Entertainment News Roundup: Netflix's 'Gray Man' marketing blitz: emojis, TV ads and a tram; 'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon' takes off in Hollywood and more

Hadid, 25, told Reuters in an interview from New York that she was intrigued by shared virtual world environments and that she wanted to make "cool versions" of herself after becoming obsessed with video games during the COVID-19 lockdown. Will Smith, in new video, says he is 'deeply remorseful' about Oscars slap Actor Will Smith said on Friday he was "deeply remorseful" at having slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards this year and had reached out to the comedian to talk but was rebuffed.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Italian rockers Maneskin to launch first U.S., Canada tour

Italian rockers Maneskin, winners of the 2021 Eurovision song contest, will tour North America for the first time starting in October. The musicians' hit singles include “Beggin’”, “I Want To Be Your Slave” and “Supermodel.”

Top model Bella Hadid joins metaverse with NFT collection

U.S. supermodel Bella Hadid has stepped from the catwalk into the metaverse with the launch of CY-B3LLA - a collection of Non-Fungible Tokens featuring artwork based on 3-D scans of her face and body. Hadid, 25, told Reuters in an interview from New York that she was intrigued by shared virtual world environments and that she wanted to make "cool versions" of herself after becoming obsessed with video games during the COVID-19 lockdown.

Will Smith, in new video, says he is 'deeply remorseful' about Oscars slap

Actor Will Smith said on Friday he was "deeply remorseful" at having slapped Chris Rock at the Academy Awards this year and had reached out to the comedian to talk but was rebuffed. Smith posted a video on YouTube in which he addressed questions about the attack on Rock on stage at the March ceremony after the comedian made a joke about the appearance of Smith's wife, Jada Pinkett Smith.

Amapiano stars put South African dance music on the map

South African musical export Amapiano has crossed borders and cultural barriers, reaching as far as Japan. To top female artists Kamo Mphela and DBN Gogo, who helped put the dance music genre on the map, it is about inclusivity. Mphela, 22, from Johannesburg's Soweto township, took a leap of faith four years ago and jumped into the world of Amapiano. Now she is a household name in South Africa and tours the globe.

Spanish prosecutor asks for eight-year jail term for Shakira

A Spanish prosecutor is seeking a prison term of eight years for Colombian superstar Shakira over a 14.5 million-euro tax fraud case, a prosecutor's office document showed on Friday.

The singer, who has sold more than 80 million records worldwide with hits such as "Hips Don't Lie", earlier this week rejected a settlement offer from the prosecutor's office to close the case.

Netflix's 'Gray Man' marketing blitz: emojis, TV ads and a tram

The Gray Man has his own emoji, he has sprinted across 3D billboards from Krakow to Seoul, and he has battled bad guys in more than 100 TV ads. Netflix Inc launched one of its largest marketing campaigns ever to make sure audiences around the world knew that Ryan Gosling was starring in "The Gray Man," the company's big-budget summer action movie.

Katie Holmes on writing, directing and acting in new film: 'It feels very satisfying'

Katie Holmes shares one of her pandemic pastimes with the world in her new feature film "Alone Together," as writer, director and star of the movie. The film, which was shot as the first COVID-19 vaccines were released, centers around two strangers who end up spending a week together in an upstate New York rental home after it was double booked. The pair start as frenemies, but quickly bond.

'Game of Thrones' prequel 'House of the Dragon' takes off in Hollywood

"Game of Thrones" is back in the form of prequel "House of the Dragon" with an all-new cast who turned out on Wednesday to launch the show at a premiere in Los Angeles. The new showrunners, who took over from David Benioff and D.B. Weiss, are Ryan Condal and Miguel Sapochnik.

Giant video screen falls during Hong Kong pop concert, dancers hurt

A big video panel fell onto a stage during a concert by Hong Kong boyband Mirror on Thursday, injuring at least two dancers, one of them seriously, and prompting authorities to ban the group from performing pending an investigation. Video clips of the screen falling were circulating on social media while Hong Kong media reported that three members of the audience were also hurt.

(With inputs from agencies.)