Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs. Full steam ahead for UK model railway buffs, despite coronavirus

The trains of Britain have been known to grind to a halt due to such minor hazards as leaves on the line or the wrong type of snow, but the world of model railways is made of sterner stuff. Even a pandemic of epic proportions has been unable to ruin one of the UK's premier railway modeling shows. Woody Allen memoir released as publishers cite freedom of speech

An independent publisher released a memoir by movie director Woody Allen on Monday after it was dropped by another outlet following protests over a decades-old allegation that Allen molested his daughter. "Apropos of Nothing," was released nationwide, Arcade Publishing said in a statement. U.S. Supreme Court maroons filmmaker in Blackbeard video piracy fight

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday delivered a legal broadside to a filmmaker who documented the recovery of notorious English pirate Blackbeard's wrecked ship, refusing to revive his video piracy lawsuit that sought monetary damages from North Carolina. The justices unanimously upheld a lower court's 2018 ruling that the state was protected by a legal doctrine called sovereign immunity and could not be sued for copyright infringement for using filmmaker Frederick Allen's images online. Cannes opens its doors to homeless after coronavirus delays film festival

The Palais des Festivals should be preparing to welcome the hottest names in cinema onto its red carpet. Instead the Cannes Film Festival venue is opening its doors to the town's homeless who have nowhere to go during the coronavirus lockdown. The annual film festival in the palm-fringed French Riviera resort had been due to take place from May 12-23 but last week organisers postponed the event until late June. The festival hall opened its doors to the destitute on Friday. Broadcaster ITV scraps soaps as crisis saps British ad sales

ITV ditched forecasts for annual advertising sales and results on Monday as the coronavirus forced Britain's biggest commercial free-to-air broadcaster to suspend production of top shows including "Coronation Street" and "Emmerdale". Advertisers across all categories were deferring campaigns in a rapidly changing situation, ITV said as it also pulled its dividend. The company said it had implemented contingency plans to enable it to continue to produce news and live output. Harvey Weinstein tests positive for coronavirus in prison: union official

Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein, who is serving a prison sentence for sexual assault and rape, has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to the head of the state corrections officers union. Weinstein, 68, has been placed in isolation at Wende Correctional Facility, said Michael Powers, president of the New York State Correctional Officers and Police Benevolent Association. 'Humor is healing': Laughter soothes nerves during COVID-19 trauma

Americans are employing humor as a balm to soothe nerves during the coronavirus pandemic, flocking to new Instagram stars like Quentin Quarantino and sharing Facebook memes about taking off bras and pants and putting on weight in self-quarantine. Late-night TV hosts and hometown comedians are providing a mental health safety net for Americans living amid COVID-19 trauma, and medical experts say humor is a vital part of surviving the cascading catastrophe. Broadway playwright Terrence McNally dies of coronavirus complications

Tony award-winning playwright Terrence McNally, known for plays like "Love! Valour! Compassion!" and for musical version of "Kiss of the Spider Woman," died on Tuesday of complications related to the coronavirus, his representative said. Matt Polk said McNally, 81, died in a hospital in Florida. The Broadway theater veteran was a lung cancer survivor and had lived with a chronic respiratory condition. Comcast shuts theme parks, delays film distribution due to COVID-19

Comcast Corp on Tuesday warned of a hit to its results from the coronavirus outbreak as it shut all its theme parks and delayed distribution of films in theaters worldwide. The media and communications company said it also expects economic distress due to the virus to impact its customer base in cable business, which is already under pressure from the widespread shift to streaming services.