Scarlett Johansson.Photo: Karwai Tang/Getty
Disney is pushing back followingScarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against the company foralleged breach of contractover the release ofBlack Widow.
Arbitration is a confidential process “where disputing parties agree that one or several individuals can make a decision about the dispute after receiving evidence and hearing arguments,” per theAmerican Bar Association.
In response to Friday’s filing, Johansson’s attorney John Berlinski said in a statement, “After initially responding to this litigation with a misogynistic attack against Scarlett Johansson, Disney is now, predictably, trying to hide its misconduct in a confidential arbitration.”
“Why is Disney so afraid of litigating this case in public?” he continued. “Because it knows that Marvel’s promises to giveBlack Widowa typical theatrical release ‘like its other films’ had everything to do with guaranteeing that Disney wouldn’t cannibalize box office receipts in order to boost Disney+ subscriptions. Yet that is exactly what happened — and we look forward to presenting the overwhelming evidence that proves it.”
“Disney intentionally induced Marvel’s breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel,” the lawsuit read.
Disney’s latest filing disputes that claim and questions Johansson’s Periwinkle Entertainment Inc. for deciding not to name Marvel as a defendant in the lawsuit.
“In a futile effort to evade this unavoidable result (and generate publicity through a public filing), Periwinkle excluded Marvel as a party to this lawsuit — substituting instead its parent company Disney under contract-interference theories. But longstanding principles do not permit such gamesmanship,” Disney said in the filing.
Scarlett Johansson as Black Widow.Marvel/Paramount/Kobal/Shutterstock
The defendant also stated, “Marvel discussed the hybrid-release-pattern decision with Johansson in spring 2021, as the parties were conferring regarding the Picture’s release date. Marvel has assured Johansson that she will be credited with 100% of the Premier Access and PEHV receipts for purposes of the box-office thresholds used to calculate any additional compensation — even though Marvel has no obligation under the Agreement to do so.”
The company also made a pointed remark thatBlack Widow’s box-office opening weekend grossed more than $135 million, noting it was “more than that of many other Marvel Cinematic Universe films, includingThor: The Dark World;Ant-Man;Ant-Man and the Wasp; andGuardians of the Galaxy.”
Opening the curtain behind the film’s success, Disney said that as of Aug. 15, the movie “grossed more than $367 million in worldwide box-office receipts and more than $125 million in streaming and download retail receipts.”
Scarlett Johansson.Getty
After Johansson’s lawsuit was made public, a Disney spokesperson for the company said, “There is no merit whatsoever to this filing. The lawsuit is especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of theCOVID-19 pandemic.”
“Disney has fully complied with Ms. Johansson’s contract and furthermore, the release ofBlack Widowon Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20M she has received to date,” the statement continued.
Disney facedbacklash from Johansson’s agentBryan Lourd as well as multiple women’s groups in Hollywood, such as Time’s Up, ReFrame and Women in Film, who called the company’s response to the actress’s lawsuit “a gendered character attack.”
Two weeks later, Disney CEOBob Chapekstated that he supports the company’s hybrid movie release model.
During an earnings call on Aug. 12, Chapek spoke about the dual releases of films in movie theaters and on Disney+, telling Wall Street analysts, “We value flexibility in being able to make last-minute calls,” according toDeadline.
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He added that he and former CEO Bob Iger, who now serves as chairman of the board at Disney, “determined” the dual release plan for several of this year’s movies “was the right strategy to enable us to reach the broadest possible audience.”
source: people.com
