Hey folks, Harry here... The world is all tucked in its bed, dreaming of the morning of cheer just ahead. Me? I'm here at my computer this cold Christmas night, thinking of a mouse being run by a louse. It is in times like these when you see corporations and titles taken away. Earlier this year I saw Will Vinton Studios fire Will Vinton and well... it just made me a little sad. It was like when Ray Ferry took over Famous Monsters of Filmland and forced Forry Ackerman out. In the past several years, Disney has become a place of lost affection. Instead of warming to that castle and signature, I tend to get a little sad... sad, because watching their cartoons seems so forced. Tonight as I watched HOLIDAY INN and THE BISHOP'S WIFE I watched just effortless soul, warmth and good cheer spill forth from these holiday classics. Now sure, that sort of warmth and magic is missing from most every company in Hollywood these days, but nowhere does it feel more missed than at Disney. Perhaps family isn't just supposed to be a demographic that Disney sells to, maybe it is supposed to come from within. We'll be following Roy Disney's crusade to SaveDisney through the wonderful writing and investigation by Jim Hill, who has taken this story as the beat he wishes to walk down. Here's the first of many columns I hope...
In this corner, we have Roy E. Disney. The 73-year-old son of Walt’s older brother, Roy O. Disney. Who has evidently decided that enough is enough. That the Disney name – which used to be associated with great story telling & top quality theme parks – has been slapped on one too many inferior products (EX: “Cinderella II: Dreams Come True,” Disney’s California Adventure theme park). So something finally had to be done …
And – in this corner – we’ve have Michael Eisner. The embattled CEO of the Walt Disney Company. Who’s determined to do whatever he has to retain power at the Mouse House.
Ladies and Gentlemen, let’s get ready to RUMBLE !!!
Harry, I just wanted to give you a heads-up … As interesting as the whole Roy Disney / Stanley Gold / Michael Eisner situation has been to date, starting in January 2004 -- once Hollywood’s movers & shakers gets back from their long Christmas / New Years breaks – I’ve heard that this already hot story is about to go nuclear.
Now some folks might tell you that Roy is only doing because he was already being forced to retire from Disney’s Board of Directors. That all the ruckus that Roy & Stanley Gold have been raising these past few weeks is the corporate equivalent of sour grapes.
Don’t believe it, Harry. The upcoming brawl between Eisner & Roy? It’s personal. Very VERY personal. Roy is riding into battle in an effort to redeem his family name. To make sure that people stop associating the “Disney” name with shoddy products & naked greed. Not just for himself, but for his sons and his grandchildren.
Whereas Eisner … This is all about power, Harry. Michael just doesn’t want to let go of the Walt Disney Company. He wants to remain the Big Cheese at the Mouse Factory for years yet to come. Why else do you think Eisner’s avoided naming a successor for lo these many years?
But what Michael doesn’t understand is that it’s this refusal to share power, his desperate need to micro-manage every single aspect of the Mouse House, that’s driving Disney into the dirt. Take – for example – the Walt Disney Company’s recent decision to shut down production of “A Few Good Ghosts” at Disney Feature Animation – Florida. With the studio itself supposedly slated to shut down by the middle of next month.
You wanna know the REAL reason that Eisner is having WDFA-F (An animation studio that has produced three hit traditionally animated films in a row, “Mulan,” “Lilo & Stitch” and “Brother Bear”) shut down, Harry? Because that facility – and all the talented artists who work there – are 3000 miles (and three time zones) away. Which makes it really difficult for Michael to micro-manage them.
So Eisner is going to shut the WDFA-F down (Never mind that – less than 5 years ago – Disney poured over $70 million into the construction of a brand-new state-of-the-art production facility for the corporation’s Florida-based animation artists) just so he can have all of his animators close by once more. Under his thumb once again, so to speak.
This is the same reason that – back in 1999 – ABC lost so many of its top programming people. Once again because of Eisner’s desperate need to micro-manage all of the people who work him, Michael insisted that ABC executives abruptly leave Manhattan and relocate their offices to a brand new building that was being built right across the street from Disney’s Burbank lot. Many of the network’s top brass balked at the idea of leaving NYC. So they opted to stay behind, resigning from the network … And ABC has never been the same since.
Now – if any other CEO had behaved so erratic, suddenly shifting staff about, abruptly abandoning multi-million dollar facilities – their Board of Directors would at least demand an explanation. But not Disney’s Board of Directors. Given that these guys have been Michael’s pocket for years now, Eisner didn’t have to worry about anyone calling him on the carpet for his increasingly bizarre behavior.
But – now that Roy & Stanley are on the outside, Harry, shining a spotlight on what Mr. Eisner has been up to – Michael has plenty to be worried about. Which is why Disney’s CEO has reportedly gone to ground.
Eisner hasn’t actually appeared out in public since his somewhat bizarre turn at Los Angeles’ Century Plaza Hotel back on December 4th. This was when Michael – in response to Phil Collins’ somewhat humorous attempt to gloss over the whole Disney / Gold situation (What did Collins say exactly? “Hello Michael. It's been a bit of a lousy week. But we're here to help you forget all that, I hope”) said: "I want to say this has been a great week. So to say that I've had anything but a wonderful week would be an understatement ...”
Given all the gossip that this somewhat ill-conceived remark by Disney’s CEO sent swirling around Hollywood, you can bet that Eisner will be choosing his words a lot more carefully in early January -- when he’ll be making an appearance at the Smith Barney Citigroup Entertainment, Media and Telecommunications Conference in Phoenix, AZ. It’s here that (according to my sources inside the Mouse House) that Michael will finally begin to mount his defense against Disney & Gold. Argue that – given how well the Disney corporation is doing right now – that there’s really no need for Roy & Stanley to “savedisney.com”
Mind you, Eisner may sound all nice & polite while talking with business & entertainment reporters next month. But I’m told that the gloves are really going to come off behind the scenes. That Disney’s allegedly looking to start an anti-Roy whispering campaign in an effort to discredit Walt’s nephew. Supposedly saying things like “If Roy really cared about what was going on inside Disney Feature Animation, then why did he spend so much of his time at his castle in Ireland and/or sailing around the world on his yacht?”
One hopes that Disney & Gold won’t rise to that sort of bait. (Though – it should be noted here – that, given how difficult Michael Eisner made it for Roy Disney to do much of anything at Disney Feature Animation during his last few months as Chairman of that department at the studio [Michael even went so far as to bar Roy from attending work-in-progress screening of three films that WDFA was working on], it would be perfectly understandable if Walt’s nephew opted to spend his time anywhere other than Burbank. Eisner had created a work environment that was so full of fear & distrust, so toxic, that it made it impossible –not just for Roy but the rest of the WDFA crew – to get any decent work done.) That they’ll just keep on fighting the good flight.
Which AICN readers can learn more about by going over to check out SaveDisney.Com. (And – yes – that website is a bit bare bones right now. But come back after the first of the year, and you’ll find that this site has a whole new look. Offering folks a lot more information about what Roy & Stanley are up to, how their efforts to unseat Eisner are going.)
And – with Harry’s permission – I’ll try & drop by on a semi-regular basis and give AICN readers an update on what’s been going on with this Burbank-based “Clash of the Titans.”
Anyway, Knowles, here’s hoping that you, your Dad and the rest of the AintItCoolNews family have a very Merry Christmas. I’ll drop you a line sometime after the New Year, okay?
Best Regards,
jrh
