Johansson’s lawsuit against the studio
started a series of discussions about the gains of actors and crews in relation
to productions released directly to streaming. In the case of Black Widow, the
actress was also a producer and had a box office earnings clause in her
contract.
With the
simultaneous debut on streaming, Johansson would have had financial losses and
also questions whether she would not be entitled to part of the earnings with
Premier Access, which includes an additional amount to be paid by the
subscriber.
Meanwhile, in an interview with Vanity Fair
to talk about her first Emmy Award nomination for WandaVision, Elizabeth Olsen
commented on Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney, after the release of
Black Widow on digital platforms.
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| Scarlett Johansson |
She said: “I think she’s a badass and
when I read about it I thought ‘good for you Scarlett’.
“I am concerned that small films will have
the opportunity to be seen in theaters. This was already an issue before COVID.
I like going to the movies and not necessarily seeing an Oscar contender or a
blockbuster.
“I would like
to see more art films. I worry about that, people trying to keep theaters alive
and I don’t know how that works financially. I really hope that there is a
solution, that the big companies are coming together to maintain – at least in
Los Angeles this needs to happen.
“But I really
think it’s going to be like back when big studios owned movie theaters. And I
have a feeling that’s the only way to keep them alive, because of the real
estate prices.
“But when it
comes to actors and their earnings, well, it’s just a matter of contract,
what’s in the contract or not.”
