Scarlett Johansson Files Suit Against Disney Over 'Black Widow' Release; Netflix Reveals Michael Schumacher Doc; 'Waterworld' TV Series In the Works

[View on web]( [New reader? Subscribe]( July 30, 2021 What's news: Scarlett Johansson's lawyers have filed a bombshell lawsuit against Disney over the dual release of Black Widow. David Ayer is fed up of taking all the blame for 2016's Suicide Squad. Broadway is making vaccinations mandatory for theater workers. Plus: Jodie Whittaker is stepping down as The Doctor. — [Abid Rahman]( ScarJo Files Suit Against Disney Over 'Black Widow' Release ►Seismic. In a move with huge implications for Hollywood studios, Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney on Thursday alleging that her contract was breached when Black Widow was released on Disney+. Black Widow is among numerous event movies that have debuted simultaneously on streaming and in theaters because of the pandemic. Johansson’s complaint says Disney sacrificed the movie’s box office potential in order to grow its streaming service. In a statement, a Disney spokesperson responded, "There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic." [The story.]( —Mandated. A new agreement on Broadway safety protocols from the Actors’ Equity Association and the Broadway League mandates that theater workers be vaccinated. In addition to vaccinations, there will be weekly COVID testing for employees and venues will be required to have improved HVAC standards. [The story](. —Ahem, an underrated classic. Proving that in the streaming era, every well-known genre title has reboot potential, a TV series sequel to the 1995 film Waterworld is in the works. THR confirmed the project is in early development at Universal Content Productions. [The story.]( —Schumi doc on the way. 30 years, nearly to the day, since German motor racing legend Michael Schumacher first joined Formula One and six years since a near-fatal skiing accident, Netflix has unveiled a new doc, Schumacher, on the life and career of one of the sport’s most iconic figures. [The story.]( —It's not all doom and gloom. Reporting its earnings on Thursday, NBCUniversal said that despite "bad luck" it still expects the Tokyo Olympics to turn a profit for the company and drive signups to Peacock. NBCUniversal’s Q2 earnings rose nearly 13 percent, helped by a return of the theme parks business to profitability. [The results.]( Crunching the Numbers 54 Million Peacock reached 54 million sign-ups in the U.S. market in the second quarter, Comcast revealed on Thursday. [The story](. Everybody's Talking About 'House of Gucci' ►Mamma mia! The first trailer for MGM's House of Gucci has dropped and it's all the talk in Milan, Paris, London and New York (and everywhere else). The true-crime drama centers on the murder of fashion heir Maurizio Gucci and features an all-star cast including Adam Driver (sadly, not as a centaur), Lady Gaga, Jared Leto, Jeremy Irons and Al Pacino. The film is directed by Ridley Scott who, along with The Last Duel, has two sure-to-be awards contenders released this year, chapeau Sir Ridley! [The trailer.]( —Coming back for seconds. Netflix has ordered a second season of fantasy drama Sweet Tooth, the show based on Jeff Lemire’s DC Comics series. Like the first run, season two will comprise eight episodes. [The story](. —Who's next? In expected news, Jodie Whittaker is to step down as The Doctor in the BBC's Doctor Who. The actress is leaving the cult show alongside showrunner Chris Chibnall after three seasons. [The story.]( —1.22 billion minutes. Amazon Studios and Skydance’s tentpole The Tomorrow War shot to the top of Nielsen’s movie streaming chart in its Prime Video debut over the Fourth of July weekend.[The movie top 10.]( —Loki still hanging about. Manifest's big run on Netflix continued in the week of June 28-July 4, as the canceled NBC series again topped the overall streaming rankings from Nielsen. Disney+'s Loki still reigns supreme among original series. [The TV rankings.]( "The Studio Cut Is Not My Movie" ►#ReleaseTheAyerCut. Suicide Squad (2016) director David Ayer is taking his criticism of the released version of his comic book film to a new level. With James Gunn’s upcoming reboot The Suicide Squad drawing early praise — and wholly positive comparisons to Ayer’s disappointing effort — Ayer accused Warner Bros. of dramatically recutting his film from his original vision. [The story](. —Batgirl return. J. K. Simmons is in negotiations to reprise the role of classic Batman character Commissioner James Gordon in Batgirl, Warner Bros.’ feature for HBO Max that is casting up swiftly. Simmons was cast as Gordon by Zack Snyder for 2017’s Justice League. [The story.]( —Arrow of time. Hawkeye, the Disney+ show starring Jeremy Renner and Hailee Steinfeld, will bow on Nov. 24. Renner reprises his role as Clint Barton/Hawkeye with Steinfeld playing his protege Kate Bishop. [The story.]( —Show of confidence. TNT has picked up a fourth season of Snowpiercer. The WarnerMedia-owned cable outlet has given pre-air renewals to prior seasons as well, but this one comes especially early: Production is just wrapping on season three, which doesn’t have a premiere date yet. [The story.]( —Kiss and make up. After a two and a half year absence, HBO is returning to satellite TV giant Dish, and this time it’s bringing HBO Max along too. Dish and WarnerMedia announced a new carriage deal Thursday, ending a bitter dispute that saw HBO and Cinemax pulled from Dish since November 2018. [The story.]( Thank Pod It's Friday ►All the latest content from THR's podcast studio. —TV's Top 5. [Lesley Goldberg]( and [Daniel Fienberg]( break down the latest TV news. This week the guys start by taking time to share their love and appreciation for Bob Odenkirk. There's also more Olympics talk and LeVar Burton's turn hosting Jeopardy. Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the creator, writer, star, exec producer and director of Apple’s Mr. Corman , drops by for a chat. And Dan offers reviews of HBO’s Obama doc, Amazon’s The Pursuit of Love and more. [Listen here](. —Behind the Screen. Tech editor [Carolyn Giardina]( podcast focused on the filmmaking crafts. In this episode, Carolyn speaks to The Mandalorian visual effects supervisor Richard Bluff and production designers Andrew L. Jones and Doug Chiang. [Listen here](. In other news... —Film review: Netflix's [Vivo](. —TV review: Amazon’s [The Pursuit of Love](. —[Cineworld secures $200m in loans]( debt covenant amendments. —[San Sebastian Festival unveils Spanish-language lineup]( including Javier Bardem film. —Keiynan Lonsdale, Dylan Sprouse to star in rom-com [My Fake Boyfriend](. —Matthew D. Loeb re-elected as [president of IATSE](. —Paul Garnes named [president of ARRAY Filmworks](. —Lionsgate CEO [Jon Feltheimer’s pay rises to $19m](. —The Suicide Squad star David Dastmalchian’s [Count Crowley comic returning for vol. 2](. —Marques Johnson pitches hilarious [White Men Can’t Jump](. —Riz Ahmed’s [Mogul Mowgli]( open Geena Davis’ Bentonville Film Festival](. —Nicholas Hoult joins Anya Taylor-Joy in Searchlight dark comedy [The Menu](. —[Amazon hits $7.8b in profit]( under new CEO, but sales fall below expectations. —Lionsgate promotes [Rahwa Ghebre-Ab to newly created chief ethics post](. —[Logan Paul leaves CAA]( for WME. —Entertainment One names [Jillian Share co-president of film production](. —Choreographer JaQuel Knight, Logitech to help creators [copyright viral TikTok dances](. What else we're reading... —"Emily Beecham Brings Modern Edge to Old-Fashioned Roles" [[Vanity Fair]( —"Dev Patel, Starry Knight" [[New York Times]( —"Hear Me Out: Why GI Joe: The Rise Of Cobra Isn’t A Bad Movie" [[The Guardian]( —"Ben Affleck And Jennifer Lopez Revive the 'Bennifer' Media Magic" [[NBC News]( —"Jemele Hill: Simone Biles’s Critics Don’t Understand This Generation of Athletes" [[The Atlantic]( Today... Today's birthdays: Christopher Nolan (51), Lisa Kudrow (58), Yvonne Strahovski (39), Vivica A. Fox (57), [Arnold Schwarzenegger]( (74), Christine Taylor (50), Jaime Pressly (44), Hilary Swank (47), Laurence Fishburne (60), Gina Rodriguez (37), Terry Crews (53), Simon Baker (52), Jean Reno (73), Richard Linklater (61) This email was sent to {EMAIL} by Penske Media Corporation. Please add email@email.hollywoodreporter.com to your address book to ensure delivery to your inbox. 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