AP National Entertainment News

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Todd Snider, a singer whose thoughtfully freewheeling tunes and cosmic-stoner songwriting made him a beloved figure in American roots music, has died. He was 59. His record label said Saturday in a statement posted to his social media accounts that Snider died Friday. “Where do we find the words for the

By NICOLE WINFIELD Associated Press VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Leo XIV welcomed Spike Lee, Cate Blanchett, Greta Gerwig and dozens of other Hollywood luminaries to a special Vatican audience Saturday celebrating cinema and its ability to inspire and unite. Leo encouraged the filmmakers and celebrities gathered in a frescoed Vatican audience hall to use

NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Oklahoma coach Jennie Baranczyk hears the popular catchphrase “6-7” all the time at home, possibly more often than please and thank you. Getting an earful of it at a women’s basketball game, well, that was new for the mother of three. Baranczyk and the sixth-ranked Sooners became the latest college team

By JONATHAN J. COOPER and DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House Historical Association has reclaimed a series of sketches by American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell, spending a whopping $7.25 million at auction on Friday. The four 1940s-era sketches titled “So You Want to See the President!” were displayed in the

By JUAN A. LOZANO Associated Press HOUSTON (AP) — Fans of the Buddy Holly crosswalk in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, with a painted depiction of the rock and roll legend’s iconic glasses, will soon have to say goodbye to it. That’ll be a day that will possibly make them cry. Lubbock City Council members

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer The emails to and from Jeffrey Epstein released this week shine a light on the delicate relationship between reporters and their sources. And, as can be the case, bright light isn’t always flattering. Messages between Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died by suicide in 2019, and journalists Michael

LOS ANGELES (AP) — The Screen Actors Guild Awards are now called the Actor Awards. The show commonly known as the SAG Awards will officially become the Actor Awards presented by SAG-AFTRA in its next incarnation on March 1, when Netflix will stream the ceremony as it has since 2023. The move was announced Friday

By MIKE CATALINI and HAVEN DALEY Associated Press OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) — Laney College football coach John Beam, who was featured in the Netflix series “Last Chance U”, has died after being shot on campus, the Oakland Police Department said Friday, and a suspect has been arrested. Beam’s death a day after he was shot

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — For many, the name Selena Quintanilla-Pérez is the stuff of mythology. The Queen of Tejano broke barriers for women in Latin music genres of all kinds; it’s easy to see the through line between her contributions to the current success of regional Mexicana music. But

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When she was still just a child, Meg Donnelly gave off a serious theater kid vibe. At 5, her favorite musical role wasn’t the sunny “Annie.” It was Mimi from “Rent,” the struggling erotic dancer who is also a heroin addict. Donnelly grew up to

By MIKE SCHNEIDER Associated Press ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — The daughter of a Hollywood screenwriter who was imprisoned and blacklisted during the anti-communist Red Scare has decried Florida’s new social studies teaching standards that other critics have warned rehabilitate shameful aspects of the McCarthy era. “The new Florida standards you write about are appalling,” Mitzi

By ALICIA RANCILIO Associated Press When prestige TV was first thought to be eclipsing movies, with quality scripts and meaty acting roles, two shows frequently bandied about were “Homeland” with Claire Danes and “The Americans” starring Matthew Rhys and Keri Russell. Danes acknowledges other parallels with Rhys. “I mean, you married an American lady, I

By BROOKE LEFFERTS Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When Kristen Wiig steps out of a vintage Rolls-Royce in the opening scene of Season 2 of “Palm Royale,” she’s sporting a tall, yellow, fringed hat, gold platform sandals and sunny bell bottoms, with fabric petals that sway with every determined step. It’s the first clue

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — On a chilly midweek afternoon, hundreds of New York City high school students gathered in the pews of Trinity Church in Lower Manhattan. The lesson was “Who tells your story?” The teachers, credentialed with prizes both competitive and honorary and with popular acclaim, were filmmaker

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer PARK CITY, Utah (AP) — Andrea Gibson would be the first to tell you that they never expected a documentary about their life with a terminal cancer diagnosis to be funny. No one did. But Gibson, a celebrated poet and performance artist who died in July at age 49,

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House Historical Association is bidding to reclaim a series of sketches by American painter and illustrator Norman Rockwell that once hung in the West Wing but ended up at auction after a family dispute over their ownership. The association could face some stiff competition as

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — The BBC apologized Thursday to U.S. President Donald Trump over a misleading edit of his speech on Jan. 6, 2021 but said it had not defamed him, rejecting the basis for his $1 billion lawsuit threat. The BBC said Chair Samir Shah sent a personal letter to

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer TORONTO (AP) — Oliver Laxe, the spiritually minded, 6-foot-6-inch French-born Galician director, knows that his new film, “Sirāt,” has given him a reputation to live up to. “When I’m on a plane and things are going bad, I say, “Come on, you’re the director of ‘Sirāt.’ You cannot be

By DARLENE SUPERVILLE Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — On any day during her eight years as first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama said she could go from giving a speech to meeting with a counterpart from another country to digging in her vegetable garden with groups of schoolchildren. And her clothes had to

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Sarah Jessica Parker is going from someone who gives out prizes to getting one. The Emmy- and Screen Actors Guild Award-winner — and judge for the 2025 Booker Prize — was named Thursday as the recipient of the Carol Burnett Award for her “outstanding contributions

By JOCELYN NOVECK AP National Writer “Welcome to the delicious hell that is high society,” beckons the trailer for “The Seduction,” HBO Max’s steamy new French-language drama inspired by “Dangerous Liaisons.” And indeed, when most of us last saw the Marquise Isabelle de Merteuil, she was in her own private hell, wiping white powder off

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When Sofia Coppola was 20 years old and figuring out who she wanted to be in the world, Angelica Huston offered some advice: “Not everyone’s going to love you. Don’t waste your time on the people who don’t,” Coppola recalled Wednesday night in New York

By KRYSTA FAURIA Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — In the second century, as the canonical Gospels were being copied and circulated throughout the Roman Empire, another text about the life of Jesus was simultaneously spreading. Although the Infancy Gospel of Thomas didn’t make it into the New Testament, it remained popular among Christians for

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer It should come as a shock to no one: The 2025 Latin Grammy Awards were all about Bad Bunny. The Puerto Rican superstar won album of the year for his landmark release “Debí Tirar Más Fotos.” After thanking his family and all those who worked on the album, he

By MICHAEL R. SISAK Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Prosecutors urged a judge on Wednesday to reject Harvey Weinstein ’s claims that his June sexual assault conviction was marred by threats and bullying among jurors. The disgraced movie mogul’s lawyers submitted affidavits last month from two members of the jury who said they regretted

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California court on Wednesday denied rapper Tory Lanez’s appeal of his guilty verdict on charges he fired a gun at Megan Thee Stallion. A three-judge panel from the California 2nd District Court of Appeal issued a ruling saying they affirm the conviction of the

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer Shopping for a music fan is no easy task. It seems like it should be: Know their favorite artists? Simply buy them an album on the physical medium of their choice. But how can you be certain they don’t already own it? (Because let’s be honest — if they’re

CHAMBLEE, Ga. (AP) — Hip-hop artist Akon was arrested last week in suburban Atlanta after he didn’t show up in court to face a ticket for driving with a suspended license. Police records show Akon, whose legal name is Aliaune Thiam, was arrested Friday by police in Chamblee, just northeast of Atlanta. Akon was taken

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer TORONTO (AP) — It’s popular in Hollywood to follow the tax credits wherever they go, but that was never going to be much of an option for “Train Dreams.” When director Clint Bentley embarked on adapting Denis Johnson ’s 2011 novella, he knew the book’s early 20th century Idaho

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer If you think gifts for movie lovers begin and end with Blu-Rays and cineplex gift cards, think again. There’s lots of ways to get creative (and impress) the film fan in your life. You could always splurge on a Sundance Film Festival pass (starting at $350 for the online