A Spirited Perfect Ten

[Soarin' Over Pgh]

It's not about a blogger, but I do have some juicy info on other stuff.

Yes please.

 

[NearTheEars]

Looks like everyone missed the part where @lentesta said all the folks involved (TWDC included) know about this issue.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

Len didn't acknowledge that he knew anything. He simply said, speaking solely on his behalf, "what's in the past is in the past". There's a big difference.

 

[The Empress Lilly]

It's not about a blogger, but I do have some juicy info on other stuff.

Go on then, spill the beans! =D

 

[CinematicFusion]

But, the thing is...this discussion isn't just an attack on Hill, though it may seem that way.

It's an attack on Disney's policy, or lack thereof, of associating themselves too closely to the lifestyler/blogger brigade. Folks like Brigante, Mongello, Lange and many others. A group which I'm sure contains other people with questionable pasts. Is this the best they can do?

And it isn't just Disney. I know that Hill has close ties to some folks over in the Universal PR department, too.

I mean, how is it that someone can run so afoul of Disney in the past can now be used for a quote on the back of their Blu-Rays? (Was Leonard Maltin unavailable?). Is it a case of one arm of the company not knowing what another arm knows?
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How can this not be an attack on Jim hill? Of course it is. You posted on public forum an email sent from someone who might have some beef with Hill.
I don't know you or Hill but if I got that information I would have sent it to Jim hill first. Give him the opportunity to express himself.
Has he screwed up in the last 10 years? Did he screw up last year?
You could have made the same points without introducing jim hill and his past.
Feels like a political smear campaign. Just my opinion.
Not the way I would handle information that could end someone's job. Talk to Disney... Don't you work for them? Let hill know what you are about to do to him before releasing the information to the public.
Anyway, what do I know.

 

[BlueSkyDriveBy]

Who cares about what happened 20 years ago in a galaxy far, far away. What matters is the here and now.

I'm more concerned with the ethics of these, uh, "media relationships" between the bloggers like Hill and TWDC. No one will ever convince me that quid pro quo is not SOP for these folks. That's why they all do it. And it's more slimy than Mr. Toad's toadstool.

Call it what you will, but it's still the world's oldest profession. With park comps.

 

[rael ramone]

In the end, all that matters to $DIS is the stock price...

 

[Smiddimizer]

I may be in over my head here, but I don't see the immorality of this discussion on Disney's lackadaisical, hamhanded attempt at social media. Moreover I think the more people interrogate or go out of their way to defend Hill the worse it gets. @Lee was probably hesitant to mention his name to begin with since it deviates from his point, but I can see why he did since otherwise people only would have been asking.

So we know whodunit, let's move past it and talk about why it really matters, for Jim's sake and ours...

 

[NearTheEars]

Len didn't acknowledge that he knew anything. He simply said, speaking solely on his behalf, "what's in the past is in the past". There's a big difference.

Umm ... His post said everyone, including @lentesta has agreed that the past is the past in regards to Mr. Hill. Seems like you'd have to know what that past was to come to that conclusion.

But whatever. Guess that's just how I see it.

 

[gmajew]

Moving on to another subject saw good dinosaur tonight. And it was really a good movie the animation is breath taking!! Some of the best I have seen!

Advertising dropped the ball on the marketing for the movie. Not what I thought it was going to be about but was a good good movie. Pixar did not fail in this story.

Hope it picks up steam going forward.

 

[Frankie The Beer]

Getting back to the original topic of this thread, word around the investor campfire is Disney is banking huge on Shanghai DL, so much so they feel that in time revenue generated will help offset ESPN losses short term while they figure out a long term ESPN solution. The biggest ace in the deck and one they throw in investors faces is the fact Shanghai has the entire population of the United States within 2-3 hours away from the new nirvana. How to get them there beyond just being Disney will of course be the trick. One thing is for certain, if ESPN keeps bleeding without a solution, look for Disney to ramp up the parks. Its the only logical solution.

 

[Cesar R M]

I'm not arguing over this, really. I'm just with @jakeman (holy crap, we agree on something!) in questioning the timing of why this finally came to light. And based on that CMs comments, seems pretty apparent.

Yes, i think its totally wrong for Disney & D23 to be associated with Jim given whats come to light.

But I also think there's an ability to forgive and let bygones be bygones. Twenty years is a long time and I can't get righteously indignant over this.... mostly because I simply don't care about Jim one way or the other.

At some point you have to forgive the past.

unless he's going downhill again and returning to his old habits?

*edit*
nevermind, he explained himself.

 

[xdan0920]

So, now that Jim is outted. Who do we go after next. There's a handful of super high profile folks Disney has allied themselves with that have super sketchy pasts. Michael Jackson anyone? Tim the Toolman? Downy Jr? This list could legitimately go on forever.

I've been checked out of this dopey thread for months, but curiousness got the best of me. And now I feel like I need a shower.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Since I started all this, I should probably chime in here.

First, I applaud Jim for coming in and giving his side of the story. Gutsy move. I wonder if, had this not come out, would he have ever opened up abut it?

Second, as I have stated numerous times, this was about a lot more than just Jim and his past transgressions.
It was not meant to be seen as a "hit piece." Every interaction I've had with Jim over the year has been a pleasant one.
This is about Disney's curious relationship to the lifestyler/blogger corps. Jim was merely an example that was served up to me.

As other posters have stated above, some central questions remain:
-Who at today's Disney knew? Did Celebration Place know? Did D23? Universal? HuffPo?
-If they did know, do they care?
-Knowing now, how will that effect their (and Universal's, and Huffington Post's) relationship with Jim? Keeping them in the dark for 20 years could be a problem.
-Will it effect how they vet "media" from now on? Odds are, there are more (possibly even more troubling) secrets lurking out there.
-Does the perceived value to them outweigh the potential negatives?
-What effect does this have on Jim's credibility? How many readers will now have an extra "filter" when reading his stuff?

I'm sorry Lee, but it sure as hell is a "hit piece". There was not any good reason to bring long ago, past transitions to the surface at this time. None what so ever! What he did back then has no affect on what he is currently doing. All the questions you have asked above are frankly nobody's business, his credibility, as far as I can see, has not been affected at all. The people like yourself and your source still hate him, and the rest of us are still uncaring and unconcerned about what happened back then.

The bottom line is no one is forced to like anyone. No one is forced to respect anyone. That is an individual choice. Someone bringing it to light without actually being able to connect any current bad behavior is just throwing stuff into the wind to see where it gets carried. It is both irresponsible and reprehensible how callous everyone seems to be about possible wrecking someones career when what happened in the past is currently not harming anyone.

Oh, I know, he victimized poor defenseless Disney Company. They should perhaps hire a roomful of lawyers to protect them from a big bad criminal like Jim Hill. Seriously, it is once again a non-issue which has been magnified to an almost incredible degree just to ruin one persons life. Shameful, in my mind. By the way, almost the only activity that anyone is concerned about is a felony, misdemeanors are a dime a dozen. Perhaps they already knew and everyone is all upset because no one let us know. Whatever the reason we neither have the need to know nor the right to know what's in everybody's dirty laundry.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I'm sorry Lee, but it sure as hell is a "hit piece". There was not any good reason to bring long ago, past transitions to the surface at this time. None what so ever! What he did back then has no affect on what he is currently doing. All the questions you have asked above are frankly nobody's business, his credibility, as far as I can see, has not been affected at all. The people like yourself and your source still hate him, and the rest of us are still uncaring and unconcerned about what happened back then.

The bottom line is no one is forced to like anyone. No one is forced to respect anyone. That is an individual choice. Someone bringing it to light without actually being able to connect any current bad behavior is just throwing stuff into the wind to see where it gets carried. It is both irresponsible and reprehensible how callous everyone seems to be about possible wrecking someones carrier when what happened in the past is currently not harming anyone.

Oh, I know, he victimized poor defenseless Disney Company. They should perhaps hire a roomful of lawyers to protect them from a big bad criminal like Jim Hill. Seriously, it is once again a non-issue which has been magnified to an almost incredible degree just to ruin one persons life. Shameful, in my mind. By the way, almost the only activity that anyone is concerned about is a felony, misdemeanors are a dime a dozen. Perhaps they already knew and everyone is all upset because no one let us know. Whatever the reason we neither have the need to know or the right to know what's in everybody's dirty laundry.

I'm sure there's plenty of Dirty Laundry in Celebra.... oh wait, I have Tickets to Star Wars at the PI theatre on Thursday. Screw everything else.

 

[the.dreamfinder]

I'm sure there's plenty of Dirty Laundry in Celebra.... oh wait, I have Tickets to Star Wars at the PI theatre on Thursday. Screw everything else.

I have tickets for the IMAX Dome at the Franklin Institute in 70mm, but I must say I'm more excited for The Hateful Eight on Christmas Day!

 

[xdan0920]

I have tickets for the IMAX Dome at the Franklin Institute in 70mm, but I must say I'm more excited for The Hateful Eight on Christmas Day!

Outstanding.

 

[PhotoDave219]

I have tickets for the IMAX Dome at the Franklin Institute in 70mm, but I must say I'm more excited for The Hateful Eight on Christmas Day!

I'm excited for that as well.... The IMAX at Air and Space annex has a really nice projector....

 

[JenniferS]

Moving on to another subject saw good dinosaur tonight. And it was really a good movie the animation is breath taking!! Some of the best I have seen!

Advertising dropped the ball on the marketing for the movie. Not what I thought it was going to be about but was a good good movie. Pixar did not fail in this story.

Hope it picks up steam going forward.

I said pretty much the exact same thing!
Having seen the trailer at least five times, the movie itself was still a total surprise to me. Not at all what I expected.

The heart-breakingly simple circle allegory still brings a tear to my eye. Hubby and I both enjoyed it.

Considering I seem to be the only person who thought Inside Out was meh, I was pleasantly surprised.

 

[Lee]

How can this not be an attack on Jim hill? Of course it is. You posted on public forum an email sent from someone who might have some beef with Hill.

Nonsense.
If it were a hit piece, I could have gone about the whole thing a lot more harshly, with a lot more detail, and not even tried to keep the focus on the main issue which is Disney's questionable relationship with some "independent" shills/bloggers.

I've been here nearly fifteen years. Not once have I ever put out a "hit" on someone.

You could have made the same points without introducing jim hill and his past.
Feels like a political smear campaign. Just my opinion.

No, I don't think so.
The info I received was very specific. It detailed a pattern of behavior, over a period of years, which resulted in arrest, prosecution, and conviction (To pled-down charges. I don't know what, or how severe, the original charges were.) of crimes against Disney. Crimes perpetrated by a specific individual who went on to be embraced, aided and promoted by that same company.

Should I have made up a "Tim Gill" character who has been quoted by Disney on DVD boxes and such? Nah. We're all grown ups here.

Not the way I would handle information that could end someone's job.

That's fine. To each his own. I figured Jim was a big boy who could stand up for himself, which he sorta did. If you want to be a journalist, which by his site and HuffPo work, Jim surely does, you have to be prepared to take a punch and to be held to journalistic standards....if those even exist in this day and age.

Talk to Disney... Don't you work for them?

I do not.