There’s an ancient Chinese curse: “May you live in interesting times.”
Well — for employees of the Walt Disney Company and Pixar Animation Studios as well as investment analysts and animation fans everywhere — these are very, VERY interesting times indeed.
(My apologies to JHM readers for not being right on top of this truly remarkable story right from the get-go. But — yesterday afternoon, as this news was breaking — I was actually en route to NYC to attend a “Lion King 1 ½” media event. Thanks to the ever-resourceful KP and Nancy’s cel phone, I was at least able to keep on top of things as this story was developing. But I wasn’t actually able to get cracking on churning out a brand new Disney-Pixar related story for the site until I got back to our house in the woods of New Hampshire early-early-early this morning.
Okay. That completes the feeble excuses portion of this article. Let’s get on to the news now, shall we?)
Anywho … the word coming out of Burbank this morning is that Disney executives are still reeling from yesterday’s surprise announcement. To say Michael Eisner and Co. were caught completely off guard by Steve Job’s decision to suddenly and publicly break off Pixar’s contract extension talks would be an understatement, folks.
Said one Disney studio official (who asked not to be named): “Absolutely no one saw this coming, Jim. And did you see the language that Jobs used in his press release? That thing was deliberately written to make Michael look bad. It was aimed directly at Disney’s CEO.”
The section of that news release that really got tongues wagging in Tinsel Town was the paragraph which read:
“After 10 months of trying to strike a deal with Disney, we’re moving on. We’ve had a great run together — one of the most successful in Hollywood history — and it’s a shame that Disney won’t be participating in Pixar’s future successes.”
Ouch.
What also intrigued a lot of people in Hollywood (as well as Wall Street investors) was the timing of Jobs’ announcement. Coming less than 48 hours after Roy Disney and Stanley Gold had called for Disney shareholders to vote “No” against the re-election of Michael Eisner as well as three other members of the company’s board of directors, the news of Pixar’s decision to break off contract extension talks with the Mouse House seemed (to many observers, anyway) like a “One-Two” punch combination. Deliberately aimed at knocking Disney’s CEO out of his seat of power.
“That’s all anyone can talk about this morning, Jim,” the studio insider continued. “The timing of all this was just too perfect. You really have to wonder: Are Roy and Steve secretly co-ordinating their efforts in order to oust Eisner?”
Lord knows the Walt Disney Company could use a little co-ordination right about now. That first press release that the Mouse’s PR staff issued yesterday afternoon in response to Jobs’ announcement kind of blew up in Disney’s face. How so? Well, take a look at this paragraph from that release. The one which discusses the two dozen or so projects that Walt Disney Feature Animation supposedly currently has in development:
Walt Disney Feature Animation will release “Home on the Range” on April 2, featuring songs performed by Tim McGraw, Bonnie Raitt and k.d. lang. Currently in production is “Chicken Little,” the Studio’s first all-CG effort, which is scheduled for release in Summer 2005. For Summer 2006 and beyond, Walt Disney Feature Animation is producing a series of 3D motion pictures: “A Day With Wilbur Robinson,” based on the beloved William Joyce book; “American Dog,” directed by Chris Sanders (“Lilo and Stitch”); “Rapunzel Unbraided,” directed by legendary Disney animator Glen Keane; and “Toy Story 3”. These movies are all anticipated to break new ground in CG movie-making. The Studio has an additional 20 animated features in active development.
Yep, you read that right, folks. “Toy Story III.” Disney evidently intends to go forward with yet another installment of this Academy Award-winning series without Pixar’s help. But what the Mouse HADN’T been counting on was that entertainment reporters would attempt to contact Tom Hanks and Tim Allen for comments on the “Toy Story III” announcement, allegedly asking these performers if they’d still be willing to provide vocals for Woody and Buzz Lightyear if John Lasseter and Co. aren’t actually involved with the production of this proposed “Toy Story” sequel.
I’m told that — to date — Tom and Tim haven’t yet gone on record concerning their feelings about this whole ugly matter. But I’ve also heard that Hanks and Allen are pretty PO’d at Disney’s PR department for suddenly pushing them in the middle of this p*ssing contest between Michael Eisner and Steve Jobs. So it’s quite likely that someone in the Mouse’s marketing department will end up losing their job because of this stupid screw-up.
And speaking of stupid screw-ups … can someone please take David Stainton’s keyboard away? The President of Walt Disney Feature Animation has — for the second time in four days — sent out an e-mail that both angered and embarrassed studio staffers. What’s this one say? Take a gander for yourself:
Dear Colleagues,
Word is just in that Pixar and disney have ended their talks and that there will be no new agreement (please see the attached press release). Given Pixar’s demands, this is good news for the company. It is also a great vote of confidence for feature animation–confidence in our talent, our slate, and our future. you all are awesome and ready for your close-up!
best,
david
Is it just me … or is this e-mail make David look kind of doofy? I mean, here is this truly awful thing that’s just happened to the Walt Disney Corporation and Stainton sends out this note which states that “this is good news for the company.”
Sort of makes you wonder, doesn’t it? If David Stainton had been on the Titantic after it had struck the iceberg, would he have then turned to his fellow passengers and said: “Isn’t this a wonderful opportunity to practice our synchronized swimming?”
Speaking of the Titanic, I have to share this joke that’s supposedly making the rounds in Tinsel Town today:
Q: What’s the difference between Michael Eisner and the Titanic?
A: Well, at least the Titanic had a band.
Yeah, the S.S. Eisner is really taking on some water right about now. But don’t count Uncle Mikey out just yet. You see, Disney’s CEO loves to fight. I mean, this guy’s not just going to roll over and die because Roy Disney called for a “No” re-election vote at March’s shareholders meeting and Steve Jobs opted not to re-up Pixar’s deal with the Mouse House.
Don’t get me wrong, what with next month’s conference call with those investment analysts as well as March’s shareholders meeting, Eisner’s got a tough couple of weeks ahead. But I’m sure that Eisner’s has still got a couple of tricks up his sleeves … whether they’ll be enough for Disney’s current CEO to hang onto his power … who can say?
But this much I DO know. There are some really great stories out there. Stories that JimHillMedia.com will begin covering starting next Monday in great detail. So be sure to keep coming back to JHM over the next few weeks. I’m sure that we’ll have plenty of intriguing tales to tell you about the Walt Disney Company, Pixar Animation Studio as well as Roy Disney and Stanley Gold.
But we’ll get to that stuff soon enough. For now, I just thought that you might appreciate a brief update before the site goes quiet for the weekend.
That’s it from today, folks. Here’s hoping that you enjoyed this brief update. Talk to you again on Monday, okay?