Disney vs. Scarlett Johansson: Why “a Ton of Lawsuits” May Be Next
As the Bob Chapek-led regime goes to war with a Marvel star, Hollywood stars and creatives fear the end of massive backend deals.
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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. Let's even say she doesn't, and that she is — as Disney has publicly contended — greedy and indifferent to the horrors of the pandemic.
It doesn't matter.
Because even if all that were true, industry insiders agree, attacking Johansson so personally was a pretty spectacular unforced error. And many observers are laying that at the feet of CEO Bob Chapek (with an assist from reflexively vindictive top communications officer Zenia Mucha and with approval from the lawyers).
The person who isn't getting the blame? Outgoing chairman Bob Iger. "Somebody's playing it like an amateur," says one former Disney executive. "Iger's no amateur." A top executive at a rival studio agrees, adding that the whole confrontation seems ill-advised and avoidable. "It's insane to me — insane," he says. "Do you think on Bob Iger's watch he would ever have allowed a piece of talent to sue them?" (This executive notes that it's possible to settle such disputes by finding creative ways to pay stars without setting undesirable compensation precedents.)
A Disney insider says that blame for the statement is being placed unfairly at Chapek's feet and "this was not a unilateral decision nor an edict" from him. (It is difficult, however, to discern who, if anyone, on the studio side was informed in advance.)
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. He is hardly alone in that belief — other media giants also are all about the up-front, one-time payment. And those profit participations may not seem remotely sane to most people. But talent and their representatives fought for and won them, and obviously now they are going to fight to keep them.
In time, Johansson is likely to have company on the battle lines. "It's a much bigger existential fight that she's really leading," says producer Jason Blum. "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. (He acknowledges his hypocrisy in that he just signed a rich deal with Universal to make three Exorcist movies for a large but flat up-front fee — a model that he hopes isn't sustainable.) The alternative to paying the talent, he notes, is paying the corporation—and how, he asks, is that better?
"What the streamers are betting on is that in the next three to five years, there will only be three or four [of them] left pumping content into homes, and they'll be so powerful that they will be able to push the price down of producing, of paying talent, of paying producers, of paying writers, directors," says Blum. "I personally don't think they'll be able to do it, but that's what they're betting on."
Another prominent producer thinks they will be able to do it — but doesn't think it will be good for the industry. "From this point on, it's just going to be work for hire," he says. "It's a huge sea change for everyone. You'll still get a huge payment up front. It's just not going to be huge home runs any more. And with time, those fees will get smaller." But having been offered such deals, this person says, "It doesn't matter to me whether [my movie] is a huge hit or not. The pressure's off." He doesn't want to embarrass himself, but a project just needs to be good enough to get the next deal. This may help explain why so many movies made for streamers seem to lack luster.
Blum concurs. "On a streaming movie, [if] you're not participating in the upside or downside, I think that compromises the creative process." Blum says he's counting on "a ton of lawsuits" in the hope that "eventually, there will be sharing in streaming — just like there has been for 50 years in this business."
