Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era

PEOPLE

'Black Swan' guru to Paris

Benjamin Millepied, the "Black Swan" choreographer who helped transform Natalie Portman into an obsessed, paranoid ballerina for the film and later married the actress, was named director of the Paris Opera Ballet on Thursday.

Millepied, 35, is a former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet who left in 2011 to create his own dance company in Los Angeles, L.A. Dance Project. He'll start at the Paris company in October 2014, when the current dance director, Brigitte Lefevre, retires.

Millepied and Portman, who have a son, met during the making of "Black Swan," Darren Aronofsky's psychological thriller that stars Portman as a ballet dancer.

Portman won the best actress Academy Award or her performance in the movie.

Pope Benedict XVI has put the Catholic Church on notice: Social networking sites aren't a virtual world the church can ignore, but rather a very real world that its leaders must engage if they want to spread the faith to the next generation.

The 85-year-old Benedict, who tweets in nine languages, used his annual message on social communications Thursday to stress the potential of social media for the church as it struggles to keep followers and attract new ones amid religious apathy, competition from other churches and scandals that have driven the faithful away.

Archbishop Claudio Maria Celli, head of the Vatican's communications office, cited a 2012 study commissioned by U.S. bishops that found that 53 percent of Americans were unaware of any significant presence of the Catholic Church online.

Justin Timberlake will appear in his first concert in more than four years the night before the Super Bowl.

Timberlake has signed on to perform during "DIRECTV Super Saturday Night," held Feb. 2 in New Orleans.

The singer recently released a new single, "Suit and Tie," featuring Jay-Z, and will release a new album "The 20/20 Experience" later this year.

The invitation-only concert also features Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson of The Roots as DJ and will benefit the Shriners Hospitals for Children. It is co-hosted by Mark Cuban's AXS-TV.

The show will be held after DIRECTV's "Celebrity Beach Bowl," which features a performance by Pitbull.