Harris Dickinson is one of the most in-demand actors, but he had to direct a film first

CANNES, France (AP) — Harris Dickinson is sitting on a rooftop terrace in Cannes, trying to find all the movie tattoos on his body. There’s a little one for 2001’s “Donnie Darko,” but there’s a much larger one on his arm for “Kes,” Ken Loach’s seminal British social realism drama from 1969. The spirit of Loach runs strong in Dickinson’s directorial debut, “Urchin.” The film stars Frank Dillane as a homeless London drug addict. A sensitive and preceptive character study, “Urchin” has been widely hailed as a standout at Cannes. Just as the 28-year-old Dickson, who starred in last year’s “Babygirl,” is emerging as a major movie star, he’s revealed himself to be a filmmaker to watch, too.

'Dried out prune'? 'Corrupt' and 'incompetent'? It's getting nasty between Springsteen and Trump

Bruce Springsteen and Donald Trump aren't new foes. But it's getting nasty between them. The veteran rocker took to the stage in England to denounce Trump's administration. Trump rose to the challenge, calling Springsteen highly overrated and suggesting he keep his mouth shut. Springsteen hasn't. At a time many of Trump's critics have kept quiet, Springsteen is emerging as his leading cultural foe. Trump has also responded by suggesting that stars like Springsteen and Beyoncé who campaigned for Kamala Harris be probed for illegal campaign contributions. No word on Kid Rock.

Tony Award nominee Marjan Neshat makes history in celebrated Broadway play 'English'

NEW YORK (AP) — Marjan Neshat, a veteran of stage and screen, teaches fledgling actors. This spring, her students got to celebrate her becoming a Tony Award nominee. Neshat earned the nod for her work — appropriately enough — playing a teacher in Sanaz Toossi’s Pulitzer Prize-winning and Tony Award-nominated play “English,” which premiered on Broadway in the fall. The play has made history by making Neshat and her co-star Tala Ashe the first female actors of Iranian descent to be Tony-nominated. Neshat adores the plays of Anton Chekhov and watching movies on the Criterion Channel and she’s obsessed with the novel “Anne of Green Gables.”

Former FBI director James Comey calls controversy over Instagram post 'a bit of a distraction'

NEW YORK (AP) — Former FBI director James Comey says that he’s still a bit bewildered over how a seemingly innocent Instagram shot of shells arranged in the sand led to allegations from Donald Trump among others that he was calling for the president’s assassination and to an interview with the Secret Service. "It’s been a bit of a distraction, honestly,” he said with a weary laugh Monday night. Comey spoke during an appearance at a Barnes & Noble on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. He was promoting “FDR Drive,” a crime novel coming out this week.

Denzel Washington receives surprise honorary Palme d'Or at Cannes premiere for 'Highest 2 Lowest'

CANNES, France (AP) — Denzel Washington sandwiched a whirlwind trip to the Cannes Film Festival in between Broadway performances for the premiere of Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest” and was rewarded with a surprise honorary Palme d'Or. Cannes flipped around some of its scheduling to accommodate Washington’s speedy France trip, which came Monday on his lone off-day while performing “Othello” in New York. Playfully posing with Lee and co-star ASAP Rocky at the early photo call, Washington showed no signs of jet lag. He left once the screening began, leaving a message with Lee. Lee relayed: “Thank you for the love.”

Salt-N-Pepa sue record label to reclaim rights to their recordings including 'Push It'

Salt-N-Pepa want to reclaim the rights to their recordings including “Push It” and “Shoop,” and they're suing their record label to get them. The groundbreaking hip-hop duo of Cheryl James and Sandra Denton filed a lawsuit against Universal Music Group in federal court Monday. They say that copyright law allows them to terminate previous agreements and reclaim the rights after a period of several decades. They say UMG has “maliciously” pulled Salt-N-Pepa's songs from streaming platforms in response. The label didn't immediately respond to requests for comment but said in letters included with the lawsuit that the duo is wrong about the law and had no right to ownership.

Movie Review: Tom Cruise goes for broke in ‘Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning’

Tom Cruise returns to the role of Ethan Hunt in “Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning,” in theaters Friday. The eighth installment of the series is long and ambitious, tying threads together from the past 30 years as Hunt and his team try to beat the AI enemy known as The Entity. In her review for The Associated Press, film writer Lindsey Bahr writes that this possibly final installment is a little too self-serious, but that there are two showstopper stunts that make it worth the trip to the theater. “Mission: Impossible,” a Paramount release, is rated PG-13.

'Sesame Street' moves in with Netflix, but will stay on PBS

NEW YORK (AP) — Netflix has thrown “Sesame Street” a safety net with a new streaming deal. The deal announced Monday offers the popular children’s staple a broad reach while keeping it on its long-standing home, PBS, at the same time. Starting later this year, new episodes will run on Netflix, PBS and the PBS Kids app on the same day. No specific premiere date was immediately announced. The change for the more than 50-year-old show comes after Warner Bros. Discovery last year decided not to renew its deal for new episodes on HBO and Max. Episodes will remain there until 2027.

Trump vows to turn the Kennedy Center around as he seeks to remake arts and culture in America

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump hosted the Kennedy Center’s leadership, reinforcing how much time he’s devoting to remaking one of the nation’s premier cultural centers in a larger effort to ideologically and socially overhaul the nation’s arts scene. Monday night's meeting in the White House’s State Dining room of the center’s board of trustees follows Trump firing its previous members and announcing that he’d serve as chair. Trump called it a “hot board" and said of the center, “We’re gonna turn it around.” He also said of running the board, "When I said, ‘I’ll do this,’ I hadn’t been there” and joked, “That’s the last time I’ll take a job without looking at it.”