Natalie Portman

"The King's Speech," the breakout movie about a British monarch's triumph over a debilitating stutter, scored a knockout hometown victory Sunday, winning best picture and all three acting categories for which it was nominated at Britain's top film awards. FOR THE RECORD: BAFTA Awards: An article in the Feb. 14 Calendar section about the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards said lead actor winner Colin Firth wore a kilt to the ceremony. Firth discussed wearing a kilt with the media but wore a tuxedo to the event.

"The Social Network" has a lot of friends in Hollywood. The drama about the creation of Facebook continued its winning ways Sunday, taking home four trophies at the 68th Golden Globes, including dramatic feature, director for David Fincher, screenplay for Aaron Sorkin and original score for Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross. The drama has been cleaning up this awards season, most recently dominating the Critics Choice Movie Awards on Friday night. Another front-runner, "The Kids Are All Right," about a lesbian couple trying to keep their family together, earned the Golden Globe for musical or comedy feature while one of its stars, Annette Bening, won for lead actress.

The monarch may have stammered terribly, but Oscar voters spoke loudly and clearly Sunday night, handing "The King's Speech" four Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best original screenplay. OSCARS 2011: Full coverage and photo galleries The come-from-behind "King's Speech" coup concluded a providential journey for the drama about Britain's King George VI (played by Colin Firth, who won the lead actor Oscar) and his unconventional speech therapist, Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush)

Producer and talent manager Steve Alexander and his wife, interior designer Vanessa Alexander , have sold a Malibu estate for $9.454 million. Set on 2.6 acres in the Serra Retreat area, the newly built house combines the feel of a Hamptons barn with modern details in loft-like spaces. Some 6,500 square feet of living space include an office, theater, gym, six bedrooms and six bathrooms. Outdoors is a swimming pool with cabana, a kitchen with a pizza oven and a fire pit. The former Creative Artists Agency agent represented such stars as Heath Ledger, Jeff Bridges and Natalie Portman before joining the Mosaic Media Group several years ago and returning to his origins as a producer.

A project with a young star at the peak of media attention, a well-regarded director and source material of class and pedigree are all components of a traditional indie film success story. "The Other Woman," starring Natalie Portman, has been available on video on demand since Jan. 1 and will be released theatrically in Los Angeles on Feb. 4 ? coming to audiences in an untraditional way that is fast becoming more commonplace. In just a few weeks on VOD, the film had a number of viewers that would have made it more than $1 million in theatrical ticket sales.

Few events straddle the glitz and grit of world cinema quite like the Palm Springs International Film Festival . That's thanks to the affair's wildly divergent aims ? to be the U.S.' definitive, highbrow showcase for international movies, and the Coachella Valley's starry, hard-partying answer to the Golden Globes. Both objectives will be served at the 22nd annual festival, which opens Thursday with a screening of "Potiche," a French screwball comedy starring Catherine Deneuve.

With his appointment as the new director of the Paris Opera Ballet, Benjamin Millepied has landed one of the most prestigious jobs in dance, overseeing a corps of 150 performers at the legendary institution. But his new post, which was announced Thursday and begins in October 2014, creates uncertainty for L.A. Dance Project, the downtown collective that the French choreographer launched to much fanfare with the Music Center in 2011. Speaking on the phone from Paris, Millepied said he remains committed to the future of L.A. Dance Project even if it means he will have to step back from the daily operations of the company.

Their story is like a "once upon a time," but envision Cinderella in a lace gown that's been painted on by Caravaggio and then run through a paper shredder. There are actually two Cinderellas, Kate (with bangs) and Laura Mulleavy, sisters who don't yet have 60 birthdays between them. They famously still live with their parents in Pasadena, and in half a dozen years, the exquisite, subversive couture of their Rodarte label, created and produced in their downtown L.A. studios, has taxed the style cliches of critics and fashion lovers alike (see the fashions at latimes.com/rodarte )

French actress Bérénice Marlohe, who plays "Bond girl" Sévérine opposite Daniel Craig's 007 in the acclaimed new James Bond blockbuster "Skyfall," is having the last laugh on all the casting agents, producers and directors in Europe who wouldn't give her a job. The statuesque Marlohe, whose sultry look brings to mind the legendary Italian beauty Claudia Cardinale, has struggled to find work since she became an actress eight years ago. Now...

These are tough times for premium denim manufacturers as retailers shrink the number of brands they carry because consumers aren't spending. But for designer denim maker AG Adriano Goldschmied, the crisis came seven years ago when the Italian designer decamped. Even though the parting was civil, key customers began dropping the company's products as a series of design chiefs came and went. Now, as some other jeans makers struggle, AG appears to be back on track. Through July, sales of the company's jeans are up more than 30% from the same period last year and sales for the year are expected to reach $80 million to $90 million, AG executives say. At a time of high unemployment, the parking lot outside its 900-worker factory in South Gate doesn't even have room for visitor vehicles; employee cars have spilled out onto the sidewalk outside the gates.