Reuters Entertainment News Summary

09/15/2016 8:58

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Comcast's NBCU books $250 million in profit from Rio Olympics coverage

NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp, said the company booked more than $250 million in profit from the Rio Olympics coverage, helped by strong advertising sales. Advertising sales rose more than 20 percent to $1.2 billion, compared with the 2012 London Olympics, NBC Universal Chief Executive Steve Burke said on Wednesday.

Damon gave up acting role in 'Manchester by the Sea' due to schedule

Actor and producer Matt Damon says scheduling prevented him from starring in "Manchester by the Sea," a film about a man consumed by grief over the death of his brother and who is made legal guardian of a teenage nephew. Casey Affleck, brother of actor Ben Affleck, was chosen instead to star in the film, which Damon supervised from its inception and produced.

Obama to give arts medals to Brooks, Freeman, Gordy next week

President Barack Obama will recognize the comedic talents of Mel Brooks, the Motown sound of Berry Gordy and the iconic voice of Morgan Freeman on Sept. 22 when he hands out the National Medal of Arts and National Humanities Medal at the White House. Obama has said the star-studded annual event has been one of his favorites during his time in office.

Labels release cut-rate music streaming service amid shift to flexible pricing

Two major record labels are rolling out a low-priced music streaming service in the United Kingdom, a rare foray by record companies directly into the field and another sign the industry is finally moving toward more flexible pricing. Now That's What I Call Music, a joint venture between Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment that releases a popular series of compilation albums, is finalizing a streaming app called NOW Music+ that will offer playlists of hit songs for $6.62 a month, or 5.99 pounds if purchased in Apple's App Store, people familiar with the matter said.

Justin Timberlake kicks off concert documentary at Toronto festival

Pop star Justin Timberlake's new concert documentary was a joy to make because the lack of rigid plot or story structure makes shooting such productions the "purest form of film making," director Jonathan Demme said on Wednesday. "Justin Timberlake and the Tennessee Kids," which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday, was filmed at the final performances of the singer's world tour in Las Vegas in January 2015.

Designer Brandon Maxwell feels the love for Spring/Summer 2017

Fashion designer Brandon Maxwell kicked off his Spring/Summer 2017 collection at New York's Russian Tea Room restaurant on Tuesday, with his "best friend" Lady Gaga sitting in the front row. Reflecting on the past year, the designer and stylist said his family and friends were at the core of his latest collection.

Emmys so colorful as TV shows movies the faces of America

Six months after #Oscarssowhite upset the biggest movie awards in the world, television's Emmy line-up is telling a different, far more colorful, story. Some 21 actors across the ethnic spectrum have been nominated for Emmys this year. For the first time in the 68-year history of the biggest honors in television, men of color were nominated in all six lead actor categories.

'Deepwater Horizon' makers say authenticity a priority for film

A top priority for a new movie about the deadly 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill was ensuring it accurately depicted the disaster that killed 11 workers, its director and main actor said. "Deepwater Horizon," which had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Tuesday evening, focuses on the hours before and after the rig explosion on April 20, 2010 that led to the worst offshore oil disaster in U.S. history.

'Mr.Robot,' 'The Americans' challenge 'Game of Thrones' for Emmy crown

A pair of Cold War Soviet spies and an awkward cyber hacker challenge the warring nobles of the Iron Throne at the Primetime Emmy Awards on Sunday, where more than 20 awards celebrating the best of television will be handed out. HBO fan favorite "Game of Thrones" is hoping to keep its best drama series crown after an acclaimed sixth season. But FX's long-ignored "The Americans," starring Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys as Soviet spies posing as ordinary Americans, or USA Network's Golden Globe-winning "Mr. Robot," with Rami Malek as a socially inept hacker, could take the top prize.

Sex reassignment thriller causes waves at Toronto film festival

The director and star of a film about a hitman who is put through gender reassignment surgery by a relative of one of his victims defended the project as it had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival on Wednesday. "(re)Assignment" stars Michelle Rodriguez as an assassin named Frank Kitchen. After killing the brother of a brilliant but deranged surgeon, Kitchen is captured and awakes to find himself unwillingly turned into a woman.

09/15/2016 8:58