Scarlett Johansson Says Black Widow Lawsuit Made Positive Impact

Scarlett Johansson Says Black Widow Lawsuit Made Positive Impact

Scarlett Johansson says her lawsuit with Disney over the MCU film Black Widow, which was ultimately settled, has positively impacted the industry.

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Scarlett Johansson Says Black Widow Lawsuit Made Positive Impact

Scarlett Johansson says her lawsuit against Disney over the Marvel film Black Widow ultimately made a positive impact on the industry. The Hollywood star had played the Russian-assassin-turned-S.H.I.E.L.D.-agent in the Marvel Cinematic Universe since 2010’s Iron Man 2, with her founding Avenger ultimately dying during the events of 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Johansson’s first solo-film as the character, the prequel Black Widow, released in July of this year to a warm critical reception.

Due to the continued influence of the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney chose to release the Marvel film simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access, which allowed subscribers to unlock the movie for home-viewing for a one-time fee. While Black Widow enjoyed a strong box office given the circumstances, it still underperformed compared to past MCU projects, and Johansson began a very public legal dispute alleging that the studio was using the hybrid release to avoid paying her the box-office bonuses she was contractually entitled to. After a PR battle that had all industry eyes on the lawsuit, she and Disney eventually reached a settlement, with the exact terms remaining undisclosed.

Speaking to press (via THR) at an event held in her honor, Johansson says the decision to pursue the lawsuit wasn’t an easy one, having enjoyed her decade-plus working with Marvel Studios and Disney. However, she believes it was the right thing to do, and that the impact of it is ultimately positive. What’s most comforting, Johansson says, is knowing that other creatives won’t have to go through what she did:

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It was a very surreal time because, of course, the film had come out and was hugely successful and that was a big celebration. I had a baby and that was obviously a life-changing, amazing, celebratory thing. In a way, that sort of buoyed me through the very uncertain, stressful time. I feel mostly very fortunate that nobody will have to go through what I went through and that it’s made, I think, a positive impact in the industry and hopefully for artists and creatives’ lives and livelihood. […] It’s an evolving time where there’s this huge sea change happening, and as my daughter [Rose] told me the other day, you can’t make an omelet without breaking some eggs.

While it was once speculated that Johansson’s lawsuit would have negative consequences for her working relationship with the massive studio, following the settlement, their collaboration has trended in the opposite direction. She confirms later in the interview that work is well underway on her Tower of Terror film, and that other projects are potentially in the works as well. Later that same evening, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige teased that he was pursuing another, non-Black Widow-related MCU project with Johansson as a producer, suggesting there is truly no bad blood between employer and employee.

While the optics of Johansson’s Disney lawsuit are very different to, say, the recent IATSE negotiations, it remains an important event for an entertainment industry in transition. As film releases transition away from traditional windows of theatrical exclusivity, the standard way of structuring the contracts of top-level creatives will have to change, and the Marvel actor standing up to enforce hers puts talent on a better playing field moving forward. There are likely to be more growing pains, but the Black Widow lawsuit at least means that studios will probably think twice before trying to cut costs by undervaluing stars.

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Link Source : https://screenrant.com/black-widow-movie-lawsuit-disney-scarlett-johansson-response/

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