SUMMER MOVIE SEASON ALL BUT SCUTTLED

NEW YORK (AP) — The summer movie season is done before it even got started — because of the global COVID-19 outbreak. One of the last few blockbusters due for release after school lets out is now off the summer schedule. Paramount Pictures says “Top Gun Maverick” has been pushed back to Christmas Eve. It had been set to come out June 24. “Top Gun” joins big movies like “Ghostbusters: Afterlife,” “Wonder Woman 1984," “Black Widow," “Morbius” and “In the Heights” in being delayed or removed from the summer schedule because of the pandemic.

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116915-w-341:04-(Oscar Wells Gabriel, AP entertainment correspondent)-"I'm Oscar Wells Gabriel"-'Top Gun Maverick' postponed to December due to coronavirus (3 Apr 2020)

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HOLLYWOOD REELING OVER CORONAVIRUS

NEW YORK (AP) — Usually summertime is when the living is easy for Hollywood. But that won’t be the case this summer, as movie studios look for solutions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Usually when school is out and beach weather arrives, Hollywood rolls out its heavy hitters: sequels of popular franchises, superhero films and action flicks — and moviegoers flock to see them. But theaters are closed now. And even if they reopen soon, it’s feared people will be edgy about gathering in closed spaces, even if it’s to see a hit movie.

Summer is Hollywood’s busiest — and most profitable — time of year. Last year, summer ticket sales raked in $4.3 billion in U.S. and Canada.

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116917-c-204:72-(Oscar Wells Gabriel, AP entertainment correspondent)-"U.S. and Canada"-'Top Gun Maverick' postponed to December due to coronavirus (3 Apr 2020)

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SXSW TO GO ONLINE

NEW YORK (AP) — First, organizers of South by Southwest said the film festival wouldn’t go on. Now, they are saying it will go online. The event, set for last month in Austin, Texas, was scrubbed because of COVID-19. Now, officials say they’ll stream movies from the festival on Amazon Prime. It has a deal with the online retailer that will let people see the films, even if they don’t have Amazon Prime. None of the films screened on Amazon will be ones already purchased. And individual filmmakers can opt out of the online version of the 10-day festival.

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116921-v-449:28-(Oscar Wells Gabriel, AP entertainment correspondent)-"I'm Oscar Wells Gabriel"-SXSW partners with Amazon to put its film festival online (3 Apr 2020)

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CUOMO BROTHERS STEAL THE SHOW

UNDATED (AP) — There were the Marx Brothers and the Smothers Brothers. Now the coronavirus pandemic has created a duo that blends comedy and politics. The Cuomo (KWOH’-moh) Brothers have become must-see TV for those keeping up with COVID-19 news. Andrew Cuomo is the governor of New York State. And between calling for more aid in fighting the health care, he’s been bantering with his younger brother, Chris Cuomo, who hosts “Prime Time” on CNN. The brothers have made audiences laugh with their back-and-forth jabs — and made viewers feel warm and fuzzy with their frequent expressions of love and respect. Chris Cuomo has tested positive for COVID-19 and the governor has had him appear at his briefings — over a video stream — to chat and check on his health.

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DR. ANTHONY FAUCI GETS BOBBLEHEAD

MILWAUKEE (AP) — He’s the nation’s top infectious disease specialist. And he’s seen as a calming figure in the wake of the coronavirus crisis. Now, like many other heroes, Dr. Anthony Fauci is getting the bobblehead treatment. The nodding figurine was done by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in Milwaukee. It features Dr. Fauci in a suit and making a motion indicating how the nation needs to “flatten the curve” when it comes to the spread of the virus. It isn’t the only star treatment Fauci has gotten lately. His face appears on socks. And a pastry shop in New York State is selling doughnuts with his face on them.

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116913-w-492:72-(Jackie Quinn, AP correspondent with archive audio of Dr. Anthony Fauci)-"Jackie Quinn, Washington"-Dr. Fauci's face will soon be on a bobblehead (3 Apr 2020)

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BROADWAY LEGEND SICK WITH VIRUS

UNDATED (AP) — Tony Award-winner Brian Stokes Mitchell has tested positive for COVID-19. The actor announced his diagnosis in a Twitter video. But he says he is already beginning to feel better. Mitchell, who is chair of The Actors Fund, says his wife and son don’t have symptoms of the virus. Other Broadway figures who have tested positive include Gavin Creel, Aaron Tveit and Laura Bell Bundy. And it has claimed the life of four-time Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally.

ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER PUTS PRODUCTIONS ON YOUTUBE

UNDATED (AP) — Want a break from sheltering in place — but don’t want to venture from quarantine? Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber has got your back. He’s making some of his filmed musicals available for free on YouTube. Today, the streaming site will run the 2000 adaptation of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.” And next week, it will be the rock classic “Jesus Christ Superstar.” Each show will stream starting at 2 p.m., eastern time. Other shows will be announced later.

by Oscar Wells Gabriel II

Follow Oscar Wells Gabriel II on Twitter at https://twitter.com/OWGabriel2