Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Pine no more! Monty Python celebrates 50 years of silliness

In what is billed as an "extremely silly" event, hordes of Monty Python fans will gather in full Gumby attire in London on Saturday to celebrate the British comedy troupe's 50th anniversary. Kitted out in rubber boots, sleeveless sweaters, rolled-up trousers and with knotted handkerchiefs on their heads, they will attempt to set a Guinness World Record for the Largest Gathering of People Dressed as Gumbys.

From campy clown to terrifying madman, Joker no longer a laughing matter

There are no capes, no special powers and no battles between good and evil in the new "Joker" movie, whose portrayal of the most famous villain in comic book history is the most chilling twist on the character in 50 years. The Joker has been depicted on television and in movies since 1966 and has undergone a series of ever darker transformations from his early days as a campy clown with a mirthless laugh.

Charmed lives and comebacks: Eddie Murphy returns in 'Dolemite Is My Name'

Sure, Eddie Murphy hasn't been around for a while, and his new movie "Dolemite Is My Name" is getting rave reviews. But don't call it a comeback. "I've been making movies for almost 40 years, and every five years I'm in my comeback - they say I'm coming back," Murphy said.

Late INXS singer Hutchence remembered in intimate film 'Mystify'

A new documentary seeks to move away from "rumors and tabloid headlines" to paint an intimate portrait of late INXS frontman Michael Hutchence, charting his rise to global stardom and personal troubles. "Mystify: Michael Hutchence" features interviews with family members, colleagues and former partners - including singer Kylie Minogue and model Helena Christensen - about the rock singer, who was found dead in a Sydney hotel room in 1997 aged 37.

Diahann Carroll, TV trailblazer for black women, dead at 84

Diahann Carroll, a versatile singer and stage actress who quietly blazed a trail for black women on American television in the late 1960s by playing a widowed nurse and single mother in "Julia," died on Friday at age 84, her manager said. Carroll, whose career also was punctuated by a pioneering Tony Award and an Oscar nomination, had been suffering from cancer and died in her sleep at home in Los Angeles with her daughter by her side, her manager, Brian Panella, said by phone.

Beatles' 'Abbey Road' back at top of charts 50 years after release

The Beatles' "Abbey Road" album has returned to the top of the British album charts 50 years after its first release. "It's hard to believe that Abbey Road still holds up after all these years. But then again it's a bloody cool album," former Beatle Paul McCartney said in a press release.

A Minute With: 'The King' cast on Shakespeare and role models

Actor Timothee Chalamet plays an unwilling heir who inherits the throne in "The King", a mediaeval coming-of-age tale loosely based on William Shakespeare’s plays about Prince Hal and his transformation into England's King Henry V. The 23-year-old "Call Me by Your Name" and "Beautiful Boy" actor stars alongside Joel Edgerton, who plays Hal's hard-drinking friend and mentor Sir John Falstaff, Lily-Rose Depp, who portrays Catherine, daughter of France’s King Charles, and Ben Mendelsohn, who features as Hal's father, Henry IV.

Security stepped up as 'Joker' opens in U.S. movie theaters

Police in major U.S. cities were on alert on Thursday as "Joker" opened in movie theaters after weeks of publicity surrounding its disturbing portrait of a bullied loner raised fears it might spark violence. "Joker," an origin story about Batman's comic-book arch nemesis, stars Joaquin Phoenix in what movie reviewers have called a brilliant but terrifying performance as a mentally unhinged outcast who unwittingly finds fame through an act of violence.

Two women accuse actor James Franco of sexual exploitation in lawsuit

Two women filed a civil lawsuit against Hollywood actor James Franco on Thursday, accusing him of running a bogus film school where young women eager to advance their acting careers were duped into auditioning nude or shooting explicit sex scenes. The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accused the 41-year-old, Oscar-nominated actor, currently starring in the HBO television series "The Deuce," of exploiting aspiring actors at his now-defunct school.

Harvey Weinstein loses bid to have rape trial moved out of New York City

Former Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein on Thursday lost his bid to get his upcoming rape trial moved out of New York City, where he has said intense media scrutiny would make it impossible for him to get a fair jury. Once among Hollywood's most powerful producers, Weinstein 67, is scheduled to stand trial in Manhattan in January. He is accused of assaulting two women in 2006 and 2013. To bolster their case, prosecutors will call a third woman to testify that Weinstein raped her in 1993.