AP National Entertainment News

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — When he was first asked to helm the Broadway hit musical “Death Becomes Her,” director and choreographer Christopher Gattelli loved it, but refused to work on the big, splashy opening number. It was just too delicious. “When they sent it to me, I was cooking

By GARY GERARD HAMILTON Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — When Old Dominion’s eighth group of the year victory broke the tie for consecutive wins at the Academy of Country Music Awards last month, it changed the record books — but not their perspective. “They’re certainly wonderful honors that we get, but that’s not in

By JULIA FRANKEL Associated Press JERUSALEM (AP) — Israeli soldiers on Monday barred journalists from entering villages in the West Bank on a planned tour organized by the directors of the Oscar-winning movie “No Other Land.” The directors of the film, which focuses on Israeli settler attacks on Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territory, said they

By TIM REYNOLDS AP Basketball Writer Ernie Johnson could barely get the words out. The run of “Inside the NBA” on TNT came to an end on Saturday night after nearly four decades as a fixture of the league. The show will move to ESPN and ABC next season — and keep Johnson, Shaquille O’Neal,

INGLEWOOD, Calif. (AP) — Netflix flexed its Hollywood star power with a live event where it unveiled details about its upcoming slate of streaming offerings, including Lady Gaga being cast as a teacher on “Wednesday,” and release dates for the final episodes of hits “Squid Game” and “Stranger Things.” The streaming giant assembled actors including

VIENNA (AP) — Strauss’ “Blue Danube” waltz has finally made it into space, nearly a half-century after missing a ride on NASA’s twin Voyager spacecraft. The European Space Agency’s big radio antenna in Spain beamed the waltz into the cosmos Saturday. Operators aimed the dish at Voyager 1, the world’s most distant spacecraft more than

LONDON (AP) — A familiar face to “Doctor Who” fans is rejoining the long-running British sci-fi series as Ncuti Gatwa exits the lead role after two seasons. In Saturday’s season finale, Gatwa’s Time Lord regenerated and fans got a glimpse of Billie Piper, who played the character Rose Tyler for 35 episodes between 2005 and

HYDERABAD, India (AP) — Opal Suchata Chuangsri of Thailand was crowned Miss World on Saturday in India, where the international pageant was held this year. Chuangsri topped a field of 108 contestants in the contest held in India’s southern Hyderabad city. Hasset Dereje Admassu of Ethiopia was the first runner-up in the competition. Chuangsri received

Associated Press MEXICO CITY (AP) — The popular Mexican regional music band Grupo Firme announced on Friday that it was canceling a performance in a music festival in California over the weekend after the United States government suspended the musicians’ visas. It comes after the U.S. State Department has revoked visas of a number of

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Alf Clausen, the Emmy-winning composer whose music provided essential accompaniment for the animated antics of “The Simpsons” for 27 years, has died. His daughter Kaarin Clausen told The Associated Press that Alf Clausen died Thursday at his home in Los Angeles after struggling with Parkinson’s

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Loretta Swit, who won two Emmy Awards playing Maj. Margaret Houlihan, the demanding head nurse of a behind-the-lines surgical unit during the Korean War on the pioneering hit TV series “M.A.S.H.,” has died. She was 87. Publicist Harlan Boll says Swit died Friday at her

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer PBS filed suit Friday against President Donald Trump and other administration officials to block his order stripping federal funding from the 330-station public television system, three days after NPR did the same for its radio network. In its lawsuit, PBS relies on similar arguments, saying Trump was overstepping his

By MARK KENNEDY AP Entertainment Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Twenty-nine shows on Broadway got Tony Award nominations this season, but not all will walk away with a trophy — and the box office attention they usually bring. Here are some key things to know as Broadway’s biggest night approaches, including how to watch, who

By THOMAS ADAMSON, BISHR ELTONI and JILL LAWLESS Associated Press MARSEILLE, France (AP) — The lighthouse appeared overnight. Painted on a wall tucked away in a quiet Marseille street, its beam aligned perfectly with the real-life shadow of a metal post on the pavement. At its center, stenciled in crisp white, are the words: “I

By MARIA SHERMAN AP Music Writer NEW YORK (AP) — Taylor Swift has regained control over her entire body of work. In a lengthy note posted to her official website on Friday, Swift announced: “All of the music I’ve ever made now belongs to me.” The pop star said she purchased her catalog of recordings

By STEFANIE DAZIO Associated Press BERLIN (AP) — A performance inside a Catholic cathedral in Germany earlier this month that featured raw, plucked chickens wrapped in diapers onstage — and the country’s president and the local archbishop in the audience — has prompted the church and municipal leaders to apologize that the show “hurt religious

By The Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — “Succession” creator Jesse Armstrong’s satirical drama “Mountainhead” and Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel playing dysfunctional siblings in the murder thriller series “The Better Sister” are some of the new television, films, music and games headed to a device near you. Also among the streaming offerings worth your

By THOMAS ADAMSON Associated Press PARIS (AP) — “She’s messy. It can be messy. But it’s real.” So says Cynthia Nixon — not just of Miranda Hobbes, the character she’s embodied for almost three decades, but of the show itself. “And Just Like That…,” HBO’s “Sex and the City” revival, has come into its own

By BRIAN MELLEY Associated Press LONDON (AP) — Actor and comedian Russell Brand pleaded not guilty in a London court Friday to rape and sexual assault charges involving four women dating back more than 25 years. Brand, who turns 50 next week, denied two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count

By JUWON PARK Associated Press SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — Big Ocean, a three-member K-pop group composed entirely of artists with hearing disabilities, is redefining the limits of music and performance — one beat at a time. When Big Ocean takes the stage, they seamlessly incorporate sign language into their performances. But their polished shows

By HILLEL ITALIE AP National Writer NEW YORK (AP) — As he turned 80 this week, John Fogerty was in a mood to honor his past and to revise it. We should all be so alive and so remembered at his age. Fogerty, in the midst of an international tour, played a rowdy 100-minute set

By MICHAEL R. SISAK and LARRY NEUMEISTER Associated Press NEW YORK (AP) — Sean “Diddy” Combs ’ former personal assistant testified Thursday that the hip-hop mogul sexually assaulted her, threw her into a swimming pool, dumped a bucket of ice on her and slammed a door against her arm during a torturous eight-year tenure. The

By DAVID BAUDER AP Media Writer NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump suffered “mental anguish” from CBS News’ editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with Democratic opponent Kamala Harris last fall, his lawyers are arguing in court papers. Trump’s status as a “content creator” was also damaged by attention given to the interview, lawyers

By ANDREW DALTON AP Entertainment Writer LOS ANGELES (AP) — Authorities investigated a previous sexual assault allegation against Smokey Robinson in 2015, but no charges were filed because of insufficient evidence, prosecutors said Friday. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s office confirmed the decade-old investigation and its decision to decline charges in a statement on