Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Under the partnership, Network18 affiliates - which include its joint venture with ViacomCBS, Viacom18 - would create shows for Netflix to help the U.S. firm expand offerings in India, where it competes against the video streaming services of Amazon.com Inc and Walt Disney Co. Tear gas fired as crowd seizes Kenya pop star's body to halt hasty COVID funeral Hundreds of Kenyans defied tear gas and riot police on Friday to carry off the body of a popular singer, trying to prevent a swift burial under rules for suspected coronavirus cases which the crowd said would be disrespectful.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs. Films aiming to win Oscars will need to meet diversity criteria, Academy says

The organization that hands out the Academy Awards said Friday it would form a group to develop diversity and inclusion guidelines that filmmakers will have to meet in order for their work to be eligible for Oscars. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has been criticized for honoring few movies and creators of color, said the move and other steps represented a new phase of a 5-year effort to promote diversity. Exclusive: Netflix in talks to source Indian content from Reliance affiliate Viacom18 - sources

U.S. video streaming company Netflix is in talks with Viacom18, part of the Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries' media unit Network18, about a multi-year partnership to source content, three sources told Reuters, in a move that would expand a relationship between the two sides. Under the partnership, Network18 affiliates - which include its joint venture with ViacomCBS, Viacom18 - would create shows for Netflix to help the U.S. firm expand offerings in India, where it competes against the video streaming services of Amazon.com Inc and Walt Disney Co. Tear gas fired as crowd seizes Kenya pop star's body to halt hasty COVID funeral

Hundreds of Kenyans defied tear gas and riot police on Friday to carry off the body of a popular singer, trying to prevent a swift burial under rules for suspected coronavirus cases which the crowd said would be disrespectful. Mourners and fans of Bernard Obonyo, whose stage name is Abenny Jachiga, swarmed the cemetery, preventing the singer's funeral from taking place in Kisumu city in western Kenya. With U.S. spy comedy on bill, Moscow drive-in cinema re-opens

Russians got a taste of open-air cinema under balmy twilit skies on Thursday when a Moscow drive-in movie theater re-opened for business after the city's coronavirus lockdown ended. On the bill was "My Spy", a U.S. action comedy and, with regular cinemas still closed three days after the two-month lockdown was lifted, scores of moviegoers parked up to watch. Coachella announces 2021 music festival dates after abandoning 2020 editions

Organizers of the Coachella music festival confirmed on Thursday that the event would no longer take place this year because of the coronavirus epidemic, but announced new dates for April 2021. Coachella, one of the biggest music festivals in the world that brings half a million fans to an open-air site in the California desert, and its sister event Stagecoach for country music were rescheduled earlier this year from April until October. Christopher Nolan movie 'Tenet' to open July 31 as industry seeks rebound

Director Christopher Nolan's thriller "Tenet" will debut in cinemas on July 31, distributor Warner Bros. said on Friday, the first new blockbuster in months for movie theaters that need fresh films to lure audiences after pandemic-related closures. Theaters are starting to reopen worldwide since going dark in mid-March to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Cinema operators hope "Tenet" and other blockbusters will help create a late-summer rebound. Bob Dylan on new album: 'The songs seem to write themselves'

Bob Dylan gave a glimpse into his song-writing process, commented on the death of George Floyd and said in a rare interview published on Friday that he wished he had written the Rolling Stones ballad "Angie." Dylan's wide-ranging conversation with the New York Times was his first major interview since 2017 and came a week ahead of the release of his first album of original music in eight years. ABC names first black 'Bachelor' contestant after diversity criticism

ABC Television's long-running dating competition show "The Bachelor" said on Friday that North Carolina native Matt James will become the show's first black contestant its 25-season history. "We know we have a responsibility to make sure the love stories we're seeing onscreen are representative of the world we live in, and we are proudly in service to our audience," Karey Burke, president of Walt Disney Co-owned, said in a statement. Large trove of history-making 'Ed Sullivan Show' archives to stream online

A trove of historic TV performances by The Supremes, The Jackson 5, The Beach Boys and others on "The Ed Sullivan Show" will be made available around the world starting on Friday under a deal to bring the program's large archive to online streaming. Universal Music Enterprises (UMe), a unit of Vivendi's Universal Music Group, purchased global digital rights to the long-running U.S. variety show and will offer full-length performances for viewing on "The Ed Sullivan Show" YouTube channel and EdSullivan.com.