LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Shonali Bose's much-laureled 2014 "Margarita with a Straw" was a film whose presentation of a cerebral palsy-afflicted heroine sidestepped all the usual hand-wringing inspirational cliches of disability portrayal, making her story all the more enlightening and affecting. It is particularly disappointing, then, that the director's followup should approach another tale of genetic infirmity with all the sentimentality and cuteness that last project avoided.

LONDON (Reuters) - Jurassic Park dinosaur skulls, a Star Wars stormtrooper helmet and Monty Python's holy hand grenade are among movie memorabilia going under the hammer in London this month at an auction organizers expect to exceed 6 million pounds ($7.5 million).

WELLINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - New Zealand will be home again to hairy feet and pointed-ear Hobbits after Amazon Studios confirmed the Pacific country will be the location for its new "The Lord of the Rings" series, a TV show widely tipped to be the most expensive ever made.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Brad Pitt traded laughs on Monday in a call to the International Space Station with a NASA astronaut, who somersaulted during the zero-gravity interview ahead of this week's release of the actor's new film, the space thriller "Ad Astra."

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - ABC has cast its next leading man for Season 24 of "The Bachelor."

WELLINGTON/SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - New Zealand will be home again to hairy feet and pointed-ear Hobbits after Amazon Studios confirmed the Pacific country will be the location for its new "The Lord of the Rings" series, a TV show widely tipped to be the most expensive ever made.

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - A certain type of documentary has grown in prevalence and popularity lately -- the piece that marshals evidence in service of the case that a very widely known contemporary figure is actually even greater than one had previously thought.

Sept 17 (Reuters) - HBO Max, the upcoming streaming service from AT&T Inc's WarnerMedia, has secured exclusive five-year streaming rights in the United States to all 12 seasons of comedy hit "The Big Bang Theory."

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - For fans of the Cars, relistening to the band's music was just what they needed in the hours and days following news of band leader Ric Ocasek's death.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. congressional committees are due to start voting next week on legislation supporting human rights in Hong Kong, with measures under consideration including annual reviews of the Chinese territory's special economic status and the imposition of sanctions on those who undermine its autonomy.

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) - Although Celine Dion announced last April that she had a new album on the way, "Courage," she waited until now to put a date to it or release any fresh singles. The occasion was the Wednesday kickoff of the singer's Courage World Tour in Quebec City, excuse enough for Dion to drop three tracks from the album: "Imperfections," "Lying Down" and "Courage."

WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - David Stilwell, the U.S. State Department's top official for East Asia, said on Wednesday he welcomed news that Hong Kong's leader would hold open dialog with the city's residents.

SOPORE, India, Sept 19 (Reuters) - It's harvest time, but the market in the northern Kashmiri town of Sopore - usually packed with people, trucks and produce at this time of year - is empty, while in orchards across India's Jammu and Kashmir state unpicked apples rot on the branch.

(Reuters) - AT&T Inc and Dish Network Corp are not in discussions over a deal due to regulatory issues, a source familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, after the Wall Street Journal reported https://on.wsj.com/2kS2Hbs the wireless carrier was considering parting ways with its satellite TV division DirecTV.

WASHINGTON, Sept 18 (Reuters) - Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg is on Capitol Hill this week to meet with senators as the social media giant faces scrutiny from both the Federal Trade Commission and members of Congress, the company confirmed on Wednesday.

Here are the top stories and upcoming coverage plans for Reuters text service as of 10:00 p.m. GMT /6:00 a.m. SGT. For a full schedule of news and events, go to our editorial calendar on Reuters Connect https://www.reutersconnect.com/planning or on Media Express http://mediaexpress.reuters.com/planning-tools/calendar.