Entertainment News Roundup: British TV presenter Schofield comes out as gay; ViacomCBS to launch new streaming platform and more

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

China film industry's 'bleak winter' deepens as coronavirus adds to censorship woes

Even before the new coronavirus, people working in Chinese entertainment had been calling the industry's struggles their "bleak winter" - as tighter censorship, a crackdown on tax evasion and new government restrictions strangle opportunities for work. The epidemic is only exacerbating that misery.

Kirk Douglas, Hollywood's tough guy on screen and off, dead at 103

Kirk Douglas, the cleft-chinned movie star who fought gladiators, cowboys, and boxers on the screen and the Hollywood establishment, died on Wednesday at the age of 103, his son Michael Douglas said. “It is with tremendous sadness that my brothers and I announce that Kirk Douglas left us today at the age of 103,” Michael Douglas said in a statement to People magazine and on his Facebook page.

Weinstein's defense to call psychology professor as the expert on memory in NY trial

Jurors in Harvey Weinstein's New York rape trial are expected to hear testimony about the nature of memory on Friday from a psychology professor, one of the witnesses whom lawyers for the former Hollywood mogul are calling as experts. Elizabeth Loftus, a professor at the University of California, Irvine, has written extensively about false memories. Weinstein's lawyers are likely to use her testimony to attack the credibility of the six women who have testified against him at the trial.

UK's Princess Beatrice to marry at St James's Palace in May

Britain's Princess Beatrice, the elder daughter of Prince Andrew and Sarah, Duchess of York, will marry her fiance Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi at London's St James's Palace on May 29, Buckingham Palace announced on Friday. The ceremony will be a much more private affair than the wedding of her younger sister Eugenie, who married wine merchant Jack Brooksbank amid typical royal pomp and pageantry at Windsor Castle in 2018.

First defense witness in Weinstein's New York rape trial takes aim at accusers

The first defense witness in Harvey Weinstein's rape trial acknowledged on Thursday sending messages to the former producer in which he disparaged the "dog pile of actresses" who had accused Weinstein of sexual misconduct. Writer Paul Feldsher testified for the defense that actress Annabella Sciorra told him in the early 1990s that she had a sexual encounter with Weinstein but did not say she had been raped.

WarnerMedia nears deal with 'Friends' cast for reunion special: reports

The one with the long-awaited reunion. Warner Bros is finalizing deals with the cast of "Friends" for a reunion special that will likely be used to launch the HBO Max streaming service this spring, the Wall Street Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/2St9Pb5 on Thursday, citing people familiar with the matter.

Married British TV presenter Schofield comes out as gay

British television presenter Phillip Schofield on Friday revealed that he was gay as he paid tribute to his wife of nearly 27 years. "I am gay," Schofield, one of broadcaster ITV's biggest stars, said in a post on Instagram. "This is something that has caused many heart-breaking conversations at home."

'Joker' star Phoenix takes aim at climate apathy with the film about dying Earth

Oscar's favorite Joaquin Phoenix stars as a medic battling to save a dying planet Earth in a film launched on Thursday, the first in a series of short Hollywood productions aimed at spurring action on climate change. The "Joker" star teamed up with environmental activist group Extinction Rebellion and Amazon Watch, a California-based organization campaigning to protect the Amazon rainforest, to produce the 2-minute film "Guardians of Life."

ViacomCBS to launch new streaming platform: source

ViacomCBS Inc is preparing to launch a subscription streaming video service that will combine the free and paid services of CBS, programming from brands including MTV, Nickelodeon, Comedy Central, and BET as well as films from the Paramount movies studio, a source familiar with the matter said. The yet-unnamed new service is expected to build on top of CBS All-Access and include live and on-demand news sports and entertainment spanning the portfolio of its brands. Blockbuster franchises from the Paramount library, such as "Top Gun", "Mission Impossible", "The Godfather" and "Star Trek", are eventually expected to be available on the service.

Cliffhangers, slam dunks, and dark horses at Sunday's Oscars

Hollywood's awards season reaches its climax at Sunday's Oscars, with a cliffhanger over the top prize after a season marked by dark horses, renewed anguish over diversity, and a South Korean underdog that could snatch victory from the biggest names in show business. While dark comic book movie "Joker" goes into the ceremony with a leading 11 nominations, it's the immersive World War One movie "1917" that has emerged as the film to beat in the best picture race after winning a slew of accolades in the last five weeks.

(With inputs from agencies.)