Arlen Specter, the Republican-turned-Democratic Senator, once observed: "When Hollywood speaks the world listens" .

Opera star Rolando Villazón is relishing his royal turn on TV, he tells Jessica Duchen

Georg Kreisler was widely acknowledged in Germany and Austria as a master of the satirical songs for which Viennese cabaret is held in such esteem. Celebrated above all for his dazzling and provocative texts, his skill in setting them to music and his virtuoso stage performances at the piano, Kreisler was also a novelist, poet, dramatist, theatre director and composer. Almost as striking as his landmark creative career were his remarkable experiences during the Second World War.

The Monday Interview: The capital's greatest chronicler tells Andy McSmith why upsurges of violence are part of the city's texture

The actress talks to Gerard Gilbert about her famous family, her wild days at Gordonstoun and marrying Ben Whishaw.

A Slice of Britain: In deepest Kent, a truly slapstick world championship is staged

The rich and famous of 1920s era Hollywood appeared to have it all - but artist Pam Glew's new exhibition examines the curse of the seemingly blessed

A troupe of Charlie Chaplins took to London streets to shoot a short film to launch Virgin Media Shorts 2011, the UK’s biggest short film competition and the only one which champions undiscovered UK film talent across four screens - at cinemas, on TV, on mobile and online.

Carl Davis conducts the Philharmonia Orchestra in his own accompaniment to the original silent film Phantom of the Opera this month. In February he conducted his scores to Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush and Modern Times – and this is only a taste of the empire he has created over the past 30 years.

What better film to celebrate the season with than Charlie Chaplin's The Gold Rush, particularly when it comes with orchestral accompaniment and Carl Davis?

Did you know that ‘Smile’, composed by Charlie Chaplin for ‘Modern Times’, reached No 2 in the UK charts when Nat King Cole recorded it, and that it was Michael Jackson’s favourite song?

It was once home to some of the most notorious parties in Manhattan's history, a former church turned monument to pleasure where celebrities such as Grace Jones, Cher and Burt Reynolds partied alongside half-naked, chemically enhanced club kids to some of the hottest tunes in the city.

When giants of science, literature and culture get together, we expect to feel the earth move. But these stellar gatherings are as likely to disappoint as dazzle, argues John Walsh