Scarlett Johansson Talks Openly About Disney Legal Battles Regarding “Black Widow” and Wes Anderson’s “Liberating” Cannes Film

The same might be said of Scarlett Johansson, Wes Anderson’s most recent leading woman. The director has collaborated with enough A-list talent to fill a Met Gala, including Cate Blanchett, George Clooney, and Meryl Streep, but he admits that star power remains a bit of a mystery. In his movie “Asteroid City,” which stars Scarlett Johansson as a brilliant 1950s cinema legend, the filmmaker believes he has cracked the code: “Scarlett’s voice is so expressive and intriguing. It is, in my opinion, her best asset.

Scarlett Johansson has grown more at ease raising that voice when she believes she has been treated unfairly as her celebrity has grown. She surprised the business by entering the ring with Disney, the most influential company in Hollywood, in July 2021, as one example. Shortly after the studio’s Marvel prequel ‘Black Widow’ hit theatres, the actress, who was confined to her Upper East Side apartment and only days away from giving birth to Cosmo, her second child, launched an explosive lawsuit against the company.

Scarlett Johansson team had been working behind the scenes for the past six months to pressure the studio to fulfil the millions of dollars in backend pay she would forfeit when “Black Widow” was simultaneously distributed on Disney+ and in theatres as the epidemic raged. Given that her contract stipulated that the “Avengers” spinoff be solely released in theatres, the violation was obvious. In an effort to boost its stock price, Disney, which was then headed by CEO Bob Chapek, said that “Black Widow” brought in more than $60 million in worldwide sales for Disney+ Premier Access.

Scarlett Johansson

The studio removed its protective covering in reaction to the lawsuit and issued a jaw-dropping statement that criticised Scarlett Johansson for her “callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the COVID-19 pandemic” and casually disclosed her closely-guarded $20 million upfront salary. According to all appearances, the studio had launched war on an actress who played Russian assassin Natasha Romanoff in eight of its Marvel tentpoles, beginning with 2010’s “Iron Man 2,” and who is also a corporate super fan, the sort that just celebrated Christmas at Disney World with a party of 15 pals.

On an April afternoon in New York City, as Scarlett Johansson and I sit next to one other, she flinches at the thought of Disney’s harsh remark, her brilliant grin fading. “I felt depressed and let down. mainly depressing,” she adds. We were all alone at the time, and we were only just beginning to emerge a little. In a strange sense, it was perfect timing that I was also quite pregnant. Your entire focus is now focused on this wonder of life. I therefore had the best diversion ever, and shortly after, I gave birth to a lovely child.

Bryan Lourd, Scarlett Johansson agent, was everything but preoccupied. He remembers, “I lost my mind and said, ‘How dare you make it seem like she’s not worth this money or that she somehow hasn’t earned it?'” “She and I had a pretty similar understanding of what this was. She also had the conviction to let me defend myself. Many individuals wouldn’t act in such manner. She did so in part because she believed that, given the situation she was in, she had a duty to not just herself but also to those who were dealing with the shift.

When Cosmo started smiling for the first time two months later, Scarlett Johansson and Disney settled their legal dispute. The agreement’s terms were not made public, although Scarlett Johansson allegedly received a payoff that exceeded $40 million. Burt Lancaster, Kevin Costner, and Sylvester Stallone are just a few of the Hollywood actors who have successfully sued studios over the industry’s history; the only notable exceptions are Olivia de Havilland and Elizabeth Taylor.

Taylor sued Fox in 1964 for underpaying him for the film “Cleopatra,” and the case was resolved for $7 million, or about $60 million in today’s currency. Scarlett Johansson, however, made history by standing up to a titan in the streaming era, and the impact of her lawsuit may still be felt in Hollywood and beyond as wealthy companies exploit the epidemic as an excuse to raise labour costs. In some respects, the conflict between Johansson and the media powerhouse serves as a prelude to the writers strike that is currently rocking the business.

“I couldn’t even enter a restaurant without hearing someone congratulate me. “Be strong for yourself,” she exhorts. “I could see it had a greater effect. I received assistance from complete strangers who had no stake in the outcome.

Amazingly, any resentment between Disney and Scarlett Johansson has vanished. On the upcoming “Tower of Terror,” which is based on its well-known theme park attraction and has Taika Waititi attached to helm, the 38-year-old actress is still working with the studio. She still makes at least ten trips to Disney World each year, and she gets excited while discussing the studio’s motion pictures.

The two years her family spent living in Florida are what gave rise to the fascination. I really love the Disney parks, and we had yearly passes to Disney World. It was also a tremendous moment for Disney animation while I was growing up, with films like “The Little Mermaid,” “Aladdin,” and “Lion King” featuring fantastic soundtracks. I’ll be pre-purchasing tickets for “The Little Mermaid,” for instance.

She supports her reputation as a supporter of movie theatres by saying, “I actually need to text my sister about that,” even if it is absurd to think that Scarlett Scarlett Johansson would use Fandango like the rest of us.

Scarlett Johansson has recently been contributing her voice to the dramatic Cannes premiere of “Asteroid City.” The historical movie will have its global debut during the festival, when she will undoubtedly the toast of the Croisette for her homage to the old-school movie stars (she says to think of Bette Davis).

If a Disney PR genius tried to portray Johansson as a hoarding miser, the truth is far different. She enthusiastically worked for two months on the Focus Features movie that was filmed in Spain for a meagre $4,131 a week. She has only made two trips to Cannes since her well praised performance in Woody Allen’s 2005 noir film “Match Point.”

Hollywood’s highest-grossing star, male or female, since Scarlett Johansson signed with CAA’s Lourd just before negotiating her contract for “Iron Man 2” — she only earned the Black Widow part when Emily Blunt withdrew — is now the Black Widow. (To date, her films have brought in $14.52 billion globally.) She also has the ability to carry an independent picture on her own, as she did with the 2014 sci-fi action movie “Lucy,” which made $459 million worldwide despite not having any recognisable IP. The native New Yorker now often earns $20 million for big studio productions like the upcoming Apple comedy “Project Artemis,” in which she co-stars with Channing Tatum.

Scarlett Johansson has become the most sought-after actress because to her collaborations with directors like Christopher Nolan and the Coen brothers as well as her Oscar nominations for “Marriage Story” by Noah Baumbach and “Jojo Rabbit” by Taika Waititi. The audience has been endlessly captivated by her because of her desire to confront the current quo, career risks and all.

She’s really strong and evolved, and I appreciate that she’s never engaged in those types of internal debates or discussions about who she is, adds Lourd. Not that she was born sure or anything like that, of course. She still needs a lot of improvement. However, she is adamant about her worth, both emotionally and professionally.

Scarlett Johansson , dressed in brown corduroys and a short-sleeved cashmere jumper on this gloomy afternoon, has just ended a picture session and, with the aid of some makeup removal, has rapidly transformed from movie star splendour to utilitarian chic.

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In person, she comes out as being quite at ease—even airy. She can’t let go of certain things, though: She squats down to pick up a perfectly nice pint of strawberries that someone has dropped on the floor of her changing area and declares, “They don’t belong there.” On the counter in front of her, she places the fruit.

After donning a rust-colored baseball cap over her blonde hair, she slumps onto an uncomfortable director’s chair with her feet protruding from a pair of dirty white Nikes and starts to tell the tale of how she came to be.

Scarlett Johansson, who was born into a bohemian Manhattan family three minutes before her twin brother Hunter, spent her early years living in small Greenwich Village homes that couldn’t hold her along with her parents and two other brothers. (She also has a younger adoptive sister and an older half-brother.) “I required a lot of consideration. ‘Look at me,’ you say. When asked about her early desire to perform, she responds, “What about look at me today. “I believe that was a significant motivator.

I was a bit of a ham and simply really enjoyed making up stories. I cherished dancing and singing. All of the Golden Age films and Rodgers and Hammerstein musicals were shown to me by my mother. When she had the money, she would take us to Broadway shows.

We would wait in the queue for discounted tickets before heading to a performance.