Let’s set aside for a moment the question of whether Scarlett Johansson has a legal leg to stand on in her fight with Disney over her compensation for Black Widow.
Because even if all that were true, industry insiders agree, attacking Johansson so personally was a pretty spectacular unforced error.
“Iger’s no amateur.” A top executive at a rival studio agrees, adding that the whole confrontation seems ill-advised and avoidable.
Disney’s posture is being read in Hollywood as Chapek signaling his indifference to star talent.
After myriad clashes with star-unfriendly Marvel Entertainment chairman Ike Perlmutter , Perlmutter vanished from the equation amid a 2015 reporting structure change by Iger.
It appears clear that Chapek, who has been — as noted in Johansson’s lawsuit — rewarded on Wall Street for his focus on building Disney+, believes it is time to establish that the days of epic eight- or nine-figure profit-sharing paydays are over.
“It’s a very difficult thing to do, it’s really brave to do and she’s fighting for all of talent.” Financially, Blum is set for multiple lifetimes but still wants streamers to share revenue with talent in success.
Chapek, who did a stint in home video before moving on to consumer products and then to theme parks, has been leaning on numbers while leaving the messy talent-relations business to executives at the studio.
By late 2020, as studios began shifting movies that had been put into production with the expectation of an exclusive theatrical release onto their streaming services, agents began to complain that Disney was distinguishing itself — and not in a good way — in negotiations with key talent.
Hollywood struck back and Warners got the memo, writing top-dollar checks to important talent and committing to an exclusive theatrical run for its 2022 movies.
Now Hollywood can focus its ire on the Chapek regime.
And with time, those fees will get smaller.” But having been offered such deals, this person says, “It doesn’t matter to me whether is a huge hit or not.