Entertainment News: Comcast Launches Streaming Bundle, Layoffs at Pixar, Cannes Highlights

Discover the latest in entertainment: Comcast offers a new Peacock, Netflix, and Apple TV+ bundle at $15 per month, Pixar cuts 14% of its workforce, and intriguing moments from the Cannes Film Festival, including highlights about Selena Gomez, Scarlett Johansson, and Donald Trump’s biopic, 'The Apprentice.'

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Comcast prices Peacock, Netflix, Apple TV+ streaming bundle at $15 a month

Comcast's new streaming bundle, packaging its Peacock service with Netflix and Apple TV+, will cost $15 per month for all Xfinity internet and TV customers, the media and broadband company said on Tuesday. The new bundle, StreamSaver, is a "companion to broadband" and offers savings of more than 30% to customers, Comcast Cable CEO David Watson said at the J.P. Morgan Technology, Media and Communications Conference.

Disney's Pixar Animation to lay off about 14% of workforce

Pixar Animation Studios, which produced such classic films as "Toy Story" and "Up," began laying off about 14% of its workforce Tuesday as it scales back development of original streaming series, according to a source familiar with the development. Approximately 175 people will be affected by job cuts at the Walt Disney Co unit.

At Cannes, Russian director condemns detentions over play

Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov used his appearance at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday to launch a protest against the detention and trial of a playwright and a theatre director in Moscow. Serebrennikov - who premiered his film "Limonov: The Ballad" at the movie extravaganza - held up a picture of Russian director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk at a news conference in the French Riviera resort town.

Selena Gomez relieved focus on Cannes entry 'Emilia Perez,' not personal life

Selena Gomez said that she was relieved focus had shifted to her role in the new Mexican cartel musical "Emilia Perez" rather than her personal life, the singer told Reuters on Sunday. "It's a relief. I'd rather somebody say I did a terrible job than talk about my personal life. So, I feel very proud," Gomez said at the Cannes Film Festival a day after the premiere of the film, which received a standing ovation for nine minutes.

Scarlett Johansson says OpenAI chatbot voice 'eerily similar' to hers

Scarlett Johansson on Monday accused OpenAI of creating a voice for the ChatGPT system that sounded "eerily similar" to the actress after she declined to voice the chatbot herself. Johansson made the comments in a statement released hours after the artificial intelligence company said it was taking down the voice, called 'Sky.'

Actors union backs Scarlett Johansson after claim of voice misuse by OpenAI

SAG-AFTRA, an influential body representing television and radio artists, on Tuesday backed Scarlett Johansson after the American actress raised concerns over the voice feature of a new OpenAI system that she said sounded "eerily similar" to her own. OpenAI unveiled its latest artificial intelligence model, GPT-4o, last week, featuring an audio-interacting persona named "Sky".

Trump would be surprised by Cannes biopic 'The Apprentice,' says director

Donald Trump would likely be surprised by "The Apprentice," director Ali Abbasi said on Tuesday of his biopic about Trump's early years as a real estate mogul, adding he was open to meeting with the former U.S. president to discuss the film. "The Apprentice," which shares the name of a reality TV series hosted and produced by Trump that made him a household name, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday, receiving an eight-minute ovation and mixed reviews from critics.

Election year Trump biopic 'The Apprentice' premieres at Cannes

"The Apprentice", Iran-born director Ali Abbasi's much-anticipated drama of a young Donald Trump's ascendancy as a New York real estate mogul, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on Monday. Part of the pull of the film is its timing, as Trump, now 77, is contesting the U.S. elections in November as Republican presidential candidate.

Russian director and playwright say they oppose terrorism at start of trial

A Russian theatre director and playwright told a court on Monday they were not guilty of charges of justifying terrorism on the first day of their trial over the staging of an award-winning play, Mediazona reported. Director Zhenya Berkovich and playwright Svetlana Petriychuk were arrested in May last year for putting on "Finist, the Brave Falcon", which tells the story of Russian women who married Islamic State fighters.

Cronenberg says ghoulish Cannes entry 'The Shrouds' did not lessen his grief

David Cronenberg, who has made a career out of the macabre, found that making his deeply personal new film "The Shrouds" did not lessen the grief he feels over his wife's death. "I don't really think of art, and especially I don't think of my art as cathartic," the longtime Canadian director known for body horror classics like "The Fly" and "Videodrome" told Reuters on Tuesday at the Cannes Film Festival.

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