News Chapek FIRED, Iger New CEO

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
I do miss early Eisner. He did a good job of putting a face to the company and really pushed the company into new territory. I often think about all the things he did that there’d be no chance in hell that Iger would do. Cruise Line, retail stores, radio Disney, regional entertainment, hell I live in Celebration and can’t imagine Iger ever thinking building a town would be a good idea. But late Eisner became scared and undid all the good he created. Not sure who would be next after chapek. I feel Josh thinks he’s a shoe in but I don’t think he’s any better.
 

el_super

Well-Known Member
The new stuff, the never been done before stuff, he's not going to have the confidence to pull the trigger. And it's something Disney desperately, all of Hollywood actually, desperately needs.

Compare this to the sentiments posted later about Eisner. Eisner took chances and pushed boundaries, and by nature, those are risky and prone to failure.

Iger played it relatively safe too.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
I do miss early Eisner. He did a good job of putting a face to the company and really pushed the company into new territory. I often think about all the things he did that there’d be no chance in hell that Iger would do. Cruise Line, retail stores, radio Disney, regional entertainment, hell I live in Celebration and can’t imagine Iger ever thinking building a town would be a good idea. But late Eisner became scared and undid all the good he created. Not sure who would be next after chapek. I feel Josh thinks he’s a shoe in but I don’t think he’s any better.

I also can't imagine Iger building anything remotely like Hollywood Studios or Animal Kingdom, not to mention all the themed resorts.

Hollywood Studios was a mess by the early/mid 2000s, but it was a really great park in its early years (especially after Tower of Terror opened). The theming/place setting was tremendously good and that's been mostly thrown out of the window now beyond the actual building facades.

Animal Kingdom was underbuilt when it opened, but what was there was fantastic and I feel like the very idea of it would get laughed out of the room at Disney now.
 
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hopemax

Well-Known Member
Serious question, why was Eisner so despised for a while?
For me, Eisner seemed to have lost faith in Disney's core businesses. He did not believe the traditional animated, musical feature film was something modern day audiences wanted to see. I think he believed this in 1984 but Katzenberg and the Renaissance proved it wrong. But then things went south after Lion King, and so he believed he was right before, but there was one last gasp left. I think he believed Theme Parks, especially US Theme Parks were a mature market. So he went chasing down other rabbit holes (sports, Internet, broadcast TV) but he didn't have the same touch or experience with those. I was at the shareholder's meeting in Seattle around the timing of the launch of Go.com. Twice he made derogatory statements about the Internet and people who used it, and right then and there I knew whatever Internet Disney did, wouldn't work because the CEO really didn't understand it or see the value in it or the people who did. He was just following someone else's idea of where things were going.
 

UNCgolf

Well-Known Member
But they were cheap and low quality which, at least in my mind, completely undermined Disney's reputation for high quality in animation.

The live action films are disposable entertainment that aren't to my taste, but at least they are produced to the level of a blockbuster.

Fair point.

Funnily enough, the Wikipedia page for Return of Jafar says it was originally planned as an animated TV show and Eisner had to be convinced to turn it into a feature length direct to video release because he was concerned making DTV would cheapen Disney's brand.

I'm guessing that the ridiculous amount of money it made after he was convinced to green light it turned him around completely on future DTV sequels.
 
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Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Indeed. I think the first decade or so of Eisner is better than anything from the Iger years, but the last decade or so was worse.

In terms of the parks, Iger is a harder sell. However, with the IP mandate and all, he at least returned to the idea that Disney Parks should provide a high-quality experience. Eisner had abandoned that by the end for the "if it's good enough for Six Flags..." mantra. People can debate now whether Universal or Disney is better, but by the end of Eisner's term Disney seemed pretty bad both at animation and theme parks. A Bug's Land and an inferior clone of ToT was how Eisner's Disney responded to DCA's poor reception, for example.

In terms of Iger's remake of Disney classics, I don't watch or like them. However, they make billions of dollars so someone does. Eisner, for his part, was churning out cheap direct to video sequels like Bambi 2 that are (thankfully) kind of a forgotten chapter of Disney history.
Remakes are no more imaginative than cheapquels…they just cost more.

as far as “high quality” in the parks…I thoroughly disagree. You can spends billions on almost nothing…but it doesn’t change the fact that they have woefully under delivered in parks. None of this Iger stuff has much if anyone staying power.
 

hopemax

Well-Known Member
Re: Iger’s motives…

If he believes Disney is about to enter a period of rough waters, Iger may just want to preserve his legacy by saying, “It’s not my fault what happened. I left the company strong. I warned about this and that and Chapek didn’t listen.” This dual leadership situation leaves him susceptible to blame for what happened this year (streaming battles, underperforming 50th). It’s a “washing my hands of it” piece. Making sure Chapek owns the failures not him.
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
So if we put our thinking caps on, assuming this particular piece of spin was planted by the Iger camp... Why? He can't possibly want control of the company back, right? The dude is 70 and richer than God.
The last couple of years there seemed to be a shift in his attitude toward “legacy”…which is ego.

he showed little concerns for that in the first 10+ years.

so if chapek bumbles around Hollywood…and gets a reputation as a ripoff artist…and Disney looses clout due to the fall of the box office…

…then everyone forgets about Iger quickly…and his “legacy” disappears.

my theory
 

Sirwalterraleigh

Premium Member
Re: Iger’s motives…

If he believes Disney is about to enter a period of rough waters, Iger may just want to preserve his legacy by saying, “It’s not my fault what happened. I left the company strong. I warned about this and that and Chapek didn’t listen.” This dual leadership situation leaves him susceptible to blame for what happened this year (streaming battles, underperforming 50th). It’s a “washing my hands of it” piece. Making sure Chapek owns the failures not him.
Lol

JINX…you typed it as I did 🤪
 

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
I too found it curious how much Iger has supposedly been emphasizing the creative side of the business. Creativity and Iger are not two words I'd usually list side-by-side. He spent his entire tenure acquiring outside properties while seeming shocked at the success of Disney hits like Frozen and Moana. Iger, to me, always seemed sort of ashamed of Disney's legacy. He needed to supplant it with something new, whether that be Pixar, Lucasfilm, Marvel or Fox.
I think his talent isn't so much that he is creative (I really don't think he was/is) but that he is able to manage people who are.

The thing is, people who have an actual passion for the "creative stuff", aren't moved entirely by money. This is something that often confuses the hell out of people who do see money as their primary motivator.

There is ego, legacy, as well as personal desire to create and to have the resources to do so. There is also usually a hint of insecurity there, too. Money obviously plays a role but feeling like you are appreciated and like you have the freedom to do what inspires you often matters just as much - sometimes even more.

A savvy executive who knows how to play up to the things these kinds of people want (even if they don't always deliver on their promises) and the willingness to feed the ego, provide reassurance for the fears and generally act like someone that can be trusted goes a long ways.

These are all skills Iger has in spades and something that Chapek seems to have absolutely zero mastery of.

The ScarJo dust-up is the perfect example. There was a chance to fix it before it became an issue and they allowed their talent to feel used and ignored so she responded. Then they basically doubled-down by publicly saying "We left cash on the dresser. I'm not sure what more she expected." and then acted surprised when a sizable portion of Hollywood lost their minds.

In light of everything, is it shocking that lifer Joe Rohde departed? Look at the timing. We thought maybe he was forced out or that he fell on his sword to protect people under him but now? I mean, I'm sure he knew very well the kind of boss Chapek was going to be and I cannot fathom those two ever having a constructive conversation, I mean, ever.

I'd certainly feel sorry for the person between the two he'd have been reporting to.

No way, if Disney were being run by Chapek would he have been able to convince Steve Jobs to sell or Lucas* to sell.

Marvel was kind of in trouble so maybe he could have taken them and Fox was a more traditional business deal but it's unlikely Cahpek would have been able to retain the talent needed to make the MCU the runaway success it's been and without the prior growth from all of this that came before, I doubt the Fox deal would have been possible.

I'm not an Iger fan by any stretch but I can see where his strength was.

Creative? No but being able to stand in front of, next to and behind creatives? Absolutely.

I think he did it and loved it.

I get the impression Chapek has little patience for the carrots needed to get the best work out of the best of those kinds of people, though, and the last year has reflected that.

If you told me Chapek ran the biggest cardboard manufacturing company in the world, I'd believe you. If you said he was CEO of the country's biggest meat packing company, I wouldn't think twice. Heck, even if you told me he was running Pepsi, I wouldn't be shocked but I can't fathom why anyone thought this was the guy to head Disney.

*Lucas may have ended up regretting his decisionafter seeing what Disney did with the franchise after they had their hand's on it while under Iger's control but that's not the point - Iger was able to make him comfortable signing away his life's work to begin with which is the thing.
 
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HauntedPirate

Park nostalgist
Premium Member
Eisner had to go…but there is little doubt he fared better in his time and place than a stiff like Iger would have…

…on the flip side…Iger prospered in a stock dictated, lack of innovative thinking/creativity period that required more exploitation and little development that undoubtedly would have caused Eisner to self imolate.

they may have been right/adaptive to their times. That’s high praise.

this current idiot is unqualified. He’s right for no time and place.
A “products” guy can’t control a media company. Period.
But Iger considers himself to be somewhat “creative”. Remember - “More trees” 🙄
 

Model3 McQueen

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I think the Q&A by Wall Street to Chapek during the conference call should be tougher to get a better viewpoint on state of company so Wall Street can recommend a buy, sell or hold on the company stock with more analysis.

Absolutely. I say S-E-L-L. Too many short sighted decisions in the name of profit will hurt them in the long run. Chapek has no real vision, creativity, or charm. His best claim to fame is quality cuts and price raises.

Maybe a PO'd board will finally make a decent decision or two when the falling out bites into their bank accounts.
 

DonaldDoleWhip

Well-Known Member
But they were cheap and low quality which, at least in my mind, completely undermined Disney's reputation for high quality in animation.

The live action films are disposable entertainment that aren't to my taste, but at least they are produced to the level of a blockbuster.
On the bright side, Disney's loss (of dignity) was SNL's gain - they fantastically skewered the sequel trend more than once. This clip is still one of my favorites:




Hopefully Disney's reputation never stoops that low again, but Chapek's approach is certainly fanning the flames.
 

ULPO46

Well-Known Member
The rumors spreading around for some time are 100% true. Why else would top executives in all levels of TWDC be stepping down. When you replace a human with some cheap computer software, you take away what a consumer, guest, or just plain old real life human could offer. A program cannot calculate whether a movie will fail or flop or if adding this light fixture on a ride will hide that it's broken or just not thrilling enough.

At Disney I'm a legacy, my grandparents worked for Walt, my parents worked for the company and now I do. It's home, it's more than just brand loyalty or worshipping the mouse. TWDC is family, I grew up with so many great people from animators, to directors, to Disney Legends. These changes really do hurt. You cannot tell an Artist that they have to stop being an artist because Chappie Software 7.0 says it cost too much or a guest won't like it.

I admit, I often like to come onto these forums to see guest raw reactions, you can only see so much on Facebook, instagram, or twitter. You are all true Disney fans and guest. Not saying that I trust forums more than software but jeez, real humans beats a computer. I wasn't a fan of Iger, but Iger did grant us some freedom. It wasn't always about the shareholders. Albeit one of the reasons Joe ended up leaving WDI was his dislike of IP influencing every aspect of the future of WDI. If anyones watched Disney Plus he admits one of his least favorite projects was Pandora. He was the God of DAK, for him to publicly admit it wasn't his fondest project is one thing.

Imagineers work best when they love and are passionate about a project. IE why everyone of my generation wanted to work on Galaxies Edge because of our love for Star Wars. Relying on a computer to explain to us how to do our jobs or how to think, is like asking a member of the board who knows nothing about Disney, never been to Disney, how to engineer new graphics for a simulator or make a boring roller coaster into something totally unique to a theme park.

Computers cannot replace the human experience, not yet at least. Computers can't complain that paint is falling or an AA just doesn't look right the way it moves. That hurts, because people like me truly love our jobs, but to constantly be turned down in order to stay on budget, to reduce cost, to reduce the Four Keys, really really leaves many at all levels of TWDC uninspired to produce. Loosing some of my best friends who I would have never thought leave TWDC has pushed me past loyalty many times.

I want to wait things out, but if the ship sinks too far and there comes a point in which nothing I or my fellow teammates produce comes to fruition, either we will be laid off, or forced to quit. That is something I dread and hate to think about whilst getting ready for work. But that's the hard cold reality at every level, from Media to consumer to technology. You cannot push someone to enjoy or like a product no matter what the stupid computer software says. DATA IS NOT A REAL HUMAN! They cannot shed real tears as they watch their grandparents bring their grandchild and children to the same park their own parents brought them to when the parks first opened. Software can't explain why people are so amused at watching a tv series about homicidal children's games.

The Human Condition is something we as humans have attempted since the dawn of writing to bring into fruition and understand, but its not possible. Not even with the worlds most advanced computers, because no two people share or see the same product/media asset/ or attraction in the same way. Software can't understand why that 5 year old is crying of joy from hugging Mickey Mouse or why that 45 year old thinks a ride should be longer and more entertaining.

One can only attempt to control so much and honestly, as someone who's approaching 13 years with TWDC, it hurts. It hurts to see that my grandparents and parents retired from a company they loved and I still adore, but that I now realize may not be the place I can spend the rest of my useful career enjoying. In no way would I ever work for a competitor, no one feels that way, but moral has never ever felt this low, C-19 in no way is to blame for that. Yes it's pushed a lot of divisions to a brink, but poor corporate management can't be blamed on that virus, that's on them. I can only hope things get better over time, but infighting, stupid regulations, and making everything about data is not a sustainable future for a Global Empire that relies heavily on real human experience.
 

Nubs70

Well-Known Member
Point taken. Either way, even if Iger was Chapek’s boss he could still undermine him. If Iger is above Chapek, no one else is. So that means everyone else at the company has to respect Chapek and actively work toward achieving the goals and directives that he lays out. Iger delegated authority to Chapek and should allow Chapek to use it.

An owner doesn’t hire a football coach to run a spread offense and then come out and say, “We can’t win football games running a spread offense.” Thats actively undermining your coach even though the owner is his boss. Hiring a data driven CEO and then telling all his subordinates at a conference “We can’t be a data driven company.” is a 100% undermining shot at Chapek’s authority and basically asking for everyone at the company to lose faith in him and his directives.
Igers continued presence undermines Chapek.
 

castlecake2.0

Well-Known Member
The rumors spreading around for some time are 100% true. Why else would top executives in all levels of TWDC be stepping down. When you replace a human with some cheap computer software, you take away what a consumer, guest, or just plain old real life human could offer. A program cannot calculate whether a movie will fail or flop or if adding this light fixture on a ride will hide that it's broken or just not thrilling enough.

At Disney I'm a legacy, my grandparents worked for Walt, my parents worked for the company and now I do. It's home, it's more than just brand loyalty or worshipping the mouse. TWDC is family, I grew up with so many great people from animators, to directors, to Disney Legends. These changes really do hurt. You cannot tell an Artist that they have to stop being an artist because Chappie Software 7.0 says it cost too much or a guest won't like it.

I admit, I often like to come onto these forums to see guest raw reactions, you can only see so much on Facebook, instagram, or twitter. You are all true Disney fans and guest. Not saying that I trust forums more than software but jeez, real humans beats a computer. I wasn't a fan of Iger, but Iger did grant us some freedom. It wasn't always about the shareholders. Albeit one of the reasons Joe ended up leaving WDI was his dislike of IP influencing every aspect of the future of WDI. If anyones watched Disney Plus he admits one of his least favorite projects was Pandora. He was the God of DAK, for him to publicly admit it wasn't his fondest project is one thing.

Imagineers work best when they love and are passionate about a project. IE why everyone of my generation wanted to work on Galaxies Edge because of our love for Star Wars. Relying on a computer to explain to us how to do our jobs or how to think, is like asking a member of the board who knows nothing about Disney, never been to Disney, how to engineer new graphics for a simulator or make a boring roller coaster into something totally unique to a theme park.

Computers cannot replace the human experience, not yet at least. Computers can't complain that paint is falling or an AA just doesn't look right the way it moves. That hurts, because people like me truly love our jobs, but to constantly be turned down in order to stay on budget, to reduce cost, to reduce the Four Keys, really really leaves many at all levels of TWDC uninspired to produce. Loosing some of my best friends who I would have never thought leave TWDC has pushed me past loyalty many times.

I want to wait things out, but if the ship sinks too far and there comes a point in which nothing I or my fellow teammates produce comes to fruition, either we will be laid off, or forced to quit. That is something I dread and hate to think about whilst getting ready for work. But that's the hard cold reality at every level, from Media to consumer to technology. You cannot push someone to enjoy or like a product no matter what the stupid computer software says. DATA IS NOT A REAL HUMAN! They cannot shed real tears as they watch their grandparents bring their grandchild and children to the same park their own parents brought them to when the parks first opened. Software can't explain why people are so amused at watching a tv series about homicidal children's games.

The Human Condition is something we as humans have attempted since the dawn of writing to bring into fruition and understand, but its not possible. Not even with the worlds most advanced computers, because no two people share or see the same product/media asset/ or attraction in the same way. Software can't understand why that 5 year old is crying of joy from hugging Mickey Mouse or why that 45 year old thinks a ride should be longer and more entertaining.

One can only attempt to control so much and honestly, as someone who's approaching 13 years with TWDC, it hurts. It hurts to see that my grandparents and parents retired from a company they loved and I still adore, but that I now realize may not be the place I can spend the rest of my useful career enjoying. In no way would I ever work for a competitor, no one feels that way, but moral has never ever felt this low, C-19 in no way is to blame for that. Yes it's pushed a lot of divisions to a brink, but poor corporate management can't be blamed on that virus, that's on them. I can only hope things get better over time, but infighting, stupid regulations, and making everything about data is not a sustainable future for a Global Empire that relies heavily on real human experience.
You need to copy and paste this and email tir to Josh so he can realize that not everyone is skipping around the parks with pictures of his face on their shirts. I feel the same way your are describing. Been with the company getting close to fourteen years and while there’s been ups and downs these last six months have tried me more than ever. Similarly, I am holding out hope that we make a u turn soon, but if we don’t I am scared foe the future.
 

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