Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs. Actress Rosie Perez backs up Sciorra account in Weinstein rape trial

Actress Rosie Perez took the stand in the rape trial of Harvey Weinstein on Friday to bolster the account of friend and fellow actress Annabella Sciorra, who said she was raped by the former Hollywood producer in the early 1990s. Perez, whose film credits include Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing," told jurors that Sciorra shared details of the alleged assault, including that Weinstein had pinned her arms above her head as he raped her. Chinese movie to premiere online as virus closes cinemas

Chinese movie fans can catch the premier of much-anticipated new comedy this holiday weekend under a 630 million yuan ($91.25 million) deal to issue the film over the internet, as fears of a deadly new virus keep audiences away from cinemas. The Hong Kong-listed Huanxi Media Group announced on Friday an agreement with Beijing Bytedance Network to show its new movie "Lost in Russia" on Bytedance's online platforms. Spike Lee to introduce 2021 Cadillac Escalade with short film

Oscar-award-winning director Spike Lee has been hired to introduce the 2021 Cadillac Escalade with his short film "Anthem" on Feb. 4 in Hollywood, General Motors Co's luxury division, Cadillac, said on Thursday. The Escalade, with global sales of about 900,000 including ESV and previous EXT and Hybrid models, is a highly profitable piece of GM's new large truck and sport utility vehicle lineup that it has launched over the past two years. Taylor Swift, Olivia Colman lead diverse Sundance 2020 lineup

Women directors and stars will be at the forefront of this year's Sundance Film Festival starting on Thursday, at a time when a lack of diversity among nominees has been the focus of the Hollywood awards season. Women directed 44% of the 118 feature-length films to be previewed at the 10-day festival in the ski resort town of Park City, Utah. Minorities have directed 34%, and directors identifying as LGBTQ 15%. K-pop band BTS's microphones fetch $83,200 at auction

Seven microphones used on tour by South Korean pop band BTS have sold for $83,200 at a pre-Grammy Awards auction for charity, more than eight times the expected starting price, Julien's Auctions said on Friday. The autographed microphones were the first ever items to be sold at auction from BTS, Julien's said. The auction house had previously estimated that the set would sell for between $10,000 and $20,000. China's theaters, studios protest against deal to stream movie online for free

Chinese theaters and film studios are protesting a deal by Huanxi Media Group to premiere its new movie "Lost in Russia" on Bytedance's online platforms, with some saying it was "trampling" and "destroying" China's cinema industry. The week-long Lunar New Year holiday usually sees audiences flock to cinemas with distributors taking advantage of the crowds to launch films but the premieres of at least seven movies, including "Lost in Russia", were postponed due to a virus outbreak which by Saturday had killed 41 people and infected more than 1,300 people globally. Johnny Depp jams with Aerosmith as band celebrates 50-year career

Actor Johnny Depp and musician Alice Cooper joined Aerosmith on Friday at a gala dinner and performance in Los Angeles to celebrate the band's 50-year career as one of the best-selling American hard rock bands of all times. Cooper and Depp - who play with Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry in rock supergroup Hollywood Vampires - were among more than a dozen artists including the Foo Fighters, Sammy Hagar and John Legend who sang the band's biggest hits as it was named the MusiCares person of the year. Grammy organizers deny claims award nominations are rigged

The organizers of the Grammy Awards on Thursday denied allegations that nominations for the highest prizes in the music industry are rigged, calling the claims "categorically false and misleading." Allegations that the Grammy nominations process is tainted by conflicts of interest were made in a complaint filed earlier this week by the former chief executive of the Recording Academy, Deborah Dugan, after she was placed on administrative leave.

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