AP Entertainment Digest for Thursday, June 25, 2020
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THURSDAY, June 25
UPDATES with BOOKS-BIALIK-SUPERHEROS, MUSIC-DIXIE CHICKS, JUSSIE SMOLLETT, RACIAL INJUSTICE-DISNEY RIDE, BRITAIN-JOHNNY DEPP, VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-MOVIE THEATERS, TRUMP BOOK, BOOKS-KIMBERLY JONES, FILM-THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS
RACIAL INJUSTICE-ANTEBELLUM FILM — “Antebellum,” the forthcoming psychological thriller starring singer-actor Janelle Monae, plucks the experience of American slavery out of the past and places it squarely in our present. The film depicts a divided U.S. where Confederate nostalgia and white nationalism find new platforms to wreak havoc on Black liberty and the Black psyche. By Aaron Morrison. SENT: 1117 words, photos.
MUSIC-DIXIE CHICKS — Grammy-winning country group The Dixie Chicks have dropped the word Dixie from their name, now going by The Chicks. The group made of Martie Maguire, Natalie Maines and Emily Strayer posted a statement on their website saying they wanted to meet “this moment.” The group also acknowledged that there was an existing band in New Zealand that allowed them “to share their name.” By Entertainment Writer Kristin M. Hall. SENT: 321 words, photo.
TRUMP BOOK — A New York City judge has dismissed a claim by Donald Trump’s brother that sought to halt the publication of a tell-all book by the president’s niece. In a ruling Thursday, Judge Peter Kelly said the Surrogates Court lacked jurisdiction. Mary Trump is the daughter of Fred Trump Jr., the president’s elder brother, who died in 1981. An online description of her book, “Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World’s Most Dangerous Man,” says it reveals “a nightmare of traumas, destructive relationships, and a tragic combination of neglect and abuse.” By Michael Balsamo and Colleen Long. SENT: 274 words. DEVELOPING.
RACIAL INJUSTICE-DISNEY RIDE — The Splash Mountain ride at Disney parks in California and Florida is being recast. Disney officials said the ride would no longer be tied to the 1946 movie, “Song of the South,” which many view as racist. Instead, the revamped ride will be inspired by the 2009 Disney film, “The Princess and the Frog,” which has an African-American female lead. By Mike Schneider. SENT: 408 words, photo.
JUSSIE SMOLLETT — Two brothers who threatened to stop cooperating with prosecutors in the case against actor Jussie Smollett have changed their mind. In a statement issued Thursday, an attorney representing Abimbola and Olabinjo Osundairo, said the two who say they helped Smollett stage a racist and homophobic attack are ready to testify. By Don Babwin. SENT: 475 words, photo.
TV-I'LL BE GONE IN THE DARK — They say timing is everything when it comes to documentary filmmaking. If so, director Liz Garbus has been blessed with plenty of it in her latest project, “I’ll Be Gone in the Dark,” a six-part documentary series debuting Sunday on HBO. By AP Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 757 words, photos
FILM-THE MAGIC SCHOOL BUS — “The Magic School Bus” has traveled everywhere from Pluto to inside the human body. Now it’s going somewhere new: the big screen. Scholastic Entertainment said Thursday that it will make “a feature-length, live-action hybrid film” based on the animated TV show that ran from 1994 to 1997. Elizabeth Banks will play the manic science teacher Ms. Frizzle. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT: 159 words.
BRITAIN-JOHNNY DEPP — Lawyers for British tabloid The Sun have urged a judge to throw out Johnny Depp’s libel claim against the paper. They allege the film star failed to disclose evidence of drug use. Depp is suing publisher News Group Newspapers and Executive Editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article in The Sun that claimed the actor was violent and abusive to ex-wife Amber Heard. By Jill Lawless. SENT: 439 words, photo.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-DIARY-MOVIE THEATERS — Movie theaters have been closed throughout the country since mid-March, and AP Film Writer Lindsey Bahr had been away from the silver screen for almost 100 days. Now that some are beginning to reopen, Bahr cautiously went back to the movies in her childhood hometown for a screening of “The Goonies.” By Film Writer Lindsey Bahr. SENT: 632 words, photos.
BOOKS-LOUISA MAY ALCOTT — The current issue of The Strand Magazine will give readers the chance to discover an obscure and unfinished Louisa May Alcott work of fiction, and to provide their own conclusion. Alcott’s “Aunt Nellie’s Diary” has rarely been seen since she drafted it as a teenager in the late 1840s. By National Writer Hillel Italie. SENT: 539 words, photos.
BOOKS-BIALIK-SUPERHEROS — “The Big Bang Theory” actor Mayim Bialik is teaming with DC Entertainment on a project that joins superhero power to the power of science. DC Entertainment announced Thursday that Bialik will collaborate with popular comic writers and illustrators on a story collection that features Batman, Superman and others in search of such mysteries as why polar ice melts and what can be found at the bottom of the sea. SENT: 121 words, photos.
BOOKS-KIMBERLY JONES — Kimberly Jones, the author and activist whose “How We Can Win” video following the murder of George Floyd was shared by Lebron James and Trevor Noah among others, has a deal for two books. Henry Holt and Company announced Thursday that Jones will expand upon the 3-minute video, in which she likened the economic history of Blacks in the United States to a rigged game of monopoly, for a book coming next spring. SENT: 141 words.
TV-Q&A-CHRISTINE LAHTI-STEINEM — Christine Lahti plays Gloria Steinem in a taped theater production that explores the feminist leader’s life and work. By TV Writer Lynn Elber, UPCOMING: 650 words.
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REVIEWS
FILM REVIEW-EUROVISION. By Film Writer Lindsey Bahr. SENT Wednesday: 681 words, film stills.
FILM REVIEW-ATHLETE A. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. SENT Wednesday: 593 words, film stills.
FILM REVIEW-IRRESISTIBLE. By National Writer Jocelyn Noveck. SENT: Wednesday, 762 words, film stills.
MUSIC REVIEW-RAY LAMONTAGNE. By Pablo Gorondi. SENT Wednesday: 312 words, cover image.
MUSIC REVIEW-WILL HOGE. By Steven Wine. SENT Wednesday: 219 words, cover image.
MUSIC REVIEW-JESSIE WARE. By Cristina Jaleru. SENT Monday: 250 words, cover image.
MUSIC REVIEW-HAIM. By Ragan Clark. SENT Thursday: 251 words, cover image.
MUSIC REVIEW-CORB LUND. By Steven Wine. SENT Thursday: 205 words, cover image.