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  • Friday, Jun. 14, 2024
Pope Francis meets more than 100 comedians at the Vatican: "You also make God smile"
Chris Rock, left, and Conan O'Brien arrive for an audience with Pope Francis in the Clementine Hall at The Vatican, Friday, June 14, 2024. Pope Francis is meeting with over 100 comedians from 15 countries aiming to establish a link between the Catholic Church and comic artists. (AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca)
By Giada Zampano
VATICAN CITY (AP) -- 

Before flying to Italy's southern Puglia region to meet world leaders at the Group of Seven summit, Pope Francis hosted a very different audience at the Vatican on Friday celebrating the importance of humor.

The pontiff welcomed more than 100 comedians from 15 nations, including U.S. celebrities Whoopi Goldberg, Jimmy Fallon, Chris Rock, Stephen Colbert and Conan O'Brien.

"In the midst of so much gloomy news, immersed as we are in many social and even personal emergencies, you have the power to spread peace and smiles," Francis told the comedians.

"You unite people, because laughter is contagious," he continued, asking jokingly, "Please pray for me: for, not against!"

Francis pointed out that in the creation, "Divine wisdom practiced your art for the benefit of none other than God himself, the first spectator in history," with God delighting in the works that he had made.

"Remember this," he added. "When you manage to More

  • Friday, Jun. 14, 2024
Esports Olympics set to launch after IOC presents proposal for video game project
The Olympic rings are seen on the Eiffel Tower Friday, June 7, 2024, in Paris. The Paris Olympics organizers mounted the rings on the Eiffel Tower on Friday as the French capital marks 50 days until the start of the Summer Games. The 95-foot-long and 43-foot-high structure of five rings, made entirely of recycled French steel, will be displayed on the south side of the 135-year-old historic landmark in central Paris, overlooking the Seine River. (AP Photo/Aurelien Morissard)
LAUSANNE, Switzerland (AP) -- 

The first Olympic Esports Games are set to be added soon to the IOC's portfolio of events as it seeks to attract and retain young audiences.

The International Olympic Committee said Friday it will ask members to approve a proposal to create a video game Olympics when they meet next month in Paris on the eve of the Summer Games.

The Olympic body said it was in "advanced discussions with a potential host" that should be announced soon after the July 23-24 meeting in Paris.

"The IOC is taking a major step forward in keeping up with the pace of the digital revolution," its president Thomas Bach said in an online briefing.

The Esports Olympics will build on an IOC-backed week of video game competitions held last year in Singapore. It was a mix of physical simulations of Olympic sports and traditional video games.

The IOC said 75 percent of viewers engaging with Singapore events were between the ages of 13 to 34.

More
  • Thursday, Jun. 13, 2024
With deal done, Disney will withdraw lawsuit, ending conflict with DeSantis and his appointees
The Cinderella Castle is seen at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
By Mike Schneider
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- 

Now that Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees to a governing district have reached a deal on how Walt Disney World will be developed over the next two decades, the company plans to ask that its federal lawsuit be dismissed, ending the last piece of conflict between the two sides.

The decision comes as little surprise because the federal lawsuit's future was contingent on whether a development agreement could be reached between Disney and the DeSantis appointees to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that governs Disney World, according to a settlement reached in March.

The development deal was approved Wednesday night by the DeSantis appointees on the district's board. A Disney official on Thursday confirmed the plans to ask for the dismissal of the federal lawsuit against DeSantis and his appointees but wasn't authorized to speak publicly on the matter.

As part of the 15-year deal, Disney agreed to invest $17 More

  • Thursday, Jun. 13, 2024
Supervising location manager Sue Quinn to receive Life Achievement honor at LMGI Awards
Sue Quinn (photo courtesy of LMGI)
HOLLYWOOD, Calif. -- 

Veteran supervising location manager Sue Quinn will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 11th Annual Location Managers Guild International (LMGI) Awards on Saturday, August 24, in Los Angeles. Quinn, best known for her exceptional work on blockbuster films such as “Fantastic Beasts,” and the “Harry Potter” and “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchises, will be honored for her outstanding contributions to the film and television industry.
 
Recognized for her seamless integration of real-life locations with the magical world in almost 40 films, Quinn has been a key figure in the world of location management for over three decades, working on some of the biggest and most successful films in Hollywood. Her expertise and attention to detail have helped bring to life iconic locations and settings that have become synonymous with these beloved films. 
 
“Sue Quinn’s boundless passion and dedication have left an indelible mark More

  • Thursday, Jun. 13, 2024
Joey Chestnut, Takeru Kobayashi to compete in Netflix competition, streamer's latest live TV event
Joey Chestnut, defending champion of the Nathan’s Famous Fourth of July hot dog eating contest, left, works to outpace former champion Takeru Kobayashi, right, July 4, 2009, in New York. Chestnut, a 16-time hot dog-eating champion, will face off with his frequent Nathan’s competitor, Kobayashi, in a live Netflix special on Sept. 2, 2024, the streamer announced Wednesday, June 12. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle, File)
By Kaitlyn Huamani
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- 

After organizers for Nathan's Famous Fourth of July hot dog-eating contest said Joey Chestnut wouldn't compete this year because of a deal with a rival brand, Netflix swiftly announced a new hot dog-eating competition that will feature Chestnut and his "fiercest rival."

Chestnut, a 16-time hot dog-eating champion, will face off with his frequent Nathan's competitor, Takeru Kobayashi, in a live Netflix special on Sept. 2, the streamer announced Wednesday.

The contest, titled "Chestnut vs. Kobayashi: Unfinished Beef," will feature the two chowing down on all-beef hot dogs, likely in a nod to reports that Chestnut's rival brand deal is with Impossible Foods, which makes plant-based hot dogs.

Major League Eating, the organization that oversees the Nathan's contest, announced Tuesday that Chestnut's deal was an "exclusivity" issue, saying that it was his decision to step back from the competition he has participated in since 2005. "We More

  • Wednesday, Jun. 12, 2024
DeSantis appointees bury the hatchet with Disney by approving new development deal
The Cinderella Castle is seen at the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World, July 14, 2023, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. (AP Photo/John Raoux, File)
By Mike Schneider
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) -- 

Gov. Ron DeSantis' appointees on Wednesday gave final approval to an agreement that buries the hatchet between Disney and the governing district for Walt Disney World, which the Florida governor took over after the company two years ago publicly opposed a state law critics dubbed "Don't Say Gay."

The five DeSantis-appointed board members to the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District unanimously voted to approve a 15-year development deal in which the district committed to making infrastructure improvements in exchange for Disney investing up to $17 billion into Disney World over the next two decades.

The agreement followed a detente in March in which both sides agreed to stop litigating each other in state court and work towards negotiating a new development agreement and a new comprehensive plan no later than next year. The district provides municipal services such as firefighting, planning and mosquito control, among other things, More

  • Wednesday, Jun. 12, 2024
Quincy Jones, Richard Curtis, Juliet Taylor and Bond producers will get honorary Oscars
Music producer Quincy Jones poses for a portrait to promote his documentary "Quincy" during the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 7, 2018, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
By Lindsey Bahr

Quincy Jones has been nominated for seven Oscars in the past 55 years, including best original score, best song, and even best picture. Although he's never collected a competitive statuette during the Academy Awards, this November he'll receive an honorary Oscar from the Academy's Board of Governors in recognition of his contributions to the art of film.

Jones, casting director Juliet Taylor, filmmaker Richard Curtis and James Bond producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli will all be honored at this year's Governors Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Wednesday.

Jones, who has contributed to films like "In Cold Blood," "The Wiz" and "The Color Purple," and Taylor, whose casting credits include "Taxi Driver," "Annie Hall," "Sleepless in Seattle" and "Schindler's List," will receive Academy Honorary Awards. Most honorary Oscar recipients have not yet won a competitive Oscar.

Curtis, the "Notting Hill" More

  • Wednesday, Jun. 12, 2024
Sony Pictures acquires Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the dine-in movie theater chain
Alamo Drafthouse Cinema is pictured on Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2023, in New York. (Photo by Andy Kropa/Invision/AP, File)
By Lindsey Bahr

Sony Pictures Entertainment is getting into the exhibition business. The studio behind recent films like "Bad Boys: Ride or Die" and "The Garfield Movie" has acquired the distinctive theater chain Alamo Drafthouse Cinema, the companies said Wednesday. Included in the deal is the genre film festival Fantastic Fest.

Sony said it will continue to welcome content from all studios and distributors at the dine-in theaters.

Alamo Drafthouse was founded in 1997 as a single screen, family-owned repertory theater in Austin, Texas, and has grown to 35 locations in North America. It distinguished itself in the exhibition landscape with drinks, dine-in food service and a cool vibe that became a favorite of cinephiles.

"We are beyond thrilled to join forces with Sony Pictures Entertainment to expand our company vision to be the best damn cinema that has ever, or will ever, exist now in ways we could only ever dream of," Alamo Drafthouse founder More

  • Wednesday, Jun. 12, 2024
Elon Musk drops lawsuit against ChatGPT-maker OpenAI without explanation
Tesla CEO Elon Musk leaves the Tesla Gigafactory for electric cars after a visit in Gruenheide near Berlin, Germany, March 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- 

Elon Musk has dropped his lawsuit against OpenAI just ahead of a scheduled Wednesday hearing on the case.

Musk in February sued the San Francisco artificial intelligence company and its CEO Sam Altman over what he said was a betrayal of the ChatGPT maker's founding aims of benefiting humanity rather than pursuing profits.

In the lawsuit filed in February at San Francisco Superior Court, billionaire Musk said that when he bankrolled OpenAI's creation, he secured an agreement with Altman and Greg Brockman, the president, to keep the AI company as a nonprofit that would develop technology for the benefit of the public and keep its code open instead of walling it off for private gain.

However, by embracing a close relationship with Microsoft, OpenAI and its top executives set that pact "aflame" and are "perverting" the company's mission, Musk alleged in the lawsuit.

Most legal experts said Musk's claims — centered around More

  • Tuesday, Jun. 11, 2024
Sam Rubin named posthumous recipient of L.A. Area Emmy Governors Award
Sam Rubin
LOS ANGELES -- 

The Television Academy has named veteran entertainment journalist Sam Rubin as the posthumous recipient of the 76th Los Angeles Area Emmy® Governors Award, recognizing his legacy of more than three decades of entertainment news reporting for KTLA.

The Los Angeles Area Emmy award is presented to an individual, company or organization, selected by the Los Angeles Area Governors Award committee, that has made an outstanding, innovative and visionary achievement in the arts, sciences or management of television as well as a substantial contribution to the greater Los Angeles area.

Rubin served as the weekday entertainment anchor on KTLA’s Morning News until his untimely passing on May 10, 2024, at the age of 64. He joined the station in 1991, instantly making an impact as a “disruptor” in local news, as he brought a fun-loving, breezy sensibility to the newsroom, coupled with an encyclopedic knowledge of film and television. Rubin earned a More

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