Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

With Broadway's lights dimmed, actors mull pandemic's impact on their lives

A week after the bright lights of Broadway theaters in New York City were dimmed for a month to limit the spread of the new coronavirus, two actors weighed in on how the closures were affecting their daily lives.Joel Hatch, who plays real-life mayor Claude Elliott of Gander, Newfoundland in the award-winning "Come From Away," said he agreed with Broadway's temporary closure. The musical is set in tiny Gander, Newfoundland, where dozens of planes were forced to land after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington D.C., stranding thousands of passengers, who were then taken in by the locals.Hatch compared the musical to the coronavirus outbreak in New York."They thought about, 'We're all in this together.' And so I think that's a story that's worth adhering to right now," he said. "We have to stop thinking about ourselves personally and think about the general common good."

Eurovision song contest cancelled due to coronavirus

The Eurovision song contest, one of the world's largest television events, will not take place this year due to the global coronavirus outbreak, organizers said on Wednesday. "It is with great regret that we have to announce the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam," said Jon Ola Sand, the executive supervisor of the event.

U.S. movie theater owners ask federal government for coronavirus relief

A trade group representing U.S. movie theater owners on Wednesday called on the U.S. Congress and the Trump administration to provide emergency relief to help operators weather the unprecedented closures amid the global coronavirus outbreak. The National Association of Theatre Owners (NATO) urged U.S. lawmakers to approve loan guarantees to help cover fixed costs, tax benefits for employers providing support to employees, and other measures.

Disney delays Marvel's 'Black Widow' debut due to coronavirus

Walt Disney Co will postpone the May 1 theatrical release of Marvel movie "Black Widow" to a future date because of the coronavirus outbreak, as theaters close and people are advised not to congregate, the company said in a statement on Tuesday. The action movie starring Scarlett Johansson as her popular Avengers character was scheduled to kick off the summer blockbuster season, which is Hollywood's most lucrative time at theater box offices.

'Friends' reunion special latest victim of coronavirus shutdown

The planned "Friends" reunion has been delayed due to disruptions in Hollywood caused by the coronavirus, an industry source said on Wednesday. The one-off special was due to have been filmed next week on the original sound stage in Burbank, California, according to the source, and broadcast in May on the upcoming HBO Max streaming service.

Harvey Weinstein moved to maximum security prison in upstate N.Y.

Former movie producer Harvey Weinstein on Wednesday was transferred to a maximum security prison in upstate New York to serve a 23-year sentence for sexual assault and rape. Weinstein, 67, was taken to the Wende Correctional Facility, located in Alden, east of Buffalo, according to the New York state Department of Corrections website.

Hungary's first 'quarantine theatre' streams post-nuclear attack play

A group of actors have set up Hungary's "first quarantine theatre", streaming a play via Facebook about a man and a woman who find themselves in an underground nuclear fallout shelter and have to adapt to their new reality, and to each other. The two-hander was streamed on Monday just hours before the Hungarian government closed borders to all foreigners, after shutting down schools nationwide in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus.

Netflix sued by former prosecutor over portrayal in 'Central Park Five' miniseries

A former prosecutor who ran the sex crimes unit in the Manhattan District Attorney’s office in 1989 sued Netflix on Wednesday for defamation over her portrayal in "When They See Us," claiming the miniseries about the “Central Park Five” fabricated both her statements and actions related to the case. The four-part series, which debuted on Netflix on May 31, is about the 1989 case of a 28-year-old woman who was attacked while jogging in New York City's Central Park. The victim was white and the five defendants - all black or Hispanic boys - were between the ages of 14 and 16 at the time of the attack.

From Colbert to Shakespeare, the show must go on(line)

Jimmy Kimmel is streaming nightly monologues from home, Willie Nelson and John Legend are playing music online, and Broadway stars like Idina Menzel are singing and chatting from their homes. Movie theaters, theatres on Broadway and London's West End, and concert venues may have shuttered their doors because of the coronavirus pandemic, but actors, comedians and musicians are giving life to the famous adage: The show must go on.

BTS fans keep fervor alive amid coronavirus outbreak

South Korea's BTS may have canceled their April concert in Seoul over coronavirus fears, but the K-pop group's fervent fans are rallying in small groups and emulating their idols in donating money for coronavirus relief. "When the concert was canceled, I was really upset," said one disappointed fan, Im Yu-mi, 19, sitting in her room on a chair covered by a BTS blanket.