I know a contract is a contract, and I’m not arguing that. But isn’t this a bit of a bad look as well? When we’re all yelling about sacrificing to stop the spread of the virus (masks, social distancing, vaccines) and Disney makes a decision that is COVID related, so not to spread the virus even more, here comes Johansson saying her money is more important than the general public? I mean it isn’t like Disney WANTED to steam it. I know they lost money on this as well.
Here’s the crux of it:
Disney began releasing movies simultaneously on Disney+ and in theaters partly because of the Covid-19 pandemic, when theaters were closed or at limited capacity, and partly to boost its nascent service. AT&T Inc.’s WarnerMedia, which operates the HBO Max streaming service, is following a similar strategy for its entire 2021 slate of Warner Bros. movies. Comcast Corp.’s NBCUniversal has since followed suit, with the release of “The Boss Baby: Family Business” both in theaters and on its Peacock streaming service.
WarnerMedia chose to renegotiate many of its talent contracts that, like Ms. Johansson’s deal with Marvel, were tied to box-office performance. Warner Bros. paid more than $200 million to talent as part of the amended agreements.
…
According to the complaint, Ms. Johansson’s representatives sought to renegotiate her contract after learning of the dual-release strategy for “Black Widow,” which she has said is her ninth and last Marvel movie. Disney and Marvel were unresponsive, the suit said.
I was prepping my post above before I saw yours. Bottom line: Disney should’ve renegotiated the contract before they put the movie out on streaming. If the allegations are true, that they refused, they deserved to get sued.
On opening weekend, “Black Widow” took in $80 million at the box office and $60 million from the streaming service. Disney doesn’t have to pay her based on the streaming revenue so, by refusing to renegotiate her contract, they’re stiffing her for a unilateral decision made in breach of contract. Seems pretty open and shut and, when it comes to how it looks against the backdrop of Covid, I’d rather be in Johansson’s shoes than Disney’s.
Now, after all this talk of stiffing Scarlet, I’ll be in my bunk.
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Ha. Good points.
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I heard Stillwater isn’t good.
Also, read this whole thread if you’re thinking about watching it (plot spoilers included):
The Green Knight is getting great reviews, looks like something I’d love to see in a theater but…
Ha!
I do think it answers the question on whether or not Black Widow would come back from the dead or be a variant or something.
Yep. If there was a chance of the character being brought back in a prequel, flashback or time travel scenario, she’d might try to add her losses her to that gig. Of course, as this was her (long overdue) solo movie, it would be hard for her to recoup her losses her in an ensemble movie or cameo appearance.
Any multiverse appearance of Black Widow would likely have involved the character being recast anyway; potentially as a farm animal or reptile.
Warner Media renegotiated their contracts and agreed to compensate actors for appearing on simultaneous Theatrical and HBOMax releases. Disney apparently had not done that.
Big thumbs up for The Suicide Squad.
The Green Knight was interesting. I went in expecting something a little more “popcorn flick” but the movie isn’t that at all.
It looks (visually) like a very 2021 movie but the tone, the whole vibe, feel like they’re from another decade. Not full of quippy characters or winks at the audience. The cast plays everything very seriously, very earnestly.
The movie does drag some with that dour tone. But it’s also more interesting than most of today’s flicks, so I’ll probably watch it again in a year or two.
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“You’re so dark! Are you from the DC universe?”
Do I need to watch the other DC universe dreck before watching “The Suicide Squad”?
Nope.
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I’m pretty ignorant about all the comic book stuff and I enjoyed it. The Troma comparisons were enough to interest me, and it provided decent silly fun. I assume those are all existing characters that were created in the comic books decades ago and have full on backstories, but the only one I’d ever heard of was Harley Quinn.
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Looks like a good job of combining the multiverse focus and the reveal at the end of Far From Hkme, but riffing on a much hated storyline is risky.