Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs. Oppression and its opponents shape a political Berlinale

Abuse of power, state oppression and the struggle faced by those who seek to challenge it in countries from Russia and Brazil to the United States are key themes in this year's Berlin Film Festival, for which the final line-up was announced on Tuesday. This year's edition of the festival, which has never been shy of broaching sensitive political themes, highlighted Brazilian films in the program that had anticipated the country's hard swing right in last year's presidential election. Goodbye Hello: Unseen Beatles footage becomes movie project for Peter Jackson

"Lord of the Rings" director Peter Jackson is making a movie about The Beatles with previously unseen studio footage, the band's website said on Wednesday - 50 years to the day after the Fab Four performed live together for the final time. The Oscar winner will work with some 55 hours of never-released video of John, Paul, George and Ringo as they worked on their "Let It Be" album in January 1969. Boycott Israel's 'artwashed' Eurovision 2019, pro-Palestinian activists say

As Tel Aviv gears up to host the Eurovision Song Contest, pro-Palestinian activists are urging performers to pull out of this year's competition - while the 2018 Israeli winner said she didn't believe in boycotts. The call by the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement is part of a broader campaign to pressure governments, companies, performers and academics to disengage from Israel. Patriotic war film draws 8 million Russians as ties with West fray

A state-funded Russian film that lionizes a Soviet World War Two tank and its crew has become the second highest grossing home-grown production since the collapse of the Soviet Union, part of a Kremlin-backed drive to instill patriotism in young people. The Kremlin has long put the Soviet victory over Nazi Germany at the heart of a patriotic push to accompany what it casts as the country's return to greatness under Vladimir Putin who has portrayed Russia as a fortress besieged by the West. John Malkovich to play disgraced movie mogul in new Mamet play

Actor John Malkovich will take the starring role in a new play by Pulitzer Prize winner David Mamet about a disgraced Hollywood studio head, a story he said was written partly in reaction to the scandal engulfing film producer Harvey Weinstein. Speaking to BBC Radio on Tuesday, Malkovich described "Bitter Wheat", which opens in London in the summer, as "a black farce about a very badly behaved movie mogul", who he said was "not particularly" Weinstein. The producer will go on trial in New York in May on charges of sexually assaulting two women. Meghan revisits acting past at London theater as 'Suits' return ruled out

Meghan, Britain's Duchess of Sussex, visited London's National Theatre as the venue's new royal patron on Wednesday, watching a line-run of a Shakespeare play and meeting aspiring performers. But as theater-trained Meghan briefly reconnected with her acting past, a return to her former television series "Suits" was all but ruled out by the show's creator. N.Y. fashion week reaches beyond runways toward diversity

Fresh on the heels of Paris's glittery fashion week, all eyes are trained on New York where designers are gearing up to present their latest looks for fall and winter 2019, starting next week. Formally known as New York Fashion Week: The Shows, the series of presentations, runway productions, parties and other promotional events kicks off on Feb. 7, preceded by three days of menswear collections. Assault on 'Empire' actor Smollett investigated as hate crime

Chicago police said on Tuesday they were investigating an assault on "Empire" actor Jussie Smollett as a possible hate crime after two men yelled racial and homophobic slurs and wrapped a rope around his neck. The 36-year-old African-American actor, who is gay, was reported to be in good condition after taking himself to a hospital after the incident early on Tuesday, police said. Utah man sues Gwyneth Paltrow for alleged ski slope 'hit and run'

A Utah man has sued Oscar-winning actress Gwyneth Paltrow for $3.1 million, claiming she slammed into him on a ski slope in 2016, breaking four of his ribs and knocking him unconscious before skiing off. Terry Sanderson, 72, filed a lawsuit on Tuesday against Paltrow in Utah state court over the alleged "hit and run ski crash" at the Deer Valley Resort in Park City. Dior gowns that made headlines star in London exhibition

From Princess Margaret's 21st birthday gown to Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence's red carpet dress, Christian Dior outfits that have made headlines go on show in a London exhibition dedicated to the French fashion house. With a supporting cast of accessories, sketches and perfume bottles, "Christian Dior: Designer of Dreams" takes a close look at the history of the luxury brand he founded in 1946 and which remains the epitome of haute couture.