Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

A century ​on, Budapest circus revives Houdini's daring escapes

Bound ​in chains, plunged upside down ‌into a ​water-filled tank and flirting with death, Harry Houdini returned to the stage in Budapest on Friday as a new circus production celebrated ‌the legendary escape artist a century after his death. The Circus of Budapest premiered a performance inspired by Houdini's most famous feats, recreating some of the daring escapes that left audiences astonished and helped turn him ‌into one of the world's first entertainment superstars.

'I Play Rocky' tells the underdog story ‌behind the classic underdog film

A young Sylvester Stallone had one non-negotiable demand when he was trying to sell his script about a small-time boxer named Rocky Balboa. Stallone wrote the lead part for himself. "I play Rocky," the then-unknown actor insisted ⁠when studio executives ​suggested a Hollywood ⁠star such as Ryan O'Neal for the title role.

Patrick Stewart, Shakespearean actor turned 'Star Trek' and 'X-Men' star, dies at 86

Patrick ⁠Stewart, who rose from poverty in England to become an accomplished Shakespearean stage actor and then achieved global ​stardom as the erudite Captain Jean-Luc Picard in TV's "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and ⁠the telepathic Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" movies, has died at the age of 86.

Stewart, knighted in 2010 by ⁠Queen ​Elizabeth II for his contributions to drama, died at his home in Los Angeles, according to a statement on his X account.

At 'China's Hollywood', visitors become stars as consumers spend more on ⁠experiences

Onlookers craned their necks outside an ornate palace chamber, peering through the doors at four women ⁠in silk robes and ⁠jade hairpins acting out a court intrigue. One consort slapped another across the face, the director called for another take, and the cast huddled ‌over their phones. ‌Then they started laughing. But the scene was not ​for a television drama.