Entertainment News Roundup: Sushant Singh Rajput found dead in his Mumbai home; Christopher Nolan movie 'Tenet' to open July 31 and more

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.said on Friday, the first new blockbuster in months for movie theaters that need fresh films to lure audiences after pandemic-related closures.

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.

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.

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput found dead in his Mumbai home

Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who won acclaim for his role in the 2016 biopic of the Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, was found dead at his home in Mumbai on Sunday, police said. He was 34 years old.

Christopher Nolan movie 'Tenet' to open July 31 as the 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 the new album: 'The songs seem to write themselves'

Bob Dylan gave a glimpse into his songwriting 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.