This is a complicated story with a lot of moving parts, so bear with me (and enjoy the Loki photos). Last week, the LA Times noted that they had been banned from any and all screenings of Disney-produced and Disney-distributed films (which includes Marvel films like Thor: Ragnarok, since Disney owns Marvel). Disney banned the LA Times because the paper had written a series of critical (but factual) articles about Disneyland and its relationship with its home city, Anaheim. What could have been a minor tiff about unfavorable coverage between a powerful studio and a hometown newspaper really became an issue of pettiness, spite and censorship.

Other media outlets (online and print) decided to pledge solidarity with the LA Times and refuse to review any Disney films until the “suspension” was lifted. The outlets joining this Disney ban included: The Washington Post, the AV Club, The New York Times, Flavorwire, The Boston Globe and more. It was great to see journalists sticking up for one another, and media outlets having each other’s backs. On Tuesday, prominent critics’ organizations jumped on-board too, saying that they would refuse to consider any Disney films for their annual awards:

Four critics groups have blasted the Walt Disney Co.’s media blackout of the Los Angeles Times and pledged to disqualify Disney’s films from awards consideration until the blackout is lifted. 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 issued the statement Tuesday morning.

The controversy went public on Nov. 3 when the Los Angeles Times published a statement that its writers and editors had been blocked from attending advance screenings of Disney films as a result of the newspaper’s coverage of Disney’s business arrangements with the City of Anaheim.

“Disney’s actions, which include an indefinite ban on any interaction with The Times, are antithetical to the principles of a free press and set a dangerous precedent in a time of already heightened hostility toward journalists,” the statement said. “It is admittedly extraordinary for a critics’ group, let alone four critics’ groups, to take any action that might penalize film artists for decisions beyond their control. But Disney brought forth this action when it chose to punish The Times’ journalists rather than express its disagreement with a business story via ongoing public discussion. Disney’s response should gravely concern all who believe in the importance of a free press, artists included.”

The New York Film Critics Circle will vote on its annual awards on Nov. 30. The Los Angeles Film Critics Association will vote on Dec. 3. The Boston Society of Film Critics will vote Dec. 10; and the National Society of Film Critics will vote Jan. 6.

[From Variety]

Now, does Disney *NEED* critics? Not really. People were going to see Thor: Ragnarok and Beauty and the Beast without an official LA Times or NY Times review. And it’s not like the LA Critics Awards were going to give a bunch of awards to Thor: Ragnarok anyway. But the whole thing just looks SO bad for Disney, like they were trying to throw their weight around and bully a newspaper behind closed doors. Even artists associated with Disney, like Ava DuVernay, were critical of Disney’s actions publicly. So Disney had to back down.

The Walt Disney Company, facing mounting backlash, is backing off an earlier ban of sorts against the Los Angeles Times. The conglomerate is still upset about what it considered a biased story critical of taxpayer money going to Disneyland in Anaheim, but it is now rescinding a directive that had shut out L.A. Times reporters from Disney movie screenings.

Disney said in a statement on Tuesday: “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.”

Insiders say that while Disney is no longer shutting out the L.A. Times from its movies, it is still retaliating against the newspaper by barring its reporters from the sort of insider access to its theme parks that journalists from other outlets might receive.

[From The Hollywood Reporter]

So, Disney is backing down about the critics’ screenings, but they’re still not going to invite the LA Times to any special Disneyland ride openings, basically. Bob Iger is the current CEO of Disney, and I sincerely hope that he’s not the one making these kinds of petty decisions. You never know though – whenever I do watch CNBC, I’m always sort of shocked by how many of these CEOs really are immature nutjobs.

‘Thor: Ragnarok’ stills courtesy of Marvel/Disney.