Names and faces

Universal Pictures has delayed the release of Fast & Furious 7 for almost a year, after the death of star Paul Walker. The studio announced Monday that the Fast & Furious sequel will be released in April 2015, instead of July next year. Shooting on the film was about halfway finished when the 40-year-old Walker died in a car crash outside of Los Angeles. Walker still will appear in the film, but Universal has not said exactly how it will handle his unfinished performance. Co-star Vin Diesel first posted the news on Facebook, telling his fans that “he’d want you to know first.” The franchise has been one of Universal’s most lucrative, grossing almost $2.4 billion worldwide since 2001. The last film, Fast & Furious 6, made $789 million. Production on Fast & Furious 7 was on Thanksgiving break when Walker and his friend, Roger Rodas, died in a fiery crash in Valencia on Nov. 30. Rodas, 38, was driving his 2005 Porsche Carrera GT with Walker in the passenger seat. Investigators with the Los Angeles County sheriff’s office have found no evidence of mechanical problems and have ruled out debris or other roadway conditions as causing the car to slam into a light pole and tree.

The battle for Associated Press Entertainer of the Year came down to the Girl on Fire and the Queen of Twerk. Jennifer Lawrence edged out Miley Cyrus by one vote in The Associated Press’ annual survey of its newspaper and broadcast members and subscribers for Entertainer of the Year. There were 70 ballots submitted by U.S. editors and news directors. Voters were asked to consider who had the most influence on entertainment and culture in 2013. Lawrence won 15 votes. Cyrus had 14. Netflix was a close third, earning 13 votes for altering the TV landscape with its on-demand format and hit original series. But Lawrence - who started the year with an Academy Award for best actress, fueled a box-office franchise as The Hunger Games heroine Katniss Everdeen and wrapped 2013 with a critically acclaimed performance in American Hustle that just earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations - charmed fans with her candid sincerity. The 23-year-old actress “is not only talented and beautiful, but comes off as incredibly intelligent, genuine, funny and well-spoken in her public appearances and interviews,” wrote Kristi Runyan of The Derrick and The News-Herald Newspapers in Oil City, Pa.