Scarlett Johansson claims Disney purchasing Fox did not affect her new film Jojo Rabbit at all. Directed by Taika Waititi, Jojo Rabbit is a World War II-set “anti-hate satire” in which Waititi himself plays a fictionalized version of Adolf Hitler. Johansson stars as Rosie Betzler, a German woman who secretly shelters a young Jewish girl in her home. This makes life very confusing for Rosie’s son Jojo, a fanatical Hitler youth hoping to become a dedicated Nazi. With Fox Searchlight distributing the film this fall, Jojo Rabbit is poised to become one of the year’s top Oscar contenders.
The searing satire of Nazism is one of the many reasons why viewers are greatly anticipating Jojo Rabbit, though the movie’s subject matter makes it far from the typical Disney release. Recently, it was reported some Disney executives were concerned Jojo Rabbit would alienate members of the studio’s target audience, causing some to fear Disney was going to interfere and ask Waititi to water things down. Fortunately, it sounds like that didn’t happen and the Mouse House is proud to showcase the film.
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Speaking with THR, Johansson was asked about Jojo Rabbit now being a Disney release. She admitted this development initially concerned her, but she was happy to learn nothing had been changed:
“Ultimately when Jojo Rabbit went over [to Disney], it didn’t make any difference, which was cool. Because I was worried that maybe it would.”
In fact, Disney is so thrilled by Jojo Rabbit, Bob Iger is planning on having a private screening during the inevitable Oscar campaign. This essentially means the fears of Jojo Rabbit being altered in post were overblown; it’s possible a few individual Disney higher-ups felt uncomfortable with the film’s approach, but the overall consensus is it’s a winner. That will come as a relief to cinephiles, many of whom were worried Disney was going to meddle with Fox Searchlight, a specialty branch of Fox known for releasing Oscar contenders like The Shape of Water and The Favourite. Fox Searchlight’s achieved a tremendous amount of success over the years, so viewers were hoping Disney would be hands-off in their ownership. Since they aren’t forcing any changes to Jojo Rabbit, it implies filmmakers will still have creative freedom working at Fox Searchlight.
Waititi signing on to direct Fox Searchlight’s Next Goal Wins before moving to Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder indicated all was well at Disney and they were eager to stay in business with the fan-favorite director. Still, it’s comforting to know Jojo Rabbit will be seen as intended, and hopefully it is the awards contender some feel it can be. The film will screen at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, so it won’t be much longer until the first wave of reactions comes in.
Source: THR
- Jojo Rabbit (2019) release date: Oct 18, 2019
