Dave Prowse, the British weightlifter-turned-actor who was the body, though not the voice, of arch-villain Darth Vader in the original “Star Wars” trilogy, has died. He was 85.

HAVANA – A group of Cuban artists and intellectuals say they won an unusual government vow of greater tolerance for independent art on Saturday after a demonstration in front of the Culture Ministry.

Alex Winter’s “Zappa,” a documentary biopic of the experimental rock pioneer, composer and activist Frank Zappa, is a sprawling at times shaggy work testing the outer limits of mood and tone, tangents and details. In fact, it’s a bit like a Frank Zappa song. The film reflects the work of the man himself thanks to archival material.

It’s been a while since the 2013 animated walkabout with the close-knit caveman clan “The Croods,” and the question is: Was the wait for sequel “The Croods: A New Age” worth it? This is directorial debut of longtime animation story artist Joel Crawford, who worked on the “Kung Fu Panda” movies for DreamWorks Animation.

German media giant Bertelsmann said Wednesday that its Penguin Random House division is buying rival Simon & Schuster, in a mega deal that will likely reshape the U.S. publishing industry.

LOS ANGELES – Champion Ken Jennings is going to succeed the late Alex Trebek as “Jeopardy!” host – at least in the short term. Jennings will be the first in a series of “interim guest hosts” of the classic game show when it resumes production Nov. 30, the show announced Monday. Those episodes will air the week of Jan. 11.

NEW YORK — Former Watergate sleuth Carl Bernstein took to Twitter to list the names of 21 Republican senators who he says have “repeatedly expressed contempt” for Donald Trump and his fitness to be president.

Google faces fresh regulatory scrutiny in Britain over plans to revamp its ad data system, after an industry lobbying group complained to the competition watchdog that the changes would cement the U.S. tech giant's online dominance.

NEW YORK — Taylor Swift won her third consecutive artist of the year prize at the American Music Awards, but she missed the show for a good reason: She said she's busy re-recording her early music after her catalog was sold.

Associated Press

MADRID — No one performing onstage in Spain’s Teatro Real opera house is masked, and that alone looks odd these days amid a pandemic.

WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Saturday his eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., is doing “very well” in quarantine after becoming infected with the coronavirus.

Another major movie theater chain has struck a deal with Universal Pictures to allow for shorter exclusive theatrical windows. Canada’s Cineplex has agreed on a multiyear “dynamic window” agreement, the film exhibitor and Universal Filmed Entertainment Group said Friday.

A long-lost trove of Bob Dylan documents, including the singer-songwriter’s musings about anti-Semitism and unpublished song lyrics, has sold at auction for $495,000. Boston-based R.R. Auction said Friday the collection privately held by the late American blues artist Tony Glover was sold Thursday to a bidder whose identity was not made public.

A year after Rosalía made history by becoming the first solo female performer in 13 years to win the top prize at the Latin Grammys, Natalia Lafourcade followed in her footsteps with a big win at the 2020 show. The Mexican singer won album of the year — a category dominated by male acts — on Thursday night with “Un Canto Por México, Vol. 1."

Carol Burnett is so glad we had this time together, as she sang in her signature song. Now, she's added a lot more time, and a lot more songs, to be glad about. Since its original run from 1967 to 1978, most viewers have only seen heavily chopped versions of “The Carol Burnett Show" without singing and dancing.

There’s a quiet, breathtaking power to Alexander Nanau’s documentary “Collective,” Romania’s Oscar entry this year. A propulsive urgency propels the film along derived not from manipulative storytelling techniques, but simply facts, information carefully observed, imparted plainly and with a lack of melodrama.