Entertainment News Roundup: Franco Zeffirelli dies at 96; Cohen's love letters to Marianne fetch $876,000

Italian film and opera director Franco Zeffirelli dies at 96

Franco Zeffirelli, the film and opera director acclaimed for movies such as "Romeo and Juliet" and opulent lyrical productions on the world's major stages, died on Saturday at the age of 96. Often appreciated more by the public than critics, Zeffirelli was the last of a generation of Italian film giants who came of age after World War Two and included Federico Fellini, Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica.

Leonard Cohen's love letters to Marianne fetch $876,000 at auction

A collection of more than 50 love letters written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen to the woman who inspired "So Long, Marianne" has sold for $876,000, with many going for more than five times their pre-sale estimates, Christie's auction house said on Thursday. The archive of letters from Cohen to Marianne Ihlen chronicles their 1960s love affair and the blossoming of Cohen's career from struggling poet to a famous musician.

Founder of K-pop label YG resigns amid drugs and sex scandals

Yang Hyun-suk, the founder of South Korea's YG Entertainment which manages top K-pop performers, stepped down on Friday from his duties as chief producer, in the aftermath of drug and sex scandals involving his artists. In March, a member of YG's boyband Big Bang quit showbiz over sex bribery accusations, prompting police investigations and the resignation of four K-pop stars including him.

Cuba Gooding Jr. charged with groping woman in Manhattan bar

Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. was charged on Thursday with groping a woman at a Manhattan bar last weekend, New York City police said. The "Jerry Maguire" actor faces one misdemeanour account of forcible touching in an incident on Sunday when an unidentified woman said Gooding touched her breasts.

Robbie Williams takes stake in college, sings mentoring's praises

Pop singer Robbie Williams, a judge on Britain's "The X Factor" television show last year, is taking a stake in a performing arts college as he looks to mentor more "jazz hand people" like him. The singer of "Angels" and "Let Me Entertain You" will have a 20% stake in Liverpool's LMA, which offers degrees in music, performing arts and games design.

'The Dead Don't Die' stars on the environment

Flesh-eating zombies terrorize a small town in Jim Jarmusch's "The Dead Don't Die", a comedy horror in which polar fracking sets off strange reactions and raises the dead. Reuters spoke with Bill Murray and Chloe Sevigny, who portray police, and Tilda Swinton, who plays a mysterious funeral parlour worker, about the film's albeit lighthearted environmentalism.

Madonna takes on frightening world with new album 'Madame X'

Gun control, poverty and the marginalized, Madonna's new album "Madame X" sees the Queen of Pop wanting to "fight back" in what she sees as a frightening modern world. In an interview with Reuters, Madonna also said she was horrified by moves to restrict LGTBQ and women's rights, namely in her native United States.