Hollywood actress Scarlett Johanssonwho filed a lawsuit against Disney for violating the terms of the contract, was shocked by the reaction of the press service of the company, which tried to shame the star of the film “Black Widow“(Black widow). This was stated by the co-founder of one of the most influential talent agencies in the United States. Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Brian Lourdesrepresenting the interests of Johansson.
Black Widow for Mickey Mouse
Actress considersthat she lost about $ 50 million due to Disney’s decision to release Black Widow simultaneously in theaters and streaming Disney +… The deal referred to an exclusive theatrical release, with Johansson claiming a large percentage of the box office.
The actress tried to discuss this issue back in 2019, when the company was just launching the Disney + platform. but Mickey Mouse House promised to further discuss the situation with her, if necessary to make adjustments to the documents. As a result, the theatrical fees of “Black Widow” literally collapsed, for which the release in Disney + and the activity of pirates are blamed.
“Disney deliberately forced Marvel to violate the agreement without any justification in order to prevent Mrs. Johansson from fully realizing the benefits of the deal,” – stated in the lawsuit.
A little later, the House of Mickey Mouse prepared an answer that is striking in its cynicism and hypocrisy. Company approvesthat Johansson did not have the slightest reason for a trial, because the blame is … the pandemic.
“This lawsuit particularly saddens and grieves us with its soulless disregard for the dire and lasting global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the statement said.
The press service of Disney added that for her role, Scarlett Johansson received $ 20 million, and the release of “Black Widow” in Disney + allegedly allowed the actress to increase the amount of compensation. However, the company did not provide any information on whether the deal with the Hollywood star was revised accordingly.
According to Brian Lourdes, Disney tried to slander his client by making her look bad. At the same time, Scarlett Johansson starred in nine films Marvel, earning literally billions of dollars for the House of Mickey Mouse.
“The company put her salary in a press statement, trying to leverage her success as an artist and businesswoman as if she should be ashamed of it. Scarlett is extremely proud of the work she and all of Marvel’s actors, writers, directors, producers and creative team have worked on. more than ten years “, – the portal quotes the words of the agent Deadline…
According to Lourdes, Disney management deliberately violated Scarlett Johansson’s contract in order to exclude its creative and financial partners from the new equation, which relies on Disney +.
Hollywood “The Rock”
Parallel to the scandal, ex-editor The hollywood reporter Matthew Belloni told, that Emma Stone and Emily Blunt are now allegedly considering filing claims. The first starred in “Cruelle“(Cruella), and the second – in “Jungle Cruise“(Jungle cruise). The actresses’ contracts also referred to a percentage of theater fees.
The strangeness lies in the fact that the actor does not intend to quarrel with the House of Mickey Mouse Dwayne “The Rock” Johnsonwho also landed the lead role in Jungle Cruise. According to Deadline, the actor’s production company Seven Bucks Production agreed in advance on a hybrid film release with Disney.
Moreover, Johnson will not sue even if Jungle Cruise fails at the box office. A scenario like this looks realistic, judging by the dismal first week’s box office data (just over $ 90 million, of which about $ 30 million came from Disney +).
Scarlett Johansson’s hideous public showdown is a major PR disaster for Disney, which has been actively campaigning for diversity and inclusion in recent years. And the entire advertising campaign of “Black Widow” was built on the fight against discrimination against women actresses.
The fact that Disney decided to bring the conflict to the point of no return is also perplexing. The management found itself in a similar situation earlier WarnerMedia, who thought of renegotiating contracts with talent, spending about $ 200 million on it.
As the American politician and philanthropist reasonably remarked Andrew Yang, in the dispute between the House of Mickey Mouse and the trio of actresses, public sympathy will definitely be on the side of the latter.
“These deals need to be revisited as they do not reflect the company’s rapid move towards streaming. The point is that Disney is still benefiting from this shift, but talent is not,” he explained.
Bob Bob is not a friend
There is a fairly reasonable explanation for what is happening at Disney today, which has to do with the reform of the governance structure. In autumn 2023, the chairman of the board of directors leaves the company Bob Igerfollowed by the president Bob Chapek will finally become the sole head of the House of Mickey Mouse.
However, Czapek’s managerial style is different from Iger’s. The latter, as president, acted extremely cautiously, trying to avoid conflicts. And there is a lot of evidence for this.
When the TV channel ABC (controlled by Disney) severed cooperation with an actress accused of racism Rosanna BarrBob Iger personally commented on the situation. When the leader was “canceled” Pixar John Lasseter, the latter has coordinated its public statements with the management of Disney.
But Bob Chapek’s team is acting rudely, which causes colossal damage to DIsney’s reputation. This year began with scandalous dismissal stars of the series “Star Wars: The Mandalorian“(Star Wars: The Mandalorian) Gina Carano… Officially, the management of the company did not announce the break of cooperation with the actress, and the media received only a comment from an “anonymous” representative of Disney.
Well, now it has come to a legal showdown with Scarlett Johansson, which may soon be joined by Emma Stone and Emily Blunt.
Боб Чапек и Боб Айгер
Insiders also report about the conflict between the president of Disney and the head of Marvel Kevin Feige… The latter is still the main “gold miner” for the House of Mickey Mouse, but under Czapek, the top managers responsible for the distribution of films and shows have more authority than the studio managers who consider themselves creators.
According to the portal Insider, Bob Chapek intends to strike a new blow at the “creatives”. Allegedly, Disney will abandon the practice of concluding multi-year contracts with the heads of internal divisions. In addition, a restructuring will be organized in the fall, which may strengthen the influence of Czapek’s team.
Interestingly, Scarlett Johansson explicitly states in the lawsuit that it was Bob Chapek and Bob Iger who were the main beneficiaries of the breach of contract. The first received a share buyback grant that is nearly four times his annual salary ($ 2.5 million). The rationale for the decision was the launch of services for direct delivery of content to the consumer, the main of which is Disney +.
As for Iger, the amount of his compensation amounted to $ 16.5 million. The majority of the money is also a share buyback grant, while Disney’s fiscal 2023 report put a lot of emphasis on streaming success.
Clearly, Disney executives are now acting like an elephant in a china shop in public space. This is not good for business in an environment where movies are not making enough money and Disney + is still not self-sufficient. However, Bob Chapek, apparently, is now more worried about the preparation for the transfer of power.
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