Elizabeth Olsen expressed her support for Scarlett Johansson following a lawsuit filed by the latter actress against Disney regarding the release of Black Widow on Disney+.
As a reminder, Johansson alleged last month that Disney’s release of the blockbuster on its streaming platform was a breach of contract that negatively impacted how much she could make from the film because a portion of her salary was tied to the performance of the movie at the box office.
Olsen made her comments as part of a conversation she was having alongside Jason Sudeikis for an interview published this past Friday by Vanity Fair.
It was preceded by the interviewer asking them whether or not they worry about the future theatrical experience because of the way COVID’s disrupted movie releases. In the same question Johansson’s lawsuit was cited. You know what, let’s just excerpt the question:
Speaking of streaming, both of you have starred in big theatrical movies. Are either of you worried about the theatrical experience, in the way that COVID has changed how movies are being released at this point? We saw how that’s playing out with Scarlett Johansson’s recent lawsuit.
Olsen said she wasn’t worried on behalf of Johansson, but that she did worry that small movies may no longer get an opportunity to be played in theaters. She also added that the wording of a contract has to mean something.
“I’m worried about a bunch of things. Not worried on Scarlett’s behalf. But I’m worried about small movies getting the opportunity to be seen in theaters,” Olsen said. “That was already a thing pre-COVID. I like going to the movies and I don’t necessarily want to see only an Oscar contender or a blockbuster. I would like to see art films and art house theaters. And so I do worry about that, and people having to keep these theaters alive. And I don’t know how financially that works for these theaters.
“I do hope that there’s some sort of solution that the larger companies are coming together to keep, at least in L.A. this is going to happen. But I do think it’s going to be how it kind of used to be when studios owned theaters. And I have a feeling that we might go back to that being the only way to keep them alive with such expensive real estate. But when it comes to actors and their earnings, I mean, that’s just, that’s just all contracts. So it’s either in the contract or it’s not.”
When Olsen asked Sudeikis if he worried for Johansson, the Ted Lasso actor responded in the affirmative, saying “Of course. How could I not? She’s married to my comedy brother.” To that Olsen added: “I think she’s so tough and literally when I read that [news] I was like, ‘good for you Scarlett.’”
Sudeikis wrapped this specific subject by saying the suit against Disney was “appropriately bad-ass and on brand” for Johansson.
In addition to the stuff about the Black Widow star, Olsen and Sudeikis’ answers are probably of interest to anyone wondering how streaming services and theaters will share future movie releases.
You can read the whole thing here.
