Skip to main content

New top story from Time: Why Scarlett Johansson Is Suing Disney Over Black Widow

https://ift.tt/3j0DmGg

The Black Widow has one more fight left in her. This time, though, it’s not with the Red Room but with the House of Mouse.

Scarlett Johansson, who recently retired her role as the superhero in her final Marvel movie Black Widow, filed a lawsuit against Disney on Thursday over breach of contract. The star alleges that the studio broke its agreement with her when they decided to release the Marvel Cinematic Universe film simultaneously in theaters and on their streaming service, Disney+. She says in court documents that the deal guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release and that her salary for the film was largely tied to box office performance. By releasing the movie on streaming at the same time, Johansson believes Disney cost her an estimated $50 million, according to the Wall Street Journal. (Disney did not respond to request for comment.)
[time-brightcove not-tgx=”true”]

The suit will likely have a major impact on whether studios decide to release major films already in the can to streaming services as the pandemic threatens to surge for a fourth wave in the U.S. and theater attendance continues to be diminished. Many stars’ contracts tie their income directly to box office performance, and releasing movies on VOD can cost them major earnings. Johansson is far from the first actor to express concern about how the changing landscape would impact their pay: After a reportedly tense negotiation, Warner Bros. paid Wonder Woman 1984 star Gal Gadot and director Patty Jenkins $10 million each in the wake of the studio’s decision to shift the film from theatrical release to HBO Max.

While we may not shed a tear for the multi-millionaires losing out on a major payday, actors with less power and leverage, as well as professionals in other roles in the film industry, will be impacted by these deals too. Here’s everything you need to know about why Johansson is suing, how the history of Disney’s treatment of Johansson colors the conflict and how the suit could affect the future of Hollywood.

Read More: Black Widow Began as a Sexist Stereotype. More Than a Decade Later, Scarlett Johansson Is Reclaiming Her Story

Johansson is suing because stars’ contracts depend on box office

Chris Evans as Captain America and Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow in Avengers: Infinity War
Marvel StudiosCaptain America/Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) and Black Widow/Natasha Romanoff (Scarlett Johansson) in Avengres: Infinity War

Many big stars receive two checks: one guaranteed amount upfront, the other dependent on whether the film makes money, specifically from box office returns. How those contracts are negotiated may change significantly as the pandemic has shifted studios away from prioritizing box office profits and toward a greater focus on boosting streaming subscriptions.

Most studios either have launched a streaming outlet in the last couple years—Disney has Disney+, Warner Bros., HBO Max—or cut a deal with an already-existing service to release their movies on streaming, as MGM recently did with Amazon. With theaters closed during the COVID-19 pandemic, many studios decided to release big-budget films that would traditionally top the box office straight to these streaming services.

Most notably, Warner Bros. announced it would drop 17 movies—its entire slate for 2021 including The Suicide Squad, Dune and The Matrix 4—onto HBO Max at the same time that they released the films in movie theaters. Disney did the same for Mulan, Cruella and, now, Black Widow, which Marvel fans could stream at home for $30 on Disney+ Premiere Access the same day it was released in theaters.

Read More: Warner Bros. Will Release Its Films on HBO Max and in Theaters Simultaneously. The Decision May Change Moviegoing Forever

The business interests of the studios can be murky. For instance, Warner Bros. decided to release all of its movies to HBO Max back when both WarnerMedia and HBO Max were operated by AT&T (who has since spun off the service). Even though simultaneously releasing movies on streaming and in theaters would no doubt undercut their box office, it’s possible that AT&T cared more about number of streams considering that they’re a phone and internet service provider.

Even in more straightforward cases, like Disney Studios owning Disney+, the C-Suite might believe that releasing Black Widow on streaming would entice enough subscribers to Disney+ in order to justify potential losses at the box office.

Disney rarely releases numbers for their streaming service but did report that Black Widow grossed $158 million at the box office and earned another $60 million from at-home purchases of the movie on Disney+ Premiere Access. The news bumped up Disney’s stock the following Monday. But then Black Widow floundered at the box office the following week, leading theater owners to blast Disney for its decision, arguing that the at-home release cannibalized Black Widow’s box office potential and people opted to watch at home rather than at the cinema.

The release changes have huge impacts on actors, directors, writers and producers, many of whom negotiate their contracts such that their income is tied to the financial success of the film at the box office. Johansson writes in her complaint that her team reached out to the studio in 2019 when they learned it was considering a dual-release model.

In an email included in court filings, Marvel Chief Counsel Dave Galluzzi said they would release the film in the traditional theatrical model and, if plans should change, “we would need to discuss this with you and come to an understanding as the deal is based on a series of (very large) box office bonuses.” Johansson claims her team did indeed seek to renegotiate her contract after they learned Disney planned to release Black Widow to both streaming and in theaters at the same time and that Disney didn’t respond.

“This will surely not be the last case where Hollywood talent stands up to Disney and makes it clear that, whatever the company may pretend, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts,” John Berlinski, an attorney who represents Johansson, told the Wall Street Journal.

The move to streaming can cost stars big money

Gal Gadot Wonder Woman 1984
Clay Enos—Warner Bros. & DC ComicsGal Gadot as Diana in Wonder Woman 1984

Scarlett Johansson isn’t the first big star to push back against studios’ efforts to send the biggest-budget movies straight to streaming. The New York Times reported that while Gadot and Jenkins were able to negotiate $10 million payouts with Warner Bros. before the switch to streaming for Wonder Woman 1984 was even announced, other creatives weren’t as fortunate. Few in Hollywood were given a heads-up about the switch in strategy and representatives for major stars like Margot Robbie, Will Smith, Keanu Reeves and Angelina Jolie were reportedly left scrambling to strike new deals with the studio.

Warner Bros. renegotiated many of its talent contracts, which would have been similar to the one Johansson has with Disney, because of its move to streaming. They ultimately paid more than $200 million to actors and creatives as part of their amended agreements.

And rumors are swirling in Hollywood that other A-listers are not happy that their big pictures are being released on the small screen.

As it stands, actors take a gamble by betting on a film’s success. If a movie flops, they can keep their upfront check but won’t get a box office bonus check. Part of why Johansson’s suit and the negotiations over streaming are so complicated is because it’s impossible to know how much money the movie would have made in an alternate universe.

The character suffered years of sexism, and this conflict ends her reign on a sour note

Marvel StudiosScarlett Johansson in Black Widow

Johansson was the first and, for a long time, the only main female character in the successful Marvel movies. She appeared in nine movies in the franchise and was forced to wait 11 years to get her own solo film—and when Black Widow did arrive, it was a prequel set after the character died in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. She seemingly has no future in the MCU beyond this point.

Black Widow was introduced to the MCU as “potentially a very expensive sexual harassment lawsuit” in Iron Man 2 and was relegated to sidekick, love interest and object to be ogled throughout the early Marvel films. The transgressions were so egregious that director Cate Shortland told TIME she felt a need to address the history of sexism directly at several points in the dialogue for the Black Widow movie.

Currently, Disney does not plan to release the three other Marvel Studios movies slated for this year—Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, The Eternals and Spider-Man: Far From Home—immediately on Disney+. Disney’s decision to release Black Widow simultaneously to Disney+ and theaters rather than holding off on streaming until later in the year could be read as a final indignity for a character who suffered through disproportionately bad treatment and sexism throughout her decade-long run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Given the context of this character’s treatment, coming into legal conflict with the sole female member of the original Avengers team does not look good, to put it mildly. Many observers have commented that the gender politics of this particular case are suspect.

Read More: Black Widow Is a Showcase for Florence Pugh and Scarlett Johansson First and a Marvel Superhero Movie Second

The lawsuit may help determine whether movies are released straight to streaming in the future

Tom Holland
Chuck Zlotnick—Sony Pictures

At the same time, Johansson is one of the studio’s biggest stars. As some journalists have pointed out on Twitter, if Disney is able to potentially (allegedly) breach the contract of an A-lister like Johansson, it’s likely they would do it without much fuss for less famous actors and creators.

Whether Johansson, already a superstar, is motivated by altruism or the simple belief that she was deprived of the earnings she deserved is not for us to say. But there’s no doubt that the fate of the suit will set a precedent for other actors with less power going forward.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Powered Scooters Charge City’s Transportation Recovery

Powered Scooters Charge City’s Transportation Recovery By Jason Hyde The SFMTA is releasing its next round of Powered Scooter Share permits on July 1. Scooters remain a sustainable mode of travel and a complement to Muni and public transit service as the city recovers from the pandemic and San Franciscans begin to travel more. The SFMTA’s Powered Scooter Share Program is essential in ensuring that shared scooter operations support the city’s economic recovery in a safe, sustainable, and equitable way.  The SFMTA received four submittals for the permit program and will issue permits to two operators : Spin and Lime. Permits will be in effect for a one-year term, with the option to extend for another year at the discretion of the SFMTA based on compliance with various program metrics. While the new permit program does not set a limit on the number of scooters each operator may deploy, it does limit the overall citywide fleet size at 10,000. Starting at a base of 2,000 scooters...

Muni Highlights in 2021: More Service to More Destinations

Muni Highlights in 2021: More Service to More Destinations By Jonathan Streeter Our goal for Muni in 2021 was to match the service we offer with the changing travel patterns of an unpredictable era, as San Franciscans grappled with a second year of the COVID-19 pandemic.  To achieve this, we expanded on the core routes that formed the nucleus of our early 2020 pandemic network by adding and improving service in key areas throughout San Francisco. We focused on access in neighborhoods where essential workers live, as well as on adding service in busy corridors and even creating new lines. At the beginning of the year, even with our reduced schedule, 91% of San Franciscans were within two or three blocks of a Muni stop. This included 100% of residents in San Francisco’s neighborhoods identified by the Muni Service Equity Strategy . By summer 2021, we added enough additional service so that 98% of San Franciscans were within two or three blocks of a Muni stop. To the relief of ma...

Watch San Francisco’s Bike Network Bloom

Watch San Francisco’s Bike Network Bloom By Eillie Anzilotti From just a few stretches of scattered lanes in 2013, San Francisco’s protected bike network now stretches like a green web connecting more and more of the city. See how much has changed over the last eight years:   In just the blink of an eye, San Francisco has become one of the most bike-friendly cities in the U.S. To date, San Francisco has 464 miles of bikeways, including: 42 miles of protected bike lanes 78 miles of off-street paths and trails 21 miles of buffered bike lanes 139 miles of striped bike lanes As we’ve expanded the network of safer bicycle routes through San Francisco, more people are choosing to ride bicycles for recreation and transportation every year. Since 2006, travel by bicycle has grown by 184 percent citywide. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, bike counts hit an all-time high: in 2019, approximately 52,000 bicyclists were observed at 37 locations during peak periods, a 14 percent incre...

FOX NEWS: Woman who had to cancel birthday trip because of coronavirus recreates entire vacation at home in viral video

Woman who had to cancel birthday trip because of coronavirus recreates entire vacation at home in viral video There will be no crying for this birthday. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/2Xwfa4W

New Muni Service Changes Start Saturday, August 19

New Muni Service Changes Start Saturday, August 19 By Clive Tsuma 28R 19th Avenue will run on weekdays between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. starting Monday, August 21.  Back to School  With SFUSD students returning to school August 16, many families who rely on Muni to get to school will see service increase after school as part of the new schedule. Because Muni vehicles often become crowded during morning peak hours and sometimes pass up stops when there is not enough room for more riders, families are encouraged to plan their trips ahead of time and hop on Muni early to make sure students get to school on time.  With every public school in the San Francisco Unified School District being served by at least one Muni route , students can expect extra Muni service on the first day of the school this fall and continue providing service throughout the school year. While the Muni service changes won’t be implemented until August 19, school tripper service will be offered starting Au...

Muni Metro Fix It! Week Improves Rail Service, Safety and Reliability

Muni Metro Fix It! Week Improves Rail Service, Safety and Reliability By Jessie Liang Overhead Line Department replacing wire and custodians cleaning metro station during Fix It! Week, April 19, 2022 A new quarterly effort to increase work time to accomplish necessary Muni Metro system maintenance in April 2022 was a resounding success. Here is a behind-the-scenes video recap . The maintenance initiatives aimed at making subway operations more reliable and preventing feature breakdowns. The maintenance teams were able to perform an entire month of work within the 10 days when subway service was substituted by bus service to provide SFMTA workers the extended Fix It! Week work window.  Every night after Muni Metro subway service hours, SFMTA maintenance crews work to maintain the tracks and equipment underground. On most nights, this gives our teams only about two hours to get work done. During the first Fix It! Week, from April 14 to April 23, 2022, buses provided substitute s...

San Francisco's Taxi Medallion Program Moves Onward

San Francisco's Taxi Medallion Program Moves Onward By In early October, a San Francisco jury found that the SFMTA did not breach its taxi medallion program Lender Agreements with the San Francisco Federal Credit Union.  Throughout this litigation, the SFMTA has continued to focus its attention on supporting purchased medallion holders and drivers.  In fact, over a year ago, the SFMTA made an offer to settle the lawsuit by providing millions of dollars in loan forgiveness to medallion holders.  Unfortunately, the SF Credit Union opted to continue its lawsuit against us.  With the trial now behind us, we are hopeful that the Credit Union will engage in the necessary dialogue with us and agree to participate in a loan forgiveness program.  We understand the challenges faced by individuals who purchased taxi medallions.  Specifically, the fixed $250,000 price for a medallion is unsustainable, and needs to be lowered. Unfor...

FOX NEWS: Man built ‘hillbilly hot tub’ in backyard out of boredom: 'It is not very efficient'

Man built ‘hillbilly hot tub’ in backyard out of boredom: 'It is not very efficient' He decided to build his very own budget hot tub using an old, pre-formed pond base he had dug out from his garden. via FOX NEWS https://ift.tt/2Y7FilX

Muni Forward Gets San Francisco Moving

Muni Forward Gets San Francisco Moving By Shalon Rogers The SFMTA’s Muni Forward program is delivering transit reliability improvements that are transforming the Muni system and enhancing the customer experience. With 80 miles of upgrades since 2014 that often bring travel time savings of 20% or more, Muni Forward is making a big difference in how San Francisco moves.  These upgrades, which can be seen in this Muni Forward Photo Map , draw from a “toolkit” of over 20 reliability and customer experience improvements, such as transit lanes that provided dedicated space for Muni vehicles to cut through traffic, transit bulbs that reduce delays at transit stops and traffic signals with transit priority that give the green light to transit vehicles as they approach the intersection, when possible. The recently completed Van Ness Improvement Project thrust Muni Forward back into the spotlight with San Francisco’s first Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) corridor. While the Van Ness Improve...

Riders are Feeling the Difference on Geary

Riders are Feeling the Difference on Geary By The results are in: the Geary Rapid Project has delivered a faster, more reliable bus trip and a safer street, according to the SFMTA’s recently published evaluation report for the project.   A faster, more reliable bus ride  One out of every ten passengers stepping onto a Muni vehicle will ride on Geary Blvd., which makes reducing travel time on the corridor a key piece of improving transit in the city. The transit lanes installed as part of the Geary Rapid Project protect buses from traffic congestion, while smarter traffic signals allow buses to get green lights more often. Similar transit upgrades have been made across the city as part of the Muni Forward program , making your next San Francisco destination closer than ever.  Transit travel time improved after the quick-build phase of the Geary Rapid Project in late 2018 and early 2019, and again after the full project was completed in 2021 — with savings as g...