Disney Film Chief Alan Horn Speaks On James Gunn Firing & Future Of Background Checks

In a recent interview, Disney’s Alan Horn discussed James Gunn’s firing from the studio and the future of background checks after what happened.

James Gunn’s firing from Disney is still a topic of debate among people. He was on his way to direct Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 after helming the first two installments with great success. As most people know, he was fired after several offensive tweets he wrote years ago resurfaced. People are still asking Disney about the choice to fire him and fans are upset about the decision considering the tweets were from so long ago. Speaking with The Hollywood Reporter, Alan Horn, the chairman of Walt Disney Studios, shared his thoughts on the matter and whether or not studios should start doing background checks on social media.

I would say no. I don’t think we do extensive background checks to see what a person has said. I feel sad for some of the people ensnared in all of this. And sometimes I feel like, “Wow, what they said is so outrageous that it must have occurred to them that it would have repercussions.” It’s a very open world now, and this stuff is a matter of record. The admonition is: Be careful.

Since Gunn’s firing, people have been asking whether or not there should be some sort of social media background check for filmmakers. It’s definitely something worth thinking about and this move from Disney has sparked a lot of controversy on the subject. From Horn’s perspective however it doesn’t seem necessary but his advice to be careful in this very open world of ours is something that can be applied to everyone, and not just ones that work in the film industry.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter