In contrast to major outbreaks seen in other big cities around the world, Hong Kong has reported a relatively small number of infections, recording 1,121 cases and four deaths. The border remains virtually shut but life is slowly returning to normal.

Dozens of visitors were seen queuing to get into the park on Thursday morning, many of them families with children.

“In the past few months I missed coming here so much,” said annual pass holder Vicky Lam, 36, as she waved at staff wearing Disney character costumes.

The park says its shopping and dining locations will have reduced capacity and that it will implement social distancing measures in any queues and throughout its facilities.

It will also carry out disinfection more frequently and make hand sanitisers available for visitors, who are required to go through temperature screening and wear a face mask.

Hong Kong’s Disneyland resort, which reported losses for at least the past three years according to annual reports available on its website, is owned by a joint venture, Hongkong International Theme Parks Ltd, in which the local government has 53% stake and Walt Disney Co holds the rest.

Without tourists, business for Disneyland in Hong Kong is likely to remain subdued. It will have to rely on a domestic market that was struggling with recession after months of often-violent pro-democracy protests even before the coronavirus blow.

Ocean Park, the city’s other theme park, reopened on Saturday after lawmakers approved a HK$5.4 billion ($697 million) bailout plan last month to keep it running for another year.

Shanghai’s Disneyland, which is able to attract visitors from outside the city, re-opened in May.

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Kristen Stewart will play Britain’s Princess Diana in an upcoming movie about the breakdown of her marriage to Prince Charles, Hollywood trade publication Deadline reported on Wednesday.

Stewart, 30, best known for her role in the “Twilight Saga” movies, has been cast in the film which will take place over three days in the early 1990s when Diana made the bombshell decision to part ways with Charles and remove herself from becoming queen.

Charles and Diana separated in 1992 and divorced four years later in what was an unprecedented move in modern times for an heir to the British throne. Diana died in a Paris car crash in 1997 at the age of 36.

The independent movie, to be directed by Chilean Pablo Larrain, is expected to start shooting in 2021. No casting was announced for Charles.

“When someone decides not to be the queen, and says, I’d rather go and be myself, it’s a big big decision, a fairy tale upside down,” Larrain told Deadline.

“How and why do you decide to do that? It’s a great universal story that can reach millions and millions of people, and that’s what we want to do. We want to make a movie that goes wide, connects with a worldwide audience that is interested in such a fascinating life,” he added.

The movie, titled “Spencer” after Diana’s maiden name, is the latest in a string of movies, television series, documentaries and even a Broadway musical about the life of the late princess.

Larrain, who won critical praise for his 2016 film “Jackie” about the wife of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, said Stewart was a great fit for the part.

“She can be very mysterious and very fragile and ultimately very strong as well, which is what we need,” he told Deadline. “I think she’s going to do something stunning and intriguing at the same time.”

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Television series, movies and documentaries about the experience of black people in the United States have seen a surge in viewership amid public demonstrations that focused new attention on racial discrimination, according to industry data.

The audience for filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s 2016 documentary “13th,” about mass incarceration that disproportionately affects black people, surged 4,665% percent over the past three weeks, streaming service Netflix Inc (NFLX.O) said on Tuesday. Millions of people watched, the company said, although it did not give a specific figure.

Streaming networks have highlighted programming by black creators as protests swelled following the death of African- American George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody.

AT&T Inc’s (T.N) HBO Max featured a slate of shows and movies under the heading “Celebrating Black Voices,” while Walt Disney Co’s (DIS.N) Hulu included a link to “Black Stories.”

“Dear White People,” a Netflix comedy about black Ivy League college students, enjoyed a 331% boost in demand in the United States over the past 30 days, according to Parrot Analytics, which measures downloads, social-media mentions and other data.

DuVernay’s Netflix series “When They See Us,” about five men wrongly accused of raping a jogger in New York’s Central Park in 1989, saw demand jump 83% in that time.

On the Apple TV app (AAPL.O), which featured sections called “Confronting Systemic Racism” and “Black in America,” 2014 Oscar-winning drama “12 Years a Slave” climbed to No. 8 on the list of top independent films for the week ending June 14.

That was just behind documentary “I Am Not Your Negro” and “Loving,” a biographical film about an interracial couple who prompted a landmark anti-discrimination ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1967.

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ABC, part of Walt Disney Co, gave no details for how the Sept. 20 show, which hands out the highest honors in television, would be produced in an era when the coronavirus pandemic has forced the cancellation of multiple live events.

“I don’t know where we will do this or how we will do this or even why we are doing this, but we are doing it and I am hosting it,” Kimmel said in a statement.

The Emmy Awards are usually held live in Los Angeles in front of an audience of A-list stars and preceded by a red carpet. It had been unclear whether the ceremony would go ahead this year because of restrictions on large gatherings and social distancing requirements.

Tuesday’s statement said details of how the show will be produced would be announced soon. Scenarios under consideration include a completely virtual event or a combination of in-person elements, pre-recorded segments and online appearances, according to Hollywood trade publication Variety.

The coronavirus epidemic shut down production of television shows and movies around the world in mid-March and led to the cancellation of film festivals and live concerts.

Los Angeles county health officials last week gave the green light for production of film and television series to resume under strict guidelines to contain the spread of coronavirus among cast and crews on crowded sets.

Kimmel is the host of ABA’s “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” late night talk show and has hosted the Emmy Awards twice in the past.

“We know Jimmy Kimmel will deliver a uniquely entertaining, funny and moving Primetime Emmys show,” Karey Burke, president of ABC Entertainment said in a statement.

Nominations for the Emmy Awards will be announced on July 28.

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Sushant Singh Rajput, a 34 year-old actor who won acclaim and fans for his roles in several top-draw films, hailed from a middle-class family with no Bollywood connections – a relative rarity in the industry.

Rajput was found dead at his residence in Mumbai on Sunday.

“There are media reports that he allegedly suffered from clinical depression because of professional rivalry. @MumbaiPolice will probe this angle too,” the home (interior) minister in Maharashtra, which includes the film capital Mumbai, tweeted late on Monday.

Several of Rajput’s friends in the industry have written about his struggles to break through, while social media and some cultural commentators have criticized the allegedly closed culture in Bollywood, where some families have dominated for up to four generations.

Rajput’s family has not commented so far.

At least half a dozen accounts by Rajput’s industry colleagues suggested Bollywood’s clique-drive culture ostracized him, although none provided concrete details and it was not immediately clear who specifically they were talking about.

“I knew the pain you were going through. I knew the story of the people who let you down so bad that you used to weep on my shoulder,” Shekhar Kapur, who was supposed to direct Rajput in a film that was eventually shelved, wrote in a tweet on Monday.

Kapur did not immediately respond to a request for further details.

In a separate tweet, actress Swara Bhasker called accusations against Bollywood personalities “the height of idiocy.”

“We don’t know what he (Rajput) went thru. We don’t know the cause. STOP taking out ur frustration using the pain of a troubled person… Let him have his peace & his family privacy,” she tweeted on Tuesday.

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The ceremony for film’s highest honors will take place on April 25, 2021, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said in a statement. It had originally been scheduled for Feb. 28.

The coronavirus epidemic shut down movie theaters worldwide in mid-March and brought production of films to a halt.

The Academy also extended the deadline by which movies must be released in order to be eligible for an Oscar nomination to Feb. 28, 2021, from Dec. 31, 2020.

“Our hope, in extending the eligibility period and our Awards date, is to provide the flexibility filmmakers need to finish and release their films without being penalized for something beyond anyone’s control,” Academy President David Rubin and Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said in a statement.

The production shutdown meant that many filmmakers feared their movies would not be finished by the usual year-end Oscar eligibility deadline. Dozens of other movie releases have been moved to 2021.

It was only the fourth time in the 93-year history of the Academy Awards that the date has been changed; in 1938, due to floods in Los Angeles, in 1968 because of the assassination of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and in 1981 after the attempted assassination of then-President Ronald Reagan.

The new date for the Oscars is expected to prompt the Golden Globes and other award shows to also reschedule their events.

Hollywood movies were last week given the green light to resume production in the Los Angeles area with detailed guidelines on social distancing and frequent testing. However, most are not expected to resume until September.

Hollywood hopes the big movie theater chains will reopen by late July, when thriller “Tenet” and “Mulan” are due to be released.

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HONG KONG (Reuters) – Hong Kong’s Disneyland theme park said on Monday it will reopen on June 18 to a reduced number of visitors and with enhanced health measures after the coronavirus outbreak forced it to close in late January.

The Chinese-ruled city has reported only a handful of new cases recently, with its total so far standing at 1,110 infections and 4 deaths.

The majority of the park’s shopping and dining locations will restart operations with “controlled capacity,” while social distancing measures will be implemented in queues, restaurants and other facilities. Hotel services will also resume gradually.

Disinfection will be carried out more frequently and hand sanitizers will be made available for visitors, who will be required to go through temperature screening, wear a face mask and sign a health declaration.

Hong Kong’s Disneyland resort is owned by a joint venture, Hongkong International Theme Parks Ltd, of which the local government owns 53% and Walt Disney Co holds the rest.

Ocean Park, the city’s other theme park, reopened on Saturday after lawmakers approved a HK$5.4 billion ($696.76 million) bailout plan last month to keep it running for another year.

Shanghai’s Disneyland re-opened in May.

While many restrictions related to the coronavirus have been gradually lifted, Hong Kong’s borders remain almost fully closed and group gatherings are limited to eight people.

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He was 34 years old.

“It pains us to share that Sushant Singh Rajput is no longer with us,” a spokesperson for the actor said in a statement.

Rajput was found dead at his residence on Sunday morning and an investigation is ongoing, a spokesperson for the Mumbai police said, declining to give further details.

Local media reported that the actor had been found hanging from the ceiling of his home.

Rajput’s death sent shockwaves through Bollywood and Indian sport, with tributes and condolences pouring in on social media.

“This is just so shocking. A wonderful talent. RIP Sushant,” actor Abhishek Bachchan said on Twitter.

Rajput started his acting career with television soap operas and made his Bollywood debut in 2013. He had acted in 10 films and his eleventh, an official remake of the Hollywood hit “The Fault in Our Stars”, is scheduled for release later this year.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra also expressed shock over the actor’s death.

“A bright young actor gone too soon … His rise in the world of entertainment inspired many and he leaves behind several memorable performances,” Modi said on Twitter.

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Director Christopher Nolan’s thriller “Tenet” will debut in cinemas on July 31, distributor Warner Bros. said on Friday, the first new blockbuster in months for movie theaters that need fresh films to lure audiences after pandemic-related closures.

Theaters are starting to reopen worldwide since going dark in mid-March to help slow the spread of the novel coronavirus. Cinema operators hope “Tenet” and other blockbusters will help create a late-summer rebound.

The “Tenet” release date announced Friday is two weeks later than the previously planned July 17 debut. But Warner Bros., a unit of AT&T Inc, confirmed that one of the year’s most highly anticipated movies will not face a longer delay as many in Hollywood feared.

Warner Bros. postponed another summer release, “Wonder Woman 1984” to October from August. Walt Disney Co’s action epic “Mulan” is scheduled to reach theaters July 24.

“Tenet” is a big budget, science-fiction spy movie starring John David Washington and Robert Pattinson from the British director of hits like “The Dark Knight Rises” and “Inception.” Little has been revealed about the plot.

“We’re especially thrilled, in this complex and rapidly changing environment, to be bringing Christopher Nolan’s ‘Tenet,’ a global tentpole of jaw-dropping size, scope and scale, to theaters around the world on July 31,” Warner Bros. Picture Group Chairman Toby Emmerich said.

“It’s been longer than any of us could’ve imagined since we’ve seen a movie on the big screen,” Emmerich added.

Studios need as many locations open as possible to make back their investments in big-budget movies. Theater attendance will be limited to enforce social-distancing requirements, and it is unclear how comfortable audiences will be to return to cinemas.

Large theater operators including AMC Entertainment Holdings and Cineworld Group Plc have said they expect most of their locations worldwide to be open in July.

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LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The organization that hands out the Academy Awards said Friday it would form a group to develop diversity and inclusion guidelines that filmmakers will have to meet in order for their work to be eligible for Oscars.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which has been criticized for honoring few movies and creators of color, said the move and other steps represented a new phase of a 5-year effort to promote diversity.

The group said in a statement it would work with the Producers Guild of America to convene a task force of industry leaders to develop “representation and inclusion standards” for Oscars eligibility by July 31 that will “encourage equitable hiring practices on and off screen.”

The rules will not apply to films vying for Oscars at the next ceremony in 2021.

Criticism of the movie academy intensified in 2015 with the hashtag #OscarsSoWhite, a backlash against an all-white field of acting contenders.

The academy responded in part by doubling the number of women and people color in its invitation-only ranks. Still, by 2019 just 32% of its roughly 8,000 members were women, and 16% were people of color. New members will be announced next month.

“We know there is much more work to be done in order to ensure equitable opportunities across the board,” Academy Chief Executive Dawn Hudson said. “The need to address this issue is urgent.”

Hollywood has been reckoning with a lack of diversity and portrayal of racism on screen amid protests over the death of George Floyd. Earlier this week, streaming service HBO Max said it was temporarily pulling Oscar-winning film “Gone with the Wind.”

Among other new measures, the film academy will guarantee 10 best picture contenders annually, rather than a fluctuating number up to 10, to give more films a shot at the industry’s most prestigious prize.

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