Entertainment News Roundup: Afghan refugee shares secret story in acclaimed film 'Flee'; TikTok fame wins Malawi singer, 92, birthday party with president and more

In a suit filed in the Los Angeles superior court on Monday, Village Roadshow also alleged that Warner Bros, owned by AT&T Inc unit WarnerMedia, had moved the release date of the film to 2021 from 2022 to help HBO Max attract more subscribers. TikTok fame wins Malawi singer, 92, birthday party with president Malawian musician Giddes Chalamanda had never dreamed in his 92 years that he might one day be famous enough to dine with the president followed by a night in a luxury hotel.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Afghan refugee shares secret story in acclaimed film 'Flee'

When filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen was 15 years old, an Afghan teenager arrived in his rural Danish village. Word got out the youngster had fled after his entire family was killed and had made the long journey to the Scandinavian country on foot. Over time, the two became close friends but it took nearly 20 years until the Afghan refugee, now a successful academic, felt ready to tell Rasmussen what really happened.

TikTok fame wins Malawi singer, 92, birthday party with president

Malawian musician Giddes Chalamanda had never dreamed in his 92 years that he might one day be famous enough to dine with the president followed by a night in a luxury hotel. Last month the singer did both, thanks to his unlikely new stardom on TikTok, a social media platform beloved of youths four generations removed from him -- and one he can't access because he lacks a smartphone or even electricity to charge one.

Mandatory masks, tests as NY Fashion Week embraces 'new normal'

Fashionistas will be accessorizing their outfits with mandatory masks to attend New York Fashion Week this season, adhering to strict COVID-19 protocols put in place for smaller catwalk shows. With a return to physical shows in September following virtual fashion weeks earlier in the pandemic, organizers are embracing a "new normal" mix of in-person and digital presentations.

Box Office: 'Jackass Forever' Catapults to No. 1 as 'Moonfall' Craters

After living through a pandemic for nearly two years, Americans, as it turns out, were in desperate need of a laugh. That may explain why Paramount's go-for-broke action-comedy "Jackass Forever" triumphed at the domestic box office while Roland Emmerich's disaster epic "Moonfall" turned into an epic disaster.

Robin Williams, George Carlin estates sue Pandora over copyrighted jokes

The estates of Robin Williams and George Carlin sued Sirius XM's Pandora Media Inc on Monday, claiming the online music service owes royalties for streaming their material millions of times. Williams and Carlin's estates, along with comedians Bill Engvall, Ron White and Andrew Dice Clay, have not received a "fraction of a penny" from Pandora, they said in five separate federal lawsuits filed in Los Angeles by the same attorney.

Neil Young takes aim at Spotify CEO, big banks

Singer-songwriter Neil Young has asked employees of Spotify Technology SA to quit their jobs while urging people to withdraw their money from big American banks, in protests over coronavirus misinformation and climate change. Young, in a statement on his website, criticized the music streaming platform's chief executive officer, Daniel Ek, saying he was the main problem, in the wake of criticism of U.S. podcaster Joe Rogan, who has courted controversy with his views on COVID-19 vaccines and his use of racial slurs.

Podcaster Joe Rogan gets $100 million offer from Trump-affiliated site Rumble

Rumble Inc, a YouTube-style website popular among U.S. conservatives, has offered Joe Rogan $100 million over four years for all his shows, days after the podcaster apologized for using racial slurs in his content. Rogan is also facing backlash for COVID-19 misinformation in his program hosted on Spotify, after singer-songwriters including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell pulled their content from the streaming platform.

Diana musical 'honored' with nine Razzie nominations

"Diana," the film version of a musical about the late Princess of Wales, received a field-leading nine Razzie Award nominations on Monday, including worst picture and worst actress, while Bruce Willis was skewered with his own category of acting ineptness. The Razzies, now in their 42nd year, lampoon the movies that critics love to hate, testing the thickness of Hollywood's skin by reveling in the industry's worst boondoggles.

'Matrix' co-producer Village Roadshow sues Warner Bros over streaming release

"The Matrix Resurrections" co-producer Village Roadshow Entertainment Group has filed a lawsuit against Warner Bros, alleging the studio's move to release the film simultaneously on HBO Max and in theaters was a breach of contract. In a suit filed in the Los Angeles superior court on Monday, Village Roadshow also alleged that Warner Bros, owned by AT&T Inc unit WarnerMedia, had moved the release date of the film to 2021 from 2022 to help HBO Max attract more subscribers.