Big Big News!!!!!!!!

[joefox97]

Not to steal testtrack's thunder - but Whoa. That's all I can right now. I'm just mind-boggled at the thought. Disney without a Disney around? Michael Eisner being asked to resign? (Not likely). What does this do for the future of the Disney company?

Wow.

Are corporate raiders waiting just around the block to tear up the company and sell it off?

Seriously folks, maybe it's time that the people step up and start buying all that stock and take back control of the company - you can expect Disney stock to plummet with this annoucement, and if Mikey resigns, look for it to drop even lower because they will be a ship without anyone at the helm... which is very dangerous. But if every Disney fanatic bought as much stock as he/she could afford - well, as the song says, we could "change the world."

Then, the people who SHOULD be controlling the company will be - the people who love it.

Keep your hands and arms inside the ride though, because it's about to become a very bumpy ride.

 

[Testtrack321]

Originally posted by Heyyall
I really dont have an idea about this topic...
Why does everyone hate Eisner so much?
:xmas:

1.) He has promoted cost cutting throught the parks not only by expecting to give them less mone, but to promote Pressler and Harris.

2.) Has promoted people who are incompetant to do their jobs.

3.) Will not allow for funding for new rides.

The list goes on. Do a forum search.

 

[orlpassholder]

all I can say is this "Let's not forget one thing it all started with Disney NOT Eisner"

 

[General Grizz]

I wonder if Eisner has anything to do with this:

Disney owns the largest percentage, as a partner, in the biggest company in the soft-to-medium market.

Disney owns many of the huge record labels producing the very bands and topics the "Parental Advisory" label was created for - bands that glorify rape, drugs, murder, hate, racism, violence against women, violence, period.

Disney owns many of the huge movie studios producing some of the most outrageous crap yet to be made. You won't find any mention of those details as they push their Family Friendly, Pro-Family, Pro-Mom&Dad, Pro-Happy Safe Healthy Children Agenda though. As one insider said, "The New Disney will do just about anything to make a buck".

For more, visit http://www.anomalies-unlimited.com/Interests.html

 

[JLW11Hi]

Wow...this is insane! I mean, I'm not saying its a bad or good thing, its just insane! I mean, we all knew it was going to happen sometime. I am glad Roy is doig what he feels is best, and heck, he might as well retire.....

...didn't Roy do something like this before, and he came back with Stanley Gold and Eisner and basically took over the company again? Not that that would happen again, just a thought. I am sure Roy is worried about the fate of the company.

So.....what exactly is going to happen now? Anything?

 

[NemoRocks78]

I've actually heard about that grizzlyhall. I believe I read about it. It's a shame though. The Disney Co. should never be doing stuff like that. Even 'Bad Santa', though it looks really funny, was released under Dimension Films, a Disney company. Can you believe that? Disney, out of all their goodness, goes and releases an R-rated film. And trailers are being played in theatres, and commercials are all over television.

We can only hope that Mr. Eisner resigns, and a new chairman will bring the magic back to the Walt Disney Company.

 

[HennieBogan1966]

I would say that the reason we tend to disagree with Mr Eisner is due to the direction that he has taken the company in.

There appears to be a downward trend in the way in which the Parks, Disney Stores, and its movie production studios have been operated for some time now. I know that I have been disappointed with how the Parks have been run in as much as the Deluxe Hotels cost too much to stay in, and the hoppers seem a bit overpriced.

But it's just that the "feel" of the company seems to have changed over the years. The way the company has gone about it's movie making, purchasing abc, espn, etc. Too many directions I believe, have caused the board to lose focus and perspective on what made this Company great in the first place.

And with placing too much focus on one product "push" (i.e. plush and toys in all the Disney Stores,), have driven business elsewhere. People don't want to get one product "shoved in their faces all the time". Not enough variety in the stores. Cookie-cutter (for the most part) animation movies. And building complex hotels in their parks to charge enormous rates that aren't doing as well as they would have you think.


There is a need for change in leadership and a new direction. Back to the values and vision of Walt Disney himself.

I was watching a show about DL on TTC the other night and they mentioned the "room" that Walt had on Main Street.It was said that the "spirit" of Walt resides there even today. Well, if that's true, then the spirits aren't very happy, I assure you. Again, these parks are supposed to be family oriented parks, and the company should be an extension of those parks. Not the other way around.

 

[Testtrack321]

RUN TO THE CELER! IT'S FALLING!

Frankly guys, Disne is a laughing stock now. IoA has attenedence and respect that it didn't have 10 years ago, Dreamworks is doing well (somewhat) and Disney's biggest pictures are by Pixar.

What do I think should happen?

I think Disney's fate is a constant state of burning to the ground and renewel, like the Pheonix. I say our next CEO should be this guy, who turned around a company that's a laughing stock to a highly respectable one....


Mr. Steve Jobs....

 

[General Grizz]

"IoA has attenedence and respect that it didn't have 10 years ago. . . "

Whoa, am I missing something here? IoA is just a few years old. . and its attendance figures are no where near Disney.

And yeah. . . I think Disney should try its best to hold on to Pixar for the time being.

 

[Testtrack321]

No, it's not just you, I was thinking IoA, but ment Universal along with IoA, like 'Uniersal didn't have the respect and attenedence untill IoA'.

 

[mickey04]

Originally posted by NemoRocks78
I've actually heard about that grizzlyhall. I believe I read about it. It's a shame though. The Disney Co. should never be doing stuff like that. Even 'Bad Santa', though it looks really funny, was released under Dimension Films, a Disney company. Can you believe that? Disney, out of all their goodness, goes and releases an R-rated film. And trailers are being played in theatres, and commercials are all over television.

We can only hope that Mr. Eisner resigns, and a new chairman will bring the magic back to the Walt Disney Company.

Responses like this aggrevate me a little. let me preface this by saying that I am NOT an Eisner fan and would like to see the company headed by someone who is more in touch with what Disney is all about.

However, I don't really see how people can blame him for movies like "Bad Santa," which was put out by Dimension, which is owned by Miramax, which is owned by Disney. The entire reason Disney owns these companies is so they can put out movies that adults will enjoy, and stay competitive in the industry. I for one think that was a smart move on Eisner's part. Bad Santa is rated "R," meaning for adults only. A countless number of movies rated R come out every year. One of the only companies who will not put out an R movie, and until this summer, a PG-13 movie, is Disney. If Disney had in fact released "Bad Santa" or some of the other movies listed on Grizz's link under the "Disney" brand, I would be the first to disagree. But I don't think its the same thing if Miramax or Touchstone, or Dimension, or any other company that Disney owns does it.

 

[General Grizz]

But Roy is right: DISNEY IS LOSING ITS FOCUS.

Like he wrote to Eisner, "[T]he Company has lost its focus, its creative energy, and its heritage."

"The important thing is the family. If you can keep the family together - and that's the backbone of our whole
business, catering to families - that's what we hope to do." - Walt Disney

"If you aim for kids, you're dead." - Walt Disney

And I'm sure that's implied for adults. And Eisner seems to be proving this vision.

 

[mac388]

I totally agree with what everyone is saying here. Michael Eisner has single-handedly promoted a "Disney runs the world, at any cost" way of thinking. I remember thinking when Moulin Rouge came out, why they didn't have any sort of promotion at the Studios at WDW. Because, it was made by Miramax, and if parents and others knew that Disney actually has a stake in that movie company, then other movies (like Bad Santa) would be associated with Disney and parents would be disgusted.

I think that there is a general half- way about things now in the Disney company. As mentioned before, everything Disney does is only 50 percent. Their product is everywhere, oversaturating the market. Things at WDW are in need of a basic paint job, to say the least (the pillars at the Yacht Club had paint flaking off them, as one of many examples).
I used to be able to go into the Disney Store and find bedding, dinnerware, and figurines. Now, all I find are costumes and plastic toys.
I think that Steve Jobs would be an adequate counterpart...with John Lasseter! If anyone truly embodies Walt's spirit, it's John.
Since the Company is meeting in NYC tomorrow and Tuesday, it will be interesting to see what happens.
I am weary that Mike Eisner would actually resign, considering his monopoly of the Board of Directors. However, there is a case pending against him-by some of the shareholders. That could be enough to throw him out the door. Let's hope!

 

[TheDisneyBoy]

Let me tell you something.....I am a huge Apple geek and I would LOVE nothing more than to see Steve Jobs as CEO of the Walt Disney Corporation, but I do not think it will happen. He is too busy with Apple and Pixar and do not see him relinquishing control of either of those companies.

 

[eclipseSD]

November 30, 2003

Mr. Michael D. Eisner, Chairman
The Walt Disney Company
500 South Buena Vista Street
Burbank, CA 91521

Dear Michael,

It is with deep sadness and regret that I send you this letter of resignation from the Walt Disney Company, both as Chairman of the Feature Animation Division and as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors.

You well know that you and I have had serious differences of opinion about the direction and style of management in the company in recent years. For whatever reason, you have driven a wedge between me and those I work with even to the extent of requiring some of my associates to report my conversations and activities to you. I find this intolerable.

Finally, you discussed with the Nominating Committee of the Board of Directors its decision to leave my name off the slate of directors to be elected in the coming year, effectively muzzling my voice on the Board – much as you did with Andrea Van de Kamp last year.

Michael, I believe your conduct has resulted from my clear and unambiguous statements to you and the Board of Directors that after 19 years at the helm you are no longer the best person to run the Walt Disney Company. You had a very successful first 10-plus years at the company in partnership with Frank Wells, for which I salute you. But since Frank’s untimely death in 1994, the company has lost its focus, its creative energy, and its heritage.

As I have said, and as Stanley Gold has documented in letters to you and other members of the Board, this Company under your leadership has failed during the last seven years in many ways:

1. The failure to bring back ABC Prime Time from the ratings abyss it has been in for years and your inability to program successfully the ABC Family Channel. Both of these failures have had, and I believe will continue to have, significant adverse impact on shareholder value.

2. Your consistent micro-management of everyone around you with the resulting loss of morale throughout this company.

3. The timidity of your investments in our theme park business. At Disney’s California Adventure, Paris, and now Hong Kong, you have tried to build parks on the cheap and they show it and the attendance figures reflect it.

4. The perception by our stakeholders –consumers, investors, employees, distributors and suppliers – that the Company is rapacious, soul-less, and always looking for the “quick buck” rather than long-term value which is leading to a loss of public trust.

5. The creative brain drain of the last several years, which is real and continuing, and damages our Company with the loss of every talented employee.

6. Your failure to establish and build constructive relationships with creative partners, especially Pixar, Miramax, and the cable companied distributing our products.

7. Your consistent refusal to establish a clear succession plan.

In conclusion, Michael, it is my sincere belief that it is you who should be leaving and not me. According ly, I once again call for your resignation or retirement. The Walt Disney Company deserves fresh, energetic leadership at this challenging time in its history just as it did in 1984 when I headed a restructuring which resulted in your recruitment to the Company.

I have and will always have an enormous allegiance and respect for this Company, founded by my uncle, Walt, and father, Roy, and to our faithful employees and loyal stockholders. I don’t know if you and other directors can comprehend how painful it is for me and the extended Disney family to arrive at this decision.

In accordance with Item 6 of Form 8-K and Item 7 of Schedule 14A, I request that you disclose this letter and that you file a copy of this letter as an exhibit to a Company Form 8-K.

With sincere regrets,
Roy E. Disney

Cc: Board of Directors

 

[joefox97]

Roy Disney resigns from Disney Co. board
By GARY GENTILE
AP Business Writer
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Disney vice chairman Roy E. Disney — the last family member to be active in the media giant — has resigned from its board of directors, the company said Sunday. He reportedly called on chairman Michael Eisner to resign as well.
Disney’s resignation may be a pre-emptive move to avoid being forced off the board of The Walt Disney Co. The board’s governance and nominating committee decided not to recommend Disney for another term because he is over the mandated retirement age of 72, said the board’s presiding director, former Sen. George Mitchell.
The full board is scheduled to meet Monday and Tuesday in New York and board membership is on the agenda.
Disney, the nephew of company co-founder Walt Disney, has been increasingly critical of Eisner’s leadership and has called for Eisner’s resignation before, a move that was rejected by the board.
Disney, 73, previously resigned from the board in 1984 to launch a stock battle for the company, which was then headed by Ron Miller, Walt Disney’s son-in-law.
Disney and Stanley Gold, who runs Disney’s investments from a company called Shamrock Holdings, were instrumental in preventing a hostile takeover of the company and installing Eisner and Frank Wells to run Disney.
Gold remains on Disney’s board. Wells died in a 1994 helicopter crash.
Disney’s resignation was first reported in the Wall Street Journal, which said Disney sent a scathing three-page letter to Eisner on Sunday critical of his leadership over the past seven years.
‘‘It is my sincere belief that it is you that should be leaving and not me,’’ Disney wrote, according to a text of the letter obtained by the Journal.
Disney accused Eisner of ‘‘muzzling’’ his voice on the board, although he praises Eisner and Wells for their first 10 years.
‘‘Michael, I believe your conduct has resulted from my clear and unambiguous statements to you and the Board of Directors that after 19 years at the helm, you are no longer the best person to run the Walt Disney Company,’’ Disney wrote.
A call to Disney on Sunday was not immediately returned, but Mitchell issued a statement regretting Disney’s actions.
‘‘The Governance and Nominating Committee recently informed Mr. Disney of its judgment that the mandatory age limits of the company’s Corporate Governance Guidelines, which had previously been unanimously approved by the Board, should be applied to him and two other Board members, Thomas S. Murphy and Raymond Watson,’’ said Mitchell, 70.
‘‘It is unfortunate that the Committee’s judgment to apply these unanimously adopted governance rules has become an occasion to raise again criticisms of the direction of the Company, and calls for change of management, that have been previously rejected by the Board.’’
Eisner is credited with building the company from a minor maker of mediocre films and proprietor of two theme parks in 1984 into a media giant that includes five theme parks around the world, the ABC television network, the ESPN sports cable channel and one of the highest-grossing movie studios.
But he has been severely criticized for a series of blunders since 1994, which include paying a multimillion-dollar severance to Michael Ovitz after he served less than two years as Disney president, the clumsy firing of former studio chief Jeffrey Katzenberg and the severe decline in ABC’s ratings.
Eisner has also been criticized for micromanaging the company and presiding over a ‘‘brain drain.’’ Top executives who have left the company over the past 10 years include Katzenberg, Steven Bollenbach, who now heads the Hilton Corp., and most recently Paul Pressler, who left last year to head Gap Inc.
Disney’s stock fell from more than $40 per share in 2000 to less than $14 in 2002. The stock has risen nearly 34 percent since the beginning of the year as the company’s fortunes have gradually improved; shares closed at $23.09 at the end of trading Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.
In September 2002, after months of often bitter infighting among board members, the board unanimously approved Eisner’s plan for improvement, which included the most drastic changes in board membership since he became chairman.
One of the changes included bringing more independent members to the board, which had long been criticized for having a too cozy relationship with Eisner.
Since then, another Eisner critic, Andrea Van de Kamp, was dropped from the board.
The two other board members who will not be renominated due to the age limit are 76-year-old Watson and Murphy, 77.
Watson is one of the board’s longest-serving members. As vice chairman of The Irvine Co., a large California builder, Watson was an adviser to Walt Disney on the design of Epcot Center and has been on the board since at least 1984.
Murphy served as chairman and chief executive of Capital Cities/ABC until Disney bought the company in 1995.

 

[General Grizz]

Ironic photo!! :lol:

 

[CTXRover]

Wow, I don't know how to feel. I just got back from a great, quick 3 day trip to Disney World all ready to write my trip report and the first things I read on the internet is Roy Disney's resignation and that Disneyland's inadequate maintenance has been determined as the cause of the fatal crash on Thunder Mountain not too long ago .

It is very depressing news to hear of Roy's resignation. Even more so is the obvious troubles that are within the Disney company. I do think though that Eisner has done some spectacular things with the Disney company and without him, the company as an entity may not even be around as a single, powerful company. But I also agree with Roy, after such a long time at the helm, Eisner has gotten greedy. From the movie studios, to the animation unit, to the theme park units. I'm even surprised at Roy's blatant slame at Eisner for the failure of California Adventure, Disney Studios Paris and the potential failure of Hong Kong Disneyland as it follows a "cheap" opening plan for phase 1 of the park.

I guess I would hope that Eisner replies to this resignation in some form. Be it an explanation of his recent ways and the direction he is taking the company in, including answers to the claims Roy makes, or possibly even a resignation himself, with proper time to name a successor and allow for the proper transition of power. I don't see the Disney company in disrepair though. A little greedy yes, but they still do some pretty respectable things and not all is bad in the house of mouse. I just hope something can be done to save some image, better yet, a turn around in current philosohies.

So if I had a chance to talk with Eisner, I would recommend taking Roy's words to heart. Take some time and really think about what Roy is saying.

 

[Katherine]

The only thing I can say is... wow. I'm really sad that Roy is leaving. I agree with him though that Eisner has had this coming he hasn't been producing in these past years, we need fresh ideas and enthusiasm. I for one am ready for a change over in the Disney company.

 

[Mickeyman819]

DANG!!!! this has to be a slap in the face of eisner. Roy said some bad stuff about eisner and im glad he did. It sounded like he had that on his chest for a long time. I wish Roy wasnt leaving but im happy he said what he said. I hope that Eisner doesnt get focuesed on the money and the disney company ends up like ENRON or something like that.

ALL THE POWER TO ROY!!!!!!!!!