Disney Will Seek Arbitration in Scarlett Johansson Lawsuit

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney+, Uncategorized

Via wdwnt.com

There has been quite a bit of back-and-forth between Disney and Scarlett Johansson, who plays Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The star recently filed a lawsuit against Disney over her most recent outing as the super spy in this month’s “Black Widow.” And after more than a week of responses in the media and in legal filings, Disney is now seeking arbitration according to the Wall Street Journal.

Johansson’s lawsuit alleges that by releasing the film on Disney+ simultaneously with the theatrical release, “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.” Johansson reportedly took a partial back-end deal, in which her salary for the film was derived from the box office sales which, the lawsuit alleges, were undercut by the Disney+ sales.

After multiple delays in release due to the COVID-19 pandemic shuttering theaters nationwide, it was announced in March that “Black Widow” would be one of several films pushed through to the Disney+ streaming service as a Premiere Access title. Despite an $80 million opening in the US and Canada and $60 million garnered from Disney+ sales, the film still sits at $359 million worldwide. With $174 million total domestic take as of press time, this makes “Black Widow” the 2nd lowest-earning marvel film ever, behind “The Incredible Hulk.”

In the Wall Street Journal, Disney released figures touting that Johansson had already earned $20 million from her deal. Previously, Disney attorney Daniel Petrocelli had called the lawsuit a lost cause because the contract is iron clad. “We treated Disney Premier Access (revenue) like box office for the purposes of the bonus requirements in the contract,” Petrocelli told Variety. “No amount of public pressure can change or obscure the explicit contractual commitments. The written contract is clear as a bell.”

Disney’s arbitration would make the case confidential and the details would not become publicly available even after the case ends, which Johansson’s lawyer John Berlinski decried as Disney’s attempt to “hide its misconduct from the public in a confidential arbitration,” according to the Wall Street Journal article.

Two Item Limit on Halloween Merchandise at Walt Disney World

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Parks

Often with merchandise releases at Disney Parks, the stock can quickly be cleaned out by just a few people purchasing multiple copies of each piece of the newly released products and then reselling the merchandise at a higher price online. These “resellers” deplete the stock and leave precious little for the average visitor to purchase. For certain collectibles and pins that are most prone to this reseller activity, a two-per-item, per guest limit is imposed to try and make the stock last longer and be available for more individuals. And for the first time, all Halloween merchandise has had this two item limit imposed as well.

With the debut of the new Halloween merchandise collection today, signs were affixed to each display with the purchase limit.

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The purchase limit is common to see with pins, but usually limited edition or limited release pins. These open edition pins have the limit because the Halloween merchandise is in such great demand online that the shelf could be cleared out by only a few people if given the opportunity to purchase as many as possible.

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Rider Switch Policy Updated at Walt Disney World

Posted on by Mathew Corn Animal Kingdom, Disney Parks, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, Magic Kingdom

Via wdwnt.com

Walt Disney World has updated their rider switch (a.k.a. child swap) policy to limit the number of guests who can ride twice.

Here’s the description and directions for rider switch from the Walt Disney World website:

If a child does not meet the height requirement or a Guest does not wish to board a particular attraction, no problem! With Rider Switch, one adult can wait with the non-rider (or riders) while the rest of the party enjoys the attraction. When the other adult returns, they can supervise the non-riding Guests, and the waiting adult can board the attraction without having to wait in the regular line again!

To Use Rider Switch:

1. First check with a Cast Member to see if Rider Switch is offered at the attraction in question.

2. Once at the attraction, approach the greeting Cast Member with your entire party. At least one adult member of your party and the Guests who are not riding will be issued a Ride Switch entitlement by the Cast Member and asked to wait in a designated area (usually outside of the attraction). This group is “Party 2.”

3. The other party members (“Party 1”) ride the attraction.

4. After riding the attraction, Party 1 locates Party 2. Then, Party 1 takes over supervision of the non-riding children or Guests.

5. Party 2 enters and boards the attraction without having to wait in the regular queue a second time. The Rider Switch entitlement must be validated by a Cast Member at this time.

The policy previously read “If the person in Party 2 waited alone with the child, he or she may bring up to 2 other Guests back to ride the attraction with him or her. Please note that only 3 Guests are allowed per Rider Switch Pass.”

It now states “Please note that if the person in Party 2 waited alone with the child or non-riding Guest, the number of Guests who may join him or her and ride again is limited.”

This seems to indicate that only 1 or possibly no other guests may ride with Party 2. This may be to prevent some guests from riding multiple times in a row, and therefore shorten wait times for other guests.

Flying Fish at Disney’s Boardwalk Expected to Reopen Next Month

Posted on by Mathew Corn Disney Dining, Disney Resorts

Guests looking for sustainable seafood and prime steaks may soon be able to once again dine at Flying Fish. The restaurant, located at Disney’s Boardwalk, is rumored to open in September.

Flying Fish features an open kitchen, allowing guests to watch chefs prepare dishes like Hokkaido scallops, Sardinian seafood pasta, and char-crusted New York strip. Although the restaurant has been closed since March 2020, a menu is still available online.