Reuters Entertainment News Summary

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Actor Depp attacked wife on plane in drunken rage, UK court hears

Hollywood star Johnny Depp kicked and slapped his ex-wife Amber Heard on a private flight in a drunken rage brought on because he believed she was having an affair with her co-star James Franco, London's High Court heard on Wednesday. Depp, giving evidence in his libel trial against Britain's Sun newspaper over an article describing him as a "wife beater", denied he had attacked Heard, accusing her of being the aggressor whom he tried to placate.

Prominent people diagnosed with COVID-19

One of the patriarchs of jazz, Libya's rebel prime minister and the Chinese doctor reprimanded for issuing an early warning about the novel coronavirus - they are among the more than half a million people who have died from COVID-19. Below is a list of some prominent people who have been diagnosed with the novel coronavirus. (Click here to see a slideshow: https://reut.rs/38zyAtI)

Cinemas miss out on upgrades as Russia diverts funds in COVID-19 battle

About 140 cinemas in Russia will miss out on scheduled modernisations after the government moved nearly 1.2 billion roubles ($16.5 million) earmarked for culture spending this year to its reserve fund as it tackles COVID-19. The coronavirus outbreak has forced the government to adjust spending goals in 13 key areas, known as the national projects, first announced by President Vladimir Putin during his bid for re-election in 2018. The projects are intended to spur economic growth.

'Glee' actress Naya Rivera missing at California lake, authorities say

Actress Naya Rivera, who played Santana Lopez in the hit TV musical show "Glee," was missing feared drowned on Wednesday at Lake Piru, California, authorities said. Ventura County Sheriff's office said late on Wednesday it had identified the missing person as Naya Rivera and a search and rescue operation would continue in the morning.

Actor Depp denies attacking ex-wife during detox on private island

Actor Johnny Depp denied attacking his ex-wife while undergoing detox to ease himself off prescription drugs on his private island in the Bahamas, London's High Court heard on Thursday. Depp is suing the publisher of Britain's Sun tabloid, News Group Newspapers, and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, over an article in which he labelled the actor a "wife beater", based on allegations from his former wife, actress Amber Heard.

Immortal mercenaries confront reality of forever in Netflix's 'The Old Guard'

Audiences are used to seeing comic book superheroes come to life on screen but in "The Old Guard" the heroes only have one power - immortality. Charlize Theron stars in the action film, arriving on Netflix on Friday, as the leader of a small unit of immortal mercenaries who are trying to help humanity. It is based on the 2017 comic book by Greg Rucka and Leandro Fernandez.