Entertainment News Roundup: Spotify acquires Podsights and Chartable to advance its podcasting business; Mumbai red light area drama shows rise of rights defender in Berlinale premiere and more

Simon herself grew up on a peach farm in the village of Alcarras, and her film was made using amateur actors from that area whom she recruited at village fairs and coached into playing several generations of a family of smallholders. 'Assassin's Creed' maker Ubisoft sees FY results at lower end of guidance Ubisoft, the maker of the blockbuster "Assassin's Creed" video game franchise, said on Thursday it expected to post full-year results at the lower end of its guidance despite seeing growth in its current fourth quarter.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Spotify acquires Podsights and Chartable to advance its podcasting business

Spotify Inc deepened its investment in podcasting with the acquisitions of Podsights and Chartable, two services that provide greater insights for advertisers and podcasting publishers, the Swedish company said on Wednesday. Podsights helps marketers gauge the effectiveness of their ads, one area that Spotify said has been a major challenge. Chartable provides audience insights that help podcast publishers measure the effectiveness of their growth campaigns.

Mumbai red light area drama shows rise of rights defender in Berlinale premiere

Indian filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali was able to draw on his own childhood memories to make "Gangubai Kathiawadi", a blockbuster adaptation from the book "Mafia Queens of Mumbai", about Gangubai, a sex worker turned women's rights champion. The acclaimed director's first collaboration with celebrated actress Alia Bhatt, which premieres at the Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday, chronicles Gangubai's rise from vulnerable sex worker to a powerful figure in the city's red light district.

The Blonds close out New York Fashion Week with sparkly show

The design duo that is The Blonds closed out New York Fashion Week on Wednesday with a runway show that sparkled with hand-sewn outfits covered in laser-cut crystals, glittering heels and jewellery. The brand, which co-designer Phillipe Blond described as extremely over-the-top, sparkly and dangerous, found inspiration in vampires and the Matrix for its Fall 2022 collection.

Rupert Murdoch family documentary planned for CNN+ streaming service

A new documentary series, "The Murdochs: Empire of Influence," will premiere on CNN+ when the streaming subscription service launches in the spring, the company said on Thursday. The series is based on Jonathan Mahler and Jim Rutenberg's New York Times Magazine article "How Rupert Murdoch's Empire of Influence Remade the World," which examined the legacy of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Oscars to require COVID tests for all, vaccines for most

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences will require attendees of the 94th Oscars ceremony in March to show proof of COVID-19 vaccination and at least two negative results from PCR tests, a person with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday. Performers and presenters at the film industry's highest honors also must undergo polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, but will not need to show proof of vaccination, the source said.

Spanish tale of threatened family farm wins Berlinale's Golden Bear

Spanish director Carla Simon's film "Alcarras," which explores the divisions ripped into a close-knit family of Catalan farmers when they face eviction from their ancestral plot, won the Berlin Film Festival's top prize on Wednesday. Simon herself grew up on a peach farm in the village of Alcarras, and her film was made using amateur actors from that area whom she recruited at village fairs and coached into playing several generations of a family of smallholders.

'Assassin's Creed' maker Ubisoft sees FY results at lower end of guidance

Ubisoft, the maker of the blockbuster "Assassin's Creed" video game franchise, said on Thursday it expected to post full-year results at the lower end of its guidance despite seeing growth in its current fourth quarter. "We can still achieve the high side of (the guidance) because we have a lot of content to be released and upside is possible, but it's fair to say for now the forecast is in the lower side of the guidance," Chief Financial Officer Frederick Duguet said in a conference call.

Pop star Troye Sivan fights HIV stigma in first big film role

Australian pop singer Troye Sivan, whose YouTube videos and music have inspired a generation of young LGBTQ+ people, wants his first major film role to combat ignorance around HIV/AIDS. In "Three Months", Sivan plays 17-year-old Caleb, who is exposed to HIV after a one-night stand on the eve of his high school graduation.

Judge tosses most of lawsuit by Mariah Carey's brother over singer's memoir

A New York judge dismissed most of a defamation lawsuit by Mariah Carey's older brother over her 2020 best-selling memoir, though the singer must still face two claims. In a 29-page decision on Tuesday, Justice Barbara Jaffe of the state Supreme Court in Manhattan said Morgan Carey can sue his sister over passages suggesting he distributed cocaine to "the beautiful people," and implying he might have "been-in-the-system" -- in prison -- for a serious crime.

Berlinale fly-on-the-wall film peers inside German far right party

A Berlinale film about Germany's biggest far-right party offers a fly-on-the-wall portrayal of a chaotic organisation beset by power struggles and resentful of its rejection by the political mainstream. "A German Party", a documentary premiered at the Berlin Film Festival on Wednesday, follows the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party over more than two years, showing insider meetings of the first far-right group to sit in parliament since the 1960s.

(With inputs from agencies.)