Entertainment News Roundup: Almodovar opens Venice film fest with tribute to those who disappeared under Franco; Asian-led 'Shang-Chi' battles for glory in Marvel's film universe and more

"Know Your Rights and Claim Them" - written with human rights lawyer Geraldine Van Bueren, one of the original drafters of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - aims to equip kids with the knowledge to safely challenge injustices. Stars return to Venice red carpet as film festival opens Decked out in a black and white Chanel gown, Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz led the comeback of movie stars to the red carpet of the Venice film festival on its opening night on Wednesday, as cinema hopes to shake off the gloom of the coronavirus pandemic.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Almodovar opens Venice film fest with tribute to those who disappeared under Franco

Spanish director Pedro Almodovar shines a spotlight on the tens of thousands of people who disappeared during the civil war and Franco's dictatorship in his latest film "Parallel Mothers", which opens the Venice film festival on Wednesday. The film, starring Penelope Cruz as one of two women giving birth in the same Madrid hospital on the same day, is a reflection on motherhood and the importance of family ties. But it also dwells on a painful chapter of Spanish history that the country is still struggling to come to terms with.

Asian-led 'Shang-Chi' battles for glory in Marvel's film universe

Marvel's next big-screen superhero spectacle, "Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings," opens Friday, aiming to thrill audiences while breaking Hollywood barriers with a predominantly Asian cast. The movie's stars said the film follows the path blazed by "Black Panther," the 2018 Marvel Studios movies starring the late Chadwick Boseman and a predominantly African-American cast that became a global blockbuster. Walt Disney Co is sending "Shang-Chi" exclusively to theaters.

Television's 'Seinfeld' comes to Netflix in October

Television comedy "Seinfeld" will stream globally on Netflix starting in October under a deal reached two years ago, Netflix Inc said on Wednesday. All 180 episodes of "Seinfeld," one of the most popular TV comedies of the 1990s, will be available on Netflix starting Oct. 1, the streaming platform said in a statement.

Tom Cruise films 'Top Gun,' 'Mission: Impossible' delayed amid COVID wave

Paramount Pictures has postponed the release of Tom Cruise films "Top Gun: Maverick" until May 2022 and "Mission: Impossible 7" until September 2022, a spokesman for the ViacomCBS Inc studio said Wednesday, as COVID-19 infections rise. The "Top Gun" sequel, which has been delayed multiple times during the pandemic, had been set to debut in theaters on Nov. 19, just ahead of Thanksgiving, to kick off the holiday moviegoing season.

China slams high actor pay, bars 'effeminate' behaviour from screens

China expanded a crackdown on its entertainment industry on Thursday, telling broadcasters to bar artists with "incorrect political positions" and effeminate styles from shows, and said a "patriotic atmosphere" needed to be cultivated. The National Radio and Television Administration (NRTA) said in an online notice that it will strengthen regulation over cultural programs, cracking down on what it deems unhealthy content as well as stars' salaries and tax evasion.

UK regulator clears broadcaster over Piers Morgan's Meghan comments

High-profile television personality Piers Morgan did not breach Britain's broadcasting code in his criticism of Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on ITV's "Good Morning Britain" show earlier this year, Britain's media regulator ruled on Wednesday. The program in March, in which Morgan said he did not believe a word Meghan had said in a landmark interview she and her husband Prince Harry gave to Oprah Winfrey, attracted more than 50,000 complaints. Most concerned comments Morgan made on mental health and suicide.

Coronavirus vaccine team and Southgate win at GQ Awards

Coronavirus vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert and England manager Gareth Southgate were among the winners at the GQ Men Of The Year Awards on Wednesday. The men’s fashion and style magazine named Oxford University professor Gilbert, biologist Catherine Green and the team behind the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine as heroes of the year.

R. Kelly accuser says she saw a nearby gun while forced to have oral sex

A woman who accuses R. Kelly of sexually abusing her told jurors at his racketeering trial on Wednesday that she was unnerved when she saw a gun near where the R&B singer forced her to perform oral sex on him. In her second day of testimony, the woman, who identified herself as Faith, said the Los Angeles encounter took place in January 2018, near the end of an 11-month relationship during which Kelly flew her several times to concerts or recording studios and trained her to please him sexually.

Angelina Jolie wants kids to 'fight back' with new child rights book

Hollywood actress Angelina Jolie says she hopes to empower children around the world with tools to "fight back" for their rights with a book she has written with Amnesty International. "Know Your Rights and Claim Them" - written with human rights lawyer Geraldine Van Bueren, one of the original drafters of the 1989 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - aims to equip kids with the knowledge to safely challenge injustices.

Stars return to Venice red carpet as film festival opens

Decked out in a black and white Chanel gown, Oscar-winning actress Penelope Cruz led the comeback of movie stars to the red carpet of the Venice film festival on its opening night on Wednesday, as cinema hopes to shake off the gloom of the coronavirus pandemic. Unlike rival Cannes, the world's oldest film festival did not skip the 2020 edition due to the health crisis but it is only this year that celebrities are returning in force to the Lido waterfront, in a show of support for an industry hammered by lockdowns.

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