SCARLETT JOHANSSON SUES DISNEY

DISNEY HAVE HIT BACK HARD AGAINST SCARLETT JOHNASSON’S LAWSUIT BY CUTTING ALL TIES WITH THE ACTRESS.

Her next scheduled movie with the studio, Tower of Terror, has reportedly been cancelled.

Other projects Disney had in development with the actress won’t be going ahead either.

The entertainment empire said there was no merit to her lawsuit but went further with an audacious public statement suggesting the star was insensitive to the global pandemic, which had prompted the hybrid release strategy that inspired the legal action.

Disney said: “The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.”

That statement was seen in some quarters as a low blow by Disney at a time when people around the world are renegotiating their working contracts and salaries and Johansson has yet to respond in kind.

Now the Scarlett saga will play out in court – where the showdown between studio and star is set to be a very bitter one indeed.

Movie Market

At the world’s most glamorous and significant movie market, the recent Cannes Film Festival, a batch of exciting new films were unveiled to international buyers.

HERE’S A LOOK AT THE TOP TITLES FROM HITMAKING FILM

COMPANIES CAPSTONE AND MILLENNIUM.

CAPSTONE PICTURES

One Shot, starring Ryan Phillippe, is an action thriller about a squad of Navy SEALs trying to stop a terrorist attack.

Shattered, starring John Malkovich, is a thriller about a terrifying and psychologically damaged killer.

Spinning Gold, starring Wiz Khalifa, is a biopic of 1970s record producer Neil Bogart who worked with the likes of Donna Summer and The Village People.

MILLENNIUM MEDIA

Idris Elba directs and stars in Infernus, about a prison ship hijacked by terrorists.

Action thriller The Asset stars Samuel L Jackson, Maggie Q and Michael Keaton is a thriller about assassins

Jolt sees Kate Beckinsale playing the prime suspect in a murder investigation who sets out to find the real killer.

Megan Fox plays a woman marked for death who stays one step ahead of the men sent to kill her in Till Death. The Piper sees a young composer awaken the evil force that was The Pied Piper.

Night Has Fallen sees Gerard Butler returning to his franchise role as bodyguard Mike Banniang.

NEW INTERNATIONAL STARS SHINE

AT STUDENT AWARDS

Young filmmakers from China and France dominated the major honors at the 2021 BAFTA Student Awards.

Despite the global pandemic, nearly 700 entries were received for the prestigious annual contest for the best emerging talents from right around the globe.

But it was Chinese and French talent which came out on top in the votes cast by British Academy members and special juries.

Best live action film went to Olivia Hang Zhou, an American Film Institute student, for Apart, Together.

Another Chinese filmmaker, Yucong Rae Chen, studying at the University of Southern California, won both best documentary and the Special Jury Prize for Unfinished Lives.

In a year which saw Nomandland’s Choloe Zhao dominate at the Oscars and BAFTAs, these victories continue a breakthrough year for Chinese female filmmaking talent The best animated film, Migrants, was made by the French team of Hugo Caby, Antoine Dupriez, Aubin Kubiak, Lucas Lermytte and Zoe Devise from Pole 3D in France.

And the first ever GSA BAFTA Student Award for computer games was awarded to Frenchman Guillaume Roux from Isart Digital in France for Symphonia.

Presented in a digital ceremony screened on BAFTA’s You Tube channel, the event aims to discover and champion new talents which can move the film industry forward.

YUCONG CHEN, DIRECTOR OF THE BEST DOCUMENTARY WINNER