AP Entertainment Digest for Friday, May 1
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FRIDAY, May 1, 2020
UPDATES with BANNED BOOKS-BAND PURCHASE, INDIA-BOLLYWOOD MOURNS, T25-SPORTS MOVIES-RAGING BULL
VIRUS OUTBREAK-COMICS CONUNDRUM — The biggest day of the year for comics retailers in America is May 2, Free Comic Book Day. There will be no such day this May -- and no comics to populate it after the main distributor stopped shipping product. Will the industry that fuels millions of collectors’ superhero dreams and provides fodder for Hollywood’s biggest blockbusters be dealt a powerful death blow by the effects of the coronavirus? Are the days of ink-and-paper visual storytelling finally fading away? By Entertainment Writer Jake Coyle SENT. 997 words, photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-MAKE-A-WISH: Make-a-Wish, the organization that works with celebrities and organizations to grant wishes to ailing kids, is having to put kids' dreams on hold during the pandemic. By Gary Gerard Hamilton. UPCOMING by 3 p.m. 750 words, photos, video.
FILM-BRAD BIRD-Q&A — From “Casablanca” to “The Music Man,” “The Iron Giant” director Brad Bird discusses his picks for TCM’s “The Essentials,” which begins May 2 and airs every Saturday for 20 weeks. By Film Writer Lindsey Bahr. SENT: 716 words, photos.
INDIA-BOLLYWOOD MOURNS — Two of India’s most beloved movie stars, Irrfan Khan and Rishi Kapoor, died within a day of each other this week. Though they came from two very different worlds and two very different schools of acting, both leave behind a treasure of cinematic work and millions of grieving fans. By Vineeta Deepak. SENT. 733 words, with photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-EGYPT-LIONS AT HOME — A third-generation Egyptian lion trainer is preparing for the next show with his big cats at his Cairo apartment. The apartment’s living room has become a “working from home” stage instead of the National Circus, which is closed due to restrictions imposed over the coronavirus pandemic. By Samy Magdy. SENT. 545 words, with photos.
T25-SPORTS MOVIES-RAGING BULL — Jake LaMotta was a straight-ahead brawler, so determined to wreak havoc every time he entered the boxing ring that he handed the great Sugar Ray Robinson his first loss. He was pretty much the same outside the ring, which is why Hollywood made a movie about his life. The movie was ``Raging Bull.″ It was rated No. 7 among best sports films ever by writers for The Associated Press. By Sports Writer Tim Dahlberg. SENT: 841 words, photo.
CALL TO UNITE EVENT — Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts and former President George W. Bush will be among 200 star-studded participants in a 24-hour global livestream event. By Entertainment Writer Jonathan Landrum Jr. UPCOMING: 500 words after event starts at 8 p.m., photos.
VIRUS OUTBREAK-HEMINGWAY-DAYS — The coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation of the 40th annual Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Contest in Key West, organizers announced Thursday. SENT. 214 words, photos.
BANNED BOOKS-BAND PURCHASE — Members of the Grammy-winning rock band Portugal. The Man are stepping into a banned book controversy in their Alaska home town. After the school board at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District voted last week to remove five classics including F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby,” “Joseph Heller’s Catch-22” and Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” the band announced it would buy the books for any student or parent who wanted them. SENT: 335 words
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REVIEWS
FILM REVIEW-ALL DAY AND A NIGHT. By Film Writer Jake Coyle. SENT Thursday: 500 words, film stills.
FILM REVIEW-A SECRET LOVE. By Film Writer Lindsey Bahr. SENT Wednesday, 540 words, film stills.
FILM REVIEW-THE WRETCHED. By Entertainment Writer Mark Kennedy. SENT Tuesday: 660 words, film stills.
BOOK REVIEW-IF IT BLEEDS BY STEPHEN KING. Reviewed by Rob Merrill. SENT Monday: 485 words, photo.