(Reuters) – Black power, suffering and the fight for justice took center stage at the BET awards on Sunday, the first Black celebrity event in the United States since nationwide mass protests broke out this month over systemic racism. The show, which celebrate... More »
(Reuters) – Broadway theaters will remain closed through Jan. 3, 2021, industry group the Broadway League said on Monday, extending their coronavirus-related shutdown for another four months. The New York City theaters, which went dark in mid-March, had previo... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Soundtracks from the golden age of Italian cinema are to be made available to a new generation of music and film lovers under a new partnership between Universal Music Group (UMG) and Sugar, Italy’s leading independent label. More than 2,000... More »
(Reuters) – AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc said on Monday it has delayed the reopening of its theaters in the United States by two weeks to July 30. The world’s largest movie theater operator said that the date aligns with the release of Disney’s “Mulan” and C... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – France’s Louvre Museum is getting ready to reopen almost four months after COVID-19 forced it to close, but visitors will find one feature missing: the heaving crowd jostling to get a view of the “Mona Lisa”. With many foreign tourists not ex... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The Musee d’Orsay in Paris, home of the French Impressionists, reopened to the public on Tuesday, three months after being forced to shut by the COVID-19 pandemic, and its head called for state help to recover from the financial costs of the ... More »
MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russian prosecutors asked a court in Moscow on Monday to sentence prominent film and theatre director Kirill Serebrennikov to six years in jail on embezzlement charges, the RIA news agency reported. The prosecution of Serebrennikov, an award... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – International music and film stars will headline a globally televised and streamed fundraising concert on Saturday to help fight COVID-19 as part of a joint initiative by the advocacy group Global Citizen and the European Commission. The ini... More »
(Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he opposed removing the towering statue of Theodore Roosevelt from outside New York City’s American Museum of Natural History. The move was announced by the museum on Sunday and comes amid anti-racism prot... More »
(Reuters) – TikTok users and fans of Korean pop music took partial credit for inflating attendance expectations at a less-than-full arena at President Donald Trump’s first political rally in months, held in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on Saturday. Social media users on p... More »
(Reuters) – Tom Petty’s family slammed President Donald Trump for using the late rock star’s hit “I Won’t Back Down” at his sparsely attended rally in Tulsa, sending the campaign a cease and desist warning. “Trump was in no way authorized to use this song to f... More »
(Reuters) – AMC Entertainment Holdings Inc said Friday it will require guests to wear face masks at all of its U.S. movie theaters when they reopen in July, a reversal of a policy from a day earlier that prompted a swift backlash. Regal Cinemas, owned by Cinew... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Dutch men’s and women’s national football team players said on Friday they would no longer grant interviews to a popular TV show due to remarks made by a commentator mocking an anti-racism protester. In a statement first published on ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – There won’t be any moshing going on, but entertainment company Live Nation Entertainment are rolling out a series of gigs across the UK where fans can be together to get their fix of live events from the safety of their own designated area. ... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Spanish novelist Carlos Ruiz Zafon, whose book “The Shadow of the Wind” sold more than 15 million copies, has died of cancer aged 55 in Los Angeles, his publishing house said on Friday. Zafon began his career in juvenile literature before pu... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “American Idol” winner Kelly Clarkson, actor Zac Efron and British star Benedict Cumberbatch are among celebrities who will be getting a star on Hollywood’s Walk of Fame in 2021. Shia LaBeouf, Missy Elliott and “American Pie” singer-son... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Boarded-up shops, a depressing sight for New Yorkers after looters infiltrated anti-racism marches in the city’s trendiest neighborhoods, are being transformed into canvases of hope with paintbrushes wielded by a small army of artists. The... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Filmmaker Ava DuVernay is urging writers, dancers, poets and other artists to help make the names of abusive police officers as well known as their victims. Media company ARRAY, founded by DuVernay, has launched the Law Enforcement Acco... More »
BEIRUT (Reuters) – Many directors would have been devastated when their plans to show their first feature at the Cannes Film Festival were wrecked by the spread of COVID-19. But Lebanon’s Jimmy Keyrouz said he took heart from the themes of his movie “Broken Ke... More »
KYIV (Reuters) – A wealthy Ukrainian politician has made public a manuscript in his private collection that he says is a fragment of the Gutenberg Bible, the world’s first substantial printed book, although researchers said it would need to be authenticated. T... More »
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – Brussels added to its large collection of murals on Thursday with a newly commissioned work in memory of African-American George Floyd, whose killing by police has sparked global protests against racism and police violence. Belgian-Congole... More »
CHONBURI, Thailand (Reuters) – Volunteer pet groomer Kriengkai Thatwakorn is thrilled to be back helping out stray dogs in Thailand, some in urgent need of a shearing after waiting three sweltering months for a trim. A domestic travel ban to contain the novel ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) Chief Executive Jeff Bezos is willing to testify to a congressional panel investigating potential violations of U.S. antitrust law by big technology companies, according to a letter from an attorney representing A... More »
WELLINGTON (Reuters) – Filming the sequel of James Cameron’s sci-fi blockbuster “Avatar” will bring hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars to New Zealand after it ended its coronavirus outbreak, the film’s producer told media as production resumed on Monday.... More »
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Chinese gaming giant NetEase on Monday announced a strategic partnership with Warner Bros Interactive Entertainment to develop a new “Lord of the Rings” mobile game, bolstering its pipeline following its secondary listing in Hong Kong. Th... More »
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who won acclaim for his role in the 2016 biopic of then Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was found dead at his home in Mumbai on Sunday, police said. He was 34 years old. “It pains us to shar... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Bob Dylan gave a glimpse into his song-writing process, commented on the death of George Floyd and said in a rare interview published on Friday that he wished he had written the Rolling Stones ballad “Angie.” Dylan’s wide-ranging conver... More »
ATHENS (Reuters) – Greece’s culture minister has hailed a U.S. court ruling over a disputed ancient horse figurine as a major victory that may help Athens and others fighting to reclaim antiquities. Lina Mendoni said Tuesday’s ruling by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Co... More »
QALQILYA, West Bank (Reuters) – Peacocks, ostriches and baboons joined in an animal baby boom at a Palestinian zoo during the coronavirus closure as they let nature take its course free from human distractions. Fifteen animals were born at the tiny Qalqilya Zo... More »
POSTOJNA, Slovenia (Reuters) – Three rare aquatic creatures known as baby dragons are going on display in an aquarium at Slovenia’s Postojna Cave, one of the country’s biggest tourist attractions. The cave-dwelling animals, officially called proteus or olms, h... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – The coronavirus lockdowns have hit the world’s museums very hard and more than 10 percent may never reopen while others will have to put new projects on hold, the United Nations’ cultural body UNESCO said. A survey of almost 1,600 museums in ... More »
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – International Business Machines Corp (IBM.N) disclosed Monday it will no longer offer facial recognition or analysis software in a letter to Congress calling for new efforts to pursue justice and racial equity, new Chief Executive Office... More »
STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – “The world is full of idiots,” said ABBA’s Bjorn Ulvaeus, as he condemned critics of the Black Lives Matter movement and voiced his support of the worldwide protests against racism and police brutality. “The solidarity that we see in the ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Dancers from Britain’s Royal Ballet have made a short film in which they perform in London’s deserted streets to the sounds of The Rolling Stones, a project designed to highlight the plight of the arts during the global coronavirus pandemic.... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The civil rights movie “Selma” was made free for rental on Friday, a day after actor David Oyelowo said Oscar voters had deliberately snubbed the film in 2015. Oyelowo, who played Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the movie, said members of... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Film and TV cameras can start rolling in California as soon as June 12, state officials said on Friday as they approved new guidelines to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus on sets. Producers will need approval from local healt... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – American actress Whoopi Goldberg has leant her voice to an Extinction Rebellion animated film highlighting the precarious state of the planet’s natural environment. The three-minute film entitled “Gigantic Change” was released on Friday to c... More »
(Reuters) – Actress Cate Blanchett suffered an accident with a chainsaw during the coronavirus lockdown with her family, she revealed during a podcast. The Oscar-winning star of films like “Blue Jasmine” and “Aviator” gave no details about the mishap but said ... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – An art gallery in Paris has sought inspiration in ancient China to help it enforce social distancing, by providing hats with winged extensions for visitors. The colourful papier-mâché hats are modelled on headgear from the Song dynasty, which... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – From “White Fragility” to “The New Jim Crow,” literature about the history of racial discrimination in the United States is selling out as white Americans seek to educate themselves as nationwide protests grow over the killing of unarme... More »
BEIJING (Reuters) – China will promote the resumption of the tourism, culture and sports sectors, a top-level meeting chaired by Premier Li Keqiang said on Thursday, state radio reported. Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-coronavirus-china/chin... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – A Madrid flamenco bar that has played host to some of Spain’s top performers, including an early-career set from Grammy-award winner Rosalia, is shutting down as audiences dwindle in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. For nearly 40 years ... More »
WALENSTADT, Switzerland (Reuters) – Two Swiss conceptual artists are offering seven open air “hotel rooms” this summer across a “performance space” encompassing eastern Switzerland and Liechtenstein. Guests “perform”, without an audience, by spending the night... More »
BILBAO, Spain (Reuters) – Two dozen visitors queued to get their temperatures taken at the entrance to Bilbao’s Guggenheim Museum on Monday as it became the first of Spain’s major cultural centres to reopen its doors after a long lockdown due to the coronaviru... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Sony Corp (6758.T) will turn its financial arm, Sony Financial Holdings Inc (8729.T), into a wholly owned unit through a tender offer worth about 400 billion yen ($3.72 billion), the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant said on Tuesda... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The chariots of 1959 epic “Ben Hur” and the yellow brick road of 1939 fantasy “The Wizard of Oz” are back on the big screen in Japan as cinemas begin reopening from the coronavirus crisis with a slate heavy on Hollywood classics. James Dean s... More »
SEOUL (Reuters) – The manager of South Korea’s popular boyband BTS has apologised on behalf of one of its members who went to a bar in April, contrary to government advice, just as the country is trying to contain a recent coronavirus outbreak around Seoul’s c... More »
(Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) top streaming executive, Kevin Mayer, will leave the entertainment and theme parks giant to become the chief executive officer of TikTok, the popular video app owned by China’s ByteDance Technology Co, the companies said on... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Stuck at home with the kids? Meryl Streep, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Cate Blanchett may be able to help. Oscar-winning New Zealand filmmaker Taika Waititi has lined up some of his Hollywood friends by videolink from their living rooms for a ... More »
ROME (Reuters) – An exhibition commemorating the 500th anniversary of the death of Renaissance artist Raphael will reopen on June 2 in Rome and its run extended until Aug.30, after it fell foul of the COVID-19 lockdown. The show at the Scuderie del Quirinale G... More »
PARIS (Reuters) – American jazz singer Melody Gardot is inviting musicians around the world to play along digitally on her new album to overcome the solitude and financial strain of coronavirus lockdowns. For the song “From Paris with Love” on her new album, G... More »
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) – He rose from South Africa’s poorest province to become one of the world’s most successful DJs, entertaining millions in dance clubs all over the globe, but the COVID-19 lockdown has got DJ Black Coffee wondering about the future of the... More »
WARSAW (Reuters) – Lovers of Frederic Chopin’s music who usually flock to a central Warsaw park on Sundays for open-air concerts will have to go online this season to hear the weekly performances because of restrictions imposed to curb the spread of the corona... More »
BOGOTA (Reuters) – This time there are no lights, cameras, dressing rooms or the hundreds of people who usually crowd a film shoot. There is just a mobile phone, a tripod, a bathroom and “Action!” Colombian director Harold Trompetero, who has directed 21 films... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – “We Are The World,” the celebrity-packed 1985 charity single, is getting an encore this weekend, courtesy of the stars of “American Idol.” “Idol” judges Lionel Richie, who co-wrote the song with the late Michael Jackson, Katy Perry and ... More »
(Reuters) – Country music star Keith Urban performed a surprise live show at a drive-in movie theater in Nashville in a test drive for how concerts might look in the era of social distancing. Urban, on stage with just one other musician, played at the Stardust... More »
MADRID (Reuters) – Usually at this time of year Madrid’s Las Ventas bullring is packed as matadors take on lethal half-tonne bulls in daily fights during the annual San Isidro festival. But plazas across Spain are empty this season as the coronavirus epidemic ... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Haruki Murakami, one of Japan’s most acclaimed novelists, will host a radio special to try to lift the nation’s spirits as a state of emergency over the novel coronavirus lingers. Murakami, whose breakout novel “Norwegian Wood” debuted in 198... More »
(Reuters) – China’s Tencent Music Entertainment (TME.N) narrowly missed market estimates for quarterly revenue on Monday as the COVID-19 crisis hurt the company’s social entertainment services business, sending its shares down 4.5% in extended trade overnight.... More »
(Reuters) – Twitter Inc (TWTR.N) will add labels and warning messages on some tweets with disputed or misleading information about COVID-19, the company said on Monday, as part of a new approach to misinformation that will eventually extend to other topics. Tw... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Fans may have to wait until the fall for the “Friends” reunion special as HBO Max executives are holding out hopes of filming it before a live audience rather than shooting the much-anticipated get together remotely with stars under qua... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Jerry Stiller, who played two of American television’s most cantankerous fathers on the sitcoms “Seinfeld” and “The King of Queens,” has died aged 92, his son Ben Stiller said on Twitter on Monday. “I’m sad to say that my father, Jerry Sti... More »
CANNES, France (Reuters) – In a normal year, Joseph Morpelli would be getting ready to plant his stepladder opposite the Cannes Festival venue so he and his fellow diehard fans can get a glimpse of celebrities walking down the red carpet. This year, coronaviru... More »
(Reuters) – Kurt Cobain’s cardigan sold for a record $334,000 last year. Now the acoustic guitar the punk rocker played for Nirvana’s “MTV Unplugged” session, just five months before his death, is expected to fetch around $1 million at auction in June. Julien’... More »
LAGOS (Reuters) – Nigerian comedian Maryam Apaokagi has a sure-fire way of getting people to listen to her coronavirus health advice – she delivers it with a hard slap in the face. The 21-year-old has joined a line-up of the nation’s top performers working hea... More »
SHANGHAI (Reuters) – Thousands of visitors streamed into Shanghai Disneyland on Monday for the first time in three months as the Chinese park became the first reopened by Walt Disney Co (DIS.N) after the coronavirus pandemic brought the Magic Kingdom to a stan... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – The runaway success of Nintendo Co Ltd’s (7974.T) island life simulator Animal Crossing: New Horizons has overshadowed an uncomfortable fact for fans of the Switch console – it lacks upcoming titles. Nintendo on Thursday said Animal Crossing,... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Nintendo Co Ltd (7974.T) said on Thursday its fourth-quarter profit soared 200% due to surging demand for its Switch games console, and that title Animal Crossing: New Horizons shifted a record 13.4 million units in its first six week... More »
TOKYO (Reuters) – Millions of Japanese viewers of the world’s longest-running animated cartoon TV show will have to make do with re-runs from next week after the coronavirus pandemic disrupted production, Fuji Television Network said on Sunday. Aired every Sun... More »
(Reuters) – Little Richard, the self-proclaimed “architect of rock ‘n’ roll” who built his ground-breaking sound with a boiling blend of boogie-woogie, rhythm and blues and gospel, died on Saturday at the age of 87. Richard, a Grammy Award winner and inductee ... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Welsh mezzo-soprano Katherine Jenkins will stream a concert from an empty Royal Albert Hall on Friday evening, as locked-down Britain marks the 75th anniversary of “Victory in Europe” Day. Millions of people held a two-minute silence while m... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Londoners locked out of galleries can find an alternative art fix on a wall under under some railway arches after street artist Lionel Stanhope painted a Caravaggio classic, updated for the coronavirus age. The Italian baroque master’s “Supp... More »
HAVANA (Reuters) – Cuba’s artists are rising to the occasion during the coronavirus lockdown, taking to rooftops and balconies to create music or dance. A pair of twins in the Acosta Dance Company are stuck at home after the troupe’s world tour was suddenly ca... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) acquisitions spree that included swallowing much of Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox last year, and a reputation for operational excellence, turned the company into the world’s most powerful entertainment machi... More »
LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s ITV said its popular dating show Love Island would be cancelled this year because of the coronavirus pandemic and there would not be a new series until 2021, in a big setback for the broadcaster’s advertising revenues. ITV said in ... More »
(Reuters) – Icelandic actor and strongman Hafthor Bjornsson set a world record for the deadlift on Saturday when he lifted 1,104 pounds (501 kg) at Thor’s Power Gym in Iceland. Bjornsson, best known for his portrayal of Ser Gregor “The Mountain” Clegane on the... More »
(Reuters) – Comcast Corp (CMCSA.O) owned NBCUniversal is evaluating a significant reduction of staff across its portfolio of media and entertainment properties as part of a cost-cutting effort, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing people familiar... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Even Tim Gunn, the immaculately dressed fashion mentor from “Project Runway” and Amazon’s new competition show “Making the Cut,” is finding it hard to get out of his pajamas these days. As much of the world shelters at home to prevent t... More »
BUDAPEST (Reuters) – Dressed in black and wearing a facemask, the dancer leaps and pirouttes across Budapest’s deserted central Heroes Square – to the strains of a melody that mirrors the molecular structure of the coronavirus. To mark World Dance Day, Zsolt V... More »
CAPEL, England (Reuters) – The daily lockdown walk has been brightened by the addition of scarecrows dressed as key workers in a village in southern England, as the community pays tribute to doctors, nurses, shop assistants and waste collectors in its own quir... More »
(Reuters) – Amazon.com Inc (AMZN.O) is piloting the use of video conference calls to verify the identity of merchants who wish to sell goods on its websites, in a new plan to counter fraud without in-person meetings in the pandemic, the company said on Sunday.... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The NFL Draft reached more than 55 million viewers over three days, the league said on Sunday, breaking records as the most-watched draft ever as the annual affair emerged as one of a rare few live events available to sports-hungry fans. T... More »
(Reuters) – A Professional Bull Riders (PBR) competition took place in an empty arena in the U.S. on Sunday with cowboys in facemasks clinging onto 1,500-pound (680.39 kg) bucking bulls while most professional sports remained on coronavirus lockdown. Members o... More »
AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Six dancers from the Dutch National Ballet headed out into the empty streets of Amsterdam this week to perform their parts in a piece of choreography inspired by the coronavirus lockdown. Each put on a solo performance out in the open, so... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Taylor Swift on Thursday revived her feud with her former record company, complaining that the release of a 2008 collection of recordings for a radio show was “tasteless.” “I want to thank my fans for making me aware that my former reco... More »
(Editor’s note: paragraph 7 contains language that some readers may find offensive) LONDON (Reuters) – The Rolling Stones gave their fans some satisfaction on Thursday by releasing a new track “Living in a Ghost Town”, part-recorded during the coronavirus lock... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Coronavirus quarantine has supermodel Naomi Campbell reinventing herself as a talk show host with the new series “No Filter with Naomi.” The catwalk queen is chatting live on YouTube every day with some of her famous friends, including Vog... More »
MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Tom Hanks has sent a letter and a Corona brand typewriter to an Australian boy who wrote to him about being bullied over his name, Corona, Australian television networks reported on Thursday. Corona De Vries, an eight-year-old from the Go... More »
(Reuters) – A U.S. federal judge dismissed a lawsuit brought by former “Empire” actor Jussie Smollett who accused the city of Chicago of malicious prosecution in concluding that his claim to having been the victim of a racist and homophobic beating was a hoax.... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Whitney Houston is headed back to the big screen in a feature film about the singer’s life that took her to the heights of fame but ended in drug addiction and tragedy. Taking its title from one of Houston’s biggest hits – “I Wanna Danc... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Actress Goldie Hawn, her daughter Kate Hudson and baby granddaughter Rani Rose Fujikawa graced the cover of “People” magazine’s annual Beautiful issue on Tuesday. It was the first time that three generations had appeared on the Beautifu... More »
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Kelly Rowland, Halle Berry and Anthony Anderson are among a host of black celebrities taking on the coronavirus epidemic as the disease continues to disproportionately affect minorities in the United States. The actors and singers will tak... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The cast of the hit TV comedy “Friends” on Tuesday offered six fans the chance to join them for their upcoming reunion show, which will raise funds for those worst-affected by the coronavirus epidemic. “The One Where You Meet the Entire... More »
(Reuters) – AT&T Inc. announced on Tuesday that it will make its HBO Max streaming service free to some customers when it launches on May 27. The HBO Max app will be pre-loaded on the AT&T TV set top box. HBO Max will also be included with the AT&T Internet 10... More »
TBILISI (Reuters) – Georgia’s National Ballet, the former Soviet country’s famous folk dance ensemble, started giving lessons online after the group’s popular dance schools closed their doors due to the coronavirus. Around 5,000 kids and teenagers, who used to... More »
BERLIN (Reuters) – Germany’s Oktoberfest, the world’s largest folk festival, where revellers from all over the world gather to swig large quantities of beer, has been cancelled due to the coronavirus crisis, the southern state of Bavaria said on Tuesday. Aroun... More »
JUGYAI, India (Reuters) – Most days, you can find Dayaram Kushwaha and his wife, Gyanvati, hauling bricks for stonemasons in a booming northern suburb of New Delhi. They bring their 5-year-old son, who plays in the dirt while they work. But now a hush has come... More »
(Reuters) – Apple Inc (AAPL.O) on Tuesday said it would expand its App Store, Apple Music and other services to dozens of new markets in Africa, the Middle East and beyond in the biggest geographical expansion of its services in almost a decade. Apple said it ... More »
(Reuters) – Walmart Inc’s video-on-demand service, Vudu, said on Monday it would be acquired by Fandango Media LLC, a movie ticketing service owned by cable company Comcast Corp. The terms or value of the deal were not disclosed. Walmart bought Vudu over a dec... More »
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Almost 21 million Americans watched the “One World: Together At Home” global special on Saturday in support of frontline workers battling the coronavirus pandemic, according to Nielsen data released on Monday. Nielsen said that the two-... More »
