Oscar nominated filmArgentina, 365 in the last week Sudden firing of longtime Marvel Studios executive Victoria Alonso, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.
Alonso is one of eight producers on the Argentine historical drama, distributed by Amazon and vying for an Oscar for best international drama. However, by taking on the role, she breached her contract multiple times, according to sources. After repeated warnings, the situation came to a head a week after the Oscars, which eventually led to her firing. It’s a sea change for Marvel, and over the years Alonso has been part of a trinity with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige and co-president Luis Desposito who have pushed the Marvel Cinematic Universe forward. Unprecedented heights.
According to insiders, Alonso violated the Agreed business practices, which state that employees cannot work for competing studios.
, she also did not issue a notice. (However, a IndieWire piece published on the film last month indicated she did have permission.) When Disney found out about the project and violated behavior, her long service and veteran status led to the company granting her a waiver on the condition that she not continue filming. Nor does she promote or publicize it in any way. The case of an executive filming a film outside company boundaries was deemed serious enough for the management audit team to get involved and sign a new memo, according to an insider.
A representative for Disney declined to comment.
Alonso’s attorney, Patty Glaser, issued a statement after the story was first published. The lawyer said: “It is absolutely absurd that Victoria was fired for a handful of press interviews related to a personal passion project for human rights and democracy that was nominated for an Oscar and for which she was blessed by Disney. Dare to criticize Disney’s gay Latinos Victoria was silenced. Then she was fired when she refused to do what she believed to be reprehensible. Disney and Marvel made a very bad decision with serious consequences. There is more to this story, Victoria will tell about it soon in one forum or another.”
Argentina, 1985 Premiere at Venice International Film Festival in September 2018 , and soon the show was on the award track. Alonso then found himself front and center in the film’s promotional campaign, attending screenings, sitting on panels and giving interviews.
According to sources, she was repeatedly reminded of her agreement and breach of agreement, but the campaign continued. She even showed up on the Oscars carpet, not as a Marvel exec tied to the studio’s multiple nominationsBlack Panther: Wakanda Forever, but as a Argentina, producer of 2018′, walks with the film’s director, Santiago Miter.
To the annoyance of Disney executives, while she was busy promoting Argentina, 30, she’s in charge of Marvel’s visual effects purview — and as president of physics and post-production, visual effects, and animation — she’s busier than ever.
Over the past year or so, with Marvel launching an unprecedented number of series and movies , a common impression is that VFX artists have not been treated well by Marvel, citing factors including long hours, tight deadlines, and lack of a single vision.
Release includes February’s movie Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania Alonso himself has come under fire for poor visuals and has become increasingly polarizing.
“You can only ask a guy to stay up until 1:00 a.m. to work on a VFX shot until things start falling apart,” says a post-production source. Another post-production talent said they had avoided working with Marvel due to Alonso’s challenging reputation.
Still, she has her supporters, including Eternals star Salma Hayek, She did a 2022 post.
in December last year. Anyway, things are going on After Oscar peaked, Alonso was fired for cause. is a personal story. The film stars Ricardo Darín as Julio César Strassera, the prosecutor tasked with prosecuting the country’s junta, whose reign of military terror led to 1234810938 Missing, people. “I’ve written a lot about superheroes,” Alonso told IndieWire in the story) ) was published last month. “And I always wanted to tell a story about what happened in Argentina because I was supposed to be one of them 30 , 000 People.”
Ah Lonzo’s firing shocked the town because it was sudden and unexplained. Some have speculated that Alonso was silenced because she was outspoken about Florida’s so-called “Don’t Talk Gay” bill, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law in March 2021. “As long as I’m in Marvel Studios, I’m going to fight for representation,” Alonso , who is gay, said at the time , Recalls how at the 2022 GLAAD Media Awards she talked to then-Disney CEO Bob Chapek 18 minutes of the meeting on the subject. The executive joined the crowd, “So I ask you again, Mr. Chapek: please respect — if we’re going to sell the family — against all these crazy outdated laws.” Disney opposed the bill, leading to clashes with state governments and ultimately Loss of special tax status. The move could cost the company millions of dollars.
But other sources say speaking out will only boost Alonso’s profile within the company. She was asked to represent the company on the GLAAD board, join the company’s Pride 365 leadership team, and write with the company’s publishing department A memoir.
Regardless, the VFX industry will be watching closely to see what happens next. Marvel is one of the VFX studio’s most lucrative clients due to the scope of its work – it usually has more than 2 pillars, VFX shots, sometimes more than 3, each movie.
It’s unclear who will replace Alonso in the interim (at least some suppliers are currently working with VFX producer Jen Underdahl). But insiders concede that whoever officially assumes her role will face challenges similar to those of Alonso, who helped achieve the unprecedented Marvel at 2022- Movies, TV shows and specials released in .
Says a VFX Specialist : “No matter what criticisms are thrown at her, she is not an island. Part of the problem is an overly aggressive release schedule.”
An overly aggressive schedule may already be in the rearview mirror However, after his return, Disney CEO Bob Iger expressed an intention to slow down Marvel’s output.
Carolyn Giardina and Aaron Couch contributed to this report.
This story has been updated to include a statement from Alonso’s attorney . 1235326681 1235326681
