One Man's Dream: Eisner's Part in the Story.

[civileng68]

For those that have been to MGM to see "One Man's Dream", I have a question for you.

When viewing the movie at the end of the attraction, did anyone else sort of cringe when they saw Michael Eisner speaking about Walt Disney?

I first cringed to where my wife laughed, when I saw Eisner. I felt he did not have the credentials (even as CEO), nor the right to speak on Walt's behalf, as Eisner has gone a long way in disrupting the true dream that Walt had. Sure Disney is a great place but if left up to him another 20 years, Disney would be a very different place, much like a normal amusement park with rollercoasters and thrill rides everywhere.

Also, did anyone else notice that even though Roy Disney was mentioned by Walt himself throughout the entire movie, Eisner never spoke of Roy. I really believe this shows the broken relationship the two had even in the days before Roy left the company.

Also, going along with the Roy Disney issue. I know some may feel differently, but it truly saddened me to see how close Walt and Roy were and just how important Roy was in truly creating Disney World. Without Roy's part, Disneyland or Disney World would have never happened, and to see him not in the company just does not seem right. It makes me feel sad.

I feel as though Roy is a strong link to Walt and I think Disney would really feel different if Roy was back involved in the company.

That movie really more than anything really made me sad when looking at Disney. My wife even cried a little, because without Roy or Walt involved, and seeing how far Eisner is moving away from the true vision, it really makes my heart break.

Does anyone else feel this way or did they feel this way when watching the movie?

 

[darner]

Time to roll new footage with Bob Iger...

I think Eisner polarized many issues at disney and has taken a corporate approach rather than a customer focused one...

but you must say he's made the biggest changes for disney since walt himself... Dis-MGM Studios, Animal Kingdom, Disneyland Resort, Calif. Adventure, HK Disneyland, water parks, hotels, time share, ABC, etc.

 

[4orm]

I agree with you 100%
I urge people liek us who care to keep up to date with www.savedisney.com and www.d-troops.com
I think things can get better. Eisner is on his way out, and maybe Iger will will have a heart. We will be in WDW Sept 30, and will will be celebrating Eisners leave! I didn't have mush hope when I first heard about Iger, but he can't be worse then Evil Eisner. We have hope! Dreams do come true, Disney taught us that.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

I think that you all are confusing Roy Disney, Walt's Brother, who founded, with Walt, Laugh O. Grams (that's where my handle comes from) and eventually the Walt Disney Company as the financial genius behind Walt's creative genius, with his son, Roy Jr..
The man who runs www.savedisney.com, and one of the majority stockholders of the Disney Company is Roy Jr., Walt's nephew and Roy Sr.'s son. Roy, Jr. has been credited with 2 major things within the Disney Company. Reviving the Animation Department in the early 90's, and leading the charge to bring in Michael Eisner to run DIS in the 80's, saving DIS from being bought out by corporate raiders who wanted to split the company up, mostly due to the piss-poor management style of Ron Miller, Diane Disney-Miller's (Walt's daughter) Husband, in the 70's.
If you look at Eisner and what he has brought to the Disney Co. since the 80's, saving it from being broken up and making it one of the world's most powerful entertainment empires, he really didn't do too bad.

 

[PneumaticTransit]

I think Eisner was good thing for Disney back in the 80's. With the revival of the feature length animation movies, Disney really came back in the spotlight. Disney-MGM Studios is a great park.

However, Animal Kingdom seems have missed the mark - it's not rides.. it's not a zoo... it's an expensive half a day activity. Disney Feature Animation bombed with Treasure Planet, Atlantis, and those horrible "sequels" - Disney could only create a hit movie by getting Pixar to do it. When finally, Lilo & Stitch comes along and things look hopeful - Eisner decides to close the animation studios in Florida and sever ties with Pixar. I guess he failed to realize Disney started with a little cartoon mouse. ABC programming is... well... sad. Just sad. They get one or two hits and shove it down everyone's throat until they're sick of it.

Roy is dedicated to staying the course with what his Uncle and Father wanted. Eisner seems to think he can do it better. I've read his book "Work In Progess" to better understand his choices. The only thing I understand is that it's okay if we don't like him cuz he sure likes himself.

Eisner is 10 years past his expiration date IMHO. I don't know too much about Iger, but I hope he can get things back on track. I think getting Roy back into the loop would be a good starting place.

 

[WDSearcher]

I first cringed to where my wife laughed, when I saw Eisner. I felt he did not have the credentials (even as CEO), nor the right to speak on Walt's behalf, as Eisner has gone a long way in disrupting the true dream that Walt had.

I think that you have to consider Eisner's early years at Disney when you watch this film. It wasn't produced last week, you know ... it's been in that theatre for a long time. Eisner's early years here -- his first decade, if you will -- were years where he and Frank Wells truly saved the company. In fact, Roy Disney brought him into the Disney company to save the company. And Eisner did some great stuff back then. He has as much right to speak on Walt's behalf as you or I do.

Also, did anyone else notice that even though Roy Disney was mentioned by Walt himself throughout the entire movie, Eisner never spoke of Roy. I really believe this shows the broken relationship the two had even in the days before Roy left the company.

The "Roy" that Walt is speaking of is his brother Roy, not his nephew Roy. And again ... this film was produced in 1988-1989. There was no animosity between Michael and Roy then. When this film was produced, Michael had no reason to not talk about Roy -- Roy had just, in effect, given him his "dream job." He didn't mention Roy because it wasn't paramount to the history of the company at that point.

Also, going along with the Roy Disney issue. I know some may feel differently, but it truly saddened me to see how close Walt and Roy were and just how important Roy was in truly creating Disney World. Without Roy's part, Disneyland or Disney World would have never happened, and to see him not in the company just does not seem right. It makes me feel sad.

Again ... you're thinking of the wrong Roy. The Roy who was so close to Walt and who had such a big part in building WDW has passed away. The Roy who is here now is Walt's nephew. They were never particularly close, and Roy was actually working in the Television Division of the Company when WDW opened. There's no evidence that he worked on the park much at all.

 

[civileng68]

You are right. I'm thinking of the wrong Roy. However, I still feel it's sad that direct family member with the love of the company as Roy has is not involved directly with the company that his father and uncle created. It's one thing if Roy doesnt have the desire, but he does.


About the video, it was my first time seeing it, but I thought that version of the video was shot only in 2001? The reason I say is because just outside the door is a plaque or statue with a quote on it that Eisner uses in the video, and the quote is dated 2001.

I agree that in his early years Eisner was a good guy, which is why he was chosen for the job. However, not every leader stays the same from when he was first chosen for the job. As another poster said, the thing I think that is most detrimental about Eisner is that he runs a company that is built upon public perception yet he really could care less if we all dislike him, in fact I think personally that he flaunts the fact that he is dislikes. He likes himself far too much.

 

[WDSearcher]

About the video, it was my first time seeing it, but I thought that version of the video was shot only in 2001? The reason I say is because just outside the door is a plaque or statue with a quote on it that Eisner uses in the video, and the quote is dated 2001.

Certain "stand ups" were added in 2001, but the bulk of the film was shot -- and the narration written -- earlier than that. All the historical stuff is the same as it's always been.

 

[Feralpeg]

I think that you all are confusing Roy Disney, Walt's Brother, who founded, with Walt, Laugh O. Grams (that's where my handle comes from) and eventually the Walt Disney Company as the financial genius behind Walt's creative genius, with his son, Roy Jr..
The man who runs www.savedisney.com, and one of the majority stockholders of the Disney Company is Roy Jr., Walt's nephew and Roy Sr.'s son. Roy, Jr. has been credited with 2 major things within the Disney Company. Reviving the Animation Department in the early 90's, and leading the charge to bring in Michael Eisner to run DIS in the 80's, saving DIS from being bought out by corporate raiders who wanted to split the company up, mostly due to the piss-poor management style of Ron Miller, Diane Disney-Miller's (Walt's daughter) Husband, in the 70's.
If you look at Eisner and what he has brought to the Disney Co. since the 80's, saving it from being broken up and making it one of the world's most powerful entertainment empires, he really didn't do too bad.

Well said.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Eisner is 10 years past his expiration date IMHO. I don't know too much about Iger, but I hope he can get things back on track. I think getting Roy back into the loop would be a good starting place.

I will agree that Eisner is not the answer to the Disney Co. leadership right now, and although the company has been getting stronger over the last 2 years, it is time for some new blood. That being said, I do not believe it's fair to demonize Mike Eisner, or call him "evil", as he has done far more good than bad at Disney. Without him, we may not have a Disney Co. today. Bob Iger has been groomed for the last 20 years to take this position and I have high hopes for what this man will bring to the table.

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

You are right. I'm thinking of the wrong Roy. However, I still feel it's sad that direct family member with the love of the company as Roy has is not involved directly with the company that his father and uncle created. It's one thing if Roy doesnt have the desire, but he does.

Roy Jr. is fighting a valiant battle for what he believes is right. He put his money where his mouth is (sort of, he'll only commit to selling 1/2 of his shares, approx. 7 million of the 17.3 million he owns) and he has stepped down from his position on the board. Unfortunately for him, the times and climate has changed since he rallied the company to bring in Eisner in the 80's. Roy Jr. has become of victim of the incrediblely successful reign of Eisner.
In part due to the staggering number of shares of Disney right now. In 1984, before all the stock splits and acquisitions, there were 37.8 million outstanding shares. Today, there are more than 2 billion. The power of each share is now vastly diluted. In 1984, Roy owned 5 percent of the company. Today, the 17.3 million shares he controls represent less than 1 percent of the company. In 1984, only a handful of individual shareholders held nearly 40 percent of the company's outstanding stock. And several—Roy, the Bass Brothers—were in it for the long-term. It's practically impossible to sway that many different people owning that many shares to back one man's opinion, even if his last name is Disney. I really think that you will see a cooling of tempers once Iger is officially instated as CEO and Roy will be able to save face and come back into the fold.

 

[civileng68]

Roy Jr. is fighting a valiant battle for what he believes is right. He put his money where his mouth is (sort of, he'll only commit to selling 1/2 of his shares, approx. 7 million of the 17.3 million he owns) and he has stepped down from his position on the board. Unfortunately for him, the times and climate has changed since he rallied the company to bring in Eisner in the 80's. Roy Jr. has become of victim of the incrediblely successful reign of Eisner.
In part due to the staggering number of shares of Disney right now. In 1984, before all the stock splits and acquisitions, there were 37.8 million outstanding shares. Today, there are more than 2 billion. The power of each share is now vastly diluted. In 1984, Roy owned 5 percent of the company. Today, the 17.3 million shares he controls represent less than 1 percent of the company. In 1984, only a handful of individual shareholders held nearly 40 percent of the company's outstanding stock. And several—Roy, the Bass Brothers—were in it for the long-term. It's practically impossible to sway that many different people owning that many shares to back one man's opinion, even if his last name is Disney. I really think that you will see a cooling of tempers once Iger is officially instated as CEO and Roy will be able to save face and come back into the fold.

Make great sense and thanks, really thanks for that explanation because that truly throws things into more understanding.

I truly hope that you are right about tempers cooling when Iger gets in and Roy coming back. As of now Roy is not supporting Iger because of the way he was handed the CEO job, but hopefully you are right and they will cool off and Roy will be back.

 

[agotta]

Bob Iger has been groomed for the last 20 years to take this position and I have high hopes for what this man will bring to the table.

Bob Iger is nothing but a Eisner apprentice, which in my opinion is not a good thing. Eisner never had the companys best interest at heart, it's all about the money. The Walt Disney Co. has always been a company based on ethics and values, keeping the Guest as it's number one priority. Disney once said "You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." Roy Disney has the company's best interest at heart and is determined to bring back the great ideas, and integrity that started the company in the first place.

Amanda

 

[Got Quattro?]

Eisner decides to close the animation studios in Florida and sever ties with Pixar. .

Eisner did not decide to sever ties with disney.

Disney had an exclusive 7 picture deal with pixar. Disney virtually owned pixar for those 7 pictures. After the 7th, pixar was on it's own again, and could negotiate it's own contract with disney or "the highest bidder"

As we all know, pixar movies are far better than dream works or any other studio, and the films have made disney a ton of money. Pixar for the most part, got their fee, and a name for it's self in the movie biz.

Now, pixar is a free agent, not unlike a Randy Johnson or Roger clemmons in baseball. The are the best at what they do, and will do it for who ever pays them the most money.

If disney entered into a new contract with pixar, disney would see only 25% of the proffits they saw with the past deal. If pixar has one or two bad movies, then disney runs the risk of losing money on the deal.

It was smart biz to walk away from pixar this time. Eisner would have been crazy to hand the farm to pixar and HOPE they kept producing hits.

 

[Got Quattro?]

. Eisner never had the companys best interest at heart, it's all about the money.

Amanda

That's an oxymoron. The companies best interest is always ALWAYS money. The company answers to it's investors and sharehloders, not to the park and movie goers.

The stock price is the bottom line and it's performance drives every decision made. Buisness 101.

 

[granmanh603]

Guess who ran the ABC the past few years when it stunck Iger!!!!!!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Bob Iger is nothing but a Eisner apprentice, which in my opinion is not a good thing. Eisner never had the companys best interest at heart, it's all about the money.

What do you say we all give Iger a chance before we start beating the guy up? There were some other choices that Disney could have gone with, including Steve Jobs, that were "sexier" than Iger, but I really think Iger's a solid choice.
I wish I had the link to the article but last week, I read that as CEO-elect, he is already making some moves that, IMO, are good for the Disney Company. Eisner was always a micro-manager, and had is hand in a little bit of everything. He once famously said that if he were to focus solely on the ABC Network, he could turn it around in one week! Pompous? Definitely, but the man did get results. Iger has come in and said that he is going to restructure the company so that each division will work as a separate entity, with an individual executive supervisor and will be held responsible for the successes and failures of their own actions. The one thing Disney employees have been griping about under Eisner is the lack of creative input from the creative wing of the company and the excess of input from the number crunchers. Now, everyone gets to determine where their particular division goes. This will not only allow creativity to flourish, but will weed out those who have been sitting on their butt's, blaming management for the problem at Disney. Pretty sound management skills, IMO!

 

[Laugh O. Grams]

Guess who ran the ABC the past few years when it stunck Iger!!!!!!

Where does this stuff come from?!?!?!?!
Bob Iger was named president and chief operating officer of The Walt Disney Company in January, 2000. He hasn't headed ABC for over 5 years!!! C'mon!

 

[disneyfan67]

I think that you all are confusing Roy Disney, Walt's Brother, who founded, with Walt, Laugh O. Grams (that's where my handle comes from) and eventually the Walt Disney Company as the financial genius behind Walt's creative genius, with his son, Roy Jr..
The man who runs www.savedisney.com, and one of the majority stockholders of the Disney Company is Roy Jr., Walt's nephew and Roy Sr.'s son. Roy, Jr. has been credited with 2 major things within the Disney Company. Reviving the Animation Department in the early 90's, and leading the charge to bring in Michael Eisner to run DIS in the 80's, saving DIS from being bought out by corporate raiders who wanted to split the company up, mostly due to the piss-poor management style of Ron Miller, Diane Disney-Miller's (Walt's daughter) Husband, in the 70's.
If you look at Eisner and what he has brought to the Disney Co. since the 80's, saving it from being broken up and making it one of the world's most powerful entertainment empires, he really didn't do too bad.

Eisner has done some good for Disney and you are correct about him saving Disney as we know it. I just got done reading "Disney Wars" and I must say it's good book to read and I've learned a lot. Eisner made too many mistakes later in his job as CEO and has done a lot of things that has hurt the company. EuroDisney has been a drain on the Disney Corporation and his hiring and firing of Micheal Ovitz was disaster for the company along with the firing of Jeffery Katzenburg. Eisner is man with way too big of a ego and thinks everything he has done can't be questioned. Read Disney Wars and you will see for yourself. I recomend it!!!

 

[agotta]

That is not true. Yes, obviously they can't stay in business if they don't make money, but Walt Disney did not start this company trying to make a buck! Eisner could care less what happens to the company as long as the money keeps rolling in. The demise of the Disney Stores is a great example. Those stores were something awesome when they were first started. A way to bring the magic to everyone. Now they are nothing but Disney's version of a KMart.

Amanda