Kevin Feige is the most powerful and influential film producer on Earth. Feige is the creator of Marvel Cinematic Universe. He has been a movie producer since the beginning. Not a writer nor a director, but a producer with brand appeal. This power he uses to keep making the Disney-owned Marvel movies he enjoys making. He also makes billions of dollars, which he presumably enjoys. Feige has earned a stellar reputation over the past decade for his talent management skills. It is not difficult to imagine a roster that has this many stars surviving for more than ten years without having to deal with drama.AdvertisementYesterday, however, MCU star Scarlett Johansson filed a lawsuit against Disney alleging that Disney's decision to simultaneously release Black Widow on Disney+ and in theaters violated agreements with her. This lawsuit could have cost her $50 million in potential box-office bonuses. While Disney quickly responded with strangely shame-based responses, suggesting that Johansson was bullying the small global business syndicate. He called Johanssons suit distressing and sad for its inability to pay attention to the devastating and long-term global effects of COVID-19 pandemic.Publicly: At least, one source reports that Feige is not happy with the way this situation has turned out. This is according to What Im Hearing, a regular industry newsletter by former editor of The Hollywood Reporter Matt Belloni. It claims that Feige is upset and embarrassed at Disney's handling the ScarJo situation. Belloni does not cite any names, but he claims that Feige opposed the hybrid release schedule of Black Widow right from the beginning. Belloni wrote, "When the shithit hit the fan and the movie started sinking, Johanssons' team threatened litigation, [Feige] asked Disney to make this right with me." This friction is not pleasant and doesn't look good for other potential stars.Belloni also provides interesting analysis, based on Johanssons lawsuit about why this is occurring now. The company saw a rise in stock prices after publishing figures about Black Widows streaming performance. However, this did not benefit the performers. Johanssons bonuses were based on the sum of the Premium Access payments for Black Widows on Disney+. However, Johansson claims that it was not worth the risk to stream the Black Widows Premium Access payment. If a movie fails numbers-wise but draws in lots of new subscribers, Disney wins. But performers, whose deals revolve around ticket sales, don't get a break from the old system that allowed the MCU to thrive.Look: Nobody expected Kevin Feige would walk over this. Belloni, who also reported on rumors that Emma Stone is considering her options regarding Cruella's treatment (although this will depend partly on how Johanssons case goes), also notes that Feige is a man of business. According to reports, Disney has already reached out to stars to try to renegotiate with Johansson. This is presumably due to the fact that there are only so many high-profile talent revolts that even the leviathan can eat.
