Michael Eisner on Larry King tonight

General Grizz

New Member
Originally posted by mikedvcmember
Very well said, That is why we need to get the word out there and let people know what is going on "behind the scenes"

. . . i.e. Lap Dances going on in the Magic Kingdom Utilidors just below where you walk. . .
 

HennieBogan1966

Account Suspended
I think we're getting slightly off track here. I believe that the issue here is that he clearly doesn't demonstrate a willingness to address any of the concerns of either the cms or the guests, consumers, fans, etc. etc. of the The Walt Disney Company.

I see comments made by people saying he's a great salesman. (ummm, lots of those out there: is this one worth the billions he's been paid?). He sure is a smooth one. My wife would say the same thing about me. Doesn't make me qualified to run a company as diverse as The Walt Disney Company now is.

Maybe I should frame this as a question to all of you out there?

After having seen this interview (forget about the "format" of the interview; what a crock), and having read his recent comments about the company, how many of you feel "better" about his leadership role, and how many of you feel worse?

Hmmmm!!!
 

Carrousel Lover

New Member
Transcript on his love of his job was interesting to me for what it did not say. Not once does he talk about people - it's all about the perks and the interaction with these incredible creative, dynamic people aren't considered perks evidently? When he said that I never thought he was plugging the rides - I was comparing it to the NYTimes Roy Disney piece called "Reanimated" on the savedisney site. When Eisner said that I felt I was listening to any kid getting his/her first job at xyz company where you get freebies. That's an interesting topic to discuss with your buddy but as a CEO I found it odd. Again to be fair I had just read the NY Times article so it was such a HUGE difference to their (Disney) take on their "perks" it was interesting to me. I also think that was an area they (Michael's marketing team) goofed with coaching and could have capitalized more on with the kindler, gentler Michael. On the other hand I think that was one of the only questions he answered honestly.

From Reanimated article:

Patrick added: ''I make my kids stand in line at Disneyland. They stand in line for two hours just like everyone else.''

His father, who was sitting at the far end of the couch, observing the banter between mother and son with visible amusement -- he seems to seek out the social margins not only at work but even within his own family -- jumped into the conversation at the mention of the theme parks. ''I will promise you,'' Roy Disney said, ''there isn't a member of the Disney board who has ever stood in line at the parks. When they go, they get back-doored into everything.''

''When we go to the parks,'' Patrick continued, ''if we see a candy wrapper on the ground, we stop and pick it up and put it in the trash. Do you think Michael would ever think of doing a thing like that? Oh, pleeeease!''

Now from the Larry King transcript:

KING: So you have every indication of staying on. It would take some kind of unusual occurrence for you not to be chairman and CEO.
EISNER: Where else can you get to the head of the line for Mission Space (ph) at Epcot Center? Where else can you go in the back door and see Mickey's (UNINTELLIGIBLE) at Disneyland and Walt Disney World? Where else can you go tomorrow night, as I'm going, to the opening of Snow White live show at Disneyland in Anaheim? Where else can you go to Hong Kong and watch them build a new park in the most fantastic site I've ever seen? What else can you go and actually be invited to the Super Bowl with ESPN? You think I'm crazy?
(LAUGHTER)
EISNER: This is a great, great company and a great job, and I like it. That doesn't mean that I can't have all those same things by just being a citizen. KING: This Snow White stage show, is it going to come to New York or just for Disneyland?
 

Tim G

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by HennieBogan1966
.

Maybe I should frame this as a question to all of you out there?

After having seen this interview (forget about the "format" of the interview; what a crock), and having read his recent comments about the company, how many of you feel "better" about his leadership role, and how many of you feel worse?

Hmmmm!!!
My opninion hasn't changed... Michael will stay untill the end of his contract. I agree his leadership could be better.



It's isn't as bad as Roy says, but as we know that at this moment everything Eisner says is called "very bad"

Everything R.E. says is sooooooo true...

IMO these threads are taking a hostile turn.
Which is NOT the concept of a "Disney Fan site".
I smell a lot of hate, in almost every Eisner thread, which is not good.

Sorry, I'm pro Eisner... And I'm not the only person who is glad Roy is gone...
 

Carrousel Lover

New Member
Don't hate Eisner and am not naive about Disney

Originally posted by Corrus
My opninion hasn't changed... Michael will stay untill the end of his contract. I agree his leadership could be better.
It's isn't as bad as Roy says, but as we know that at this moment everything Eisner says is called "very bad"
Everything R.E. says is sooooooo true...
IMO these threads are taking a hostile turn.
Which is NOT the concept of a "Disney Fan site".
I smell a lot of hate, in almost every Eisner thread, which is not good.Sorry, I'm pro Eisner... And I'm not the only person who is glad Roy is gone...
I appreciate your comments - I don't personally agree (except perhaps with the fact that Eisner may stay until the end of his contract - I'd imagine he'll fight for that plus more). I don't hate Eisner, have never been a CM, however I am a stockholder. I do feel that he doesn't fit the company anymore. Is that horrible to say or disloyal - nah - just business. Roy Disney is probably disliked more than Eisner outside of these boards because he did the unconscionable thing - he spoke outside of closed doors. No one likes whistleblowers. The degree to which you agree or disagree with Disney's campaign the fact that he started one is in itself admirable by some and villainous by others. I don't like the fact that the Disney Brand has become so commonplace - I personally feel that it is short sighted and will have long term ramifications. So simply from a business perspective I find Eisner to be a liability. You can't tell me that the folks at DreamWorks, Lucasfilm, Pixar, the new Legend Animations group aren't sitting there happy as all get out that he may get his comeuppance. Of course you won't hear them say it but as Eisner said himself - it's a small industry - when some of the creative genius/talent out there hates your CEO - I don't imagine that bodes well for deals especially since he micromanages. I hear time and time again that there is respect for some of the other creative Disney managers but ultimately it all comes back up to Mr. Eisner and there in lies a serious business quandary.
 

mr snrub

New Member
Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh


I know everyone on the internet seems to realize how bad eisner is, but does the real world, which is what really matters, know?

And Corrus, "Disney Fan Site" doesn't mean "blind love" it means wanting the company and the products it produces to be as high in quality as possible.


Now if you excuse me, im gonna go take a ride on "great moments with mr eisner"
 

mkt

Disney's Favorite Scumbag™
Premium Member
alright guys, I should have a torrent up in the morning for the TV show.. you'll need bittorrent for it to work.

download it here: http://bitconjurer.org/BitTorrent/download.html

it has NO spyware...

once I post the link to the torrent, right click it and save it to your desktop, then double click it and bittorrent will start the download.

got it? good..
 

colliera

Member
9/11 the reason for cutbacks?

Originally posted by civileng68
I have one question for him.

. . .He keeps saying that the reason for the "tight" ship was 9-11 yet he by his own statements says things are so great now, . . .

The cutbacks of 4,000 employes world wide were announced the Spring BEFORE 9/11. 1,000 were cut from WDW alone. There was a general downturn in travel they were reacting to much earler.

9/11 added to this of course. I was at WDW the last week of Jan/first week of Feb 2001 and even for the "off" season it was sparce. Orlando tourism was noticablily reacting to this. They were grateful to see anyone visiting and and made a point to let you know they wanted you back again.
 

cherrynegra

Well-Known Member
Yeah, he said many an interesting thing during that interview but that Christmas POTC was one of many that stuck out in my mind. Of course I immediatly went searching through the forums to make sure I hadn't missed something.
 

imagineer99

New Member
Originally posted by DisneyFan 2000
The CEO thinks POTC is getting christmas rehabs? This is plain sad!:(

This has gotten a little out of hand! It was a simple slip of the tongue. He obviously meant to say Haunted Mansion.

Let it Go Already!

If you're going to criticize Eisner, at least use points that are grounded in reason. When, I talk I know I make a bunch of mistakes. I'm sure everyone on this board is guilty of it!
:)
 

STGRhost

Member
This has gotten a little out of hand! It was a simple slip of the tongue. He obviously meant to say Haunted Mansion.

Let it Go Already!

If you're going to criticize Eisner, at least use points that are grounded in reason. When, I talk I know I make a bunch of mistakes. I'm sure everyone on this board is guilty of it!

But the difference is that this wasn’t just some conversation, and he was speaking as a representative of his company. There were quite a few slip-ups. You could argue that the average person wouldn't have caught them, but people here did, and as the CEO of the company, he should know better, and have a better knowledge of the company he's running.

If I'm expected, as a GR Hostess and a trainer, to use proper nomenclature and have an advanced knowledge of the company I represent, than I expect nothing less from my superiors, including (especially) the CEO.

Maybe we’re being picky, but even your average visitor knows the difference between the Haunted Mansion and the PoTC, and all Cast Members, if not the general public, know they haven’t called it Epcot Center for years.
 

imagineer99

New Member
Originally posted by STGRhost
But the difference is that this wasn’t just some conversation, and he was speaking as a representative of his company. There were quite a few slip-ups. You could argue that the average person wouldn't have caught them, but people here did, and as the CEO of the company, he should know better, and have a better knowledge of the company he's running.

If I'm expected, as a GR Hostess and a trainer, to use proper nomenclature and have an advanced knowledge of the company I represent, than I expect nothing less from my superiors, including (especially) the CEO.

Maybe we’re being picky, but even your average visitor knows the difference between the Haunted Mansion and the PoTC, and all Cast Members, if not the general public, know they haven’t called it Epcot Center for years.

I can almost guarantee you that 99% of the people who watched the interview either didn't notice the slip up or doesn't really care.

I'm not an Eisner Fan. However, I'm not going to condemn the man for making a simple mistake in a LIVE interview. People do it all the time.

As for representing the company, Eisner did a fine job in the interview. Like a politician, he danced around the topics of serious issues (animation, theme park quality, budget cuts) and managed to put a positive spin on everything.

Frankly only us Disney Freaks would really care about something so miniscule.:)
 

HennieBogan1966

Account Suspended
Response to Imagineer99

It isn't that we're being critical of one "slip up" as you put it, but rather his lack of knowledge of what reality is within his own company. Let's be honest here, if you went into an electronics store with questions, you would expect the employees there to be able to answer them. Not with "politicall correctness" but rather with facts, and good information. It speaks to the larger issue of why a lot of us out here feel he should be replaced. And his apparent arrogance and lack of vision for the future (and buying the muppets isn't vision), and the fact that he won't acknowledge, much less, address the concerns of his own employees should be a red flag to us all.

I find it funny how a lot of you out there don't think he should be replaced, but yet the President should be because he supposedly doesn't care about the "little guy" or because he is accused of being a corporate guy. Yet these same people don't acknowledge the fact that Mr. Eisner is just that. And he HASN'T
shown that he cares about the concerns of his employees.

I think I smell a little hypocresy (spelled correctly?) here.

Not trying to turn this political but just to illustrate attitudes.
 

imagineer99

New Member
Re: Response to Imagineer99

Originally posted by HennieBogan1966
It isn't that we're being critical of one "slip up" as you put it, but rather his lack of knowledge of what reality is within his own company. Let's be honest here, if you went into an electronics store with questions, you would expect the employees there to be able to answer them. Not with "politicall correctness" but rather with facts, and good information. It speaks to the larger issue of why a lot of us out here feel he should be replaced. And his apparent arrogance and lack of vision for the future (and buying the muppets isn't vision), and the fact that he won't acknowledge, much less, address the concerns of his own employees should be a red flag to us all.

I find it funny how a lot of you out there don't think he should be replaced, but yet the President should be because he supposedly doesn't care about the "little guy" or because he is accused of being a corporate guy. Yet these same people don't acknowledge the fact that Mr. Eisner is just that. And he HASN'T
shown that he cares about the concerns of his employees.

I think I smell a little hypocresy (spelled correctly?) here.

Not trying to turn this political but just to illustrate attitudes.

Uhhh...When did I ever insinuate that I support Eisner?:confused:

I think that his time as CEO is up. However, the fact of the matter is everyone here seems to have tons of fun insulting Eisner. Yet they do not offer viable solutions to Disney's problems.

I'm tired of posts like this:

"Eisner looked tired on the interview, he obviously has no idea what he is doing."
"Eisner mispronounced "the." He is a complete moron with no education."

If you want to intelligently discuss the fate of the company, that is awesome. Don't pick on someone for stupid reasons.
 

lebernadin

New Member
Re: Response to Imagineer99

Originally posted by HennieBogan1966
It isn't that we're being critical of one "slip up" as you put it, but rather his lack of knowledge of what reality is within his own company. Let's be honest here, if you went into an electronics store with questions, you would expect the employees there to be able to answer them. Not with "politicall correctness" but rather with facts, and good information.

There's no doubting he made the mistake and to some it registers a chuckle but you're really getting carried away with this. So in your hypothetical, which btw is not analgous in the least to being the CEO of an empire the size of Disney, you would expect a customer rep in an electronics store to be fired because they told you the max watts on a specific Denon receiver was 200 when in fact it was 250 and it said it right above the price? There wouldn't be a work force if you had your way.

I find it funny how a lot of you out there don't think he should be replaced, but yet the President should be because he supposedly doesn't care about the "little guy" or because he is accused of being a corporate guy. Yet these same people don't acknowledge the fact that Mr. Eisner is just that. And he HASN'T
shown that he cares about the concerns of his employees.

:lol: Firstoff who has said he shouldn't be replaced other than Corrus? I don't recall Corrus going off on a tangent about GW, so where is your correlation?

Cmon, if you've run out of steam on the issue, fine. But don't start trying to make correlations to people's political stances when they haven't even offered them in the first place.

I guess if we all wanted to stoop to that level we could, but obviously we don't, and haven't, so lets keep it on the issue at hand or put it to rest.

Keep the politics away from the keyboard when you're typing on wdwmagic.com

:wave:
 

prberk

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by General Grizz
Eisner's favorite attractions:

1. ToT *cough* PLUG
2. BTMR *why wasn't he on it in September? :lookaroun*...PLUG
3. Mission Space...PLUG

Eh, right - you gotta help out the company, but please, don't give in to this guy. You need to have someone on there who KNOWS their stuff chatting with Eisner.

CNN obviously didn't want that.

Come on, Roy....!


Doesn't anyone remember that he has had bypass surgery and would not normally go on these rides? Especially M:S.

Definitely plugs timed to the recent openings and newsworthiness of these rides.


As for other peoples' comments here that he does not know the company. He does; he just was careful about what he was saying. It was probably was just slick salesmanship all the way around... even to the comment about synergy being overused (as some have said lately... his big thing, but if he says it was overused he appears knowledgable of his criticisms and shows his willingness to change)....

And as for the parks on September 11, most (WDW) were open, but closed soon after. So, part day was correct. There were even threads here that day, showing the MK guests leaving.

Anyhoo...

Marketing and promos/salesmanship alone do not suffice for integrity, IMHO.
 

Tim G

Well-Known Member
Originally posted by prberk
Doesn't anyone remember that he has had bypass surgery and would not normally go on these rides? Especially M:S.
Have to correct you on that, He DID Mission:SPACE...

Did it Only once, but he did. :D
 

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