Entertainment News Roundup: Legal Battles, Labor Pacts & New Ventures

This summary of current entertainment news covers several significant events. Warner Bros Discovery is suing the NBA over broadcasting rights. Disney and employee unions have reached a tentative labor agreement. Louis Theroux discusses his new provocative documentary. Other notable stories include Taylor Swift's museum exhibition, a Hollywood strike, and new streaming bundles from Disney and Warner Bros.

Following is a summary of current entertainment news briefs.

Warner Bros Discovery will sue the National Basketball Association in New York after the league rejected its matching bid for TV broadcasting rights, a source familiar with the matter said on Thursday. The NBA on Wednesday rejected an offer from Warner's TNT sports division — ending four decades of partnership — and announced new agreements with Walt Disney's ESPN, Comcast-owned NBCUniversal and Amazon.com in an 11-year deal worth $77 billion.

Unions representing 14,000 Disneyland employees said on Wednesday they had reached a tentative labor agreement with Walt Disney Co, averting a work stoppage at the California theme park. The new, three-year agreement, which includes wage increases and other benefits for park employees, whom Disney calls 'cast members,' was signed by an alliance of unions representing custodians, ride operators, merchandise clerks, and other workers at the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, Southern California.

Documentary filmmaker Louis Theroux hopes his provocative film 'Tell Them You Love Me' will encourage audiences to think about issues like consent and sexual assault. The true crime documentary, executive-produced by Theroux and directed by Nick August-Perna, tells the story of U.S. university professor Anna Stubblefield and her romantic affair with a man with cerebral palsy. She was subsequently charged with sexual assault. A regular on television screens since the 1990s, Theroux is known for documentaries that explore taboo topics, as well as in-depth interviews with celebrities.

Outfits, musical instruments and other objects on loan from U.S. musician Taylor Swift are going on display at London's V&A in a temporary summer exhibition. Titled 'Taylor Swift | Songbook Trail', the exhibition is made up of 13 installations dotted across the museum's many galleries.

Videogame voice actors and motion-capture performers have called a strike over failed labor contract negotiations focused around AI-related protections for workers, bringing about another work stoppage in Hollywood. The SAG-AFTRA has called a strike of the Interactive Media Agreement that covers video game performers, effective July 26, the union said on Thursday.

Singer-songwriter Charli XCX, rapper Ghetts and indie rock band The Last Dinner Party are among the nominees for this year's Mercury Prize, organisers of the British music award said on Thursday, with debut albums making up more than half of the shortlist. First handed out to rockers Primal Scream in 1992, the annual 25,000 pounds ($32,202) prize shortlists 12 albums released by British and Irish acts in the United Kingdom in the past year.

A streaming bundle comprising Disney+, Hulu and Max services will be available in the United States from Thursday for a monthly price of $16.99 with ads, and $29.99 without ads, parent companies Walt Disney and Warner Bros Discovery said. The bundle, plans for which were announced in May, would help customers save up to 38% compared to the cost of signing up for each of the streaming services separately, the companies said.

Jailed Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein was moved to a New York hospital on Thursday with multiple ailments including COVID, his representatives said in a statement. New York City Correction Department records showed on Thursday that Weinstein, 72, was at the Bellevue Hospital Prison Ward.

Upcoming crime drama series 'Las Azules' ('Women in Blue') is rooted in the past but echoes current events, its makers say. Set in 1971, the Spanish-language show is inspired by the true story of Mexico's first female police officers and follows four women who join the force following a public campaign and gruelling bootcamp. Unbeknownst to the women, their hiring is a publicity stunt aimed at improving the tainted image of the police and diverting attention from a serial killer targeting the capital's women.

American rapper Snoop Dogg said he is ready to learn 'some new tricks' when he collaborates with Gen Z social media influencers to showcase the Paris Olympics to a younger generation. The 52-year-old hip hop legend-turned special correspondent for NBCUniversal has become a cornerstone of the media company's effort to energize its coverage of the Games and inject pop culture and celebrity into the U.S. broadcast.

(With inputs from agencies.)