AP National Entertainment News

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — The Broadway rom-com “Maybe Happy Ending” isn’t in a very happy place these days. A casting controversy threatens to dampen the show’s post-Tony Award-winning glow. The strife began when producers of the South Korea-based musical chose to cast Andrew Barth Feldman as the male lead

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian composer Rodion Shchedrin, who created the celebrated ballets “Anna Karenina” and the “Carmen Suite,” has died in Germany at age of 92, Moscow’s Bolshoi Theater said Friday. He and his wife of 57 years, legendary ballerina Maya Plisetskaya, dominated the Soviet and Russian cultural scene for the latter part of the

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer VENICE, Italy (AP) — Julia Roberts and filmmaker Luca Guadagnino faced pointed questions about complicity and undermining the feminist movement at a news conference for “After the Hunt” on Friday at the Venice Film Festival. The film, set in the world of higher education where Roberts plays a beloved

By DAVE SKRETTA AP Sports Writer KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift were seen in public for the first time since announcing their engagement this week when the Chiefs tight end and Grammy-winning singer attended the Nebraska-Cincinnati game at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday night. Kelce, who played football for the Bearcats,

By MIKE CORDER Associated Press THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — The Amsterdam museum that displays a priceless collection of works by one of the world’s most popular artists, Vincent van Gogh, may have to close if the Dutch government doesn’t help foot the bill for major repairs to its aging building, the museum’s director said

By ITZEL LUNA Associated Press SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) — Guillermo del Toro is an acclaimed master of horror and has built a huge memorabilia collection throughout his decades-long career. A close brush with California’s devastating wildfires has led him to do what was once unthinkable — auction some of the 5,000 items in his

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer VENICE, Italy (AP) — In the new Yorgos Lanthimos film “Bugonia,” a disturbed, conspiracy obsessed man kidnaps the head of a pharmaceutical company and tortures her in an attempt to save humanity. The kidnapper, played by Jesse Plemons, believes his hostage, played by Emma Stone, is an alien. While

By LEAH WILLINGHAM Associated Press People from all over the world lined up to pay tribute to Frank Caprio, a retired municipal judge who found online fame as an empathetic jurist and host of “ Caught in Providence,” at memorial services beginning Thursday in his home state of Rhode Island. Caprio, who won hearts with

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer VENICE, Italy (AP) — In “Jay Kelly,” George Clooney plays a very George Clooney-esque movie star on a self-reflective journey through Europe. The film, which is premiering Thursday night at the Venice Film Festival, explores heady questions about finding oneself while also poking fun at the business of being

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer Revisiting the time she broke down on “Good Morning America” while covering Hurricane Katrina’s destruction of her hometown Pass Christian, Mississippi, Robin Roberts said she feared losing her job. Only three months after she was named a host of the ABC News show with industry vets Charles Gibson and

By HEATHER HOLLINGSWORTH Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — Police dispatcher Julia Jordan accidentally added a dash of celebrity gossip to her public service this week when she shared “Taylor Swift is engaged” over a hot microphone. That appears to be how officers in the Lansing, Michigan, area learned about the superstar singer’s betrothal

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer ALHAMBRA, Calif. (AP) — Cardi B testified Wednesday that she didn’t touch a security guard who alleges the rapper cut her face with a fingernail and spat on her in an altercation outside an obstetrician’s office during the hip-hop star’s not-yet-public first pregnancy. “She couldn’t get a scratch from

By JOE REEDY AP Sports Writer The NFL is easing some of its restrictions on Tom Brady as he prepares for his second season as Fox Sports’ top analyst. The league will allow Brady to participate in production meetings with teams, as long as they are conducted virtually or via Zoom. He still isn’t allowed

The Associated Press The impending marriage of Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce is a rare — but not unprecedented — merger between two bold-faced names who have reached the pinnacle of their fields. Swift is the biggest pop star in the world, coming off the biggest concert tour ever. Kelce, a Kansas City Chiefs tight

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Novels by Angela Flournoy,Kiran Desai and Megha Majumdar and a memoir by Arundhati Roy are among the finalists for the 12th annual Kirkus Prize, which comes with a $50,000 cash award for winners in fiction, nonfiction and young readers’ literature. Kirkus, the long-running trade publication,

By LINDSEY BAHR AP Film Writer VENICE, Italy (AP) — The Venice Film Festival kicked off with the world premiere of Paolo Sorrentino’s “La Grazia” Wednesday night on the Lido. The opening ceremony of the festival also saw Francis Ford Coppola presenting filmmaker Werner Herzog with a lifetime achievement prize. The 82nd edition of the

By ANDREW DALTON Associated Press LOS ANGELES (AP) — A lawyer asked Katy Perry on Tuesday whether she stood to gain money or anything else from a trial in a long legal fight over a California mansion. “Justice” was the one-word answer from the singing superstar, former “American Idol” judge and recent astronaut, part of

By The Associated Press The new diamond on Taylor Swift’s wedding ring finger reflects her vintage-loving heart in a brilliant cut dating to 18th-century candlelight. A close-up of the sparkler Tuesday was among five photos that accompanied Swift’s engagement announcement with beau Travis Kelce on Instagram. The ring was designed by Kindred Lubeck, a representative

By JOCELYN NOVECK and MARIA SHERMAN AP Entertainment Writers NEW YORK (AP) — It started with a friendship bracelet. It ended with an engagement ring. Taylor Swift, the pop superstar, and Travis Kelce, the football champion, are engaged. The fiances, both 35, announced the news in a joint post on Instagram on Tuesday. It is

By The Associated Press Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s engagement following a two-year romance was swiftly praised by stars from the entertainment and sports worlds, British royalty and even the U.S. president. “Your English teacher and your gym teacher are getting married,” the couple announced in an Instagram post Tuesday. The couple took the spotlight

By JAKE COYLE AP Film Writer NEW YORK (AP) — James Cameron recently turned 71 as he brought his third “Avatar” film, “Fire and Ash,” to the finish line. Cameron first began developing “Avatar” more than 30 years ago. He started working on the first film in earnest 20 years ago. Production on “Fire and

By JOCELYN NOVECK and DAVE SKRETTA Associated Press KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — It’s a love story and, baby, she said yes: Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce are engaged, they announced Tuesday. In a five-photo joint post on Instagram, the superstar singer and football player revealed their engagement, the fairytale culmination of a courtship that

VIENNA (AP) — A German court on Tuesday convicted a 16-year-old boy accused of supporting a foiled plot to attack Taylor Swift concerts in Austria last year. The Syrian national, whom prosecutors have identified only as Mohammad A. in line with German privacy rules, was convicted of preparing a serious act of violence and supporting