[ad_1]
CAA co-chair and Scarlett Johansson agent Bryan Lourd released a statement Friday in response to Disney’s slam against the Black Widow actress in her breach of contact lawsuit against the Burbank studio.
Disney shamed the two-time Oscar nominee on Thursday by claiming her trial showed “ruthless indifference” to the pandemic – the latter having been the studio’s excuse for taking Black Widow day and date in theaters on and Disney + Premier. Disney also paid his $ 20 million salary for the film, which he said coupled with the Disney + funds of the MCU title “dramatically improved his ability to earn extra pay.”
Below is Lourd’s statement:
I’m talking about the Walt Disney Company statement that was released in response to the lawsuit filed against them yesterday by our client Scarlett Johansson. They shamelessly and falsely accused Ms Johansson of being insensitive to the global COVID pandemic, in an attempt to make her appear as someone they and I know she is not.
Scarlett has partnered with Disney on nine films, which have grossed billions for Disney and its shareholders. The company included her salary in its press release in an attempt to arm her success as an artist and businesswoman, as if it was something she should be ashamed of. Scarlett is extremely proud of the work she and all of Marvel’s actors, writers, directors, producers and creative team have been involved in for over a decade.
This lawsuit was filed following Disney’s decision to knowingly breach Scarlett’s contract. They very deliberately shifted the stream of revenue and profits to the Disney + side of society, leaving the artistic and financial partners out of their new equation. That’s it, pure and simple.
Disney’s direct attack on her character and all that it entails is underneath the business that many of us in the creative community have worked with successfully for decades.
Johansson’s breach of contract lawsuit (read it here) was filed in Los Angeles Superior Court yesterday, and is the first public slam by a Hollywood star against a studio that is raising money by crushing theater windows at the expense of talent in exchange for an increase in its stock price for the sake of its new streaming service. Disney’s share price in the wake of Disney + hit a 52-week high of $ 203.02; the shares are now trading at $ 176.90 at the time of this report.
The actress’ contract with Disney called for a large theatrical release, much like other MCU movies. Reports say Johansson lost over $ 50 million in Disney’s Dynamic Window Experience, which resulted in a worldwide PVOD and a theatrical weekend for the first weekend. Black Widow of $ 218 million. Black Widow will have the chance to hit $ 350 million worldwide at the box office, a low gross amount for an MCU title, which typically generates over $ 1 billion. The National Association of Theater Owners criticized Disney during the second photo weekend for advancing the PVOD money. All of this ultimately means that Black Widow will earn less money in its total income lifecycle. Universal F9, who has respected the theatrical window, seeks to do the double Black Widow made at the global box office.
“It’s no secret that Disney releases movies like Black Widow directly on Disney + to increase the number of subscribers and thus increase the company’s stock price – and that it is hiding behind Covid-19 as a pretext to do so, ”said Johansson’s attorney, John Berlinski of Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP, in a statement Thursday. “But ignoring the contracts of the artists responsible for the success of his films in pursuing this short-sighted strategy violates their rights and we look forward to proving it in court. This surely won’t be the last time Hollywood talent stands up to Disney and makes it clear that whatever the company may claim, it has a legal obligation to honor its contracts.
Those who profit Black Widow most prominent by the lawsuit are Disney Titans CEO Bob Chapek and Executive Chairman Bob Iger, who have raised a lot of money tied to the success of Disney +.
“Disney’s financial information makes it clear that the same Disney executives who orchestrated this strategy will personally benefit from their misconduct and that of Disney,” as they identify Chapek’s stock grants “totaling 3.8 times his base salary. of $ 2.5 million “in 2021, with the” primary rationale “for that price being the launch of direct-to-consumer services. The lawsuit also notes that Iger received the “overwhelming majority” of his $ 16.5 million compensation in the form of stock awards, with the company’s annual report citing the growth of Disney +.
Johansson has had credits in seven MCU movies that have amassed $ 10.3 billion at the global box office. Separately, she had a voiceover role in Disney’s live-action version of The jungle Book which grossed $ 966.6 million WW, and their Searchlight acquired Oscar nominees Bunny Jojo which made WW $ 90.3 million.
Ted Johnson contributed to this report.
[ad_2]
Source link