National Entertainment

NEW YORK — The idea of taking government money was once anathema to news organizations that guarded their independence, but attitudes change when survival is at stake.

Some of today's top action directors were first doubles for Brad Pitt, Neo and Wolverine.

CHADDS FORD, Pa. — Betsy James Wyeth, the widow, business manager and muse of painter Andrew Wyeth, died Tuesday at age 98, according to the Brandywine River Museum of Art in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, which she helped found.

Tyler Rake sounds like a Mad-Libs action hero name. When you add to the mix that this character actually, literally kills someone with a rake, it starts to veer into parody territory.

Lucinda Williams, “Good Souls, Better Angels” (Highway 20/Thirty Tigers) Lucinda Williams has come up with an album for our times — at least if you’re as angry as she is. “Good Souls, Better Angels” is anything but subtle.

Pam Tillis, “Looking for a Feeling” (Stellar Cat Records) Pam Tillis has mastered the art of singing without raising her voice. She swoops and slides, yes, but most of all she smoulders , an alto with a blue hue.

LOS ANGELES — Actress Charlize Theron and her foundation are committing $1 million to coronavirus relief efforts, with half of that dedicated to fighting gender-based violence resulting from the outbreak.

NEW YORK — Getting the Beastie Boys’ Michael “Mike D” Diamond and Adam “Ad-Rock” Horovitz and longtime collaborator and friend, Spike Jonze, together during normal times would be full of jokes, playful banter and overall fun.

LOS ANGELES — Turner Classic Movies has enlisted “Ratatouille” and “The Iron Giant” director Brad Bird to program the latest 20-episode season of “The Essentials," the channel said Wednesday. Bird’s selections run the gamut of classic film offerings.

NEW YORK — English singer-songwriter Marianne Faithfull has been discharged from a London hospital after being treated for coronavirus.