Insiders Say There Is Growing Tension Between Disney's Dueling Heads, Bob Iger and Bob Chapek
Scarlet Johanson Sues Disney Over Black Widow Payments, Confirming the Film is the MCU's First Bomb

Chapek succeeded Iger in 2020 -- but, like Jay Leno after Conan O'Brien took over the Tonight Show, stuck around to provide "stability" to Disney during the pandemic caused by their Chinese partners.

So Chapek was never really the CEO. He always was competing with this other asshole.

And he's getting tired of it.

Iger has his own complaint:

That Chapek harmed relations with their Chinese partners/bosses by releasing Black Widow on July 9th, which bumped into the Chinese Communist Party's celebration of its 100 years of despotism.

So that's Disney, now: Worrying that its release schedule may intrude into the festivities for the Chinese Communist Party's 100 year anniversay.

Hollywood insiders say there's growing tension between the Disney chiefs.

They say Chapek's "Black Widow" release strategy may have hurt relations with China.

Chapek succeeded Iger in 2020, but Iger has stayed on to bring stability in the pandemic.

Tension is building between Disney chiefs Bob Iger and Bob Chapek over the future of the Mouse House, four people told Insider.

One senior studio executive familiar with Iger's thinking said many in Hollywood believe the two men are no longer as friendly as they had been, that Chapek is eager to get on with running Disney on his own terms, and that Iger has been stalling his exit for too long.

"It's just common knowledge. They don't get along," this person said. "It's awkward with Bob Iger around, and it's a long goodbye, and Chapek is sitting there saying, 'I just want to run the company.'''

...

The New York Times reported in April 2020 that Iger was reasserting control because of how much the pandemic had ravaged Disney's business.

"When Bob [Iger] inserted himself back into the company, it was a huge slap in the face. The concern was that Bob Chapek couldn't handle it," said the senior studio executive.

A cinema industry executive familiar with the thinking at Disney said Iger is frustrated that Chapek may have harmed the company's carefully cultivated relationships in the all-important China market with its "Black Widow" release strategy.

Disney's choice of July 9 to release the latest Marvel movie internationally bumped into China's month-long celebrations of the Chinese Communist Party's 100-year anniversary. The cinema industry executive noted that China has yet to give a release date for "Black Widow." Widespread piracy of the movie also threatens to hurt the China box office.

Even the shill media has to admit now that Black Widow is a box office bust:

"The questionable part is the content side of the business, which was Bob Iger's strength. I don't know how much of a learning curve he still needs. He has been open to experimentation, though this last one ['Black Widow' release strategy] is a big one, missing the whole China window," Ehrlich said.

"No Marvel movie has ever seen such a decline in the second week of a theatrical run or even in the Saturday and Sunday of opening weekend. It is an embarrassment. It seems like a mistake. Those decisions go right to the top, but it's still early and we're in very unusual times."

Thanks to Clownfish TV.

I guess they can no longer pretend away the fact that Black Widow is the first true bomb in the MCU (or M-She-U): Scarlet Johanson is suing Disney, because her contract specified she'd get paid points based on theatrical box office performance, and Disney breached the contract by also releasing it on streaming at the same time it was in theaters.

Note she wouldn't be suing if it made a lot of money in theaters. She might have taken a hit, but if she were making a lot of money, she would have worked it out with some kind of bonus from Disney.

The fact that she's suing is official proof the movie bombed.

Scarlett Johansson, star of the latest Marvel movie "Black Widow," filed a lawsuit Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court against Disney, DIS -0.42% alleging her contract was breached when the media giant released the film on its Disney+ streaming service at the same time as its theatrical debut.

Ms. Johansson said in the suit that her agreement with Disney’s Marvel Entertainment guaranteed an exclusive theatrical release, and her salary was based in large part on the box-office performance of the film.

"Disney intentionally induced Marvel's breach of the agreement, without justification, in order to prevent Ms. Johansson from realizing the full benefit of her bargain with Marvel," the suit said.

A Disney spokesman said Ms. Johansson’s suit had no merit and is "especially sad and distressing in its callous disregard for the horrific and prolonged global effects of the Covid-19 pandemic."

Oh eff right the eff off, Disney.

It was your Chinese partners who made the pandemic you're accusing others of being cavalier about.

The company said it "fully complied with Ms. Johansson's contract and furthermore, the release of Black Widow on Disney+ with Premier Access has significantly enhanced her ability to earn additional compensation on top of the $20 million she has received to date."

I think they did cut her in for a percentage of the on-demand money. They must have done that.

So this is about the film still badly underperforming, and Johanson still not making nearly what she thought she'd make on the back end. And she's claiming that this has to do with Disney's release strategy, which I guess she's claiming depressed revenues both at the box office and from streaming.

Either way, this is a massive, massive admission that the MCU has failed.

And Shang-Chi and The Eternals are still coming up! I can't wait!

Thanks to bonhomme.

In more Bonfire of the Once-Lucrative IPs news, the worst showrunner in Doctor Who's history, as well as his handpicked "Doctor" -- the worst Doctor in Doctor Who's history -- are leaving the show, and leaving it in shambles.

The ratings are so low it is widely believed the BBC may now simply cancel it. And they'll do that partly to spite the former fans who rejected their leftwing propaganda version of Doctor Who.

The BBC has finally confirmed one of the worst kept secrets in television: Jodie Whittaker and showrunner Chris Chibnall are quitting Doctor Who.

Quitting. With ratings at their lowest level ever.

Who knows, the BBC is so spiteful and determined to push its woke propaganda, maybe they really were asked to stay on, but realized they were damaging their careers if they stayed on any longer.

The duo have been in charge of the Tardis since 2017 and will be leaving BBC Studios' iconic sci-fi franchise next year. Before they exit, they will bring fans Season 13 this fall and three feature-length specials in 2022, the last of which will mark the end of the Thirteenth Doctor.

It will be a shortened season. It is speculated that they are trying to just get to the 60th anniversary of the show without cancelling it, so they're s-t-r-e-t-c-h-i-n-g a short season and three "specials" (which are probably not very special) out over a long period of time so they can limp to the 60th anniversary in 2023 by spending the lowest possible amount of money. Then they'll do a single show bringing in various previous Doctors and cancel the thing.

posted by Ace at 01:21 PM

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