Entertainment News Roundup: Dancer performs 'virus melody' in empty Budapest square; Veteran actor Rishi Kapoor, 67, dies of leukemia and more

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

COVID strains: Dancer performs 'virus melody' in empty Budapest square

Dressed in black and wearing a facemask, the dancer leaps and pirouttes across Budapest's deserted central Heroes Square - to the strains of a melody that mirrors the molecular structure of the coronavirus. To mark World Dance Day, Zsolt Vencel Kovacs was performing his interpretation of part of the composition created this month by Massachusetts Institute of Technology scientists.

India's Bollywood star Rishi Kapoor, 67, dies of leukemia

Indian actor Rishi Kapoor, who starred in celebrated Bollywood movies such as "Bobby" and "Mera Naam Joker", died on Thursday after a two-year battle with leukemia, his family said. Kapoor, 67, the scion of a famed film industry family, is survived by his wife and two children and had been diagnosed with cancer in 2018.

China to tighten rules to stop movies from premiering online: sources

While cinemas shuttered in China during the coronavirus epidemic are waiting for the all-clear to reopen, regulators are planning to protect their business by enforcing rules to stop movies from premiering online, two sources familiar with the matter said. The release of two films online during the lockdown provoked uproar in China's film industry, with theatres fearing they could be bypassed in future, devastating ticket revenue at a time when they are already uncertain how fast the public will regain confidence to go to the movies.

How housebound Brazil popstars and CEOs caught streaming mania and dominated YouTube

"Calling all the cattle! Our live broadcast is about to begin," Brazilian singer Marilia Mendonca whooped as she kicked off a recent three-and-a-half-hour quarantine performance of 'sertanejo' country music hits from her living room, streamed on YouTube. The concert, which drew 3.3 million peak concurrent viewers - a worldwide record for YouTube - was one of the most dramatic signs yet of how live streaming has gone viral in Brazil as the coronavirus lockdown has virtually paralyzed Latin America's most populous country. It was also just the culmination of a single webcast-filled day that saw everyone from CEOs to government ministers holding forth from their home offices and living rooms.

Oprah, Julia Roberts lead 'Call to Unite' 24-hour global Livestream

Oprah Winfrey, Julia Roberts, Deepak Chopra, and former U.S. President George W. Bush are among some 200 cultural and spiritual leaders taking part in a 24-hour Livestream this weekend aimed at unity during the coronavirus pandemic. "The Call to Unite," starting on Friday at 8 p.m. ET (midnight GMT) and streamed globally on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other social media platforms, hopes to support people who have lost loved ones to the coronavirus or who feel isolated, depressed or overwhelmed.

Nightly show in Swiss block helps beat lockdown blues

Dressed in a black trench coat and hat, 36-year-old Audrey Lecomte performed "Singing in the Rain" on a drizzly Tuesday evening to the residents of Geneva's Round House apartment complex, who twirled umbrellas from balconies to the music. The nightly 6pm "choir" at the 1920s block, a 6-storey architectural monument built in a semi-circle, has become a way to cheer each other up during Switzerland's national lockdown to stop the spread of COVID-19, now in its seventh week.

U.S. FAA probing runway incident involving actor Harrison Ford - media

The United States' Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is investigating an incident in which actor Harrison Ford was piloting a small plane that wrongly crossed a runway where another aircraft was landing, U.S. media reported late on Wednesday citing an FAA statement. There was no danger of a crash in the incident that occurred last week at an airport in southern California, according to an FAA statement cited by the New York Times.

HBO Max streaming service to be available on Google platforms at launch

HBO Max, the upcoming streaming service from AT&T Inc owned WarnerMedia, will be available across Google platforms and devices when it launches on May 27, the company said on Wednesday. HBO Max is entering a crowded streaming landscape dominated by Netflix Inc, Walt Disney Co's Disney+, and Amazon.com Inc's Prime Video.

Oscars to admit streamed films next year as coronavirus upends movie going

The organizers of the Oscars said on Tuesday that films released only on streaming platforms or video on demand while movie theaters are closed due to the coronavirus pandemic would be eligible for Academy Awards next year. The temporary change, which will apply only for next year's Oscars and will lapse when movie theaters reopen across the nation, was announced in a statement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Irrfan Khan, Indian actor in 'Life of Pi', dies of cancer aged 54

Irrfan Khan, an Indian actor who brought versatility and style to recent hit films and had roles in Hollywood movies such as "Life of Pi" and "The Namesake", died on Wednesday, aged 54. His death, after a prolonged battle with cancer, was confirmed by a spokesman who said Khan was surrounded by family at the time. He is survived by his wife and two children.