AP Entertainment Digest for Monday, Aug. 31, 2020

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MONDAY, Aug. 31

UPDATES with SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-RON JEREMY, CBS SPORTS-PORTRAITS IN BLACK, JOHN OLIVER SEWAGE PLANT, RWANDA-HOTEL RWANDA-ARREST, FOOD-J. KENII LOPEZ-ALT, UNITED STATES-VO

MUSIC-MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS — Lady Gaga cleaned house at the 2020 MTV Video Music Awards, while The Weeknd took home the top prize. Both pop stars sent important messages to viewers about the current state of the world: “Wear a mask,” Lady Gaga urged, while The Weeknd called for “justice for Jacob Blake and Breonna Taylor.” By Music Writer Mesfin Fekadu. SENT: 680 words, photos.

With MUSIC-MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS-MOMENTS — Top moments at the VMAs included Lady Gaga's many masks, calls for social justice by The Weeknd and Keke Palmer, and BTS bringing some disco fever to their performance. By Entertainment Writer Kristin M. Hall. SENT: 700 words, photos.

With MUSIC-MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS-LIST and MUSIC-MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS-BOSEMAN.

SEXUAL MISCONDUCT-RON JEREMY -- Adult film star Ron Jeremy was charged Monday with 20 new counts of rape or sexual assault involving 12 women and a teenage girl. Jeremy’s lawyer says his client is “absolutely innocent.” By Entertainment Writer Andrew Dalton. SENT: 272 words, photo. Will be updated.

RACIAL INJUSTICE-SPORTS MEDIA — During a week in which athletes in several sports walked off the job to protest social and racial injustice, sports networks devoted plenty of airtime to those topics. By AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy. SENT: 11000 words, photos.

CBS SPORTS-PORTRAITS IN BLACK — CBS Sports will devote five hours of programming Sunday to examining racism in sports. The block of programming titled “Portraits in Black” will examine events from the past as well as today, including the response by athletes following the shooting of Jacob Blake in Wisconsin. By AP Sports Writer Joe Reedy. SENT: 258 words, photo.

TV-COMPOSING FOR FLAMINGOS — Oscar-winning composer Hans Zimmer animates such stunning nature sequences as bottlenose dolphins surfing for joy and lions hunting in the Namib desert for “Planet Earth: A Celebration.” By AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 658 words, photos.

SENEGAL-AKON CITY — Akon, the American-Senegalese singer, will officially announce the construction of a city called “Akon City” where the currency will be the cryptocurrency “Akoin”. The city itself won’t be finished for another nine years. UPCOMING: 600 words, photos.

RWANDA-HOTEL RWANDA-ARREST — Paul Rusesabagina, portrayed in the film “Hotel Rwanda” as a hero who saved the lives of more than 1,200 people from the country’s 1994 genocide, has been arrested by the Rwandan government on terror charges, police announced on Monday. By Ignatius Ssuuna. SENT: 403 words, photos.

FOOD-J. KENII LOPEZ-ALT — A picky eater who figures out a way to not be a so picky is the charming premise of “Every Night Is Pizza Night,” the debut children’s book by J. Kenji López-Alt, a guru of food science and a new father. By AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT 750 words, photo.

UNITED STATES-VOA —- A group of journalists at Voice of America is protesting moves made by the U.S.-funded outlet’s new chief that they say are endangering their colleagues and the international broadcaster’s credibility as a news source. By AP Diplomatic Writer Matthew Lee. SENT: 498 words, photos.

JOHN OLIVER SEWAGE PLANT — Comedian John Oliver has upped the stakes in a tongue-in-cheek spat with a Connecticut city, offering to donate $55,000 to charity if officials follow through on a joke to rename its sewage treatment plant after him. By Dave Collins. SENT: 323 words, photos.

THE STREAM — A roundup of the film, music and television releases headed to a screen or device near you this week. UPCOMING: 700 words, photos.

CELEB BIRTHDAYS — Celebrities having birthdays during the week of Sept. 6-12 include actor Idris Elba, actor Evan Rachel Wood and singer Pink. SENT: 1,300 words, photos

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REVIEWS

FILM REVIEW-MULAN. By Film Writer Lindsey Bahr. UPCOMING: 700 words by 6 p.m. Wednesday, film stills.

FILM REVIEW-I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. UPCOMING: 700 words by 6 p.m. Wednesday, film stills.

FILM REVIEW-KAJILLIONAIRE. By National Writer Jocelyn Noveck. UPCOMING: 700 words by 6 p.m. Wednesday, film stills.

BOOK REVIEW-PERILOUS BOUNTY by Tom Philpott. Reviewed by Jeff Rowe. UPCOMING Tuesday: 350 words, cover image.

BOOK REVIEW-HAVING AND BEING HAD by Eula Biss. Reviewed by Ann Levin. UPCOMING Wednesday: 350 words, cover image.