Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Gaza girl's desperate pleas in 'The Voice of Hind Rajab' shake Venice

The anguished final pleas of a 5-year-old Palestinian girl trapped in a car under Israeli fire are retold in "The Voice of Hind Rajab," a searing new film that received a rapturous premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Wednesday. "Hind's story carries the weight of an entire people," one of the actors, Saja Kilani, told reporters in a statement she read out on behalf of the whole cast and crew ahead of the screening.

NFL-Swift Super Bowl halftime show? NFL's Goodell says 'maybe'

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell served up a tantalizing "maybe" when asked on Wednesday if Taylor Swift would perform the Super Bowl halftime show in February, leaving Swifties and football fans wondering if the pop superstar might soon shake it off under the brightest lights in sport. Appearing on NBC's "Today" show, Goodell addressed the possibility of the 14-time Grammy award winner performing at the NFL's championship game on February 8 in Santa Clara, California.

'Downton Abbey' cast bid farewell in final film outing

The "Downton Abbey" cast bid farewell to the franchise with a third and final film, 15 years after the period drama first aired as a television series and gained a huge following in Britain and the United States. "Downton Abbey: The Grand Finale" sees the fictitious Crawley family and their servants running a sprawling English country estate in the early 20th century now entering the 1930s, with patriarch Robert Crawley (Hugh Bonneville) ready to hand over the reins to his daughter, Mary.

Venice ovation fuels hopes for Gaza girl film to reach global audience

Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania said on Thursday she hopes the rapturous reception given to her new film "The Voice of Hind Rajab" at the Venice Film Festival would help carry its harrowing story to audiences worldwide. Recounting the final hours of a 5-year-old girl from Gaza who died in 2024 after she was trapped in a car under Israeli fire, the movie drew a 24-minute standing ovation at its premiere on Wednesday - by far the longest so far this year.

Turkey bans French singer's concert after protest calls over his pro-Israeli stance

Turkish authorities have banned a concert of Enrico Macias, a French singer of Algerian-Jewish origin, after calls for protest over his pro-Israeli stance. The Istanbul governor's office late on Wednesday said that Macias' performance scheduled for Friday evening in the city has been banned "after intense calls for protests against the concert."

Warner Bros Discovery sues AI photo generator Midjourney for stealing Superman, Scooby-Doo

Warner Bros Discovery sued the AI photo generation company Midjourney on Thursday, saying it brazenly stole the studio's works to generate images of Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman, Bugs Bunny, Scooby-Doo and other copyrighted characters. In a complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, Warner Bros said the theft enabled Midjourney to train its image and video service to offer subscribers high quality, downloadable images of its characters in "every imaginable scene."

'Father Ted' creator Linehan in UK court for trans harassment case

Graham Linehan, the Irish co-creator of TV comedy show "Father Ted", went on trial in London on Thursday, accused by prosecutors of "relentlessly" posting abusive comments online about a trans woman. Linehan, who has been a vocal critic of transgender activism in recent years, made headlines when he was arrested this week at London's Heathrow Airport on suspicion of inciting violence in relation to posts about transgender issues on X, in a separate case.

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