Bob Iger: "‘We’ve got some pretty exciting things that we’ll be announcing over the next few months"

[lazyboy97o]

This is so wrong. Show me links to back everything you said. I can do the same and I will later today. I didn't say he is the head of WDI. What I said was that the head of WDI reports to the Creative Officer.

Atlantis was by 2D animation that was already dead. Chicken Little was by the newly formed 3D animation studio.

Nobody at Walt Disney Imagineering reports to Lasseter. He is a glorified consultant, nothing more.

The new 3D studio was Circle 7 Studios that was only intended to make Pixar sequels and they never finished a project. Walt Disney Feature Animation, now Walt Disney Animation Studios, did both Atlantis and Chicken Little. The only thing @Ignohippo got wrong is that Disney only distributed The Wild, they did not make it.

 

[Clever Name]

A deal with Eisner never would have happened. There was entirely too much bad blood.

Pixar was more than ready to go out on its own. They made Ratatouille without any outside input and with the intentions that it would be their first movie as a standalone studio.

When they made Ratatouille, the Disney buyout of Pixar was already in motion and it was just awaiting the BoD approval. A deal with Eisner was not possible due to the meddling of the idiot nephew and Stanley Gold.

 

[FrankLapidus]

I agree with your assessment. Roy E. Disney's defection from the ranks weakened the position of the Disney company and was the direct cause of Eisner's ouster. The Disney shareholders got the shaft.

That isn't my assessment at all, the first line in my post makes my assessment very clear: Michael Eisner was chiefly to blame for the breakdown in the relationship between Disney and Pixar and had he not been ousted there is not an iota of chance that the relationship would have been salvaged.

When they made Ratatouille, the Disney buyout of Pixar was already in motion and it was just awaiting the BoD approval. A deal with Eisner was not possible due to the meddling of the idiot nephew and Stanley Gold.

A deal was not possible because of Eisner's ego, pure and simple. You can blame Roy and Stanley Gold all you want, it is Eisner who destroyed the relationship with Pixar and in doing so he played right into the hands of the Save Disney campaign and paved the way further for his own ouster.

It says it all about Eisner's error in judgement that one of the first things his loyal lieutenant did in the hours after being told he would become CEO was to phone Steve Jobs and commit to salvaging the relationship between Disney and Pixar, a relationship that Eisner was convinced Disney didn't need. Evidently, even Eisner's few allies remaining at Disney saw the mistake he had made and set about rectifying it pretty much immediately after his ouster was confirmed.

 

[alphac2005]

Absolutely, Iger said that both men were good negotiators but neither was very good at compromising. Ultimately Eisner dug his own grave in this instance, he targeted Disney animation for cost-cutting and purged the studio's best talent and then expected it to compete with Pixar. As with Michael Ovitz, among other things, he made a huge error of judgement and his ego prevented him from doing what needed to be done to rectify the mess that he created. Eisner convinced himself that he held all the cards when it came to Pixar and ended up being ousted from Disney while Steve Jobs, Ed Catmull and John Lasseter ended up with far more than they had originally hoped for.

I assume that's to the other poster as Steve Jobs clearly had (and has been documented in many places including as an underlying narrative of his biography) a narcissist personality profile and having to unfortunately deal with family members with this dreaded personality tick, they really stand out from the crowd when you know what you're looking for.

 

[FrankLapidus]

I assume that's to the other poster as Steve Jobs clearly had (and has been documented in many places including as an underlying narrative of his biography) a narcissist personality profile and having to unfortunately deal with family members with this dreaded personality tick, they really stand out from the crowd when you know what you're looking for.

Yep, ultimately it was a battle of egos between two very successful men and both wanted to win. Ultimately, Eisner's ego would be the one to lose out and prove very costly to his future at Disney.

 

[alphac2005]

Yep, ultimately it was a battle of egos between two very successful men and both wanted to win. Ultimately, Eisner's ego would be the one to lose out and prove very costly to his future at Disney.

You're absolutely right. It was a game of chicken among two egotists.

 

[Travel Junkie]

Oh, I know about USH, and it's about time. I don't know about you, but to me it doesn't look like the DLR is doing anything right now. I know it's early and all, but still. If this Star Wars thing happens, I'm not sure how it'll compare to Potter. I think Uni would still have the upper hand. Only time will tell.

If reports are true about Monstropolis and Star Wars (not a fan of where they are supposed to put either, but that's another story), it would be a start. It depends on how Star Wars turns out whether it is enough to stem the tide a bit. At the very least it would be much more than what WDW did. As long as DLR can keep people from switching out their DLR AP for a USH AP, they should be fine.

Regardless of what DLR does USH is going to get a massive Potter bump when it opens. I forsee capacity issues for that park. I wouldn't be surprised if the buy one day get the rest of the year free offer goes away.

 

[Californian Elitist]

If reports are true about Monstropolis and Star Wars (not a fan of where they are supposed to put either, but that's another story), it would be a start. It depends on how Star Wars turns out whether it is enough to stem the tide a bit. At the very least it would be much more than what WDW did. As long as DLR can keep people from switching out their DLR AP for a USH AP, they should be fine.

Regardless of what DLR does USH is going to get a massive Potter bump when it opens. I forsee capacity issues for that park. I wouldn't be surprised if the buy one day get the rest of the year free offer goes away.

Yeah, I guess it would be a start. I doubt Disney will have something huge ready by the time USH debuts Harry Potter, though.

I don't know how USH is going to handle crowds. I feel bad for them. I have no doubt that promotion will be a thing of the past in the next couple of years. Just like the 2fer deal at the DLR.

 

[Ignohippo]

When they made Ratatouille, the Disney buyout of Pixar was already in motion and it was just awaiting the BoD approval. A deal with Eisner was not possible due to the meddling of the idiot nephew and Stanley Gold.

Not true. Ratatouille was at least halfway done before there was any inkling of a deal with Disney.

 

[Ignohippo]

I assume that's to the other poster as Steve Jobs clearly had (and has been documented in many places including as an underlying narrative of his biography) a narcissist personality profile and having to unfortunately deal with family members with this dreaded personality tick, they really stand out from the crowd when you know what you're looking for.

Yes, but if anyone had a right to be narcissistic, it was Jobs.

You'd be right in calling I'm every negative name under the sun, but, in the end, he got things done beyond what anyone thought was possible and made people exceed well beyond what they considered to be their own limitations.

If Steve was an a-hole when dealing with Eisner, I'm sure there was good reason and Eisner very obviously undervalued Pixar – what it had meant to TWDCo and what it could mean to it in the future. I'd be ed, too.

 

[Ignohippo]

Nobody at Walt Disney Imagineering reports to Lasseter. He is a glorified consultant, nothing more.

The new 3D studio was Circle 7 Studios that was only intended to make Pixar sequels and they never finished a project. Walt Disney Feature Animation, now Walt Disney Animation Studios, did both Atlantis and Chicken Little. The only thing @Ignohippo got wrong is that Disney only distributed The Wild, they did not make it.

Thanks LB.

 

[Ignohippo]

This is so wrong. Show me links to back everything you said. I can do the same and I will later today. I didn't say he is the head of WDI. What I said was that the head of WDI reports to the Creative Officer.

Umm...Here's your direct quote:
"Iger did not bring in Lassetter. He came with Pixar and Steve Jobs insisted that he be made Chief Creative Officer and run the combined animation studios as well as WDI - or it was no deal."

You specifically say Jobs insisted that Lasseter "run the combined animation studios as well as WDI".

Everything about your statement is wrong.

If anything Iger wanted Lasseter or no deal, and Lasseter never "ran" WDI – he's Chief Creative Officer at WDI which, as Lazyboy pointed out, is basically a consultant.

 

[Ignohippo]

When they made Ratatouille, the Disney buyout of Pixar was already in motion and it was just awaiting the BoD approval. A deal with Eisner was not possible due to the meddling of the idiot nephew and Stanley Gold.

As everyone has pointed out, the deal with Eisner was not possible BECAUSE OF EISNER. There would not have been a lower buying price if Roy hadn't become involved. Pixar would have simply gone out on its own (which is exactly what they had already planned on doing).

I would swear I've said all of these exact things before....

 

[PeterAlt]

I assume you're talking about Seven Seas Lagoon. Bay Lake was natural and already formed (just had to be cleaned/dredged). Helps to get the names of things right when you're trying to make a point. As for the park itself. The model still makes it look pretty much like a copy of Disneyland...especially with the water feature in Tomorrowland and the smaller one in Fantasyland which closely resembles the submarine lagoon's location in Disneyland, and the area where Hook's Pirate Ship used to be in Fantasyland.

I originally said Seven Seas Lagoon and then I edited it to say Bay Lake when I added the link to make it more uniform with the article, which also referenced Bay Lake.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Here's the full 1966 EPCOT film Walt made in October, '66. It's always a fascinating look into what Walt was thinking and planning for Florida in the last weeks of his life.

You can also freeze the video at 7:18 to get a close look at the Florida theme park plans circa 1966, AKA Disneyland 1965; look for the Sailing Ship Columbia dock and Autopia freeways!

I always get choked up when I see Walt.

I've never seen this video before and I wonder what he'd think about WDW the way it was actually developed as opposed to his vision in this video?

 

[PeterAlt]

Umm...Here's your direct quote:
"Iger did not bring in Lassetter. He came with Pixar and Steve Jobs insisted that he be made Chief Creative Officer and run the combined animation studios as well as WDI - or it was no deal."

You specifically say Jobs insisted that Lasseter "run the combined animation studios as well as WDI".

Everything about your statement is wrong.

If anything Iger wanted Lasseter or no deal, and Lasseter never "ran" WDI – he's Chief Creative Officer at WDI which, as Lazyboy pointed out, is basically a consultant.

Steve Jobs was very particular about certain key points of the deal, Lassetter being one of them. The bit about him being Creative Officer is the one that sticks in my memory after all these years. My memory may be wrong about the specifics of this, but that's how I remember it. I'll check the news archives to see where and why I remember that from.

I remember telling everyone I know when the Pixar deal was announced that Iger was tricked by Jobs because in actuality it is the other way around - Pixar had taken over Disney.

 

[lazyboy97o]

If anything Iger wanted Lasseter or no deal, and Lasseter never "ran" WDI – he's Chief Creative Officer at WDI which, as Lazyboy pointed out, is basically a consultant.

This. Disney paid $7 billion to get back a guy they fired back in the 1980s. They already essentially owned what Pixar had already made, they wanted Lasseter. That demand is what Lasseter used to transform Car Land into Cars Land and ensure its survival as a fully realized vision.

 

[DznyGrlSD]

Can someone bring Eisner back please... he invested at WDW.. lol

No. Eisner was seen as HORRIBLE at the end of his career. Everyone hated him and there are still people who hate him to this day (not me).

 

[lazyboy97o]

No. Eisner was seen as HORRIBLE at the end of his career. Everyone hated him and there are still people who hate him to this day (not me).

But very few people seem to have the same hate for the people who were advising Eisner who remain in the Company.

 

[PeterAlt]

Yes, but if anyone had a right to be narcissistic, it was Jobs.

You'd be right in calling I'm every negative name under the sun, but, in the end, he got things done beyond what anyone thought was possible and made people exceed well beyond what they considered to be their own limitations.

If Steve was an a-hole when dealing with Eisner, I'm sure there was good reason and Eisner very obviously undervalued Pixar – what it had meant to TWDCo and what it could mean to it in the future. I'd be ed, too.

I know for a fact that the bit in the book about how Steve Jobs dealt with family is wrong and inaccurate (I hope not intentionally). My cousin's roommate at Harvard was Lisa Brennan Jobs, the estranged daughter of Steve Jobs. The book says that Steve Jobs never attended her graduation at Harvard. My cousin graduated Harvard together with Lisa. My uncle was there for her graduation and sitting in the row in front of him was Steve Jobs there to see Lisa graduate. My uncle and Steve Jobs were acquainted with each other. My uncle, aunt, and my other cousins all had dinner with Steve Jobs and Lisa at the Jobs residence in Palo Alto, CA per Steve Jobs' invitation. My uncle wrote the author of that book and complained about the inaccuracy. The author did not reply.