Black Widow, Black Window, Black Eye
Sometimes, the plots write themselves.
It’s not crazy that Scarlett Johansson would be upset that Disney went for a same-day Disney+ release for Black Widow. I mean, obviously. She’s one of the biggest movie stars in the world. This is a move directly threatening, or at the very least, changing, that world. Yes, the world has also changed thanks — no thanks! — to COVID. But it seems highly unlikely that the movie genie goes fully back in the theatrical bottle. This matters for a lot of people. But it mainly matters for two groups right now: movie theaters and movie stars.
The latter group is interesting because they have been morphing to this new world. People used to wonder if Leonardo DiCaprio or Tom Cruise would be the last of the capital ‘M’ movie stars, holding out against streaming. The answer is now clearly Cruise as DiCaprio’s next two projects are for Netflix and Apple. They’ll undoubtedly play in theaters too, but Tom Cruise is the last man standing in the theater. Down up front, Cruise!
‘Man’ is a keyword there since Johansson is definitely a part of this discussion too. (Though she herself has already done a Netflix movie.) She’s clearly saying here, by way of her lawyers, that she was sold a different bill of goods for Black Widow. And she undoubtedly was, since it’s a Marvel movie.
Per this story by Brooks Barnes and Nicole Sperling in The New York Times:
Making “Black Widow” available on Disney+ could cost Ms. Johansson more than $50 million, according to two people briefed on her contract, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the private agreement. That is how much Ms. Johansson would have made if “Black Widow” had approached $1 billion in global ticket sales; “Captain Marvel” and “Black Panther” both exceeded that threshold in prepandemic release.
Black Widow currently stands at $327M. It’s not hitting a billion at the box office, obviously. But it also shouldn’t matter. Again, the world has changed! What’s surprising here is that Disney didn’t get ahead of this and make sure Johansson was happy as they charted their new path forward. Perhaps they tried. And perhaps no deal was reached. Still, this comment to the public is sort of crazy town!
Disney’s statement called the lawsuit “especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.” The company added, “Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release of ‘Black Widow’ on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date.”
They specifically call out her front-end salary. But also accuse her of profiteering on the pandemic! That is wild. If they’re not quite calling her an opportunistic scarlet witch, they’re one step away. One of the biggest stars in the world! One of their biggest stars! What the Feige?!
I mean, my god, get your mouse house in order, Disney. I don’t care how big of a star Johansson is, you’re fighting down here. And you’re doing this in the middle of a pandemic that is disrupting the movie industry, no less. And Warner, as a result of the Jason Kilar bold bet, already went through this. You didn’t need to be Dr. Strange to see this coming!
Is this a Bob Chapek issue? Mr. Business? You just can’t give the comment you made. What’s the upside? To swing public approval to your side that this Avenger is overpaid? Versus a $300B company? My god. Grow up.
Published on July 29, 2021 📆Written from San Francisco, CA 🗺Written on a 2021 11-inch M1 iPad Pro ⌨️
