________ Cook resigns Walt Disney Studios

[cdunbar]

Richard Cook has resigned from Walt Disney Studios effective immediately. Some are saying that he fired, due to Bob Igers sudden interest in the Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige. Some are also saying that other individuals such a former Universal Exec might replace him. The following is the press release from deadline.com:


September 18, 2009
STATEMENT FROM RICHARD W. COOK, CHAIRMAN, THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS
I am stepping down from my role as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, effective immediately.
I have loved every minute of my 38 years that I have worked at Disney…from the beginning as a ride operator on Disneyland’s steam train and monorail to my position as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. To wrap up my Disney experience in a neatly bundled statement is close to impossible. But what I will say is, during my time at the Studio, we have achieved many industry and Company milestones. Our talent roster is simply the best in the business. I believe our slate of upcoming motion pictures is the best in our history. But most of all, I love the people, my colleagues, my teammates, who are the most talented, dedicated and loyal folks in the world. I know that I leave the Studio in their exceptional hands.
I have been contemplating this for some time now and feel it’s the right time for me to move on to new adventures…and in the words of one of my baseball heroes, Yogi Berra, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”
---
STATEMENT FROM ROBERT A. IGER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY
“Throughout his distinguished 38-year Disney career, Richard Cook’s outstanding creative instincts and incomparable showmanship have truly enriched this company and significantly impacted Disney’s great legacy,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. “We thank Richard for his tremendous passion for Disney, and his many accomplishments and contributions to The Walt Disney Studios, including a very promising upcoming film slate. On behalf of everyone at Disney, we wish him the best with all the future has to offer.”

 

[WDW Vacationer]

Wow! Thanks! He was just at the expo!

 

[tigsmom]

Yet another take...

________ Cook Fired From Disney

http://www.deadline.com/hollywood/ex...d-from-disney/

UPDATE: Disney is adamantly telling people tonight that ________ Cook was not fired. But that's not what Cook himself is telling Hollywood tonight. ("I'm shocked by ________'s ouster. I love him more than life," said one Disney insider. "I walked out of a meeting and heard this. And, 4 minutes later, you post it.") There's been a lot of talk that Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige spent a lot of time with Disney CEO Bob Iger during the dealmaking to buy the company, and Feige impressed the hell out of Iger. Of course, there's also the new DreamWorks CEO Stacey Snider whose resume includes running Universal, after all, and who could further cement Steven Spielberg's control at his new moviemaking home. ("But she can't. She's a long-term partner with Steven and Reliance in DreamWorks. She not available," said a DreamWorks spokesperson.)

EDIT:
looks like the link is no longer working.

 

[cdunbar]

Wow! Thanks! He was just at the expo!

O I know that's why I posted it. I mean something must of happend with him personally or he was let go. Does anyone have the inside scoop?

 

[nolatron]

Saw this:

http://tinyurl.com/mcsq2l

But is pretty much the same as the above quote.

Walt Disney Co. studio chief D. Cook, whose studio has come under intense scrutiny for the quality of its films, held a staff meeting today to say that he was resigning.

He told staff that he felt he was a square peg in a round hole.

"I am stepping down from my role as chairman of the Walt Disney Studios, effective immediately. I have loved every minute of my 38 years that I have worked at Disney … from the beginning as a ride operator on Disneyland’s steam train and monorail to my position as chairman of the Walt Disney Studios. To wrap up my Disney experience in a neatly bundled statement is close to impossible," Cook said in a statement. "But what I will say is, during my time at the Studio, we have achieved many industry and company milestones. Our talent roster is simply the best in the business. I believe our slate of upcoming motion pictures is the best in our history. But most of all, I love the people, my colleagues, my teammates, who are the most talented, dedicated and loyal folks in the world. I know that I leave the studio in their exceptional hands. I have been contemplating this for some time now and feel it’s the right time for me to move on to new adventures … and in the words of one of my baseball heroes, Yogi Berra, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger said, "Cook's outstanding creative instincts and incomparable showmanship have truly enriched this company and significantly impacted Disney's great legacy."

Iger was not nearly as magnanimous toward Cook on an earnings call earlier this year when he was critical of the studio's slate and development.

More articles:

http://news.google.com/news/more?um=1&ned=us&cf=all&ncl=dlbWc9v_DnVBrUMX1PPFp7GD94B3M

 

[cdunbar]

Nolatron we'll be at WDW the same time you will! We'll be at the Yacht Club

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Hmm. I liked Cook. Shame....And a very odd change of events.


*needs to do some diggin*

 

[Captain Chaos]

And so the purge begins.... I don't think the studio was anything spectacular under him... Now, let's hope Iger and the Sheriff are working on getting TDO out the door as well!!!

 

[SirGoofy]

________ always seemed like a nice guy, but other than Pixar DIsney has been putting out nothing but crap, so this is understandable.

The Marvel Studios exec would be the perfect choice. I knwo they're a young studio, but they've got an eye for quality.

 

[Orange Bird]

And so the purge begins.... I don't think the studio was anything spectacular under him... Now, let's hope Iger and the Sheriff are working on getting TDO out the door as well!!!

Unlikely. TDO is made up of the new guard enabled by Rasulo who is enabled by Iger.

Cook was the old guard. This is not a beggining of a new purge but the tail end of an old purge that started ten years ago with Bill "Sully" Sulivan, Bob Mathison, Richard Nunis, Judson Green, Jack Lindquist, Steve Kirk, Bruce Gorden, Marty Sklar and now Mr. Cook. A purge of anyone connected to or concerned with Disney history and traditions. Cook was the last executive left from the pre-Eisner days.

 

[Orange Bird]

________ always seemed like a nice guy, but other than Pixar DIsney has been putting out nothing but crap, so this is understandable.

The Marvel Studios exec would be the perfect choice. I knwo they're a young studio, but they've got an eye for quality.

Can't agree with you this time. It was Cook's great relationship with Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter that lead to the Pixar Purchase. Without Mr. Cook, Pixar and Disney would have gone their seperate ways. Richard Cook is THE most respected execuitve in Hollywood. Everything good that has come out of the Disney Studio in the past few years is becouse of him. The deals with Pixar, Steven Speilberg, Bob Zemekis, Jerry Bruckheimer are all because of him.

And he started out as a Disneyland Cast Member!

Read what Mr. Depp had to say about it at the link below...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ent...-very-sad-about-________-cooks-departure.html

 

[cdunbar]

Can't agree with you this time. It was Cook's great relationship with Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter that lead to the Pixar Purchase. Without Mr. Cook, Pixar and Disney would have gone their seperate ways. Richard Cook is THE most respected execuitve in Hollywood. Everything good that has come out of the Disney Studio in the past few years is becouse of him. The deals with Pixar, Steven Speilberg, Bob Zemekis, Jerry Bruckheimer are all because of him.

And he started out as a Disneyland Cast Member!

Read what Mr. Depp had to say about it at the link below...

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ent...-very-sad-about-________-cooks-departure.html

That link seems to not work

 

[cdunbar]

Here is one article I think the link won't work because Steve has it set up so we can't say D-I-C-K. Lemme find the Depp one
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Claudia Eller and Ben Fritz<!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_byline_preview" END -->
<!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_display_time_preview" START -->September 19, 2009<!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_display_time_preview" END -->




<!-- sphereit start --><!-- P2P_LIVE_EDIT "content_item_body_preview" START -->With all the signs of a classic Hollywood shake-up, ________ Cook, the longtime head of Walt Disney Studios, abruptly left the company Friday afternoon after 38 years.

The news, which came just as offices were emptying out for the weekend, stunned the entertainment industry for its suddenness, even as it revealed a rift between Cook and Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger. The studio has had an uneven box-office performance and has been struggling creatively. It lost money in its most recent financial quarter.

A person close to Cook said the movie chief "didn't see it coming." He was summoned into a meeting and was told the studio "wanted to go in a different direction," said the person. A Disney spokesperson denied the report.

But in a meeting Friday with colleagues, Cook described himself as "a square peg in a round hole," three people said.

The first evidence of discontent bubbled to the surface in a conference call with analysts in May, when Iger described the studio's performance as "disappointing" -- and placed the blame on Burbank's doorstep, criticizing the choice of films and the execution. Cook's departure comes nearly three weeks after Disney agreed to buy comic-book publisher Marvel Entertainment, producer of the "Spider-Man" and "Iron Man" movies, for $4 billion.

Disney's box-office performance for the last year has been propped up in large part by Pixar Animation Studios. Disney's attempts to create branded franchises that can be spread throughout the company's theme parks, TV and interactive divisions, a key priority, have been lackluster. July's "G-Force," March's "Race to Witch Mountain" and last Christmas' "Bedtime Stories" were all box-office disappointments.

Still, this summer's Touchstone-branded romantic comedy "The Proposal" was a surprise hit, selling more than $161 million of tickets domestically. And April's "Hannah Montana: the Movie," based on the Disney Channel series, grossed a solid $80 million. Pixar's "Up" has already collected $415 million around the world and is likely to exceed $600 million after finishing its foreign run.

Nonetheless, problems extended beyond the box office.

Cook, the onetime Disneyland ride operator who rose to head the studio, is viewed as a traditionalist at a time when Iger is seeking new ways of doing business. Cook tended to be uncommunicative to the point of secretiveness -- a personal style that frustrated Iger, who emphasizes collaboration.

Iger nonetheless lauded Cook's contributions to Disney, in a tenure that included the launch of 63 movies that exceeded $100 million in domestic box office, the release of "Toy Story" and the first release of a digital film, "Tarzan."



"________ Cook's outstanding creative instincts and incomparable showmanship have truly enriched this company and significantly impacted Disney's great legacy," Iger said. "We thank ________ for his tremendous passion for Disney, and his many accomplishments and contributions."

Some of Hollywood's most prominent figures reacted to the news with dismay.

Johnny Depp, star of the "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, said he was "shocked and very sad" to hear about Cook's abrupt departure.

"He is the utmost gentleman," said Depp, whom Cook contacted personally in London. "He said, 'I'd like you to hear it from me before you hear it from someone else or read it.' He said today was my last day. He didn't give me a reason."

In a statement, Cook said he had been contemplating stepping down for some time. "I have loved every minute of my 38 years that I have worked at Disney . . . from the beginning as a ride operator on Disneyland's steam train and monorail to my position as chairman of the Walt Disney Studios," he said. "To wrap up my Disney experience in a neatly bundled statement is close to impossible. But what I will say is . . . we have achieved many industry and company milestones."

 

[Orange Bird]

FROM THE LA TIMES

Johnny Depp says he's 'shocked and very sad' about ________ Cook's departure
September 18, 2009 | 7:33 pm

Johnny Depp, star of Walt Disney Co.'s hugely successful "Pirates of the Caribbean" franchise, said he was "shocked and very sad" to hear about the abrupt departure of studio chief ________ Cook, whom he called "the sweetest man on the planet and such a gent."

Depp, who said his enthusiasm for a fourth "Pirates" movie has waned with the news of Cook's exit, said "it seems like the whole town is shocked," Depp said in a phone interview from London. He said Cook called him a few hours ago to break the news.

"He is the utmost gentleman, so he made the call himself. He said, 'I'd like you to hear it from me before you hear it from someone else or read it,'" Depp said. "He said today was my last day. He didn't give me a reason."

Depp added, "I didn't see this coming. There was no reason to see this coming."

The actor said it was because of Cook that he ended up working with Disney in the first place. Cook had been trying woo Depp for years with various projects including doing voice-overs for animated films and one day, in Cook's office, the studio chief threw out an idea that Depp pounced on.

"He said, 'We're thinking about doing this 'Pirates of the Caribbean' movie,'" Depp recalled. "I said I was in. This was before there was a script or anything."

Depp said one of the reasons he committed to the movie was because he trusted Cook.

"He's instantly trustworthy. And you generally don't meet people at the studios you trust," Depp said. "He's a rare beast."

Depp said Cook's true character was evident right from the get-go. "When things went a little sideways on the first 'Pirates' movie and others at the studio were less than enthusiastic about my interpretation of the character, ________ was there from the first moment. He trusted me," said Depp, referring to his controversial choices to fill his mouth with gold fillings and wear "things tied into my hair" that made him resemble Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards as much as he did a pirate.

While some of the Disney executives were "opposed to my body language," Cook "was completely supportive of me," Depp said.

As for the fourth planned "Pirates" movie, Depp said while he has a potential deal in place that will depend on how good the script is, his passion for the project at the moment has been severely dampened by the news that Cook will no longer be around.

"There's a fissure, a crack in my enthusiasm at the moment," Depp said. "It was all born in that office."

Depp said he was confident that he and Cook will one day work together again.

"He will be somewhere and I will always look forward to working with him. I consider ________ a friend inside an insane system. He's someone I understand and I think he understands me."

Update (Saturday, 12:05 AM): For more, read the story in Saturday's Times.

-- Claudia Eller

Photo: Johnny Depp in "Pirates of the Caribbean." Credit: Peter Mountain / Buena Vista Pictures

 

[trr1]

new chairman at Walt Disney Studios

Television and Film</B> <!-- /templateDebugMode: end template: categoryMenus/categoryBreadcrumb.html - templateCell: categoryRow --><!-- /templateDebugMode: end template: categoryMenus/categoryBreadcrumb.html -->
Last Updated: Oct 6, 2009 - 1:54:17 PM

• Main Disney News Page

Walt Disney Studios names new chairman
By Leah Zanolla
Oct 6, 2009

Rich Ross has been named the new chairman of The Walt Disney Studios to replace ________ Cook, who resigned in September.
Ross's current job as president of Disney Channels Worldwide will serve him well in this new role. He will head up the company's film labels, including Walt Disney, Touchstone, Miramax and Disney/Pixar. Some of his duties will include worldwide production, distribution and marketing of those brands. Ross will also oversee Disney's theatrical and music groups.