Criticism of the Sony-Disney deal has surfaced. Yes, the one that allowed Spider-Man to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. This gave rise to his stay there could be extended by numerous films and even a trilogy of his own. Until now, there had been almost no complaints regarding the treatment between the two companies, since the incorporation of the arachnid hero played by Tom Holland has been quite enjoyed. But, apparently, there is a person who does not have the same opinion.
This is Avi Arad. He has worked for years as a producer of numerous films based on properties belonging to the Casa de las Ideas. He was a key piece so that, at the beginning of the 2000s, characters like Spider-Man himself or the X-Men reached the big screen. In fact, Holland’s trilogy was produced by him. What would have made him change his way of thinking?
Arad attacked the deal, curiously, putting the greed of Hollywood and Marvel Studios, a company chaired by Kevin Feige, as the main argument. It is strange that he was part of the negotiations and now he speaks ill of them. The businessman gave his opinion as part of an interview for the book With Great Power, by Sean O’Connell, based on Peter Parker’s journey in the movies. These were his forceful words (via TheDirect):
“They did it for money. Terrible… Like giving your kids up for adoption, just because you’re not sure what to do with them«.
As a producer, a job he usually did alongside the late Stan Lee, Avi Arad also helped launch the two Spider-Man movies starring Andrew Garfield, The amazing Spiderman (2012) and The Amazing Spider-Man 2: Electro’s Menace (2014).
The truth is that his opinion contrasts a lot with that of Amy Pascal, senior executive of Sony and producer of the franchise. In an interview for the same book, she was quite positive:
“This is what I want to highlight, because I think it’s really important, and I don’t know if it will happen again in the history of the movie business. You have three studios that came together to get these movies made. And no studio likes to share anything with anyone, least of all three studios.”
Do you agree with Avi Arad’s criticism of the Sony-Disney deal?
Jose Roberto Landaverde Film buff and music lover. I am fascinated by writing, listening, reading and commenting on everything related to the seventh art. I am a fan of Rocky and Back to the Future and of course one day I will climb the “Philly Steps” and drive a DeLorean. Faithful believer that the cinema is the best teleportation machine, and also that we can all see ourselves represented on the big screen. Constantly, like Scott Pilgrim, I ask myself: “Does bread make you fat?”