AP Entertainment SummaryBrief at 2:37 p.m. EST

Independent Spirit Awards celebrate indie movies and TV in Los Angeles

The Film Independent Spirit Awards shine a spotlight on indie movies and TV as stars like Ethan Hawke, Rose Byrne, and Keke Palmer compete for prizes. On Sunday, comedian Ego Nwodim hosts the show in Los Angeles. The ceremony streams on YouTube at 5 p.m. Eastern. Top film nominees include “Peter Hujar’s Day,” “Train Dreams,” and “Sorry, Baby.” The event has moved to the Hollywood Palladium because the Santa Monica site is under renovation. The awards cap budgets at $30 million, while the acting categories are gender neutral.

How many feet are in 500 miles? Nobody knows, at least Nate Bargatze doesn't at the Daytona 500

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) — Comedian Nate Bargatze served as the grand marshal for the Daytona 500. His “Big Dumb Eyes World Tour” set a record for biggest one-year gross by a comedy performer in history and has broken more than 40 arena attendance records. Bargatze played it straight Sunday as he gave the command for drivers to start their engines at the Daytona 500. He had considered squeezing a joke or two into the command. He said it was a dream to be asked to participate in Daytona.

After 800 episodes, ‘The Simpsons’ creators look back — and ahead

LOS ANGELES (AP) — “The Simpsons” is reaching the 800-episode milestone. The people behind it say the show lasts because it always resets. Just don't ask if the characters remember everything that's happened to them. The 800th episode airs Sunday on Fox. Executive producer Al Jean says they avoid an overarching plot, so every story can end back at square one. Creator Matt Groening says the team still tries to improve the animation. Producers credit early outrage, famous guest stars, and a streaming-era boost on Disney+ as keys to the show's success and longevity. And it's not going anywhere.

Love on the big stage: Couples star in Broadway's 'Aladdin' and 'The Lion King'

NEW YORK (AP) — Rodney Ingram plays the title role of “Aladdin” on Broadway, and he shares the stage with his new wife, Sonia. On Saturday, they'll spend Valentine’s Day at work on the same show. They met in Mexico City during rehearsals in 2021. Sonia joined the Broadway cast in 2024, and they married in December. Ingram steps into the lead role permanently this winter. Ingram’s path includes early rejections, intense training and years of understudy work. The Ingrams aren’t the only couple working together on Broadway. Two performers in “The Lion King” also work together.

Movie Review: Emerald Fennell's 'Wuthering Heights' is a bold but shallow take on Brontë's classic

Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi play Catherine and Heathcliff in the new adaptation of “Wuthering Heights.” Filmmaker Emerald Fennell has said she wanted to make a film that captured how she felt when she read it at 14. Emily Brontë’s novel is just the starting point. In her review for The Associated Press, film writer Lindsey Bahr writes that “for all the big swings, Fennell’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ amounts to something oddly shallow and blunt: garish and stylized fan fiction with the scope and budget of an old-school Hollywood epic.” “Wuthering Heights” is rated R and opens in theaters Friday.

Alexander Skarsgård and Harry Melling on the surprisingly sweet BDSM romance ‘Pillion’

Alexander Skarsgård plays a biker who begins a dom-sub relationship with a younger, more inexperienced man in “Pillion.” The film co-starring Harry Melling and directed by Harry Lighton premiered last year at the Cannes Film Festival and is now playing in North American theaters. While it is explicit in its depiction, it's also surprisingly sweet and comedic too. Lighton says he refused to sanitize the sex scenes between Skarsgård and Melling's characters. The filmmaker says the story lands as “sex net positive” because the lead grows into his sexuality. Both the BDSM community and their moms have responded positively to the movie.

Taylor Swift rumors spiked ticket sales for Pebble Beach golf tournament

PEBBLE BEACH, Calif. (AP) — Travis Kelce is playing in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-am, and there was a spike on ticket sales. They weren't for him. Rumors have been swirling this week that Taylor Swift would be there watching her fiancé play in the second round at America's most famous coastal golf course. Alas, she wasn't there. Swifties had to settle for watching the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. Tournament director Steve John says $60,000 in tickets were sold in 12 hours after announcing Kelce was in the field. And then $21,000 in tickets were sold in the 12 hours leading to Friday's round.

Actress Rose Byrne honored as Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year with parade and roast

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. (AP) — Rose Byrne, fresh off her Golden Globe Award win and Oscar nomination for the leading role in “If I Had Legs I’d Kick You,” was honored as the 2026 Woman of the Year by Harvard University’s Hasty Pudding Theatricals. Byrne, who also has starred in “Bridesmaids,” “Neighbors,” “Insidious” and “Damages,” took part in a parade Friday through the streets of Cambridge, Massachusetts. She also received her pudding pot award at a celebratory roast and then attend a performance of Hasty Pudding Theatricals’ 177th production “Salooney Tunes.” Actor Michael Keaton is the 2026 Man of the Year. He received his pudding pot Feb. 6.

'Love Story' revisits JFK Jr. and Carolyn Bessette. It's stirred some backlash

FX and Hulu’s new series “Love Story: John F. Kennedy Jr. & Carolyn Bessette” retells the couple’s romance and death, and has sparked criticism from Kennedy's nephew, Jack Schlossberg. The show follows Kennedy and Bessette from an early meeting to the 1999 plane crash that kills them and Bessette’s sister Lauren. Last year, Schlossberg called the series “grotesque” and accused producers of cashing in. Producer Ryan Murphy pushed back on a podcast. Other producers and the lead actors say they tried to be ethical and sincere. The story is adapted from a bestselling book by Elizabeth Beller.