Eisner "clueless" on CNBC

[blackshirt]

Eisner was interviewed by Tina Brown on CNBC tonight. IMHO, he came across as clueless. When asked "What makes a hit "(movie), Eisner's response "Who knows, who knows" Finally, he admits it!! Why is this man in charge of making films? When asked what he wants to accomplish at Disney, what drives him, his response was "I have no idea"
Other interesting assertions by Eisner 1) Disney has heavily invested in the parks and has made them "great again" 2) He has a "great" relationship with Steve Jobs. 3) Walt Disney had a "great" creative period from Snow White through Cinderella(apparently Walt did nothing after this period) This is the first time I have seen Eisner being interviewed and IMO it really isn't his strong point

 

[mickeysaver]

I have seen other interviews that he has done and he always comes across as a moron. Without a defined script of what to say, he is just a babbling idiot. I do think the man is intelligent, but not a great public speaker, at least not without a script. Mickey

 

[crusader]

I happened to catch the second half of it and was glad to hear the admission that shows like "are you hot?" (or whatever it was called) were a mistake. I also felt the comments regarding the challenges to remain on top were extremely relevant.

When he spoke of the investment into the parks in the past tense, I considered it to be a clever spin on his decision to divert funds in that direction. Stating it was a done deal sounds like a great endorsement to those heading down there as a result of the recent marketing efforts.

Regading his demeanor, he was definately not smooth and charming. I've got to hand it to Tina Brown. He was thrown quite a few hardballs. I felt he remained extremely careful and managed to avoid engaging too far beyond the current state of affairs on national television which is actually a smart move.

It appeared he was hanging in.

 

[raidermatt]

Hanging in, grasping at straws, whatever...

The park investment comments are misleading, but for those who only look at the capital investment numbers in the annual reports, it makes sense. The bulk of Disney's park investment over the last few years has been in building their new parks in France, Anaheim, Orlando and Hong Kong. With only HK still under construction, it makes perfect sense that the overall investment number comes down.

So to an investor who is just looking at "the parks" as a whole, they see a lot of recent investment, so therefore the "great again" statement makes sense. However, investment in the existing parks was minimized over this period.

The statement that the parks are "great again" means that, from Eisner's pov, they had at one point lost their greatness. If that's true, and exisiting park investment has been small, his statement actually falls apart.

Now, the only thing that might turn out ok for Disney, is that with NEW park investment slowing, its very possible EXISTING park investment can significantly increase while OVERALL investment falls as Eisner is telling the investment community it will continue to do.

The question is how low Eisner wants to take capital spending. With HK construction continuing for a couple years, cuts going forward are going to have to come from existing park investment as it stands now...

 

[disneygeek]

HK?

 

[DisneyFanGuy]

Hong Kong Disneyland.