Venice Film Festival, Oscar category, Post Malone and a lot more

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

In front of the camera, if not behind, women shone at Venice Film Festival

Despite a paucity of female directors, women were the stars of the Venice Film Festival: from Lady Gaga stealing the red carpet spotlight to movies about queens, witches and working women with important stories to tell. Only one of the 21 movies selected to compete for the Golden Lion was directed by a woman - earning festival organizers a severe backlash. But critics were impressed by strong, unusual female roles and feminist themes, even in movies made by men.

Oscar organizers retreat on 'popular film' category after backlash

The Academy of Motion Pictures said on Thursday it would not go ahead with its proposed new "popular film" Oscar category at next year's awards ceremony. The proposal, announced just a month ago, was met with a huge backlash from the movie industry and film reviewers who said it would create a two-tier system of popular and unpopular films.

Rapper Post Malone in California crash weeks after air incident

Rapper Post Malone was involved in a minor crash early on Friday in California, police said, just weeks after he was on a private jet that was forced to make an emergency landing at a New York airport after two of its tires blew out during takeoff. "God must hate me lol," the 23-year-old entertainer wrote on Twitter after the smash on the border of West Hollywood and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles.

Eminem makes UK chart history with 'Kamikaze'

LONDON, Sept 7 (Reuters) - U.S. rapper Eminem scored his ninth consecutive no. 1 in the British album charts on Friday with surprise record "Kamikaze", making UK chart history. Eminem surprised fans last week when he unexpectedly dropped the album, which saw combined chart sales of 55,000 units in the past week, the Official Charts company said.

Sprinter Lyles moves fast to a different beat

Noah Lyles has a little project in mind once his athletics season ends this weekend and while sprinting may have a part to play, this one moves to a very different beat. The specialist 200 meters runner wants to offer his fans a taste of another of his favorite pursuits - rapping.

Police brutality gets the spotlight at the Toronto film festival

"The Hate U Give" held its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Friday, shedding a light on how police brutality affects the lives of black communities. Based on the 2017 young adult novel of the same name, the movie tells the story of Starr, a black teenager, whose life is changed when she witnesses the killing of her childhood best friend by a white police officer.

Chinese movie master Zhang Yimou still studying his craft

He has made some of the most acclaimed Chinese films of recent decades, but Zhang Yimou is still studying his craft. The Oscar-nominated director of "Raise the Red Lantern", "Hero", "The House of Flying Daggers" and "The Great Wall", picked up a Glory to the Filmmaker Award at the Venice Film Festival where he also premiered his latest, "Ying" ("Shadow").

Julia Roberts' first TV series gets Toronto festival premiere

"Pretty Woman" star Julia Roberts walked the red carpet on Friday to promote her first television series, Amazon Studios' "Homecoming," at the Toronto International Film Festival. Roberts, 50, is the latest major Hollywood star to transition to television, joining the likes of Jane Fonda, Meryl Streep and John Travolta. Many like Roberts have signed on to shows by streaming services like Amazon and Netflix, which are drawing audiences away from traditional television.

Rapper Mac Miller dies in Los Angeles at age 26

Mac Miller, a rapper from Pittsburgh whose debut album topped the charts in 2011 after his upbeat style gained a following online and who previously dated singer Ariana Grande, died on Friday in Los Angeles at age 26, officials said. He was found unresponsive at his home in the Studio City neighborhood and pronounced dead there, the Los Angeles County Coroner's Office said in a statement.

Hollywood star and 1970s sex symbol Burt Reynolds dead at 82

Burt Reynolds, whose good looks and charm made him one of Hollywood's most popular actors as he starred in such films as "Deliverance," "The Longest Yard" and "Smokey and the Bandit" in the 1970s and '80s, died on Thursday at age 82. Reynolds, who was set to appear next summer in the all-star cast of director Quentin Tarantino's next film, died in the morning at a hospital near his South Florida home, according to his manager, Erik Kritzer.