SYDNEY, Australia - A portrait of Hollywood star Heath Ledger painted weeks before his death has won an Australian art award.The painting features a bare-chested Ledger staring from the canvas as two images of the actor whisper into his ears.Sydney artist Del Kathryn Barton won first prize with her self-portrait.

NEW YORK - Carly Simon was worried about preserving her voice as she rehearsed for her first public performance of tunes from her new CD, but she couldn't restrain herself as she got swept away singing the sexy title song, "This Kind of Love."The CD is not only her first collection of original songs in eight years, but also finds the legendary 62-year-old singer-songwriter charting a new musical course inspired by the music of Brazil from Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa to Caetano Veloso and Jorge Ben."I'm setting the lyrical themes to a carnival or Brazilian or slightly samba tempo so that life is joyous even in its sadness," said Simon during a break at the Manhattan studio.

LOS ANGELES - Near as Lee Pace can tell, the best way to scare audiences away is to tell them how good something is.Tall, dark, with piercing eyes and brows so thick they just may be able to shelter a small family in a blizzard - Pace looks like he should be in the movies. So, of course, he is best known as a TV star, in a show he also believes has suffered from too-precious reviews.

NEW YORK - "No, No, Nanette" is one of those Broadway musicals that is the perfect combination of tap and tune - catchy songs and dance numbers guaranteed to get an audience giddy.It did in 1925, then again in 1971 and now, 37 years later, that fizzy feeling is back, courtesy of City Center's "Encores! Casting is crucial for "Nanette," the intertwined tales of a young woman's modest rebellion against propriety as well as the extramarital (yet totally chaste) shenanigans of her uncle, a wealthy Bible salesman.

CHICAGO - Jury selection was set to start Friday in the long-delayed trial of one of urban music's biggest stars.Grammy-winning R&B singer R. Kelly faces child pornography charges, prompted by a videotape allegedly showing him having sex with a girl as young as 13.Judge Vincent Gaughan could rule on that request Friday.

NEW YORK - He can't sing and he can't dance, but Gabriel Byrne can charm - and he did while portraying the chivalrous King Arthur in "Camelot."After playing the tormented shrink Dr. Paul Weston in HBO's "In Treatment," the Irish actor went from couch to court, starring Wednesday in Lerner and Loewe's beloved 1960 musical.It was the first of five performances through Saturday, with one of the world's greatest pit orchestras - the New York Philharmonic - continuing its recent annual tradition of producing semi-staged musicals.

A representative for Scarlett Johansson confirmed the Hollywood actress is engaged to her Canadian actor boyfriend Ryan Reynolds.They're both thrilled, Marcel Pariseau told People magazine.Johansson has starred in The Other Boelyn Girl, The Nanny Diaries, Match Point and Lost in Translation.

MUMBAI, India - M. Night Shyamalan says his new film, "The Happening," will terrify moviegoers.Shyamalan, 37, was visiting India to receive one of the country's highest civilian awards for his contribution to cinema.Mark Wahlberg plays a schoolteacher on the run from a natural disaster that threatens the entire world.

Marvel Studios announced Monday that it will release an Iron Man sequel in 2010.Iron Man, starring Robert Downey Jr. in the title role, earned more than $100 million at the box office when it opened last weekend.Marvel said on its Web site that the sequel to the blockbuster is set for release April 30, 2010.

CBS said Monday that U.S. pop singer Britney Spears will do another guest appearance on the popular sit-com How I Met Your Mother.Spears, whose talents have recently been overshadowed by her personal and legal troubles, had a triumphant guest appearance on Mother in March.She will reprise her role of Abby the receptionist on the May 12 episode of the series, which stars Josh Radnor, Jason Segel, Neil Patrick Harris, Alyson Hannigan and Cobie Smulders, the network said