Victoria Alonso’s exit from Marvel Studios after working there for more than 15 years shocked fans and Hollywood. Immediately after the news became public, social media was in an uproar trying to decode the reason behind her exit. However, what shocked fans even more, was the report that it was Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman who fired her and Feige didn’t intervene.
Various theories and speculations about the situation have been floating around the internet since then. Now, film insider Jeff Sneider has stepped in to add another dynamite. As per the reporter, the 3 big heads of Marvel have been at loggerheads for a long time.
Marvel Studios’ Current Internal Problem
On The Hot Mic segment, John Rocha and Jeff Sneider sat down to discuss the news of Victoria Alonso, Marvel’s president of physical production, post-production, VFX, and animation, getting fired. As for the reason behind her dismissal, Variety had this to write:
“The cause of Alonso’s termination is unclear, the sources said, the decision was made by a consortium including human resources, Disney’s legal department and multiple executives including Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman (to whom all of Marvel Studios reports). Alonso’s longtime boss and Marvel chief creative officer Kevin Feige felt mired in an impossible situation and, ultimately, did not intervene. Alonso was blindsided.”
Sneider began by saying that Alonso was let go on Friday and even on Monday people at Marvel had no idea that she was fired. He said that as per his sources, her being fired was not due to her being “outspoken against Bob Chapek or outspoken for LGBTQ rights.” As per Sneider, it could have been because there have been problems at Marvel between its big 3- Kevin Feige, Victoria Alonso, and Louis D’Esposito. The film insider said:
“The big 3 at Marvel have been clashing for a little bit- Feige, Alonso, and Louis D’Esposito. Variety noted in their article that there were HRs and lawyers in the meeting, so did something happen?… This decision was made by Alan Bergman and Kevin Feige didn’t interfere. If you love going to work with someone, you would have lain down on the railroad tracks for them so there could have been some clashes there.”
Rocha says that Victoria Alonso was scapegoated and expresses that she was “an unfortunate casualty with marvel’s increased demand for shows and movies and diminishing returns.” Sneider agreed and said that Rocha is right about Alonso being scapegoated. He said:
“You are right about the scapegoat, she seems to have been scapegoated especially with the last Marvel movie getting negative reviews for visual effects, so this might have been the perfect time… it’s not like Kevin was going to take the fall and it’s not like she was being groomed to take over.”
The duo expressed that no one needs to worry about Alonso because she is one of the most powerful women in entertainment. They also hinted that she perhaps wanted to leave Marvel after producing Argentina 1985 and seeing its success. Sneider also defended Victoria Alonso against a lot of the popular allegations against her.
Jeff Sneider Defends Victoria Alonso
Variety reported that some VFX artists termed Victoria Alonso as a “kingmaker” who blacklisted VFX artists who didn’t please her. Jeff Sneider expressed that she isn’t the villain that many are making her out to be. As per the film reporter:
“As for Alonso being a kingmaker who gave work to those who bowed down and kissed the ring and those who pushed back against her were put on a sort of blacklist. Isn’t that like any job anywhere? She gave jobs to people she liked and got along with…I am told that some people cheered her exit while some were devastated at her exit. I think she was liked internally at Marvel but not liked externally like by the Vendors, the VFX companies.”
Sneider explained that the root cause probably was the horrible hours the VFX workers had to put in, and with more visual effects-heavy films getting made that situation became worse. He said:
“The thousands of people doing the VFX and they are all under horrible crunch because there are more and more visual effects movies being made and the conditions are terrible and they are working incredibly long hours, they don’t get to see their families, probably sleep under their desk… Marvel’s reputation is becoming a problem in the community.”
However, there’s still hope, Sneider mentioned that as per his sources, Marvel’s target output has been reduced “from four shows and four movies a year to two shows and three movies a year.” But he added that it can be changed when the need arises. For the fans worrying about Marvel’s future, he said that everything depends on how their next films do. If Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 does well, then Kevin Feige’s franchise will be back on track again. It remains to be seen if Marvel’s fortune changes or not.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 will release on 5 May 2023.
Source: The Hot Mic and Variety
