Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.
‘Black Widow’ screening rolls out the red carpet for London film fans
Film fans young and old, some dressed as their favorite “Avengers” characters, walked and posed on a red carpet in London’s Leicester Square on Tuesday for a special screening of the superhero story “Black Widow”. The Marvel Studios movie, starring Scarlett Johansson as Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow, the Russian-born spy-turned-Avenger, is among a slate of upcoming major releases postponed from last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and which cinema operators hope will revive ticket sales.
Venice festival to honor Jamie Lee Curtis with a lifetime achievement award
Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis will receive a lifetime achievement award at the Venice International Film Festival in September, where the latest installment of her “Halloween” movies will screen out of competition, organizers said on Wednesday. Curtis made her film debut in John Carpenter’s 1978 horror flick “Halloween”, playing babysitter Laurie Strode, who faced off against deadly serial killer Michael Myers.
Bill Cosby release sparks worries it will set back #MeToo progress
Bill Cosby’s surprise release from prison stirred concern among women’s advocates that it will erode recent gains in Hollywood and beyond to hold men accountable for harassment and abuse. The 83-year-old comedian and actor was freed on Wednesday after Pennsylvania’s highest court overturned a 2018 verdict that found him guilty of sexual assault. Activists, who had celebrated his conviction as a watershed moment, strongly condemned the new decision.
Actress Allison Mack gets 3 years prison for role in NXIVM cult
“Smallville” TV show actress Allison Mack was sentenced to three years in prison on Wednesday for her role in NXIVM, a New York-based cult in which women were branded with its leader’s initials and ordered to have sex with him. Mack, 38, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Nicholas Garaufis in Brooklyn, after pleading guilty in 2019 to racketeering and conspiracy. She is expected to begin serving her sentence on Sept. 29.
Britney Spears’ father asks for a probe of her abuse claims
Jamie Spears, father of Britney Spears, has asked for an investigation of the pop superstar’s claims that she had been mistreated under a legal conservatorship by being denied the ability to make her own medical decisions. In a court filing late on Tuesday, attorneys for Jamie Spears said he was “greatly saddened to hear of his daughter’s difficulties and suffering” and “believes there must be an investigation into those claims.”
See how Van Gogh saw himself in London exhibition
Vincent van Gogh’s self-portraits will go on show in London next year, in what organizers say is the first exhibition dedicated to the Dutch post-Impressionist artist’s depictions of himself. From February, The Courtauld Gallery will stage the display – from “Self-Portrait with a Dark Felt Hat” painted in 1886 in Paris to “Self-Portrait with a Palette” which van Gogh painted in an asylum in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence, southern France, in September 1889. He died the following year.
Tom Brady, Gisele Bundchen to pick up stake in crypto exchange FTX
National Football League quarterback Tom Brady and his supermodel wife, Gisele Bundchen, will each take an undisclosed equity stake in crypto exchange platform FTX Trading Ltd, the company said on Tuesday. Under the deal, Brady will also become an FTX ambassador and Bundchen will take the role of environmental and social initiatives adviser. Both will receive an unspecified amount of cryptocurrency, the company said.
A Minute With: ‘No Sudden Move’ cast on twists and filming in COVID
Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh brings together an all-star cast for the crime drama “No Sudden Move” in which a bunch of criminals are called on to carry out a heist that goes wrong. Benicio Del Toro, Don Cheadle, Ray Liotta, Jon Hamm, Brendan Fraser star in the movie, set in 1954 Detroit, where the robbers embark on a mission to find out who hired them.
The financial firm wants out of Britney Spears conservatorship case
Bessemer Trust, a wealth management firm that had been tapped as co-conservator of Britney Spears’ estate, on Thursday asked a Los Angeles court to withdraw from the case after the pop superstar’s testimony that she opposed the arrangement. Spears, 39, told the court last week that she felt the legal arrangement put in place in 2008 was abusive. The “Stronger” singer said she had been forced to take the drug lithium against her will and had been prevented from marrying and removing a contraceptive device so she could try to have a baby.
(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
