Entertainment News Roundup: Hollywood ponders post-pandemic future of cinemas; D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' and more

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Hollywood ponders post-pandemic future of cinemas

As Hollywood prepares to celebrate the Oscars on Sunday, movie theaters are trying to lure back audiences that have been streaming films at home for over a year. Some cinemas have closed permanently while others are trying to recover and hope that a string of delayed blockbusters will produce a moviegoing rebound. Reuters asked actors, directors, writers, and producers what they see for the future of cinemas. Their replies have been edited for length and clarity.

D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' to promote vaccines

Musicians desperate to work together in harmony while kept apart by COVID-19 lockdowns have been collaborating with tech companies to shave milliseconds from delays on their online connections, driving innovations that will transcend music. To recreate the experience of performing together live when artists and audiences are apart, a collective effort has been underway to reduce the lag between a sound being produced and being heard, known as latency.

Oscar-nominated Bosnian film highlights Srebrenica genocide

Survivors of the Srebrenica genocide hope that an Oscar-nominated Bosnian film about the massacre of mainly civilian 8,000 Muslims by Bosnian Serb forces will shed light on the atrocity and help counter denial that genocide occurred. The July 1995 killings of men and boys in the United Nations-protected eastern Bosnian town shocked the world and have stood out as Europe's only atrocity since World War Two constituting genocide.

D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' to promote vaccines

Paul Raci, nominated for an Oscar for playing a drug abuse counselor who has lost his hearing in "Sound of Metal," said the most common response he receives from deaf people about the film is "how cool you show a bunch of deaf addicts." "That sounds a little strange," Raci said in an interview, "but they're just happy that you're showing them in a light that makes them normal, like you and I. They have the same struggles."

D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' to promote vaccines

The "Mortal Kombat" movie reboot from Warner Bros, which debuts Friday in theaters and on the HBO Max streaming service, aims to better depict the extreme gore of the video game franchise than two toned-down cinematic spinoffs of the 1990s. The video game has pushed the limits of violence and gore since it arrived in arcades in 1992 and was the main factor behind the establishment of a rating system for violence in video games by the industry.

D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' to promote vaccines

British singer Boy George launched a casting search on Tuesday, looking for an actor to portray him in a music biopic set to start filming this summer. The Culture Club frontman, whose real name is George O’Dowd, took to social media to make the announcement. In a video, he said "Line of Duty" actor Daniel Mays would play his father, and added teasingly "there are rumors of Keanu Reeves popping in".

D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' to promote vaccines

Maryo Mogannam snuck into the Empire theater in San Francisco with his older cousins to watch "Animal House" when he was 14. He watched most of the James Bond movies at the historic art house and took his wife there on some of their first dates.

The cinema, which had been showing movies since the silent film era, served notice in February that it was permanently closing because of the impact of COVID-19. The marquee is now blank, and cardboard and paper cover the box office window.

D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' to promote vaccines

Dozens of U.S. and Brazilian celebrities, including film actor Leonardo DiCaprio, pop star Katy Perry, and musician Gilberto Gil, released a letter on Tuesday urging U.S. President Joe Biden not to agree to any environmental deals with Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro. The United States has been holding talks with Brazil since February on a potential collaboration to stop surging destruction of the Amazon rainforest, although Brazil's environment minister told Reuters no deal would be ready for this week's U.S. Earth Day summit organized by Biden.

D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' to promote vaccines

What's an Oscars ceremony without a red carpet? After a year that saw the coronavirus pandemic shut down in-person events and replace them with actors on Zoom, sometimes at home in hoodies and pajamas, celebrity watchers are looking forward to seeing stars stepping out in show-stopping gowns on the movie industry's biggest night on Sunday.

D.C. marijuana activists stage 'Joints for Jabs' to promote vaccines

American designer Michael Kors paid tribute to Broadway in his 40th-anniversary show on Tuesday, with a collection that celebrated a night out in the New York theatre district. Kors' presentation began with the designer greeting fashionistas from Times Square, whereas an avid theatre fan he spoke about the hit Broadway has taken during the COVID-19 pandemic.

(With inputs from agencies.)