Discover and read the best of Twitter Threads about #DisneyMustPay
Most recents (7)
In November 2020, @SFWA came forward with a stunning accusation: Disney had told the beloved writer Alan Dean Foster (author of the original, bestselling Star Wars novelization) that they would not ever pay him the royalties he was owed.
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If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:
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Disney argued that Foster's contract - where he was guaranteed wages for his creative labor on the Star Wars book, which was written before the film was complete and formed the basis for many elements of the final movie - was with Lucasfilm, not Disney. 3/
ScarJo complaint here. This is one of those breach of contract claims that should be a law-school example for years to come. The parties are arguing about whether the contract's requirement that Black Widow be given a "wide theatrical release" precluded simultaneous streaming
This is super important, because ScarJo's pay for the movie was tied to box-office receipts, and there's no question that the simultaneous release on Disney+ cost her loads and loads of money.
Her complaint alleges 50M, and while numbers in complaints are not necessarily the best metric (they can be pie-in-the-sky moonshots from plaintiffs), in a case like this that tells me that 50M was one of the potential bonuses on enough box office sales.
A #DisneyMustPay Task Force Update - Alan Dean Foster, James Kahn, and Donald F. Glut, the novelization authors of the original Star Wars trilogy, have resolved their royalties’ issues and will be paid by Disney. Lower-profile authors have not received the same treatment. 1/5
The International Association of Media Tie-In Writers #IAMTW, the International Thriller Writers @thrillerwriters, and Mystery Writers of America @EdgarAwards have joined the Task Force along with award-winning author, screenwriter, and producer @LeeGoldberg . 2/4
We have received more reports of affected authors since our 4/28 press release announcing the task force. Please continue raising awareness by sharing WritersMustBePaid.org & using #DisneyMustPay. Encourage writers to check their media tie-in contracts. 3/4
Back in November, we learned that Disney had pulled a breathtakingly criminal wage-theft manuever on one of science-fiction's most beloved authors, Allan Dean Foster, an elderly cancer-patient caring for his sick wife.
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Foster is the bestselling author of some of the most successful movie novelizations ever, from the first STAR WARS novel to ALIENS novels and more. Thanks to Disney's monopolistic buying spree of companies like Lucas and Fox, they now owned the movies and Foster's contract.
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Here's where things get criminally weird. Disney argued that when they bought out Lucas, Fox, etc, they acquired their assets, but not their liabilities. In other words, they'd acquired the right to sell Foster's work, but not the obligation to pay him when they did.
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The controversy over nonpayment of royalties to Alan Dean Foster following the assignment of his book contract to Disney, a third party, raises important issues re all IP contracts, including comics creators’. (by #jefftrexler)
1st, disclaimers: This thread is my opinion, not CBLDF’s. It’s not legal advice, & explanation is *not* endorsement. Same with hashtags - I’m including #disneymustpay here as a reference, not as a legal conclusion...
I haven’t read the contracts involved, though I did read ADF’s open letter and watched the press conference.
Today's Twitter threads (a Twitter thread).
Inside: Cyberpunk and Post-Cyberpunk; Disney stiffs writer; Tyson execs bet on covid spread in unsafe plant; and more!
Archived at: pluralistic.net/2020/11/19/dis…
#Pluralistic
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Inside: Cyberpunk and Post-Cyberpunk; Disney stiffs writer; Tyson execs bet on covid spread in unsafe plant; and more!
Archived at: pluralistic.net/2020/11/19/dis…
#Pluralistic
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Cyberpunk and Post-Cyberpunk: Bruce Sterling and Christopher Brown on the Attack Surface Lectures.
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Alan Dean Foster is an sf legend - a writer who produced a shelf of original novels but also made a reputation novelizing movies and TV from Star Wars to Aliens, turning out books that transcended quickie adaptations, becoming beloved bestsellers in their own right.
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Disney now owns a bunch of these books, thanks to their acquisitions of Lucas and Fox, and these books continue to sell briskly. Disney not only isn't paying Foster any royalties for these books - they're refusing to even issue him royalty statements.
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Disney has blackholed Foster's agents and lawyers, and also the @sfwa; to the extent that they have communicated with him, they have espoused a radical (jaw dropping) copyright theory.
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