There was a surprise guest at Donald Duck’s walk of fame ceremony last month in Hollywood: Disney CEO Michael Eisner.
In honor of his 70th birthday, Johnny Grant — the Honorary Mayor of Hollywood — and Michael Eisner — CEO of the Walt Disney Company — presented Donald Duck with his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame last month.
Photo by: Eric Charbonneau©Berliner Studio/BEImages.
“What’s so surprising about Eisner turning up outside of the El Capitan for this photo op?,” you ask. Well, for months now, Disney’s embattled CEO has been limiting his public appearances. Trying to maintain a very low profile. Out of concern that – should Michael appear in public and wind up getting cat-called by some of the Disney faithful – it would look very bad for his image.
But – over the past few months – Disney’s Big Cheese has begun emerging from the shadows. Which – according to some Mouse House watchers I’ve spoken with – speaks volumes about the CEO’s psyche.
“Yeah, Michael’s been making a lot more public appearances lately,” said one company insider. “He’s no longer concerned about having to deal with embarrassing questions from the folks associated with Save Disney. Eisner feels that that movement has lost a lot of its momentum over the past few months. Which is why he now feels free to appear in public again at functions like that Donald Duck thing.”
That’s quite a statement, don’t you think? But – then again – it is kind of hard to argue that the Save Disney movement remains the powerhouse that it once was.
I mean, can it really be just six short months since Roy Disney & Stanley Gold rode into Philadelphia – determined to ouster Eisner? Back then, these guys were front page news.
photo by Nancy Stadler
Whereas now … To be honest, it’s actually kind of sad to go by SaveDisney.com & see what’s become of the Save Disney movement. By that I mean: Roy & Stanley used to be newsmakers. Nowadays … Well, they seem to be reduced to running this anti-Disney clip service. Where Disney & Gold eagerly link to any & all articles that say something negative about the Walt Disney Company.
And – even when the articles posted there have something positive to say about the Mouse – the Save Disney folks still try to put a negative spin on that story. Take – for example – the recent Reuters report about how Euro Disney SCA is thinking of adding a “Tower of Terror” attraction to that resort’s Walt Disney Studios.
Given that that fledgling theme park is admittedly desperately in need of new rides & attractions, you think that this would be good news, right? Not in the eyes of the Save Disney folks. Who chose to frame their site’s link to Reuters’ “Tower of Terror” story with a snide headline of their own: “It Worked So Well at DCA …”
This is what’s so sad about Save Disney these days. Disney & Gold supposedly started this movement because they saw themselves as a positive force. Agents of change for the Walt Disney Company. And now … The whole thing seems to have devolved into this group that likes to grouse about the Mouse.
Oh, I know, I know. The Save Disney faithful will tell you that “We have to stay positive. We have to stay focused. Remember that our goal now is that we get Michael Eisner to step down by September of 2006.”
Which is all well and good … Except that I remember all this talk back in February about Save Disney was going to have Eisner ousted by the end of April. So what happened to that plan?
Okay. I know. Nobody anticipated that Michael Eisner – when confronted with that extremely embarrassing proxy vote back in March – would simply dig in his heels and refuse to give up control of the Walt Disney Company. Roy & Stanley never anticipated that contingency.
Now – to make matters worse – Eisner’s actually begun addressing some of the concerns that Save Disney initially brought up. Take – for example:
- The condition of Disneyland: As Roy spoke with the Disney faithful in Philadelphia back in March, he was heard to remark: “Would it kill them to paint some of the buildings at Disneyland?”
Evidently not. Disneyland’s right in the middle of an amazing park-wide facelift. Supposedly on Eisner’s order, every single structure within the theme park is to be painted. So that the “Happiest Place on Earth” can look its best when Disneyland’s 50th anniversary officially gets underway in May of 2005.
- More family-friendly films: Another of Save Disney’s bones of contention was that the Walt Disney Company is losing its family-friendly image. That the corporation is no longer associated with quality family entertainment.
Supposedly in direct response to this specific accusation, Eisner ordered that remakes of two of Walt Disney Studio’s most popular family comedies – “The Shaggy Dog” and “The Love Bug” – be put into production. The “Love Bug” remake – tentatively titled “Herbie: Fully Loaded” – started shooting last month in LA with Lindsay Lohan as its star. The “Shaggy Dog” remake – which is supposed to feature Tim Allen in the title role – is slated to begin production next week.
- ABC Family: Roy & Stanley have repeatedly ripped on Michael Eisner for over-spending when the Walt Disney Company paid $5.3 billion for the Family Channel back in 2001. Saying that – at that price – the Mouse may never turn a profit on its investment in this cable channel.
Well, never say never, folks. Last month, the Hollywood Reporter revealed that “the Walt Disney Company is close to finalizing a new broad carriage deal with Time Warner Cable.” Which – in essence – means that the ABC Family channel will now have access to more households. Which (hopefully) will expose the floundering cable channel to a wider audience. Which (in theory) will eventually lead to higher ratings and (sometime off in the far distance) profitability.
You see what I’m saying here, folks? Michael has begun addressing many of the same issues that Roy & Stanley initially brought up. Trying to move these problems off the table. Which – in the end – is going to make him that harder to remove from power.
Of course, one might argue that the above actually demonstrates that Disney & Gold ARE effective agents of change. That – by exiting the Walt Disney Company and making a lot of noise about the sorry shape the Mouse House was in back in December of 2003 – they have essentially forced Michael Eisner to clean up his act.
And – given that Eisner actually gave up his chairmanship of the Walt Disney Company as well as freed up the money necessary to improve Disneyland’s appearance – even I have to admit that Roy & Stanley have accomplished some pretty amazing things over the past 9 months.
But – that said – I still haven’t been all that impressed by Save Disney’s post-Philadelphia performance. Back in March, Disney & Gold had the media’s attention. They had heat. They had momentum. They had the Disney faithful right in the palm of their hands.
And now … That’s really not the case anymore. Oh, sure. I hear from Save Disney insiders that they’ve sold a couple of hundred of those “Disappointed” t-shirts. And Roy & Stanley are still said to be trying to put together an alternate slate for Disney’s Board of Directors. Which Disney & Gold are expected to announce sometime in late November.
But in the meantime … The Walt Disney Company has been hard at work, trying to woo back the Disney faithful. Don’t believe me? Then what about that elaborate presentation that the Mouse mounted for the National Fantasy Fan Club back in July? Mickey supposedly sank over $10,000 into putting together that show for the N.F.F.C.’s annual convention. They built an ornate set. Disney brought in singers, dancers and characters from the theme parks. They even hired Steve Whitmire – the veteran Muppeteer who now performs Kermit the Frog – to provide entertainment for the closing evening’s banquet.
The end result was that a lot of Disneyana fans went home from this year’s N.F.F.C. convention thinking: “Maybe the Mouse has turned a corner. Maybe things aren’t really as bad as I had been led to believe.”
Now the real irony here is – back in January – it was Roy’s appearance at the National Fantasy Fan Club’s annual “Kick-off” event that initially got the Save Disney movement its first real major media exposure. It was Walt’s nephew’s comments in front of the Disney faithful that provided fodder for dozens of feature stories. Which is what put Disney & Gold’s efforts on the radar for many business section editors around the country.
Nowadays … Save Disney really has slid off of a lot of people’s radar. It’s been weeks – months even — since any major stories have been written about Disney & Gold’s efforts. (Though my understanding is that the Associated Press may have an article in the works that will serve as sort of a Save Disney update. So I guess we should all keep an eye for that.)
And perhaps because they’re just now getting a sense that – by putting a negative spin on everything that the Walt Disney Company does – Save Disney may actually be alienating the Disney faithful, Roy & Stanley have recently taken a new tack. Witness this excerpt from the most recent SaveDisney.com e-newsletter:
“We’d like to hear from you about the positive changes needed at The Disney Co. We’ve received countless examples of things that haven’t gone right at the Company in recent years. We’d like to ask you to redirect those thoughts a bit and give us a 10 point (bullet point) list of positive changes you would like to see take place at your favorite entertainment/media company.
Please send us an email with your contributions. We’ll compile a master list of the most repeated items and share them on the site. We also want your views so that Roy and Stanley can be responsive to shareholders and customers needs when the time comes to implement change. Write in and be heard!”
Did you catch the significant difference there? The emphasis being placed on “the positive changes needed at The Disney Co.”? Roy & Stanley are now actively trying to shake off their “Grumpy Old Men” images. To once again emerge as positive agents for change at the Walt Disney Company.
Will this gambit work? To be honest, I don’t know. An awful lot has changed since March. There’s no denying that the whole Save Disney movement has lost momentum over the past six months. And a lot of the Disney faithful have (at least temporarily) seem to have lost interest in the cause.
In the meantime, Michael Eisner’s been out there mending fences. Talking with major Wall Street movers & shakers about how Disney has turned a corner. Reportedly even reaching out to Steve Jobs to see if there might be a way for the Pixar / Disney production & distribution deal to be saved.
“That’d be the real death knell for Save Disney,” said one Disney observer. “If Eisner’s actually able to get Steve Jobs to come back to the negotiating table & then cut a deal with Pixar. If Eisner could actually ever pull that off, there’d be no way that Disney & Gold could ever remove him from power then.”
So now … Well, it’s kind of a waiting game. To see what Roy & Stanley now have up their sleeve. To see if Save Disney actually has a way to get people excited about the cause once more.
Please don’t misunderstand, folks. I don’t write stories like this because I enjoy saying bad things about the Save Disney effort. I actually have a lot of respect for Disney & Gold. Remember, I’ve spoken with Roy on the phone. And — when we talked — he seems like a genuinely nice guy.
And as the crew that works for SaveDisney.com … Talk about dedication.
Here. Let me tell you one story that shows how dedicated these people are. Back in July, I’m out in San Diego, attending Comic Con. And one afternoon, I decide that I have to run the great heaping bag of crud that Nancy and I have acquired while walking around the convention center back out to the car.
So I exit the hall. And who do I find out on the steps of the San Diego Convention Center? A Save Disney rep. Standing there in the blistering hot sun, handing out bumper stickers & business cards, trying to win a few more folks over to Roy & Stanley’s cause.
Say what you will about Save Disney’s effort … But it was hard not to be impressed by that individual – standing in that sea of people – still trying to get the word out about Save Disney.
I genuinely felt bad for the guy. Which was why I flipped over my Comic Con credential so that he couldn’t see my name (I’m told that I’m considered the Anti-Christ in Save Disney’s circles for daring to say that Roy & Stanley haven’t always done a good job) and went over to talk with him.
This guy was very polite, very personable. Handed me a bumper sticker, a business card and a “Save Disney” info letter. Tried to win me over to the cause. I’d told him that I’d review the material and try & make a decision later.
I’ve still got that stuff here on my desk, folks. Not so much because I admire Disney & Gold. But more as a tribute to someone else who really believes in their cause. Who stood out in the sweltering July sun for hours at a time, trying to win over a few more converts.
I don’t know if this guy was ultimately successful. I DO know that the janitorial staff of the San Diego Convention Center wasn’t all that fond of Save Disney by the time Comic Con was over. Why for? Well, I’m told that a large number of those bumper stickers wound up getting plastered all over the bathrooms at the convention center. But – hey – I guess when you’re trying to get the word out, you spread the message wherever you can.
Anyway … Getting back to Roy Disney: This past summer, I spoke with a lot of people who’d actually worked with Walt’s nephew while he was chairman of Disney Feature Animation. To a man, they all described Roy as a genuinely nice guy. Sincere. Dedicated. Not at all aloof. A very approachable individual who actually cares about the craft of making feature length animated cartoons.
I was regaled with all these tales about how much fun it was to travel with Walt’s nephew on press junkets. Or to have dinner with Roy & his wife, Patty.
In fact, it was one story that I was told about a recent dinner with Roy & his wife that I found particularly telling. When asked about how things were going with the Save Disney effort, Patty Disney was supposed to have said: “This would be so much easier if we were dealing with Ron Miller again.”
Unfortunately, Michael Eisner isn’t some former football player from USC. Uncle Mikey is an extremely confidant corporate executive, exceptionally skilled when it comes to surviving in tough boardroom situations.
More importantly — to date — Eisner played his side of this game very well. He never once rose to any of the bait that Roy & Stanley put out there. Disney’s CEO also did okay on his appearance on “Larry King.”
And – in the weeks leading up to Philadelphia as well as the months that immediately followed the Disney shareholders meeting – Michael kept a very low profile. All the while quietly addressing many of the concerns that Roy & Stanley had about Eisner’s stewardship of the Walt Disney Company.
Michael Eisner shakes hands with Donald Duck in front of the El Capitan theater as part of the character’s 70th birthday celebration.
Photo by:
Eric Charbonneau©Berliner Studio/BEImages.
Which bring us back to Donald Duck’s walk of fame ceremony. Where Eisner actually seemed happy to be out in public, cutting up on stage with that anonymous cast member who was dressed in the Donald Duck costume. There were no boos when Michael strode on stage. If anything, the crowd assembled on Hollywood Boulevard seemed genuinely thrilled to see Disney’s CEO at this ceremony.
photo by Nancy Stadler
But me? As I was attending this ceremony last month, I couldn’t help but notice one small detail that seemed to escape the Hollywood press corps. That camera platform – where all those shutterbugs frantically jostled for position in order to get a picture of Michael Eisner shaking Donald Duck’s hand – was raised. Which meant that you had to walk up a short set of stairs in order to get up on the platform.
photo by Nancy Stadler
“And just whose star on Hollywood Boulevard was this set of stairs leading up to the camera platform set up upon?,” you ask. Well, I don’t know if you can make it out from this photograph …
photo by Nancy Stadler
… And I’m not entirely sure that this was done deliberately. But those stairs were set up right on top of Roy Disney’s star. Pretty much blocking it from view.
Which – given that literarily dozens of reporters & photographers strode up & down those stairs and never once noticed this great story that was right there in front of them – I think that speaks volumes about how far Roy Disney & Stanley Gold have slid off of the media’s radar.
But – then again – all of the above is just one man’s opinion. Your mileage may vary.
Your thoughts?