Former Marvel Studios attorney takes us behind the MCU curtain

Paul Sarker was 25 years old when he became Associate Principal Counsel for Marvel Entertainment and Marvel Studios, getting a gig that’s got to be the envy of movie-loving lawyers everywhere; after all, who wouldn’t want to be Iron Man’s attorney?

Sarker got the job in 2009, a year after Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. He left around six years later, during the lead-up to Captain America: Civil War. In that time, he helped put together deals for actors and directors, brokered deals to license Marvel characters, and even put together premiere and after-party guest lists.

We were lucky enough to talk to Sarker about his time at Marvel and about his podcast Better Call Paul, where he and Mesh Lakhani talk about all things entertainment, which is full of insight only an insider like Sarker can provide. Watch our interview below, and then stick around for some highlights!

When Disney bought Marvel

Sarker worked at Marvel Studios during a period of rapid change. They hadn’t quite become the most powerful studio in Hollywood yet, but they were well on their way; anyone who saw 2012’s The Avengers knew that something special was going on, and things only got more wild from there.

But it was hard for Sarker to know this when he came on full-time in 2009. “I did not expect that,” he told us. “I knew that Marvel had a lot of valuable property and I thought that Iron Man was a great movie.”

To add to the craziness, Sarker’s first day of work as a full-time Marvel employee was also the day everyone learned that Disney was buying the studio, another huge change. Sarker remember how Disney moved in to keep the MCU in house with The Avengers. “Paramount was our distributor, but as Disney bought the company, they sort of bought out Paramount and its distribution rights, because it was very important for Disney to distribute The Avengers,” he said. “Paramount was contractually supposed to distribute The Avengers; we had to do some amendment and get out of that deal so Disney could basically launch The Avengers.” Good move.

What it’s like working for Marvel Studios

Sarker was also happy to drop some interesting details about what it’s like working for a company as high-profile as Marvel. I was surprised the top brass would give such important responsibilities to someone so young, but Sarker told us that’s just how Marvel works.

“Marvel’s like that; they’ll throw people in and see what you can handle, and if you do well, you’ll get more,” Sarker said. “If you succeed, they’ll give you more, if you demonstrate a willingness to learn and take on responsibility, they’ll give you more and more. They won’t necessarily pay you for it, but they’ll let you do it, as long as you do it well.”

That bit about pay ended up being key, and was the reason Sarker left the company six years after he was hired. “I don’t think it’s any secret that Marvel is very frugal,” he said. “They know the value of their brand, so they know that for every person that’s working there, there’s probably a thousand that want to work there.”

"They kind of have this view that…it’s a dream job…and because of that…they didn’t feel like they needed to promote or compensate people at the level that I felt like I needed to be, that I felt like I was worth, so that was why I left."

Enjoy your peek behind the curtain, folks.

Actors, licensing and more

Of course, there are some folks Marvel is willing to pay a pretty penny, namely the big-name actors and directors they sign up…assuming they have a proven track record, of course. For others, getting their foot in the door of the MCU is enough for them to forego certain niceties in their contractural riders.

“When you have the opportunity to be in a Marvel film or in the Marvel television canon, it’s for a lot of people the opportunity of a lifetime, and they’re not gonna screw it up because of something miniscule,” Sarker told us. “But if you are someone at the top of the game and you know you are guaranteed box office, then you can demand certain things. And that’s when you get to take care of your team, as well, in a lot of ways.”

Finally, Sarker told us about the work he did licensing out Marvel characters. What kinds of products get licensed? Disney is open-minded:

"Everything under the sun that is not controversial. So things like feminine hygiene or alcohol or tobacco or firearms, we’re not gonna do that, but anything that Disney would associate its brand with, we will license."

Unfortunately, Disney didn’t heed Sarker’s idea for a “Spider-Man ab roller” or other Marvel-themed exercise products. “[B]ecause people wanna look like superheroes,” he said. “[N]o one listens to lawyers for ideas like that.”

Thanks very much to Paul Sarker for talking to us! You can check out his podcast Better Call Paul here.

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