Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli shared his thoughts on the legal battle with Scarlett Johansson over Black Widow‘s streaming service release.
After several delays, Black Widow found its way on Disney Plus alongside a theatrical release due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly a month after its release and it was revealed that Scarlett Johansson is suing Disney for breaching her contract. Longtime Disney lawyer Daniel Petrocelli recently talked about the situation with Variety:
“It is obvious that this is a highly orchestrated PR campaign to achieve an outcome that is not obtainable in the lawsuit. No amount of public pressure can change or obscure the explicit contractual commitments. The written contract is clear as a bell.”
When Black Widow hit Disney Plus last month, it was under the Premier Access paywall which required a $29.99 fee to view. Petrocelli went onto say he feels the streaming route increased Scarlett Johansson’s payday:
“We treated Disney Premier Access (revenue) like box office for the purposes of the bonus requirements in the contract. That only enhanced the economics for Ms. Johansson.”
Here is the synopsis for Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow:
In Marvel Studios’ action-packed spy thriller “Black Widow,” Natasha Romanoff aka Black Widow confronts the darker parts of her ledger when a dangerous conspiracy with ties to her past arises. Pursued by a force that will stop at nothing to bring her down, Natasha must deal with her history as a spy and the broken relationships left in her wake long before she became an Avenger.
Directed by Cate Shortland from a script written by Eric Pearson based on a story by Jac Schaeffer and Ned Benson, the Marvel film stars Scarlett Johansson, Florence Pugh, David Harbour, O-T Fagbenle, Ray Winstone, Olivier Richters, and Rachel Weisz.
Black Widow is out now in theatres and Disney Plus via Premier Access. Stay tuned for all the latest news surrounding the lawsuit and be sure to subscribe to Heroic Hollywood’s YouTube channel for more original video content.
Source: Variety
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