Spirited News, Observations & Thoughts IV

[The Empress Lilly]

The forum is open to all people including young children, puppies, kittens and fowl of all sorts.

Fine with me, as long as they refrain from fowl language.

 

[PhotoDave219]

Fantastic deals on that site. Thanks for the info, I will definitely be putting this to use now that I am an Orlando resident (at least until January).

It is only thru 9/30!

 

[The Empress Lilly]

As Pixar films move through production, more people from different parts of Pixar join the effort to get the work done - people who had been working on other projects.

It's great in that it gives nearly everyone a role in every project. The downside is, it can have a domino effect... so if one film gets pushed back, the next can get pushed back as well. So, dinosaur gets pushed back and that has a domino effect on Dory.

Everybody a role in every project? Gah, socialism! See, this is why nothing gets delivered in time with those commies!

 

[novawildcat18]

It is only thru 9/30!

11 more days. I'll organize a trip. Force my fellow-CP friends to splurge on a good meal. Thanks for the heads-up!

 

[PhotoDave219]

11 more days. I'll organize a trip. Force my fellow-CP friends to splurge on a good meal. Thanks for the heads-up!

Spread it around.

 

[Captain Neo]

You are saying the same thing. RDJ being expensive has to do with the costs of making a film. That salary is one reason why there will not be any more. And they will not recast as long as they are popping out Avengers sequels.

A reboot of Iron Man may well be 7-10 years away.

and that's fine I'd hate to see the market over saturated with even more iron man films. It's time to give other characters the spotlight they deserve.

 

[HMF]

I just wish Iger, Rasulo and Staggs would finish plundering already and move on. In three years time when they're gone, just think ...what kind of mess will be left?

3 years, Still no hope for a BOD or stockholder revolt?

 

[HMF]

I certainly see MyMagic+ as potentially being successful should they "fix" the Fastpass concerns of the masses. It has the potential to be a very beneficial system, even if it's something similar to the "Tamagachi like system" used at Six Flags. I want to see the current distribution rules applied to the new system. That would be a positive given the technology improvement that would eliminate backtracking.

Remove FP + and datamining/tracking and it might work.

 

[ford91exploder]

3 years, Still no hope for a BOD or stockholder revolt?

Looks like some analysts are no longer snorting the PixieDust from TWDC and are starting to go negative on TWDC because of the lack of investment in Orlando in the face of UNI's $500 million per annum commitment and SeaWorld's IPO

The november earnings call should be a real work of art as Iger tap dances through the minefield.

 

[HMF]

Looks like some analysts are no longer snorting the PixieDust from TWDC and are starting to go negative on TWDC because of the lack of investment in Orlando in the face of UNI's $500 million per annum commitment and SeaWorld's IPO

The november earnings call should be a real work of art as Iger tap dances through the minefield.

I am not expecting any miracles from the BOD but if Iger upsets too many stockholders, There might be potential.

 

[ParentsOf4]

I am not expecting any miracles from the BOD but if Iger upsets too many stockholders, There might be potential.

Iger exercises incredible control over Disney's BOD. Even after the situation with Eisner, Disney shareholders and Wall Street only weakly protested Iger assuming both CEO and COB titles in October 2011. With well over a $3B stock buyback this year (so far) and up to another $8B announced for the future, the stock price will remain propped up. It's all about the stock price and Iger knows that.

Like Eisner before him, Iger has nearly absolute control and, without Eisner's personal flaws of insulting those in positions of influence, there will be no "Save Disney" campaign. Disney's Old Guard is dead and buried.

The Walt Disney Company is now the epitome of corporate America.

Nothing will change unless Iger wants it to change.

 

[danv3]

If the MouseHouseArrest band had been a straight up replacement for existing FP but with virtual instead of physical tickets and the ability to gift or change them and perhaps reserve FP's 24 hours in advance, Disney would have hit a customer satisfaction home run and they would have felt the love here.

THIS.

 

[Darth Sidious]

You are saying the same thing. RDJ being expensive has to do with the costs of making a film. That salary is one reason why there will not be any more. And they will not recast as long as they are popping out Avengers sequels.

A reboot of Iron Man may well be 7-10 years away.

A non RDJ Tony Stark movie won't be the same and I'd be skeptical.

 

[alphac2005]

Disney Movie Updates...

Finding Dory is now pushed back to 6/17/2016!!! Original release date of 11/25/2015

The Good Dinosaur is now pushed back into Dorys old slot of 11/25/2015. Original release date of 5/30/14

Maleficent go pushed up from 7/2/2014 now being released 5/30/2014.

AntMan pushed up to 7/31/2015. Original release date of 11/6/2015

Last but not least, the Phineas and Ferb Movie which was suppose to be released sometime in 2014 is now TBD along with Johnny's Pirates with a TBD date as well...

Major changes??? What gives?

The film studios (across the board) are getting cold feet with the oft-mentioned "tent pole" film release schedule. The summer of 2015 was going to be the biggest test that this newer strategy has had and this summer showed that putting so many of these extraordinarily expensive films out near one another has been nothing short of a disaster even with several big money hits. I don't nearly have the sources as I did when I in the business, but from my time in it and understanding, the theaters are putting pressure on the studios big time. One of the arguments from the theater side of the business is that so many of these supposed big money making films were coming out at the same time, cannibalizing one another.

Something very interesting to note is how the film making business model is based upon so many pieces of disproved, essentially folk tales, and those that run the business will not accept change and realities. There is the whole notion of the summer blockbuster, but when you analyze the real numbers, blockbusters that bring in hefty revenue to the studios, theaters, etc., are not limited or concentrated in the summer. We get tons of these big releases in the summer as the studios want to one up their competitors and in this ridiculously ego driven business, that's all it takes to keep with an antiquated and asinine system.

There are plenty of big release pictures and franchises that stay far away from the summer and do incredible business. The theaters want the releases further spread out to get more seats filled throughout the year and to stop the movie on movie crime of offering so many films at once that people don't see much of any of them and it's lost revenue for the theaters, while the studios can always bank on the backside with the home release Bluray, DVD, OnDemand, etc.

 

[alphac2005]

Iger exercises incredible control over Disney's BOD. Even after the situation with Eisner, Disney shareholders and Wall Street only weakly protested Iger assuming both CEO and COB titles in October 2011. With well over a $3B stock buyback this year (so far) and up to another $8B announced for the future, the stock price will remain propped up. It's all about the stock price and Iger knows that.

Like Eisner before him, Iger has nearly absolute control and, without Eisner's personal flaws of insulting those in positions of influence, there will be no "Save Disney" campaign. Disney's Old Guard is dead and buried.

The Walt Disney Company is now the epitome of corporate America.

Nothing will change unless Iger wants it to change.

People should be very wary of the notion of a tide turning against Iger, as he'll keep on marching on. We've talked about it here before about the Disney-Apple connection between Laurene Powell-Jobs and her 7%+ stake in TWDC, Iger on the Apple board, and low and behold look at two things that have recently happened that are very interconnected. First, AppleTV launches several new channels including ESPN and Disney Channel, and DisneyXD. Secondly, Apple launched iOS7 yesterday and guess what two websites are included of the four new default sites on the Safari browser? ESPN and Disney.com.

@ParentsOf4, you're right on that the TWDC is essentially the model of the current corporate America. Until we get a handle on this Gilded Age Part Deux, this business model is sadly going nowhere. Talk about concentration of power in corporate America, look no further than Robert Iger where he is interconnected in two of the largest corporations in America.

Although the points have been argued and debated for a long time, it would seem that if Apple loses its luster by not being able to have explosive growth quarter after quarter and continues to amount massive piles of cash, the two companies being officially connected in the future isn't so far fetched. You want to make investors happy, Apple buys Disney, the shareholders (rather massive financial institutions that control major stakes of the company that are the only ones that really matter here) get a huge payout and share premium. They may on face value be quite different, but in reality, they year by year are becoming more interconnected. Bob Iger ain't going anywhere, anytime soon, and could his final act at TWDC be one of giving the shareholders a heck of a payout? We'll see.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Thank you! We ended up at Outback Steakhouse (can't beat their new endless shrimp deal). We decided to go off-property since it's cheaper and I've been so busy with work that I didn't have time to research the discounts and try and make reservations for a party of 12. I had a fantastic day though, so thank you!

I ordered that the other day and found out how they can afford to do it. They never brought the shrimp out. I had to ask three times before they "remembered" to get it to me. After I got them I then pre-ordered 4 additional shrimp servings and gave them to my dining partners because I couldn't eat that much. I did it for spite. I ordered the shrimp scampi. Last I remember shrimp scampi was shrimp broiled in garlic butter. These were served in a little tiny side dish type bowl, looked to be boiled, a small amount of butter on the bottom and if there was any contact with garlic, it was purely accidental or perhaps the chef walked by carrying some.

 

[novawildcat18]

I ordered that the other day and found out how they can afford to do it. They never brought the shrimp out. I had to ask three times before they "remembered" to get it to me. After I got them I then pre-ordered 4 additional shrimp servings and gave them to my dining partners because I couldn't eat that much. I did it for spite. I ordered the shrimp scampi. Last I remember shrimp scampi was shrimp broiled in garlic butter. These were served in a little tiny side dish type bowl, looked to be boiled, a small amount of butter on the bottom and if there was any contact with garlic, it was purely accidental or perhaps the chef walked by carrying some.

That sounds like a pretty bad experience. Our server was on the ball about it. He was proactive in asking if we wanted more and brought it out right away. He even offered for us to change the type of shrimp, and I was under the impression that it was unlimited only if you stuck with the same type of shrimp.

 

[alissafalco]

A non RDJ Tony Stark movie won't be the same and I'd be skeptical.

In another ten years when RDJ is a little too old to be running around as a superhero, I think you might change your mind about that. Grey hair and crows feet usually dont = superhero, unless you're Captain Sully from miracle on the Hudson.

 

[truecoat]

The film studios (across the board) are getting cold feet with the oft-mentioned "tent pole" film release schedule. The summer of 2015 was going to be the biggest test that this newer strategy has had and this summer showed that putting so many of these extraordinarily expensive films out near one another has been nothing short of a disaster even with several big money hits. I don't nearly have the sources as I did when I in the business, but from my time in it and understanding, the theaters are putting pressure on the studios big time. One of the arguments from the theater side of the business is that so many of these supposed big money making films were coming out at the same time, cannibalizing one another.

Something very interesting to note is how the film making business model is based upon so many pieces of disproved, essentially folk tales, and those that run the business will not accept change and realities. There is the whole notion of the summer blockbuster, but when you analyze the real numbers, blockbusters that bring in hefty revenue to the studios, theaters, etc., are not limited or concentrated in the summer. We get tons of these big releases in the summer as the studios want to one up their competitors and in this ridiculously ego driven business, that's all it takes to keep with an antiquated and asinine system.

There are plenty of big release pictures and franchises that stay far away from the summer and do incredible business. The theaters want the releases further spread out to get more seats filled throughout the year and to stop the movie on movie crime of offering so many films at once that people don't see much of any of them and it's lost revenue for the theaters, while the studios can always bank on the backside with the home release Bluray, DVD, OnDemand, etc.

It might help if these blockbusters were better movies. For me, it was just the fact that many of these movies released this summer weren't very good. These movies don't have to be the second coming of Citizen Kane, they just have to be enjoyable. By that I mean, did I enjoy it enough to buy it later. Only 2 or 3 movies fit that bill all summer.

 

[alphac2005]

It might help if these blockbusters were better movies. For me, it was just the fact that many of these movies released this summer weren't very good. These movies don't have to be the second coming of Citizen Kane, they just have to be enjoyable. By that I mean, did I enjoy it enough to buy it later. Only 2 or 3 movies fit that bill all summer.

I'm totally with you. The business model has been to slap the name of some property on a film, create countless sequels, and expect the drones to keep handing their money over with a general disregard for quality. That sounds awfully familiar with things that we talk about around here.