Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse may have been a huge commercial success and raised the bar for artistry in the animation industry, but not everything about it is so great. The film also brought forth a much-needed conversation regarding fair pay and working conditions for animators, however, this seems to be an uncomfortable subject for some to address.
Take Phil Lord, for example. In conversation with Variety, the movie’s co-producer was given the opportunity to speak on the many criticisms from people who worked on Across the Spider-Verse alongside him. Instead of directly addressing the alleged terrible working conditions that staff were under, though, Lord opted for some pretty talk about writers’ pay:
“I’ve always been optimistic about this labor movement, because these deals seem incredibly makeable, and the main problem is that only one party wants to negotiate. But as long as both parties will come to negotiate in good faith and address the very real problems, like writers’ pay — which is down 25% and is a concrete issue that can be addressed — and make the business healthy so people can do this job and pay their rent, we’re going to be in great shape. I’m frustrated, but I think this is an imminently solvable problem.”
But that’s not all. Lord has also had a fair share of accusations against him, with an animator even coming forth to express how difficult it was to work with the producer. Those looking for a reply to these claims should probably give up, as Lord doesn’t seem keen on tackling the subject head-on. In the same Variety interview, he said the following:
“In terms of Spider-Verse, that was a really hard movie to make. We’re really proud of how hard everybody worked, and it was very demanding. But we’re just really proud of the crew, and everything they put into it.”
Sadly, Lord’s pride for his team does nothing to smooth things over with the people who worked on Across the Spider-Verse. It’s hard to imagine that anything would, now that the film is done and Sony Pictures Animation has moved on to the next installment in the trilogy, Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse.
The Miles Morales-focused threequel doesn’t have a confirmed release date just yet, having been indefinitely delayed, but perhaps that’s for the best. We wouldn’t want the staff to have to endure the same working conditions they were allegedly subjected to in Across the Spider-Verse, would we?