Entertainment News Roundup: Roku to carry AT&T’s HBO Max streaming service; British royals select happy family snapshots for their Christmas cards and more

Harry and Meghan to produce and host podcasts for Spotify Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will produce and host podcasts for Spotify's streaming service, the Swedish company said on Tuesday, starting with a holiday special that will be released this month.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Roku to carry AT&T’s HBO Max streaming service

HBO Max, the streaming service from AT&T Inc-owned WarnerMedia, will be available on the Roku streaming platform beginning Dec. 17, the companies said on Wednesday. Until this deal, Roku was the only TV platform that did not carry HBO Max. Not being accessible through popular streaming devices and platforms Roku and Amazon challenged HBO Max's growth after WarnerMedia launched the service in May.

British royals select happy family snapshots for their Christmas cards

Britain's royals unveiled their 2020 Christmas cards on Wednesday, choosing traditional happy family snapshots for their festive messages. Heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles, 72, selected a photograph of him and his wife Camilla sitting on a bench in the garden of their home in Birkhall, Scotland, for their greetings card.

Paris Opera singers go digital after COVID keeps theatres closed

Just five days before they were due to perform before a live audience for the first time in almost two months, the singers of the Paris Opera learned they could not re-open before January as France's coronavirus cases remained stubbornly high. So they decided to film their performance of works by a young Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and 18th century French composers Chevalier de Saint-Georges and Andre Gretry and offer it on a new video-on-demand portal launched last week by the Opera de Paris, which runs the Garnier and the Bastille opera venues.

Legendary and terrifying: 'Ma Rainey' cast recall Chadwick Boseman's final role

His fellow actors call it astonishing and movie reviewers use words like heartbreaking. Chadwick Boseman's final performance, in the film "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," coming to Netflix on Friday, would always have been bittersweet, but it's also expected to bring the late actor the kind of awards attention he never won in his short life.

Gandalf actor Ian McKellen euphoric after receiving COVID-19 vaccine

British actor Ian McKellen, who played the wizard Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings movies, said he was euphoric after receiving his first dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine and urged everyone who was offered the jab to accept it. The state-run National Health Service (NHS), which is running Britain's mass COVID vaccination programme, posted several pictures of McKellen, in a blue T-shirt and a rainbow striped scarf, giving a thumbs up as he received the shot.

Sexism still rife in Hollywood despite #MeToo uproar, survey finds

Three years after the #MeToo scandal roiled Hollywood, causing dozens of powerful men to lose their jobs, two-thirds of women who took part in a survey of the entertainment business released on Tuesday report continuing incidences of sexual harassment. The survey by the Hollywood Commission also asked about racism, and found that fewer than half of those who took part believe that Hollywood values diverse backgrounds and points of view.

Catwalk on a sand dune's crest - Saint Laurent takes distancing in its stride

There were no spectators, no influencers, no fashionistas, at Saint Laurent's presentation of its 2021 Women's Summer collection, only drone footage of models walking on the crest of a tall sand dune in the middle of a honey-coloured desert. Every year, France's top fashion houses compete to find the most spectacular locations in Paris to host their women's wear shows, but with catwalks closed because of the coronavirus pandemic, brands now try do outdo each other with spectacular locations for their online-only shows.

Harry and Meghan to produce and host podcasts for Spotify

Britain's Prince Harry and his wife Meghan will produce and host podcasts for Spotify's streaming service, the Swedish company said on Tuesday, starting with a holiday special that will be released this month. Under a multi-year agreement, the couple's newly formed Archewell Audio will produce programming that "uplifts and entertains audiences around the world" and features "diverse perspectives and voices," Spotify said in a statement.

Tom Cruise rants at 'Mission: Impossible' crew in London over COVID safety

Tom Cruise let rip over an apparent breach of COVID-19 safety protocols on the London set of the new "Mission: Impossible" movie, telling crew members they would be fired if they don't obey the rules, Britain's Sun newspaper reported on Tuesday. In expletive-filled remarks captured on audio tape obtained by The Sun, the star and producer of the action film yelled at the crew about lapses of social distancing and other rules that allow movies to be made during the coronavirus pandemic.\

Fox News International streaming service expands to 30 countries

Fox News International, the international streaming service that is part of Rupert Murdoch’s Fox Corp, launches in Chile, Panama and Portugal on Dec. 17 - extending its global reach to 30 countries. The service, which launched in Mexico in August, is available on platforms including Android, Apple TV and Android TV. It features live streams of Fox News Channel and Fox Business Network in addition to 20 on-demand programs.

(With inputs from agencies.)