Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Australian film-maker braves double COVID quarantine for Venice festival

Australian director Roderick MacKay braved COVID-19 restrictions to make a “daunting” trip to the Venice film festival, where his debut feature “The Furnace” premieres on Friday. MacKay had to get permission from Australian authorities to leave his own country, quarantine in Rome for two weeks before travelling to Venice, and will have to quarantine again when he goes back to Australia.

Harry and Meghan team up with Netflix in major Hollywood move

Britain’s Prince Harry and his American-born wife Meghan have signed an exclusive multiyear production deal with Netflix Inc, a major step in their plan to make a living for themselves outside the royal family. Under the deal, whose value was not disclosed, the couple will produce films and series ranging from children’s shows to scripted content, the streaming platform said on Wednesday.

Watchdog orders Netflix to block ‘Cuties’ film in Turkey

Turkey’s broadcasting watchdog said on Thursday it will order Netflix to block access locally to the soon-to-be-released French film “Cuties” on grounds that it contains images of child exploitation. The ruling came ahead of the film’s Sept. 9 international release on the U.S. online streaming service and followed recent media reports of Turkish government interference in a separate planned Netflix series featuring a gay character.

Actor Dwayne Johnson says he and family have recovered from COVID-19

Pro-wrestler turned Hollywood actor Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson said in a video message posted on social media on Wednesday that he, his wife and their two young children tested positive for COVID-19 in recent weeks but that they all have recovered and are healthy. Johnson, 48, said in the Instagram post that he and his spouse, Lauren, 35, and their daughters, Jasmine, 4, and Tiana, 2, caught the virus about 2-1/2 weeks ago from “very close family friends” whom he said had no idea how they had become infected.

Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre reopens with a socially distanced ‘Don Carlo’

Russia’s opera aficionados will flock to the Bolshoi Theatre for the first time in almost six months on Sunday, wearing masks and sitting apart in a half-empty auditorium for a performance of Giuseppe Verdi’s “Don Carlo”. The landmark venue in central Moscow closed its doors on March 17 as coronavirus cases mounted in and around the capital, the worst-hit region in the country.

Nintendo to re-release Mario games in 35th anniversary year

Nintendo Co Ltd said on Thursday it would re-release classic titles featuring popular character Mario for a limited time on its hit Nintendo Switch console to mark 35 years since the launch of landmark game “Super Mario Bros”. The release will help bolster the Switch device’s bare gaming pipeline ahead of the key year-end shopping season and could provide some succour to investors who have long lamented the Japanese company’s reluctance to take greater advantage of its back catalogue of hit titles.

K-Pop band BTS to become multimillionaire shareholders with label’s IPO

Members of hugely popular South Korean K-Pop band BTS are expected to become multimillionaire shareholders after receiving shares in their label, Big Hit Entertainment, as it prepares an initial public offering (IPO) that could raise up to 962.6 billion won ($811 million). This week, BTS scored Korea’s first-ever no. 1 spot on the main U.S. Billboard music chart with breezy disco hit “Dynamite”. Their first all-English language single hit the spot for mainstream U.S. pop fans, with a Youtube video garnering more than 284 million views already.

Robert Pattinson’s positive test on ‘Batman’ set underscores challenges for Hollywood

British actor Robert Pattinson has tested positive for COVID-19, news media reported on Thursday, halting production of “The Batman” and highlighting the industry’s struggles to get back to business after months of a pandemic-induced shutdown. Movie studio Warner Bros. said in a statement that “a member of ‘The Batman’ production” in Britain had tested positive for the coronavirus, but did not give a name. “Filming is temporarily paused,” the studio’s statement added, but did not say for how long.

How Disney should handle ‘Black Panther 2’ after Chadwick Boseman’s death

Soon after learning that “Black Panther” star Chadwick Boseman had died at age 43, fans urged Marvel Studios not to recast the role, setting up a dilemma for the studio planning a sequel to Hollywood’s first major superhero film with a predominantly Black cast. Writers, academics and activists – speaking to Reuters about the film’s cultural impact and Boseman’s performance – believe Marvel and its parent company, Walt Disney Co, should honor Boseman’s legacy with a storyline that anoints a new Black Panther from the film’s existing cast or elsewhere in the Marvel Universe.

‘Tenet’ tests American appetite for coronavirus movie-going

Christopher Nolan’s thriller “Tenet” finally arrives in U.S. movie theaters this weekend, hoping to revive movie going after a pandemic-induced closure of indoor theaters and a dearth of new content. Hollywood breathed a sigh of relief last weekend when “Tenet” brought in a solid $53.6 million in Europe and other markets, suggesting that audiences are hungry for new content and prepared to put up with social distancing and masks to see them on big indoor screens.