Entertainment News Roundup: Reese Witherspoon's media firm to be sold to Blackstone-backed company; U.S. comedian and non-smoker Kathy Griffin to undergo surgery for lung cancer and more

The sale will value the company at about $900 million, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Funeral service for rapper Biz Markie held in New York A funeral for rapper Biz Markie was held on Monday after the hip-hop personality known for his 1989 hit "Just a Friend" died in July.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Reese Witherspoon's media firm to be sold to Blackstone-backed company

Academy award-winning actress Reese Witherspoon's media company, Hello Sunshine, is selling itself to a newly formed media firm backed by Blackstone Group Inc for an undisclosed sum. The sale will value the company at about $900 million, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

U.S. comedian and non-smoker Kathy Griffin to undergo surgery for lung cancer

American comedian Kathy Griffin said on Monday that she had been diagnosed with lung cancer although she has never been a smoker. Griffin, 60, said in social media postings that she would undergo surgery to remove part of a lung and that doctors were optimistic about the outcome.

Funeral service for rapper Biz Markie held in New York

A funeral for rapper Biz Markie was held on Monday after the hip-hop personality is known for his 1989 hit "Just a Friend" died in July. Fans gathered outside the Patchogue Theatre on Long Island in New York during the service for the pioneering beatboxer whose birth name was Marcel Theo Hall. He was born in Harlem and raised in Patchogue.

Amazon's pricey 'Lord of the Rings' TV series to launch Sept 2022

Amazon's multi-million dollar TV version of "The Lord of the Rings" will launch in September 2022, Amazon Studios said on Monday. The streaming platform said filming on the first season has wrapped in New Zealand, and it released the first images of the show.

Meet a pint-size U.S. piano prodigy

Brigitte Xie reads music, can play Beethoven's Sonatina in F Major, and has won a spot to perform at Carnegie Hall. She is 4 years old. Brigitte's feet dangle above the ground when the petite girl sits on the piano bench, her hands moving gracefully across the keyboard.

Blackstone and Hudson Pacific plan $1 billion film studios in UK

U.S. firms Blackstone and Hudson Pacific Properties said they planned to create a major film, TV, and digital production complex in Broxbourne, north of London, in the first overseas expansion of their Sunset Studios platform. Funds managed by the two companies had acquired a 91-acre site, 17 miles from central London, for 120 million pounds, they said on Sunday, adding that the total investment would be more than 700 million pounds ($975 million).

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