Critics are queuing up to praise Natalie Portman in her latest movie "Black Swan," the opening picture at this year's Venice film festival, with one review saying the performance "elevates her ... to a major star."
The 29-year-old plays a New York ballerina whose obsession with technical perfection takes a heavy toll on mind and body.

Nobody ever said Hollywood relationships were easy, and the on-again off-again affair of Justin Long and Drew Barrymore certainly proves that out.
Are they still on? Are they off? This Friday, as the pair's romantic comedy "Going the Distance" debuts in theaters, it looks as if they are on, although one never truly knows.

Australian A-League club Gold Coast United have signed Australian international striker Bruce Djite as a replacement for Shane Smeltz, officials said on Thursday.

Steven Gerrard has told his England team-mates they have to be strong enough to cope with the pressure of playing for their country in the aftermath of a dismal World Cup.
Gerrard knows it is vital England make a positive start to the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign, which kicks-off against Bulgaria at Wembley on Friday, to quell the growing calls for coach Fabio Capello to be sacked and restore some belief to an under-fire squad.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic on Wednesday took another swipe at Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola, dismissing him as a "small time" coach.
"In my book, a great coach solves his problems. A small-time coach runs from them," the 28-year-old Sweden forward told a press conference in Stockholm.
"There was only one person (on the Barcelona team) who wanted to get rid of me," he insisted, explaining why he left the team and signed for AC Milan over the weekend on an initial one-year loan with a pre-arranged 24-million-euro permanent deal arranged for the end of the season.

Joe Hart believes he has the ability to finally end England's long search for a goalkeeper capable of earning headlines for heroics rather than howlers.
Ever since Arsenal keeper David Seaman retired from international football in 2002, England have struggled to find a top-class replacement as bad luck and bad form left a varchar(255) of contenders flat on their backs.

Top European club coaches on Thursday welcomed the experiment with two extra assistant referees in the Champions League this season.
"The controversial thing was always going to be technical aids but I think (UEFA president) Michel Platini was brilliant on this issue," said Liverpool coach Roy Hodgson after a meeting between 17 elite European coaches at European football's governing body.

Fabio Capello insists he has learned enough from England's World Cup flop to make changes he believes will put his team back on track as long as they play without fear.
Capello's side host Bulgaria in their opening Euro 2012 qualifier at Wembley on Friday with their woeful effort at the World Cup still fresh in the memory.

Stand-in Germany captain Philipp Lahm on Thursday denied he had any problems with coach Joachim Loew's decision to retain Michael Ballack as permanent skipper for the Euro 2012 campaign.
Ballack, 34 later this month, is out of Friday's Euro 2012 qualifier against Belgium in Brussels as he recovers from the ankle injury which ruled him out of the World Cup, but will captain Germany again when he returns.

Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has hit out at his club for not backing him in the transfer market and leaving him short up front.
Despite boasting attacking resources including Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain and Karim Benzema, Mourinho told Thursday's La Gazzetta dello Sport that he wanted more.