Entertainment News Roundup: Hollywood producers, union to meet after vote authorizing strike; HBO Max sharpens prices for the European launch, adds more countries and more

Spears, 39, made the comments on Twitter following a court ruling last week that suspended her father as the controller of her business affairs and set a November date to consider whether to terminate the 13-year-long legal arrangement entirely. Bieber fans will be able to smoke 'Peaches' in new weed venture Pop star Justin Bieber has teamed up with Palms Premium to launch cannabis-based products, the California-based company said on Monday.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Hollywood producers, union to meet after vote authorizing strike

Camera operators, make-up artists, and other behind-the-scenes workers on Hollywood films and television shows voted resoundingly to authorize a strike if they cannot reach an agreement with producers on a new contract, their union said on Monday. The International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE) which represents some 60,000 off-screen workers, said that 90% of its members cast ballots and more than 98% of the votes returned were in favor of authorizing a strike.

HBO Max sharpens prices for the European launch, adds more countries

HBO Max is stepping up the competition on prices with Netflix and Disney for the streaming service's upcoming European launch, and adding more countries to its launch slate. The service, owned by AT&T Inc, will initially be available in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland, Spain, and Andorra from Oct. 26, followed by 21 more countries over the next year, up from its previous plans to launch in 14 countries.

Russian actor blasts off to attempt a world first: a movie in space

A Russian actress and a film director blasted off for the International Space Station on Tuesday, beating Tom Cruise in the race to shoot the first movie in space. The Soyuz MS-19 spacecraft is set to dock at 1212 GMT at the station, which orbits Earth at an altitude of around 220 miles (354 km).

'Venom', Bond pull in 4 million people to AMC theaters over weekend

Nearly 4 million people worldwide flocked to theaters owned by AMC Entertainment over the weekend to watch "Venom: Let There Be Carnage" and the latest James Bond film, setting a record since the movie halls were reopened after being shut for more than a year. Moviegoers are returning to theaters in droves after relying on Netflix and Apple TV for much of their entertainment during pandemic-induced lockdowns, leading to a surge in advance ticket bookings as a number of much-awaited titles hit theaters.

Spanish court backs Shakira's tax claim, criminal case still pending

A Spanish administrative court has ordered tax authorities to reimburse Colombian singer Shakira, court officials and lawyers said on Monday, while a separate criminal lawsuit she faces over a 14.5 million euros ($16.8 million) tax dispute continues. Shakira's legal team did not specify how much money she would get back, however, or when the decision was made.

Britney Spears thanks FreeBritney movement for its 'constant resilience'

Britney Spears on Monday thanked the fans who have conducted a long campaign to end her conservatorship. Spears, 39, made the comments on Twitter following a court ruling last week that suspended her father as the controller of her business affairs and set a November date to consider whether to terminate the 13-year-long legal arrangement entirely.

Bieber fans will be able to smoke 'Peaches' in new weed venture

Pop star Justin Bieber has teamed up with Palms Premium to launch cannabis-based products, the California-based company said on Monday. The limited-edition marijuana cigarettes, or joints, called "Peaches Pre-Rolls" are named after a song from Bieber's newest studio album and will be available in California, Nevada, Massachusetts and Florida, the company said.

Billie Eilish to headline Glastonbury music festival next year

Grammy Award winner Billie Eilish will perform at Glastonbury next June, becoming the British music festival's youngest-ever solo headliner, organisers said on Monday. The 19-year-old hitmaker, who sings the theme tune for the latest James Bond movie "No Time To Die", performed at the festival's Other Stage in 2019, the last time the major greenfield music event was held.

'No Time to Die' opens with $121 million in international box office sales

The latest James Bond movie took a mighty $121 million at the international box office over its opening weekend, Universal Pictures said on Monday. The British and Irish box office led the way with a total of $35 million, making "No Time to Die" the biggest movie release there of the coronavirus pandemic and the highest opening three-day weekend ever in the UK and Ireland for a Bond movie.

Private collection tells story of Egypt's cinematic heyday

In a small apartment-turned-museum in the northern city of Alexandria, 72-year-old Makram Salama's cluttered collection of negatives, posters and projectors traces the history of Egyptian cinema through its 20th-century heyday. The collection started with photos and posters from his hometown in southern Egypt where he worked in a sugar cane factory and grew to include thousands of items picked up from production companies and others who abandoned them as they switched to digital film.

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