Over the past few weeks, Marvel Studios’ treatment of visual effects companies and workers has come under increased scrutiny. An anonymous report on Reddit spurred a chain of VFX artists alleging that the Disney division is one of the “worst culprits” in terms of unfair working conditions for artists. This was followed up by a separate anonymous report in Vulture on the intense pressure that comes from working for Marvel Studios CG productions. This morning, the subject was broached with the star and creators of an upcoming Marvel series whose VFX may have been unfairly criticized, “She-Hulk,” during a virtual Q&A with the Television Critics Association.
“I feel incredibly deferential to how talented these artists are and how quickly they have to work,” Maslany says. “Obviously, like, much quicker than probably should be given to them in terms of churning these things out. And I know there are a lot of eyes on the CG and, y’know, critique or whatever, but I do think we have to be super conscious about how the work conditions are not always optimal and they have made these amazing strides in this industry and this tech. And I watch it and I see thoughts as opposed to, it doesn’t look like a cut scene from a video game. I can see the person’s thoughts. I can see the character’s thoughts. I feel in awe of what they do and very grateful we are at the point we get to work with these amazing artists.”
Kat Coiro, who directed six episodes of the series, also chimed in. She has her own thoughts on where some of the criticism regarding the visual effects so far has come from.
“And we stand in solidarity with what they say,” Coiro says. “The truth is we work with them, but we are not behind the scenes on these long nights and days. And if they are feeling pressure we stand with them and we listen to them. In terms of the CGI, I think that has to do with our culture’s belief in their ownership of women’s bodies. I think a lot of their critique comes from their feeling they can tear apart this CGI woman. There is a lot of talk about her body type. And we based her a lot on Olympian athletes and not bodybuilders, but I think if we’d gone the other way we’d be facing the same critique. I think it’s very hard to win when you make women’s bodies [in CG].”
Head writer Jessica Gao notes that any show whose character is CG is going to be a “massive undertaking.” She adds, “It’s a very overwhelming and ginormous thing to take on. And it’s terrible that a lot of artists feel rushed and feel that the workload is too massive. I think everyone on this panel stands in solidarity with all workers and is very pro-good working conditions.
Maslany puts a button on their collective response with a simple and effective statement, “Pro-Union.”
“She-Hulk” debuts on Disney+ on August 17.