer posted a picture on her website with "Feb 3" and "2013" written on her face - the date of the game. The half-time show is the most-watched musical event of the year in the US. More than 112.5m viewers saw this year's show, featuring Madonna. Recent performers have included The Rolling Stones and Bruce Springsteen. Beyonce has performed at the Super Bowl once before: In 2004, she sang the national anthem when the match was held in her hometown of Houston, Texas. News of the singer's performance next year has prompted speculation whether the show will feature collaborations with her husband, rapper Jay-Z, or her former bandmates from Destiny's Child. More»