Disney has reversed its decision to ban the Los Angeles Times from attending film screenings as punishment for the paper’s critical coverage of its business operations.
The studio last week banned the LA Times from access to its screenings and talent, citing “biased and inaccurate” coverage – only to trigger a boycott on Monday by several media outlets in solidarity.
But on Tuesday Disney said it had ended its ban.
Disney said in a statement: “We’ve had productive discussions with the newly installed leadership at the Los Angeles Times regarding our specific concerns, and as a result, we’ve agreed to restore access to advance screenings for their film critics.”
Alyssa Rosenberg, who writes about films and pop culture for the Washington Post, was the first to announce she would no longer attend screenings presented by Disney films, including Star Wars, or its by subsidiary Marvel.
“As long as Disney is blocking the critics from the Los Angeles Times from press screenings, I can’t in good conscience attend similar showings or write reviews in advance,” she wrote.
Other journalists and outlets swiftly followed suit, including the New York Times. On Tuesday, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association, the New York Film Critics Circle, the Boston Society of Film Critics and the National Society of Film Critics jointly announced that they would take the “extraordinary” step of disqualifying Disney films from end-of-year awards consideration until the blackout was lifted.
“Disney’s actions are antithetical to the principles of a free press and set a dangerous precedent in a time of already heightened hostility towards journalists,” the organisations said in a joint statement.
Selma director Ava DuVernay, whose next film is Disney’s A Wrinkle in Time, also tweeted her support for the boycott.
Saluting the film journalists standing up for one another. Standing with you. https://t.co/M9Fs22vv4L
— Ava DuVernay (@ava) November 7, 2017
The press boycott had raised the prospect of a public relations disaster for the Walt Disney Company just as the film industry gears up for awards season. The company behind the so-called “happiest place on earth”, Disneyland, had found itself accused of bullying and press censorship.
The row also shone a light on the company’s CEO, Bob Iger, who has hinted at a future run for political office.
Prominent journalists pledged support for the LA Times. “I just took out a subscription to the @LATimes in honor of Disney boycotting the newspaper because it engaged in journalism,” tweeted the CNN anchor Jake Tapper. “Join me!”
The row flared after the paper published two investigative articles in September about the relationship between Disneyland and the city of Anaheim, just south of LA.
The author, Daniel Miller, wrote that Disney used aggressive carrot-and-stick strategies to squeeze Anaheim for subsidies, incentives, rebates and protections from future taxes while reaping huge profits.
The reports quoted and cited local politicians, including the mayor, Tom Tait, who said Anaheim had gone too far in accommodating the entertainment giant.
Disney responded by banning the paper from advance screenings for coming holiday season films – a ban which came to light last week when the paper explained the absence of previews for films such as Thor: Ragnarok.
Disney followed up with a statement which accused the paper of a “complete disregard” for basic journalistic standards.
It said: “Despite our sharing numerous indisputable facts with the reporter, several editors, and the publisher over many months, the Times moved forward with a biased and inaccurate series, wholly driven by a political agenda. We’ve had a long relationship with the LA Times. We hope they will adhere to balanced reporting in the future.”