|
||
| MickeyXtreme's News Archive January 29-31 2006 | ||
|
Tuesday January 31, 2006 |
||
|
|
||
|
Disgruntled shareholders filed a class action
lawsuit Friday against Pixar Animation Studios Inc.,
claiming that a buyout offer last week from The Walt Disney
Co. was too low and stood to mostly benefit top brass.
The complaint argues that a judge should stop the deal, arguing it will enrich Pixar executives and give them plum positions at the newly combined animation powerhouse while leaving investors out in the cold. ``Absent judicial intervention, the company's shareholders will be stripped of their ownership interests through improper and illegal means,'' according to the lawsuit filed in Alameda County Superior Court. Burbank-based Disney and Emeryville-based Pixar agreed to a $7.4 billion deal that would put the maker of ``Toy Story'' under Disney's ownership. Also, it would make Pixar's chief executive Steve Jobs the largest individual shareholder in Disney and give him a seat on the entertainment giant's board. Wall Street hailed the deal as a win-win for both companies, which have enjoyed a lucrative partnership in movie distribution. But some analysts argue the deal favored Disney and may have ripped off Pixar shareholders. Even before the lawsuit, David Miller, an analyst at Sanders Morris Harris, noted that Pixar shareholders should have received better compensation. ``We believe the deal is a better one for Disney than it is for Pixar and sympathize with Pixar shareholders who are left wondering why Mr. Jobs sold out at $58.69 when he could have received a heftier premium,'' he wrote to investors Wednesday. If a majority of shareholders for both companies approve, the deal could be finalized as early as this summer. But these shareholders are trying to derail the effort, which would pay them a 2.5 percent premium over the closing price of $57.26 on Jan. 18, when newspapers first reported a potential deal. Led by the only named plaintiff, shareholder Jonathan Levene, the suit complains that the selling price did not accurately reflect the value of Pixar, which has earned $3.2 billion at the box office on its first six films. Pixar didn't return a call Monday for comment. The complaint will undergo certification of the class members before the matter would go to trial. |
||
|
|
||
|
Hooking
up with Disney — Guided excursions produce world class
fishing
The sun was surprisingly hot for this time of year — even for central Florida — which may have added to our fishing guide’s optimism. The boat bobbed quietly, as four slack lines disappeared into the dark water, remarkably unmolested by fish. Even the minnows seemed to be taking it easy. Not that we hadn’t caught any fish — in fact we had. Guided fishing excursions at Walt Disney World are a great way for anglers of any experience to take a shot at one of those legendary Florida lunker bass. It’s just that after an initial blitz, things had gotten slow. Our fishing guide — a Philadelphia
transplant who was forced to give up duck hunting when he
moved south “because of the ‘gators and snakes,”
expertly advised us that when the first burst was over, it
was time to prepare for a few outsized fish. About 40 minutes into the trip, a splash that sounded like a dog jumping into the water broke everyone out of their mid-afternoon siesta. The rod tip dove for the water, sending a clear message that this was not going to be a mid-sized chopper. Our guide sprang to life, joining Amy at the back of the boat as she set the hook and began to furiously crank the reel. The fish jumped clear of the water, and everyone froze for a moment, realizing we had a big one on the line. The seconds stretched, as the chance that the fish would shake free of the hook became a real danger. As it came closer, our guide leaned over the side, took two swipes into the water with his net, and then hauled it over the side. With other experienced anglers on board, the woman who hadn’t fished in years bested all others with a five-plus pound largemouth bass. Chalk it up to Disney magic. For anglers — both experienced and those
new to the pastime - the rivers, canals and lakes of Walt
Disney World may provide thrills the tallest coaster may not
be able to match. For the experienced angler, the word from guides is this: For sheer numbers, request Bay Lake or the Seven Seas Lagoon. But for the real lunkers, book an excursion out of Downtown Disney — our particular fishing spot. Guests can expect to catch fish weighing between two and eight pounds, according to fishing guides, and each trip can expect to catch an average of five to 10 fish. Recent changes now give anglers a little
more for their dollar. Walt Disney World has announced a
partnership with BASS - the world’s largest fishing
organization, which sanctions more than 20,000 tournaments
worldwide. New BASS excursions will provide guests with
access to 100 new Bassmaster rods and reels, as well as
depth finders and other professional-grade fishing
equipment. Guides will sport BASS uniforms, and the fleet of
Disney boats and marina menu boards will also be adorned
with BASS marks. Minor booking snafus aside, the guided fishing excursions at Walt Disney World are enjoyable, productive and memorable. To book an excursion call (407) 939-BASS(2277). |
||
|
|
||
|
HK
Disneyland Packed with Visitors
Hong Kong Disneyland sold out all tickets for Monday while the city has entered the third day ofits four-day celebration of the Chinese Lunar New Year. The ceiling of 30,000 visitors in a single day was reached on Monday, said a statement issued by the park after midday. It's the first time that Hong Kong Disneyland has met its maximum visitors limit in the Chinese New Year festival, duringwhich the ticket price has been adjusted higher than usual. The park has put on special red decorations, started new programs and dressed its cartoon figures in traditional Chinese costumes to celebrate the Chinese New Year, the first of the park since its opening in Hong Kong almost five months ago. The Chinese New Year celebration activities have been believed to maintain the park's festival momentum gained through the Christmas and New Year holidays. Since its opening in last October, Hong Kong Disneyland has lived under the shadow of low visitor attendance, reported by local media. The first time the park sold out all tickets in a single day was on a December Monday, when many Hong Kong families got a day free for a World Trade Organization ministerial meeting held then. The park then announced the other three days of full attendance by visitors in the following Christmas and New Year holidays, giving up its previous public relations policy of being tight-lipped on visitor numbers. |
||
|
|
||
|
Walt
Disney World announces new Islands of the Caribbean
Adventure Cruise
Disney's Caribbean Resort is happy to announce that there will be a Children's Cruise Starting Tuesday February 7th, 2006. It will be leaving the Barefoot Bay Boat Yard every Tuesday at 9:30 AM, Check - in starts at 9:00 AM . The ship leaves at 9:30 AM and Returns at 11:30 AM. To sign up you must call Barefoot Bay Boat Yard Marina at 407-934-2850. It is a 2-Hour Cruise. The cost will be $30.00 and the Pirates will be served a lunch. Ages of the young Pirates must be 4-10, and must be potty trained. Lunch will be served: Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwiches, Juice drink, Gummy Bears, Rice Krispie Treats or Goldfish. Tennis Shoes/Sneakers and socks are recommended. The young Pirates will be given a Pirate Bandana. This cruise is not in the WDW Dine or Play systems at this time. The story line goes as follows: The ship "Never Won a Battle" flying a Red Pirate flag will be leaving Old Port Royale with twelve (12) Brave little Pirates on board to visit the Islands of the Caribbean to find, plunder, and seek out the Treasure that talk has was left behind by Pirates such as Calico Jack, Ann Bonny, Mary Read, and sometimes even Captain Jack Sparrow. Ann Bonny and Mary Read are the two Pirates who made up the saying "Dead Men Tell No Tales". We will travel from island to island to find what ever bounty we can. We will encounter numerous problems as we travel these treacherous waters. We will run across Pirates, some dead and some still alive. As we travel these Islands we are always getting closer to the "Treasure" that people say is still to be found. The further we travel the closer we get to that "Treasure Chest". When we find it we will divvie it up between the young adventurers on board. We will return to Old Port Royale with the Treasure that has been searched for so many years. |
||
|
|
||
|
Wounded
ABC team on way to hospital in U.S.
Woodruff, Vogt and about 30 members of the U.S. military were accompanied on the trip by a critical care air transport team -- a doctor, a nurse and a respiratory technician -- on a specially outfitted military plane that is essentially a flying intensive care unit. The two were "making good progress" Tuesday, as indicated by their being stable enough to travel back to the United States, said Marie Shaw, a spokeswoman for the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center. "The chances of total recovery are good," she said, "but it will take a long time." Shaw said the swelling in Woodruff's brain has remained the same and hasn't worsened, and the two underwent further surgery Monday to clean up their wounds. The two journalists are being transferred from the largest U.S. military hospital in Europe to the highly regarded National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, for treatment at its brain injury center. Woodruff, 46, and Vogt, 44, suffered serious head injuries Sunday in the roadside blast north of Baghdad. They were flown to Germany on Monday morning for treatment. Woodruff, who also suffered shrapnel wounds, responded to stimuli in his hands and feet, and briefly opened his eyes, and Vogt was alert and joking, the network reported Monday. Dave Woodruff told ABC that his brother -- who was named co-anchor of ABC's "World News Tonight" in December -- had been getting "first-class care" at the U.S. military hospital in Landstuhl. "We think he's going to recover eventually," he told ABC. "It's going to be a long road, but I think he's a strong guy, and he's going to make it." Vogt also suffered a broken shoulder in the bombing, which took place while they were riding in an Iraqi armored personnel carrier. The vehicle was at the head of a U.S. and Iraqi convoy near Taji, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Baghdad, ABC said. ABC White House correspondent Martha Raddatz said officials are most concerned about the men's head injuries, which she described as "similar to blunt-trauma injuries." "They certainly got some shrapnel wounds, but those were not life-threatening," she said. "The problem here is brain swelling, and again, it's very similar to an impact injury. And they've got to watch the brain swelling for the next few days." She said Woodruff, Vogt and two ABC crew members were traveling in a convoy of eight vehicles -- six of them U.S. Humvees with additional armor; the other two Iraqi armored vehicles. The four ABC journalists had been traveling in the U.S. vehicles but decided to move forward into the Iraqi vehicles "to get the perspective of the Iraqis," she said. "Bob and Doug were up in the hatch," Raddatz said. "That's when the vehicle hit an improvised explosive device." The convoy, she said, was outfitted with jamming equipment designed to detonate wireless bombs, but it is believed the bomb was hard-wired and went off when the vehicle struck it. The blast was followed by small-arms fire from three directions, ABC said. An Iraqi soldier was also wounded in the attack, Iraqi officials said. Last month, Woodruff and Elizabeth Vargas were named to replace the late Peter Jennings as "World News Tonight" anchors. They started the job this month. Woodruff, an attorney and former law professor, began his career in journalism as a translator for CBS News in Beijing during the Tiananmen Square uprising in 1989. During the 2003 invasion of Iraq, he was embedded with Marines on the front lines. "We want to see him recover and return to what he wants to do," his brother said. "Maybe not back to Iraq, but certainly I think he'll want to get back to what he's always wanted to do." Vogt has been with ABC News for 15 years and has covered such global hot spots as Bosnia, Gaza and Iran. Reporting from the Iraqi war zone is a dangerous proposition. According to Reporters Without Borders, 79 journalists and news assistants have been killed in Iraq since the United States invaded in March 2003. The organization said 35 news media workers have been abducted since the war's start. They include Jill Carroll, a freelance reporter working for the Christian Science Monitor who appeared Monday appealing for her release in a video broadcast by Al-Jazeera. |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney
lends fairy tale feel to Big Game
At the heart of all this splendid excess is a football game, and football is fundamentally simple. Enormous guys lean on enormous guys while merely large guys scoot around them. That won't stop Sunday's TV commentators from declaring at least one of the head coaches a genius, but as quarterback-turned-broadcaster Joe Theismann once pointed out, "Nobody in the game of football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein." Others will pronounce the Super Bowl the pinnacle of all things sporting -- the ultimate game, even -- but former Dallas running back Duane Thomas deflated that notion in 1972. "If it's the ultimate game," he asked, "why are they playing it again next year?" So, it's a game everyone used to fool around with in the schoolyard, coached by mortals, unparalleled until about 52 weeks from now, and watched by 80 million people. If you can make sense of that, you're Norman Einstein. From here, five days from kickoff and a few blocks from Ground Zero-Zero, what makes the Super Bowl special is that it's a festival -- Woodstock with jocks, not to mention better plumbing. It's a concert by the Rolling Stones, parties thrown by every rapper not currently incarcerated, two weeks of buildup and billions of dollars tied to 3 1/2 hours of big guys leaning. Since nobody does festivals better than Disney, it's no surprise to see the Mouse in the house in ways both large and small. The large will go about 150 feet. The small is two days' work for Lake Orion's Mark Champion, the voice behind a Super Bowl catchphrase so familiar that you probably didn't even notice when you didn't hear it last year. Champion, the former Lions broadcaster, was calling Tampa Bay Bucs games when he was drafted to narrate an ad. It was 1987, and an old college friend needed someone to ask the hero du jour, "So-and-so, you've just won the Super Bowl. What are you going to do now?" "I'm going to Disney World," said New York Giants quarterback Phil Simms, and Champion had made his first four-second contribution to pop culture history. Since then, he has also posed the question to a yachtsman (Dennis Conner), a Miss America (Gretchen Carlson), two mythological beings (Santa Claus and Michael Jordan), assorted baseball players, the U.S. women's soccer team and skater Nancy Kerrigan, who did indeed go to Disney World and then was caught on camera grousing about being there. Champion, 55, is grouse-free. "I've seen a gazillion different television shows where they have a take-off on that 'what's next' line, and it tickles me every time." He'll get paid nicely for spending today at Ron Rose Productions in Southfield, recording his question with the name of most every player with a chance to make an impact on the game. Then, in case Disney guessed wrong and a third-string offensive lineman becomes the star, he'll spend the game within range of a sound truck at Ford Field. It's a vast improvement over 2005, when the company built an ad around the 50th anniversary of Disneyland and Champion was benched. The campaign is back, says Disney spokesman Rick Sylvain, "because somebody will have a Cinderella moment, and we're in the Cinderella business." Sylvain, formerly of Huntington Woods, can deliver lines like that with panache. This one, too: "Since this is Super Bowl XL, we thought, 'Let's go extra-large with our promotions.' " That might be the only understatement of the week. Projecting after dark from Campus Martius, Disney will splash highlights from 20 years of ads and Super Bowls onto the First National Bank building. The display runs Wednesday through Sunday after two nights of test runs with people like local newscasters and ESPN hosts. If you thought some of these guys had big heads before, try them at half the length of a football field. Late Sunday, before the new commercial debuts on Monday's morning shows, the chosen star will be up on the tall wall. There's no telling who he'll be, but for what it's worth, Pittsburgh end Hines Ward has a tattoo on his arm of Mickey Mouse striking the Heisman Trophy pose. Just picture him flexing as he leads a parade down Main Street USA. You don't have to be Norman Einstein to know Disney would love that. |
||
|
|
||
|
Walt
Disney Records Releases 'Bambi II' Soundtrack Available
February 7, 2006
On February 7, 2006, Walt Disney Records celebrates the return of Bambi on DVD with the release of the Bambi II soundtrack. The CD includes nine songs and score tracks from Bambi II, along with classic favorites from the original Bambi soundtrack. The compilation features new, original songs by multi-platinum country superstars Martina McBride and Alison Krauss, and Australian singing phenomenon Anthony Callea. One of the silver screen's most cherished characters makes his triumphant return in Disney's spectacular all-new movie, Bambi II, coming to Disney DVD on February 7th. Join Bambi as he reunites with his father, The Great Prince (voiced by Patrick Stewart), who must now raise the young fawn and teach him the ways of the forest. But, in the adventure of a lifetime, the proud parent discovers that there is much he can learn from his spirited young son. Bambi II soundtrack track listing: On February 7, 2006, the Bambi II soundtrack will be available for a suggested retail price of $12.98. All Walt Disney Records audio products also can be ordered by visiting DisneyRecords.com. |
||
|
|
||
|
Walt
Disney Records Releases 'Lady and the Tramp and
Friends' CD Available February 7, 2006
On February 7th, Walt Disney Records announces the release of the "Lady and the Tramp and Friends" CD -- a collection of Disney classics from some of the most beloved Disney animated films of all time. The CD features 9 tracks including such favorites as "Bella Notte," "The Siamese Cat Song," "He's a Tramp" and many more. The CD jewel case features a unique silver-sparkle tray with a vibrant picture disc. "Lady and the Tramp and Friends" track listing: 1. "He's a Tramp" -
"Lady and the Tramp" "Lady and the Tramp and Friends" will be available February 7, 2006 for a suggested retail price of $6.98 wherever music is sold. All Walt Disney Records audio products also can be ordered by visiting DisneyRecords.com. |
||
|
|
||
|
The
Inevitability of the Pixar-Disney Merger
Economic logic, it seems, rarely rules in Hollywood. Too often, egos get in the way. But the announcement that the Walt Disney Company will be buying Pixar Animation Studios shows that even Hollywood will sometimes bow to the obvious. The Disney-Pixar merger is certainly the most momentous entertainment combination since Time bought Warner, and history may one day deem it the most important merger in Hollywood history. Past, present, and future all conspired to make this merger inevitable. History shows that independent production studios like Pixar never last long. Like high-stakes gamblers, a production company must constantly increase its bets, hoping that the next throw of the box-office dice will turn up a winner. But like all gamblers—who must eventually leave the table either flush or busted—an independent producer must someday dissolve itself, sell itself, or go bankrupt. Pixar has had a run like no one else, but Pixar CEO Steven Jobs must know that the odds mean that he is unlikely to see his company commanding north of $7 billion (the sum Disney is paying) ever again. Nor could the timing for a sale be better: Pixar's long-standing distribution agreement with Disney had expired and no new one had been negotiated, meaning that Jobs could leverage that temporary freedom into maximal financial gain. This was plainly the year to sell. Nor could there have been any buyer but Disney. A distribution company like Disney (or the other majors—Warners, Fox, Paramount, Sony, and Universal) makes its money off selling product in multiple platforms and marketing spin-off accessories based on film copyrights. Disney has made most of its money off animated properties, but it recently shut down its traditional animation division and is still ramping up its new computer animation business. Had Pixar sold to Warner Bros. or to Sony, at a stroke Disney would have lost its most important supplier of exploitable copyrights and seen a powerful new competitor rise up next to DreamWorks Animation. Whatever the price Pixar might have demanded at auction, Disney would have paid. Fortunately for both companies, no other studio would have been in a position to pay as much for Pixar as Disney could afford. With its numerous cable and broadcast networks, its second-to-none licensing division, and its far-flung theme parks, Disney is designed to extract as much money as possible from animated properties: for every dollar Warners or Sony might have been able to squeeze out of Buzz Lightyear, Disney can make two. So Disney justifies paying a higher price in order to own those properties, because it can always achieve a higher return on its investment than its rivals could have mustered. Pixar also had a clear interest in selling itself to Disney. Its previous deals with the company left the Burbank studio in control of the sequel rights to core Pixar properties like Toy Story, and by selling itself to the Mouse House Pixar in a sense regains control of those rights. That is not just a logic of sentimentality: without those rights, Pixar would have fetched a much lower price had it tried selling itself to another studio. Whether the merger will be good for animation fans and for the Pixar creative staff remains to be seen. Some signs are promising: Pixar business and creative chiefs will have a central role in running the new animation combine. Some signs are worrying: already Disney is talking about ramping up production at Pixar, the kind of move that seems in retrospect to have been the fatal step that put Disney's own animated productions on the road to mediocrity and ultimately extinction. Still, the creative end of the business is predictable only in one respect: every terrific run eventually ends. The only question will be whether the Pixar magic fades slowly or quickly under this new business arrangement. So much for the past and present. But the real importance in the deal is in its implications for the future. With the rise of digital distribution, Hollywood is undergoing another one of its recurrent paradigm shifts, and through Apple Computer and its iTunes distribution business, Jobs is pioneering new distribution techniques. Apple already has an agreement to distribute episodes of the Disney/ABC series Desperate Housewives, and Disney CEO Robert Iger has been loudly proposing that Hollywood radically restructure its distribution models to take account of the new consumer preference for instant access to new content. In allying with Jobs and giving him a place on its board, Disney is well on its way to giving the Apple chief control of the company's future as the new distribution forms emerge. That is probably a good thing, as Jobs is one of the few business leaders who seems to have a clear vision of how Hollywood should be selling its wares in the new environment, a platform for realizing that vision, and the guts to follow through on it. Already there are predictions that Disney's Iger has just allied himself with the businessman who will, sooner rather than later, take over Iger's own job. That's probably also to Disney's advantage. Historically, the Disney company has always demanded—and usually gotten—a visionary at the helm. Jobs is about the most incandescent strategist they could have snared. Pixar is gone, but so too, we may hope, is the pale, cautious, bullying Disney of Eisner's last decade. Tonight sees fireworks over the Magic Kingdom, but for the first time in a long while they're the dazzling pyrotechnics of celebration, not the the glowing rockets of war. |
||
|
|
||
|
Theme-park
chief wants us to care about the animals
Beth Stevens, 46, is head of Walt Disney
World's Animal Kingdom and just oversaw installation of the
newest megaride, Expedition Everest. In addition to running
the 5,000-acre theme park that last year drew 8.2 million
visitors, the Disney World vice president is internationally
active in wildlife conservation and president of the
American Zoo and Aquarium Association. She spoke last week
with staff writer Scott Powers. A.: I think I would have to say the Magic
Kingdom, because that is where it all began. |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney
Whirl
What's about the Disney/Pixar deal? If ever a match were made in Hollywood Heaven, this would seem to be it. At a time when most synergies in the entertainment industry amount to little more than wishful thinking, the combination of Pixar's creativity and Walt Disney's marketing prowess has produced six consecutive megahits, from "Toy Story" to "The Incredibles," and has brought billions of dollars in revenues into both companies' coffers. Merrill Lynch analyst Jessica Reif Cohen, not one to gush, called it "a near perfect strategic fit." The market certainly liked the deal, with Disney shares rising on the news, when most acquiring companies see their shares drop. Disney's proposed acquisition of Pixar, announced last week, is also the happy ending to a great story in its own right: Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner alienates his most important creative partner, Steve Jobs; Jobs, in a huff, calls off their collaboration and threatens to find a new partner; Eisner retires early and is replaced by Bob Iger, who renews the courtship and, with great diplomatic skill and finesse, not only woos Jobs back into the Disney fold, but gives him a seat on the board of directors. And Disney gets Pixar's creative genius, John Lasseter, and administrative whiz, Ed Catmull, as part of the bargain. So let's break out the champagne — and think about selling Disney shares. I hate to be the one to dampen the celebration. Besides having written a book about Disney, I like the company and have recommended the stock. Disney and Pixar belong together. Bob Iger has pulled off a tremendous feat and deserves credit for it. There's only one problem. Disney is paying $7.4 billion to buy Pixar, $1.2 billion in cash and the rest in Disney shares. What's it getting in return? Pixar's most recent balance sheet shows just $1.38 billion in total assets, and $1 billion of that is cash. Pixar shares were trading at an all-time high in anticipation of such a deal, with a forward price/earnings ratio of 51. (Disney, by contrast, trades at a P/E of just under 18, while rival DreamWorks Animation Analysts estimate that the deal, even with the aggressive share buyback Disney also announced, will dilute earnings by about 5% next year and 3% the year after that. And that's assuming the rosy predictions for Pixar's future slate are born out. I don't think Iger had much choice but to pay Jobs's asking price. If I were in his shoes, I'd probably have done the same thing for the long-term benefit of Disney. I stress "long-term" because in the short term I believe Disney is paying too much, what amounts to more than $6 billion for the creativity of the Pixar team, a quality that can be as quixotic as synergy. It's hard to put a price on that kind of asset, but I can't think of a comparable talent deal. By contrast, top Hollywood stars earning $20 million a picture are being paid a pittance. And it strikes me as unrealistic to expect Pixar to continue its unbroken string of hits. If Pixar never has a failure, then it's not taking any creative risks. As recently as "The Lion King," Disney had such an enviable record, and squandered its dominance. Surely Pixar won't repeat Disney's well-publicized blunders, including turning down the opportunity to buy half of Pixar for $15 million back in the mid-1980s. But I believe Eisner was right when he predicted that Pixar would eventually produce a flop. I hope that doesn't happen. I love the idea of a movie about a rat working in a three-star Parisian restaurant, which I hear is in development at Pixar. But at $7.4 billion, Pixar is priced for perfection. When I recommended Disney nearly a year ago, I saw the prospect for two important positive developments: the end of the Eisner regime and repairing the Pixar relationship. With Bob Iger as CEO, and now the new Pixar deal, both of these events have happened. At $25.50, which is where Disney was trading this week, the stock reflects the good news. I don't own Disney shares, but if I did, I'm not sure I'd wait around for the years it will take to know if the Pixar deal pays off. |
||
|
|
||
|
Disneyland
Hotel and Disney's Paradise Hotel Become Non-Smoking
Beginning March 1st The Disneyland Hotel
and Disney's Paradise Hotel will become non smoking hotels.
Disney's Grand Californian hotel opened in 2001 as a non
smoking hotel and now all three hotels at the resort will be
smoke free. |
||
|
|
||
|
Pixar
sale gives Jobs marketing power, and less risk
After Walt Disney Co. agreed to acquire Pixar Animation Studios, much was made about the deal giving the Magic Kingdom the creative juice it needed to get back in the movie-animation game. As for Pixar , it may be an especially opportune time for the independent studio to become part of the Disney family. A huge slate of computer-animated films from throughout Hollywood is set to hit theaters this year, and the company's market value has never been higher. As many as 15 computer-animated features could appear on the big screen between now and December, nearly quadruple the four that were released in 2005. By taking shelter under the Disney banner and its marketing muscle, Pixar chief Steve Jobs won't have to worry as much about carving out a place in Hollywood's newly crowded release schedule, said Michael Barrier, an animation historian based in Little Rock, Ark. "I think from Pixar's standpoint, that's a very definite motive for being acquired by Disney," Barrier said. "I think this happened because the timing is right for both of them. There's no reason to believe that Pixar can continue this unbroken string of hits without a stumble." Pixar executives, who weren't available to comment, haven't directly addressed how selling the company may relate to over-crowding cineplexes with digital animation. However, Jobs did say the two sides now will be able to "collaborate without the barriers that come from two different companies with two different sets of shareholders." To be sure, Pixar's innovation in computer-animated features has catapulted it to the top of the heap -- and kept it there. From its first full-length feature in 1995, "Toy Story," through 2004's "The Incredibles," all six Pixar films have scored at least $350 million at the worldwide box office. Casualties "Every month, there's a new animated film entering the marketplace. Not all of them can do well," said Paul Dergarabedian, president of box-office tracker Exhibitor Relations. "There's going to be some casualties out there, for sure." The financial zenith thus far in the Pixar library has been 2003's "Finding Nemo," which took in $865 million worldwide. DreamWorks Animation's "Shrek 2" holds the record for computer films, with $881 million in 2004. Pixar's last release, "The Incredibles," made $624 million in 2004 and 2005. Computer films released in 2005 included DreamWorks' "Madagascar" which made $407 million, Fox's "Robots" at $246 million, Disney's "Chicken Little," which made $180 million and The Weinstein Co.'s current release, "Hoodwinked," with $30 million domestically thus far. At a time when results are losing box-office momentum, did Disney agree to buy Pixar just as the era of the computer-animated megablockbuster is coming to an end? At least one analyst seems to think so. Just before the deal was reached, Spencer Wang of J.P. Morgan argued that the glut of upcoming films is a sign that computer animation is entering a hangover period that is an echo of what happened to hand-drawn films in the mid-1990s after Disney's triumph on "The Lion King." Wang said "Shrek 2" may well end up being the peak for computer-animation, just as 1994's "Lion King" was the peak for hand-drawn films. "Lion King" made $784 million worldwide -- the equivalent of more than $1 billion in today's dollars. It prompted a rush into animation by all studios and drove the labor costs so high that budgets for Disney and others soared past $100 million per movie. Some animators pulled down more than $1 million a year in salary. Pressure on margins The same thing may be happening in the digital-animation age, Wang said. High returns that lead to more competition ultimately saturate the market, resulting in lower market share and higher costs. That ultimately puts pressure on film margins. "If we are correct in this hypothesis, then Disney would be essentially buying a business with diminishing returns," Wang wrote in a research note. "This, in turn, would also imply that Disney would be acquiring Pixar at peak earnings and a peak valuation." Wang added: "Said another way, if the prospects for [computer] animation are so bright, this begs the question: Why would Pixar be willing to sell now?" Disney's $7.4 billion purchase price included a nominal premium to Pixar's stock price. With Pixar at its maximum value, the buyout essentially allows Jobs to avoid the risk of Pixar's peaks and valleys based entirely on the success of its own releases. And he is poised to become Disney's largest individual shareholder. "Who could buy those shares? Disney is the most obvious candidate," said Robbert Van Batenburg, head of global research for Louis Capital Markets. There are, however, a number of other industry watchers who feel the Disney-Pixar deal makes sense and should be hugely profitable for both sides. They say that as long as Pixar's creative process is preserved -- as Disney Chief Executive Robert Iger has vowed -- then the entity should continue to be the gold standard in computer animation. But the key ingredient isn't computer animation itself, says Laura Martin, analyst for Soleil Media Metrics. The play's the thing, she adds. "There is no upside limit to great storytelling," Martin said. "That kind of storytelling is going to benefit the entire Walt Disney Co." Indeed, there are rumblings that even Pixar executives are not wedded to computer imagery. John Lasseter, the creative force behind "Toy Story" and a key executive at Pixar, will become the chief creative officer for the combined Pixar and Disney animation departments. A Disney alumnus from the company's hand-drawn days, Lasseter is said to be interested some two-dimensional projects as well, said Ramin Zahed, editor-in-chief of the trade publication Animation Magazine. "I think we may be seeing a renewed interest in 2-D animation," he said. Pixar executives in charge Lasseter and Pixar President Ed Catmull, who will oversee all animation activities at both companies, are evaluating all of Disney's projects. David Stainton will step down as president of Disney's animation operations. Disney will drop production on "Toy Story 3," a sequel that it planned when Pixar originally said it would end its relationship with Disney in 2004. That bone of contention out of the way, the duo are looking to see whether such planned features as 2008's "Gnomeo and Juliet" and 2009's "Rapunzel Unbraided" will see the light of day. In the immediate future, it seems clear that the next Pixar feature, "Cars" should be another hit when it's released June 9, Zahed said. And for now, computer animation is proving to be profitable. With the $30 million made thus far domestically by "Hoodwinked," the film already has brought in double its $15 million budget. Disney's "Chicken Little" turned in $180 million on a $60 million budget. That budget is markedly smaller than those for many of its hand-drawn projects. That sends the message to filmmakers to keep going, said Bill Mechanic, head of Pandemonium Productions and former chairman of Fox Studios. Mechanic's company is putting out its own computer animated feature, "Coraline," in 2007. "Until the audience tells you it's too crowded, it's not too crowded," Mechanic said. Mechanic also points out that Pixar already has several processes in place to boost prospects for a hit. Foremost is that Pixar puts out a picture when it's ready and doesn't rush into production. "Right now, it's very hard to bet against John Lasseter," he said. "I think he's in a league of his own." |
||
|
|
||
|
OLC
To Close Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour
The Oriental Land Company today announced it will be closing the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour on April 5, 2006. This unique attraction opened in 1986 in response to guests wanting to enter the castle. It was a walk-through attraction featuring a battle of good v. evil. Future plans for the castle have not yet been announced. |
||
|
|
||
|
An
Insider's Take on Steve Jobs
Scores of people have become famous, at least in tech circles, via their affiliation with Apple Computer. There are "the Steves" who founded the company: Jobs and Wozniak. And former CEOs John Sculley, Michael Spindler, and Gil Amelio, not to mention a colorful cast of characters such as Jean-Louise Gassee, Jef Raskin, and Mike Markkula. Then there's Edgar S. Woolard Jr. The former chief executive and chairman of chemical giant DuPont (DD) was also on Apple's board at perhaps the most critical point in its history. He joined during the dark days of 1996, soon after Gilbert A. Amelio had joined as CEO. After watching Amelio's plan fail to take hold, Woolard was the director who in July, 1997, called Steve Jobs to invite him to once again take the helm. Jobs, who had been a consultant since late 1996 after Apple bought his NeXT Software, refused to take the CEO job at first, but a few months later agreed to take it on an interim basis [remember the iCEO?]. Jobs dropped the "i" in 2000, and the rest, as they say, is history. CURBING COMPENSATION. No doubt, none of the normal Apple adjectives -- hip, stylish, trend-setting -- apply to Woolard. The 71-year-old has an old-money, patrician air and had served on the boards of Citigroup, IBM, and the Business Council. Yet Jobs evidently liked what he saw, as Woolard was one of only two Apple board members who didn't depart in a shakeup in August, 1997, that brought Jobs, Oracle (ORCL) CEO Larry Ellison, and others onto Apple's board. As for Woolard's legacy, some questioned Apple's decision to grant Jobs options to buy 10 million Apple shares and a Gulfstream V jet in January, 2000. But Woolard defended that decision, pointing out that Jobs had worked for nothing to that point, during which Apple's market cap had soared from less than $2 billion to more than $16 billion. Now, with Apple's stock at $72, that controversy is a distant memory. And Woolard, who was brought in to head the compensation committee of the board of the New York Stock Exchange after the Richard Grasso pay scandal, is earning hosannas from corporate-governance experts for his plan to curb CEO compensation. His idea: limit the role of outside compensation consultants and tie CEO pay to the average pay of the company's other executives, rather than to rival CEOs. Woolard spoke with BusinessWeek Silicon Valley Computer Editor Peter Burrows about Steve Jobs, as Jobs prepares to join the board of Walt Disney (DIS), after selling Pixar Animation Studios to Disney on Jan. 24. Edited excerpts of their conversation follow: So what do you think of this merger? I think it's fantastic. There are so many mergers where people talk about synergies, but the synergies here are totally obvious. We're talking about two companies that have been involved in a partnership that has worked extremely well, and this will take it to another level. There won't be any more tension over how to split the profits or about the extent to which the two sides should share their secrets. I think the synergies will escalate dramatically. Some of our sources wonder what this will mean for Disney CEO Bob Iger. After all, Steve Jobs has very strong feelings about the way things should be done. Do you think Jobs will be a positive influence on Disney's board? I think people are misreading Steve Jobs. My opinion is that he will not come in with a heavy hand. I think he will try very hard to identify opportunities, and I think he will listen carefully to what Iger and the Disney management team has in mind, and will add suggestions. The two men seem to have a good relationship, and there's one thing that's for certain: If Steve has a good relationship with you, there's nobody better in the world to work with. He trusts you, and he listens, and he bounces his ideas off you. But if he doesn't trust you, it doesn't work. Can you give an example of this? Well, he worked very closely with Larry Ellison on some of Larry's ideas on technology. Larry would say, have you thought of doing this or that? And Jobs's response was usually, "great idea!" He never said "no, no no" to ideas just because they weren't his. What about your work with him? Well, I'm not a technology nerd at all. But we spoke a lot about financial and personnel issues -- about people we wanted to recruit and promote. I recall at one point he had an idea to change the incentive compensation plan. I'd make suggestions, and he modified it. We compromised until we ended up with something that everyone thought was better. He didn't agree with everything I said, but I never found him to be stubborn or unwilling to consider ideas. My guess is that's the way he'll approach his new position at Disney. So how would you say Jobs stands out, as an executive? I'd say he has five special characteristics, and everyone knows the first two. For starters, he's incredibly creative and has great vision. That's an overused word, but he just kind of senses where people might want to go. Two, he's an absolute perfectionist. For example, I remember he worked for hours with one of his guys on the colors for the first iMac. It had to be just right. Three, he has a great ability to attract outstanding people to work with him. I'm talking about outstanding and extremely loyal people. As soon as he took over Apple, we had lots of great people who had been at the company previously, and people from Sun (SUNW) and Oracle and lots of other companies wanting to come back. Four, if he respects you, he will interact with you and modify his ideas -- whether it's dealing with people or finance or technology. Five -- and nobody ever seems to think about this one -- the damn guy knows how to make money! He just makes money. I remember how he cut inventory from over $400 million to less than $100 million in one year's time. And he knows how to make decisions. If [an executive] isn't cutting it, he'll make the change. He doesn't do it in an ugly way, but just says "this isn't working" and does something about it. He does the kinds of things that an operating CEO is supposed to do. I recall how one of his first moves was to cut Apple's product line from dozens of models to just four, so the company could get a better handle on its operations. Our jaws dropped on that one. But it was brilliant. It seems to me that in some ways, Jobs almost runs Apple like a private company -- that maybe he's willing to make bold moves like that because he's so confident that Apple can succeed long-term just on the strength of great products. It's almost as if he's willing to let Wall Street think what it wants -- that in the end, if the company delivers great products, that the profits will take care of themselves. Yes, I think you're onto something there. First of all, Steve had great confidence in [CFO] Fred Anderson, so he let Fred deal with Wall Street for the most part. But it was clear that we were not going to play any games. We were not going to move revenues from one quarter to another to make a number. We were just going to make great products, price them well, and advertise them well. In fact, I think the first thing he did when he came back was to hire his old advertising firm. What would have happened had he not come back? Oh, the company was going bankrupt. I should say, that's only my opinion. But cash was running out, a lot of good people were leaving, and the stock had gone from $40 to $12. And nobody wanted to buy the company. Getting back to Disney, won't it be hard for a perfectionist like Jobs to sit back if he sees things he doesn't agree with? Look, he's only on the board. He's not the vice-chairman or president. He's on the board. He has been on boards before, including Gap (GPS). So he knows what a board member's responsibility is. He once told me he thought I was an excellent director because I made a lot of useful suggestions. So I think he'll actually have relatively little to say in board meetings. I'd be astonished if there are any big arguments. And to the extent that some of the things are not to the perfection he might like, I think he can live with that. It's not his company. Some folks in Silicon Valley wonder if Jobs may one day take Iger's job. After all, they say, Jobs insisted he didn't want the Apple CEO job at first, as well. That's so phony. Look, I was the guy who called him and begged him to please come back and be the CEO and chairman. And at first he said no. It's only my opinion, but I think he wanted to size it up for a while and see if he could fix it. But I told him he was the only guy who could save that company. I think he came to see that was true. So the comparison is so nonvalid. He has no desire to be the CEO of a big multifaceted company. He likes to be in the action -- where he can get three or four people to work around the clock to come up with some great idea. My God, I think the bureaucracy at Disney would drive him crazy! And guess what? He still has a full-time job at Apple, and he's got to keep coming up with new iPods and iMacs. He's got a big job there. So what do you think it's all about for Jobs? What really makes him tick? Money, power, legacy? It's certainly not financial. His first three years [back] at Apple, he took no money at all. I tried my best to get him to take stock options that would have been worth $500 million, but he said no. He didn't want the people of Apple to think he was just there for the money. I think he's driven by wanting to make unique products that are outstanding and change the perspective for consumers. He wants to be the leading-edge guy -- which he is. He's the leading-edge guy in the world. |
||
|
|
||
|
Impeached
'Commander in Chief" is in trouble. The White House drama starring Geena Davis as the first female president started out as the most talked-about new show of the season with healthy ratings and a wide-open future. But ABC said over the weekend that it is pulling "Chief" off the air until spring to make way for a new comedy, "Sons & Daughers." The info was buried in a news release announcing the start of the new comedy. 'Commander in Chief' will go on a brief broadcast hiatus so that it can return in the spring. |
||
|
|
||
|
Monday January 30, 2006 |
||
|
|
||
|
On Monday, CEO Robert A. Iger stood outside
The Walt Disney Co.'s executive office building and watched
as it was renamed in honor of his predecessor, Michael D.
Eisner.
The next day, Iger made his own mark on Disney history by announcing the purchase of longtime partner Pixar Animation Studios Inc. for $7.4 billion in stock. In one bold move this week, Iger showed that he has his own vision for Disney and that he could do what Eisner could not get along with the mercurial Steve Jobs, Pixar's CEO. The feud nearly scuttled the profitable relationship between the two companies. It was Disney's biggest deal since Eisner's purchase 11 years ago of Capital Cities/ABC. The $19 billion acquisition brought Iger, then president and chief operating officer of Cap Cities/ABC, to Disney. Iger spent 20 years sharing power with such strong executives as Eisner and Capital Cities/ABC chairman Tom Murphy. When he ascended to the top spot at Disney last October, some questioned how he would handle being in charge. The Pixar deal served notice that he's not afraid to make big moves. "There are very few executives who can be a No. 2 guy for 20 years and then suddenly be comfortable making big, empire-changing decisions five months later, and this is one of those guys," said Laura Martin, an analyst with Soleil-Media Metrics, a financial research firm. Iger displayed his independence soon after taking over. He dismantled Eisner's strategic planning department that had frustrated many Disney department heads by centralizing decision-making. The move put authority back into the hands of executives, an act that improved morale at the company. Iger also reached a truce with dissident ex-board members Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold, who had led a fight to oust Eisner and objected to Iger as his hand-picked successor. Just 12 days after becoming CEO, Iger strode onto a San Jose stage and stood with Jobs to announce that Disney would sell episodes of its hit ABC shows for use on Apple Computer's new video iPod. But it was buying Pixar that most clearly drew the line between Iger and his predecessor. Analysts praised the move as a way to restore Disney's luster. While Pixar has had six box office hits since "Toy Story" was released in 1995, Disney has struggled, producing some modest successes and a number of flops. The Pixar acquisition immediately vaults Disney to the pre-eminent position in animated film, Doug Mitchelson, an analyst at Deutsche Bank, wrote in a recent report. Iger also gets credit for not turning his back on Eisner. In his first letter to shareholders issued earlier this month, Iger praised Eisner for his 21 years of leadership. "He's done it in the right way," media analyst Harold Vogel said of Iger's transition to power. "He's smoothed all the ruffled feathers." Iger still faces challenges, including the daunting task of maintaining Pixar's unique corporate culture while injecting some of that culture into Disney's own animation unit. Analysts say Iger could excel, given his experience working at two companies that were taken over by larger entities. A close examination of the purchase agreement showed just how careful the companies were being in the handling of Pixar's character. A special committee will be formed to meet at Pixar headquarters in Emeryville for a full day at least every other month to discuss cultural issues. "Disney in a way is a blend of many cultures," Iger told The Associated Press after the Pixar deal was announced. The sports cable network ESPN, for instance, has maintained its headquarters and management in Connecticut long after being acquired as part of the Capital Cities/ABC deal. Pixar will keep following its quirky compensation practice including not having contracts for its employees for at least five years following the acquisition, according to the documents. Another untouchable was the arch that marks the entrance to Pixar's campus. A clause in the deal states, "The Pixar sign at the gate shall not be altered." |
||
|
|
||
|
Everest
Soft Opening
Now that the CM, DVC and AP previews are over, the attraction will move onto a period of unannounced soft openings. During this time, there is no set timeframe where the attraction will definitely be operating. This gives WDI time to complete parts of the attraction, and to tweak things based on operational feedback from the previews. The ride is set to be closed all day today, with openings perhaps taking place again towards the end of the week. The official status is
currently: |
||
|
|
||
|
Accommodations
for every level at Walt Disney World
It was a quintessential Atlantic shoreline moment: The sun was setting, and the boardwalk was coming to life. Kids ran into an ice cream parlor as music and laughter wafted out the open door of a dueling piano bar. A juggler plied his trade near a row of shops, as a carnival barker tempted passers-by with games of chance. Lights strung from street lamps began to blink on, illumination a now-bustling nightlife along this quaint boardwalk. Only this wasn't the Jersey shore. It was Walt Disney World's Boardwalk Resort — one of 32 resorts throughout the vacation kingdom's 47-square-mile property. Still think of Walt Disney World as some theme parks and a few characters? Maybe a few years ago, but resort expansion that began in the 1990s has created an entirely new way of spending a vacation in central Florida. With 31,000 guest rooms and 784 camp sites, there is an almost limitless roster of activities to keep visitors busy — all the while never setting foot in a theme park. Disney divides its resorts into three categories: Value, moderate and deluxe — each reflecting different levels of quality and convenience. Value: The value resorts include All Star Sports, All Star Music, All Star Movies and the newest on-site hotel, Pop Century. The value resorts offer all the amenities afforded on-site guests, with a lighter price tag. Rooms start at $79 a night — and can go for less with some bargain hunting and value codes. Pop Century, the newest value resort, continues the tradition started by the trio of All Star Resorts: Functional, well-thought out design couched in colorful, bold décor. A sparkling lobby, dotted with pop culture items from the 50s through the 90s, introduces guests to a resort packed with larger-than-life icons of 20th century pop culture. Four-story Rubik's Cubes and Duncan Yo-Yos, 65-foot-tall bowling pins and 55-foot cellular phones bookend the colorful lodge buildings inside the resort. Individual buildings pay tribute to popular culture from each decade. A number of pools dot the interior — just steps for almost any room on-site. The food court is guaranteed to please even the most finicky kid, with comfort food offerings such as peanut butter and fluff sandwiches on blue, green and yellow bread, meatball subs and macaroni and cheese. The rooms are smaller than those at the higher-end resorts, but not alarmingly so. They are clean, colorful and again, a perfect place for children given the striking, cartoon-like landscape. As with any on-site resort, guests benefits include bus, monorail and water taxi transportation, guaranteed entry to theme parks even when the parking lot is full, preferred tee times on Disney golf courses, access to the parks' Extra Magic Hours and central billing to the guest's room key card. In other words — live large while going light on the wallet. Moderate: Moderate resorts start around $139 a night, and include Port Orleans/French Quarter and Port Orleans/Riverside, the Caribbean Beach Resort and Coronado Springs Resort. These resorts are the perfect combination of value and amenities. The themeing is a bit more refined, the rooms are a bit larger, and feature nicer furnishings. Visitors who stay at Port Orleans/French Quarter are greeted by the sound of zydeco music as they enter a lobby festooned with wrought iron and Mardi Gras imagery. The interior of the resort screams New Orleans, with balconies evoking Bourbon Street overlooking streets that could've come straight out of the French Quarter. The rooms feature a statelier southern feel. A double sink increases the bathroom space, with the option of a drawn curtain providing more privacy for early risers. The 300-seat Sassagoula Floatworks and Food Factory food-court offers everything from beignets and ice cream to spit-roasted chicken with jambalaya and surprisingly satisfying ribs. (The spicy gravy ladled over red mashed potatoes is a discovery not to be missed.) The eye-catching pool is looped by a colorful sea serpent statue slide that emerges from Doubloon Lagoon. Bicycles and boats are available for rental at the Port Orleans Landing. Scat Cat's Club features a light menu of hors d'oeuvres and entertainment. On the night we were in the club, a one-man-band juggling keyboards, various reed instruments and guitar kept guests entertained with a set list comprised mainly of selections from the 50s-70s. Most guestrooms feature two double beds and accommodate four guests. There are a limited number of rooms with king-size beds. Deluxe: Disney's deluxe resorts off the absolute highest level of quality, convenience and service. From world-class dining, spacious rooms and recreation options to spa treatments and water sports, the deluxe resorts carry with them all the reputation of Disney's renowned customer service. The deluxe resorts include: Animal Kingdom Lodge , The Beach Club, The Yacht Club, The BoardWalk Inn, The Contemporary, The Polynesian, The Wilderness Lodge and the Grand Floridian Resort and Spa. The BoardWalk Resort represents the top of Disney's offerings while still maintaining an informal feel. Much more than a hotel, it's almost an attraction in and of itself. Restaurants, pubs and music halls — not to mention its convenient access to both Epcot and The Disney MGM Studios — make this resort one of the best on Disney property. Striped awnings and breezy balconies hearken back to the grand Oceanside resorts of the early 1900s. The floors are marine varnished to a mirror-like sheen, and artworks representing the glory days of Atlantic City boardwalks help create an unforgettable atmosphere. Four story buildings surround manicured courtyards. Comfortable furnishings like fan-back wicker chairs and overstuffed couches create an inviting feel. Rooms start around $295 a night, but the
quality details and unbeatable location make this one of the
most desirable places to stay on Disney property. |
||
|
|
||
|
Buzz
and Woody to stay in the toy box
Although most people are happy and relieved to see Pixar and Disney make up, the next big question is What's Next? Sure, Pixar has 'Cars' in the can (which Disney CEO called one of the best films he's seen lately), but nothing's been announced for after that. On the other hand, The Mouse has been at work for a while on sequels to Pixar hits, namely Toy Story 3 & 4, Finding Nemo 2 and Monster Inc. 2. So what does the new deal mean for those movies? Is Pixar gonna take those over? Not likely, according to widespread word of mouth around the water cooler with large black ears. New Creative Officer John Lasseter, the man behind the original Toy Story, apparently shut down productions on the sequels. "We see sequels as first calls citizens" Lasseter is reported to have said, adding that a sequel should be better than the original instead of just cashing on it (I wish ALL studios had a Lasseter in charge…). Which isn't to say they never will be sequels to those beloved films. Just not THAT way. And not in the near future either. Trust John to be making the right decision; after all, he's the one who convinced Disney to by the US rights to 'Spirited Away'. Since Studios chairman Dick Cook announced yesterday the end of 'Circle 7', the shindig quickly set-up to cover the 'after Pixar', anything that was already being worked on in that regard is all but dead. So, hopefully, it will be the end of questionable sequels, like 'Peter Pan 2' or 'The Jungle Book 2'. Plenty of talent means fresher ideas, instead or rehashing the same old ones. Hopefully. |
||
|
|
||
|
For love
or Disney
Blame it on the mouse. When Walt Disney created Mickey Mouse more than 70 years ago, there's no way he could have known the ramifications. The Walt Disney empire, an institution whose $22 billion in annual sales make it the world's largest media company, has my family memorized. Hannah, our 7-year-old daughter, vacations at the Orlando, Fla., theme park more often than some kids visit the dentist. She's been there four times and I have the credit card bills as proof. Her fifth trip is planned this summer. My sister, just south of the Big 5-0, decided a weeklong vacation to Disney World with her sister, sister-in-law, nieces and great nieces would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Of course, she said the same thing last year and the year before that. Being a Walt Disney regular, Hannah understands it's an expensive destination. She knows it takes money to operate Cinderella's Castle, Splash Mountain and Mickey's Toontown. That's where I come in. Even though I wasn't invited on the vacation — it's a "girl's trip," I was told — I'm expected to foot some of the bill. "She's your daughter, too," the boss told me. "You don't expect me to pay for both of us, do you?" Hannah's fundraising efforts began last weekend. Right in the middle of the NFL playoffs. "Do you want your feet rubbed?" she asked me. "What?" "Your feet. Do you want them rubbed?" I thought telemarketers were pushy. "Can't this wait until the end of the game? Can't you see the Steelers are driving?" Before Hannah broke my "Father of the Year" award she gave me, she dropped her shoulder, lowered her lip and walked away. Suddenly the game wasn't as important. Plus I already had seen the commercial. "What does a foot rub cost?" I asked. "A nickel." "Deal " "Did you say a nickel?" my wife interrupted. Tammy and Hannah had a business meeting. It was like my favorite restaurant printed new menus. I knew a price increase was imminent. Hannah returned. "Fifty cents," she said. "OK." "A dollar if you want lotion." She located her appointment book. She could "squeeze" me in at 7:30 p.m. Perfect, I told her, since that would be halftime of the Seahawks-Panthers playoff game. My appointment time came and went. It was like sitting in the doctor's office, except for no 6-month-old magazines on the table. When the second playoff game ended, my feet and my back — after nearly nine hours in the recliner — were sore. But there was no Hannah in sight. I picked up the Diet Coke cans and potato chip bags, turned off the TV, stepped over the two sleeping cats, and walked upstairs. When I located Hannah, she already was lying in bed. "What about my appointment?" I asked. "Too busy," Hannah said. She was watching a Disney movie. |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney
higher
Disney DIS rose 38 cents, or 1.5%, to close at $25.46 following news that the National Football League opted to have its own cable TV network air a package of Thursday and Saturday night games starting next season. |
||
|
|
||
|
Bambi
sequel to release 64 years after Disney classic's debut
US entertainment giant Walt Disney Co is set to release a sequel to its animated classic Bambi more than six decades after the original movie hit screens in 1942, the firm has said. Bambi II, will be released straight to DVD on February 7, picking up on the next chapter in the adventures of the young deer whose mother was killed by hunters in the wrenching original children's tale that opened 64 years ago. "Meticulously crafted over four years, Bambi II captures the beauty, emotion, warmth and humor of the original 1942 film," Disney said in a statement yesterday. The video brings back some of Disney's most beloved characters, including the rabbit Thumper, and also introduces Bambi's father, The Great Prince, for the first time. The long-awaited sequel picks up Bambi's tale following his mother's death when the young fawn reunites with his father, who will be voiced by X-Men and Star Trek: The Next Generation star Patrick Stewart. The adventures of the father-and-son deer team help them overcome their initially awkward relationship. The movie is animated in the same style as the original, which was made under the supervision of Walt Disney himself, and features songs by country star Martina McBride and multiple Grammy award-winner Alison Krauss. |
||
|
|
||
|
Tokyo
Disneyland to introduce Monsters Inc. attraction
Oriental Land Co., the operator of Tokyo Disneyland, said Monday it will invest 10 billion yen to introduce a new attraction in fiscal 2009 in which visitors can experience the world of the 2001 movie Monsters Inc. Taking a ride, visitors can see Monsters Inc. characters -- Sully, a huge intimidating monster with blue fur, large purple spots and horns, his best friend and roommate Mike and a human girl Boo --play hide-and-seek, the company said. Oriental Land also said the Cinderella Castle Mystery Tour attraction, introduced in 1986, will end April 5 this year. |
||
|
|
||
|
Survival
of the fittest
The advice of most travel agents, guide books and even vacationing friends is to avoid Walt Disney World and most other major amusement parks during any major holiday. It's a good recommendation, because most despise crowds and waiting two hours for a one-minute roller coaster ride. But for anyone with school-aged children - especially those in middle or high school - the advice is well-meaning, but a little unrealistic, because holidays are when kids are out of school. And as much as teenagers say they want to ditch class, when it comes right down to it - and they will ultimately admit this - it is just too difficult to play catch-up when you miss more than a day of school. So families have two options: Forgo vacations or travel to popular destinations during school breaks, or find ways to make such a trip work. We recently opted for the latter, heading to the four major theme parks at Florida's Disney World - Magic Kingdom, Epcot, MGM Studios and Animal Kingdom - during the week between Christmas and New Year's. It is one of the busiest times of the year at the park, along with Presidents Day weekend in February, the spring break season (the few weeks before Easter), July 4 and Thanksgiving. Fortunately, those same guidebooks and friends who warned us also offered six survival skills that helped us navigate the crowds and ultimately have a memorable family vacation. Go early: This is the best advice. "It amazing, particularly in the busy season, how many of the popular rides you can knock off before half the 'World' gets out of bed," she writes. We took her words to heart, setting the alarm for 6:30 a.m. and eating a quick breakfast (this was easier because we had rented a condominium with a kitchen), so we could arrive at the parks as close to opening as possible, the earliest at 8 a.m. Our first day at the Magic Kingdom, we were in heaven, walking onto Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Railroad and The Haunted Mansion with nary a line. The next day at Epcot, we avoided any waiting for popular attractions, including TestTrack, Mission Space and Living With the Land. Use FASTPASS: Around 11:30 a.m., the parks started to get crowded and wait time for rides grew longer. This is when we took advantage of Disney's free computerized time-saving service known as FASTPASS (also available at Disneyland). The option is available only on the most popular rides, but it is like a mini-reservation service that can save hours of waiting. Here is how it works: When you approach a ride, there are usually two clocks at the entrance, one estimating the current wait time and another with a return time for those wanting to use a FASTPASS. If the current wait time was less than about 40 minutes, we got in line. If it was longer, we simply inserted our Disney pass, which resembles a credit card with a magnetic strip on the back, into the FASTPASS kiosk near the ride entrance. Out came a ticket that told us what time to return. When the reservation time arrives, FASTPASS ticket holders enter a special line that has little or no waiting. Disney limits the number of FASTPASS tickets you can hold at one time. (Just about the time you are ready to go on your FASTPASS ride, the computer will let you get a second pass.) If you time it right, you can ride three - maybe four - popular rides during the day using a FASTPASS. Have a daily plan: Our trip was seven days - two for travel, five at the parks. We planned to spend one day at each park and use the fifth day - New Year's Eve - to catch what we missed the first go-round. Each night, we selected five or six priority rides or activities for the next day. We had an idea what we wanted to do even before our trip after we read Goldsbury's book, searched the Internet and gathered park maps from a friend. We could read about each ride and pick the ones we wanted to try and which ones might be a good pick for FASTPASS. Most days we checked off our "to-do" list by early afternoon and could simply explore whatever looked interesting. Make dining reservations: There are dozens of quick-service eateries at all the parks where the wait for hamburgers, fish and chips and the like is not too long. But if you want to eat at one of the sit-down restaurants, reservations are a must. This is especially true if you want to enjoy one of the Disney meals featuring costumed characters or one of the restaurants in the World Showcase at Epcot. Some character meals - where Mickey, Cinderella, et al., will stop by your table, pose for photographs and sign autographs - are so popular, reservations are taken up to two years in advance. With other meals, 90-day advance reservations are all that's needed. We called five days in advance and easily got reservations at Epcot's Restaurant Akershus, which has a castle-like atmosphere and offers Scandinavian cuisine. It helped us get in touch with my husband's Norwegian ancestry and proved the perfect way for our 10-year-old daughter to meet up with five of the Disney princesses. During the same advance phone call, we also made lunch reservations at MGM Studios' Sci-Fi Cafe, not for its great food, but because dining in 1950s-era convertibles and watching trailers from classic science-fiction movies appeased our 13-year-old son. Bring snacks and two pairs of shoes: Almost every day, we carried a backpack with food, trail mix, apples and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The food not only helped ease our overall food budget, but was a life-saver when we all were getting a little cranky and needed something to hold us over until the next meal. With a tight schedule, sore feet also were not an option. We took Goldsbury's advice, and each brought two pairs of broken-in, comfortable shoes and rotated them. "Nothing is worse than getting blisters on your first day and then having to nurse them for the remainder of the vacations," she writes. While we had some achy legs at the end of the day, our vacation was blister free. It's about quality - not quantity: This advice came to us from Salt Lake City's Tia Athens, my daughter's Girl Scout leader and a veteran of Disney theme parks. "Don't judge your vacation by how many rides you ride," she said, when we admitted to being worried about the holiday crowds. We followed her words of wisdom on the one day we decided to have a leisurely morning. We got to MGM Studios later than usual, and the lines were long. Even the FASTPASS return times meant waiting until dark. We rode a few less popular rides, got a few character signatures, ate lunch and then decided we would all feel better if we headed back to the condominium to swim. We even got joy out of handing our FASTPASS tickets to Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular to an unsuspecting family near the entrance. With quality in the back of our minds, we vowed not to stress about the long lines. After all, how often do you really have a full 40-minute stretch - as we did while waiting in line for the Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin - to talk to your children without a cell phone, television or video game interruption? When was the last time you passed the time playing rock, scissor, paper - or, in our case, a version from "That '70s Show" that involves a cockroach and atomic bomb? And after a long day of walking and riding, there really was nothing as sweet as snagging an empty bench at dusk, eating ice cream and waiting for the fireworks to start. As promised, even with the crowds, it was simply magical. |
||
|
|
||
|
Shareholders
question Disney chair's moves
Some Disney shareholders may seek to remove Chairman George Mitchell from the media giant's board, cutting one of the last key links to the Michael Eisner regime, The Post has learned. In December, Mitchell did an about-face and said he would not step down from the board at the 2006 annual meeting, despite Disney rules requiring directors to resign once they turn 72, Mitchell's current age. The Post reported last week that last year Mitchell withheld a lukewarm evaluation of current chief Bob Iger — then just a candidate to. |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney-Pixar
deal stirs animated buzz
The Walt Disney Co.'s purchase of Pixar Animation Studios Inc. allows Disney to inject new creative life into its animation efforts, while Pixar can end its public run at the top of its game. However, it remains to be seen whether the $7.4 billion price tag is justified — not to mention the fate of Pixar's unique corporate culture once ensconced in a massive media conglomerate. Executives from both companies said preserving Pixar as a separate entity was a top priority, even as Disney hopes some of Pixar's creative power rubs off on its own animation efforts. The deal may make creative sense, but the company could face a hurdle convincing investors it makes financial sense. Disney said that the deal would lower earnings over the next two years, but that Pixar will help increase earnings by 2008. "It's something Disney had to do," said Harold Vogel, a media analyst with Vogel Capital Management in New York. "It's good for both companies." The companies still need to reveal what Pixar's next films will be and provide more detail on how the combined entity will function, said Richard Greenfield, an analyst at Pali Research. "The question remains whether the price/value relationship is going to bear fruit for Disney," Greenfield said Tuesday. Pixar also benefits from the deal by cashing in at the top of its game, before it produces the inevitable box office disappointment, Vogel said. "Eventually, we know that after six huge hits, there would be a film that would come along that would be less good than what they had," Vogel said. "This was a good time to broaden the horizon and the canvas." |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney
World resorts by the numbers
Disney’s Contemporary Resort -- 1,008 rooms and suites, a concierge floor in a 14-story deluxe resort. Dining options include California Grill, Concourse Steakhouse and Chef Mickey’s, two lounges, two snack bars and room service. Recreational amenities include water skiing, boat rentals, six lighted tennis courts, jogging, volleyball, parasailing, playground and two swimming pools. Specialty shops, game room, laundry service, beauty shop, child-care and health club. Monorail, motor coaches and watercraft provide easy access to the theme parks. The resort features 90,000 square feet of meeting space, including a 44,300-square-foot grand ballroom. Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa -- 867 rooms and suites, including 74 concierge accommodations in the main building in an elegant Victorian style. Concierge service has expanded to one of the resort’s five lodge buildings, adding 95 deluxe-service rooms and suites. Dining at Cítricos, Victoria & Albert’s, Gasparilla Grill, Grand Floridian Cafe, 1900 Park Fare, Narcoossee’s and three lounges. Recreation and amenities include boat rentals featuring Grand 1, a 45-foot Sea Ray yacht; swimming; playground; health club; game room; shopping; child-care; laundry facilities. Meeting facility with nearly 40,000 square feet of meeting and convention space. Easy access to theme parks via watercraft, motor coach and monorail. Disney’s Polynesian Resort -- 847 rooms, suites and concierge service newly designed with South Pacific Island theming along the beach of Seven Seas Lagoon. Dining options include ’Ohana, Kona Café, Captain Cook’s, the "Spirit of Aloha" dinner show, snack bars, two lounges, room service. Recreation and amenities include swimming, boating, jogging, playground, game room, shopping, child care, laundry facilities. Transportation by monorail, watercraft and motor coach. Disney’s Wilderness Lodge -- 728 guestrooms including 27 suites reflect a "woodsy" national park-like setting. Reminiscent of Old Faithful Inn at Yellowstone Park -- with distinctive Disney touches. A spectacular six-story lobby, replete with teepee-topped chandeliers, totem poles and an 82-foot-tall stone fireplace, welcomes guests upon arrival. A bubbling hot spring in the lobby expands outside the building into a roaring waterfall flowing into the swimming area (featuring hot and cold spas). A geothermal "geyser" erupts hourly from a rocky outcrop at the edge of Bay Lake. Recreation and amenities include bike and boat rentals, swimming, playground, laundry, game room and on-site child care. Two full-service restaurants, snack bar, lounge, pool bar and room service. One boardroom/meeting room - 750 square feet. Easy access to theme parks via watercraft and motor coach. Located next to the lodge, The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge (part of Disney Vacation Club). The Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge -- 136 units/181 rooms, including studio, one- and two-bedroom villas, located next to Disney’s Wilderness Lodge. This five-story Disney Vacation Club ownership resort surrounds visitors with the grandeur of the Old West and stories of the people who settled there. Art and architecture tell the tales of pioneers who built and stayed in late 19th century railroad hotels in the national parks region of the American West. Rooms include wet bar, microwave and small refrigerator, or a full kitchen. A unique feature of the resort is its themed living room area that features railroad memorabilia, including a special exhibit on loan from the Disney family of two of Walt Disney’s personal scale-model train cars and a piece of the original track. Also found at the resort is a quiet pool and state-of-the-art health club open to guests of both the lodge and villa properties. Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort and Campground -- 784 campsites, 409 Wilderness Cabins all set in a relaxed 700-acre wilderness setting. Campsites are level, paved pads with electric, water and sewer hookups, charcoal grills and picnic tables. All campsites have close access to air-conditioned comfort stations with private showers, coin laundry facility, vending machines and telephones. Wilderness Cabins are air-conditioned accommodations that sleep up to six guests and feature vaulted ceilings, fully equipped kitchens, full bathrooms, television, VCR, outdoor grills, picnic tables and a private patio deck. Wilderness Cabins also come equipped with hairdryers, foldaway cribs and ironing equipment, and daily housekeeping is offered. Amenities include watercraft, beach, fishing, tennis courts, two heated swimming pools, arcade game room, laundry facilities and kennel. Groceries and camping supplies at Meadow and Settlement Trading Posts. Breakfast, lunch and dinner available at Trail’s End Restaurant. Nightly campfire and marshmallow roast with Disney characters and a Disney movie. Nightly dinner show available at Pioneer Hall’s "Hoop-Dee-Doo Musical Revue." Motor coach and boat transportation links campground with all Walt Disney World Resort areas. Shades of Green on Walt Disney World Resort -- 586 rooms in a relaxed, country atmosphere overlooking golf courses, gardens or pools. Full-service dining available, plus snack bars, lounge and room service. Meeting space includes 1,000 square feet. Tennis, swimming, fitness center and game room. Walt Disney World continues maintenance of golf operations on the two PGA championship 18-hole golf courses and nine-hole walking course located adjacent to this property, and golf is available to all Disney resort guests. Shades of Green is operated as an Armed Forces Recreation Center for the exclusive use of military members and their families. For reservations: 407/824-3600. Disney’s Pop Century Resort -- 2,880 room "time capsules" are available at this resort that pays homage to 20th century pop culture. This value-priced resort features lodge buildings and furnishings inspired by the 1950s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s and ’90s. Larger-than-life icons from each decade are found all over the resort, from four-story Rubik’s Cubes to bowling pins that tower more than 65 feet high. Recreation includes three pools, a kiddie pool, the Pop Jet Playground and the Fast Forward arcade. Guests can feed their hunger and slake their thirst at the Everything Pop food court area, Classic Concoctions lounge, or Petals Pool Bar. The resort is located near Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex. Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort -- Three colorful Caribbean-themed resort villages featuring 2,112 rooms located on 200 acres surrounding a 42-acre lake. Guestrooms include mini bars and coffee makers. Recreation includes a lakeside recreation area with a themed slide, boat rentals, swimming, playground, game room, bicycling, nature walks, jogging track, laundry facilities and shopping. Old Port Royale food court, The Captain’s Tavern full-service restaurant, and specialty lounges. Transportation to theme parks available by motor coach. Disney’s Yacht Club Resort -- 621 rooms and suites in oyster-gray clapboard buildings set around 25-acre Crescent Lake feature hardwood floors and rich millwork in a nautical theme reminiscent of New England seashore hotels of the 1880s. All rooms feature French doors that open onto porches or balconies. The nautical theme carries through in the restaurants -- Yacht Club Galley, Yachtsman’s Steakhouse and rustic Crew’s Cup Lounge. An expansive croquet lawn and marina lighthouse add to the resort’s ambience. The Yacht Club is the perfect complement to its neighbor, Disney’s Beach Club Resort. Centrally located to each resort is a 73,000-square-foot convention center that includes a 36,000-square-foot ballroom which seats up to 2,800 for dinner. Disney’s Beach Club Resort -- 576 rooms and suites in buildings of pale blue and white stick-style architecture inspired by New England beach cottages of the 1860s. The lobby features white wicker furniture, 24-foot-high ceilings and natural French limestone floors. The Beach Club is the perfect complement to its neighbor, Disney’s Yacht Club Resort. Centrally located to each resort: Stormalong Bay features three lagoon areas and a thrilling water slide; the Ship Shape Health Club with steam bath and sauna, and massage, weight and aerobics rooms; a marina with motorized watercraft; and Beaches & Cream, an old-fashioned ice cream parlor. Restaurants in the Beach Club include Cape May Café and Martha’s Vineyard Lounge. Both hotels provide transportation via watercraft and motor coach. Child care, beauty and barber shop, and laundry facilities are available. Disney’s Beach Club Villas --
Featuring an ambience of casual elegance, Disney’s Beach
Club Villas (part of Disney Vacation Club) was designed by
noted architect Robert A.M. Stern. Situated next to
Disney’s Beach Club Resort, the 208-unit/280-room property
offers studio, one- and two-bedroom vacation villas. The
resort features Cape May-inspired theming characterized by
the use of whimsical "stick-style" architecture,
pastel colors, porches and other decorative elements. Walt Disney World Swan and Walt Disney World Dolphin -- 2,267 luxury rooms and 254,000 square feet of meeting and exhibition space. Seventeen restaurants and lounges, four swimming pools, two health clubs and a wide area of recreational activities. Connected to Epcot, Disney-MGM Studios and Disney’s BoardWalk via water and walkway. Downtown Disney Area Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa -- With a third phase scheduled for completion in 2007, Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa (part of Disney Vacation Club) will feature 828 vacation homes that recall the late 1800s heyday of America’s first vacation destination -- Saratoga Springs, N.Y. Victorian-style cottages line the streets and the historic influence of horse racing is found throughout the resort. Also featured is a full-service spa and health club and The Artist’s Palette -- a counter-service restaurant and market. Bus transportation is provided to all four Walt Disney World theme parks. The resort is located across the lake from Downtown Disney. Disney’s Port Orleans Resort-French Quarter -- 1,008 moderately priced, French Quarter-style accommodations adjacent to Disney’s Port Orleans Resort-Riverside. Located on a 325-acre woodland site between Epcot and Downtown Disney Marketplace. Sassagoula Floatworks food court and pizza delivery. Themed pool, boat rentals, lounges, game room and retail shops. Riverboat to the Marketplace and Downtown Disney Pleasure Island. Linked by motor coach to all other Walt Disney World resorts and entertainment facilities. Disney’s Port Orleans Resort-Riverside -- 2,048 rooms in three-story southern-style mansions and two-story rustic bayou dwellings. Dining includes Riverside Mill food court, Boatwright’s Dining Hall, and pizza delivery. Recreation includes Ol’ Man Island, a 3 ?-acre old-fashioned swimming hole with slides, rope swings and playgrounds; quiet pools; boat rentals; game room; lounges and gift shop. Riverboat to Downtown Disney Marketplace and Pleasure Island. Transportation via motor coach to other Walt Disney World attractions and resorts. Disney’s Old Key West Resort -- 531 units/761 rooms in a Key West setting (part of Disney Vacation Club). Accommodations include deluxe studios, one- and two-bedroom homes and two-story, three-bedroom Grand Villas that sleep up to 12. Dining includes Olivia’s Cafe, a family-style restaurant, and poolside fare at the Gurgling Suitcase or Good’s Food to Go. Rooms include wet bar, microwave and small refrigerator, or a full kitchen. Health club, tennis, swimming pool, sauna and planned recreation. Linked by motor coach to all other Walt Disney World resorts and entertainment facilities. Disney’s Animal Kingdom Area Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge -- Deluxe 1,293-room, six-story resort styled in a horseshoe shape after a kraal African village design, features 24-hour views to its own 33-acre savannah of free-roaming mammals and tropical birds. The resort features hand-carved furnishings, African art and a giant fireplace in a soaring lobby. Guests can stroll along a rock outcropping and enjoy nearly panoramic views of roaming animals and flowing streams. Features two full-service restaurants plus a mezzanine lounge and a quick-service eatery with poolside dining. The resort is west of Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme park. Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort -- 1,921 moderate-price guestrooms, inspired by the American Southwest and regions of Mexico, encircling a 15-acre lagoon. Three "quiet" pools. A five-story Mayan pyramid serves as the splashy centerpiece for a family-fun pool with a water slide. Full-service restaurant, market-style dining court, lounge, poolside bar and limited room service. Special services include in-room coffee makers and ironing equipment, La Vida Health Club, hair-styling salon, bike rentals, watercraft rentals, arcade, sand volleyball court, kiddie pool and playground. 95,000 square feet of meeting space, including the 60,214-square-foot Coronado Ballroom. Disney’s All-Star Sports Resort -- Features 1,920 value-priced rooms in buildings festooned with larger-than-life sports icons representing surfing, basketball, tennis, baseball and football. Located on a 246-acre site at the northwest quadrant of World Drive and U.S. Highway 192 interchange. Features a commercial center with check-in and guest service facilities, a food court, retail store and game room. Two swimming pools and a kiddie pool, a pool bar, pizza delivery and laundry facilities. Use of Walt Disney World transportation system is included. Disney’s All-Star Music Resort -- Features 1,920 value-priced rooms in buildings with larger-than-life icons representing jazz, rock, Broadway, calypso and country music. Facilities and amenities are the same as the above listed (and adjacent to) All-Star Sports Resort. Disney’s All-Star Movies Resort -- 1,920-room resort with facilities and amenities that mirror All-Star Sports and All-Star Music resorts. Giant icons from favorite Disney movies set the scene, and images from "101 Dalmatians," "Toy Story," "Fantasia," "The Mighty Ducks" |
||
|
|
||
|
Sunday January 29, 2006 |
||
|
|
||
|
ABC News anchor Bob Woodruff and camera
operator Doug Vogt were seriously injured in a roadside
bombing in Iraq on Sunday, the U.S. television network said.
At the time of the blast, they were traveling with an Iraqi Army unit in an Iraqi vehicle near Taji, near Baghdad, the network said. After the blast, the vehicle came under small arms fire, ABC news reported. Both men have head and shrapnel injuries even though they were wearing body armor, helmets and protective glasses, the network reported. Vogt also had a broken shoulder. "We have learned from the U.S. military and from our producer on the scene that Bob and Doug are out of surgery and are both in stable condition," ABC News President David Westin said in a statement. "We take this as good news, but the next few days will be critical. The military plans to evacuate them to their medical facilities in Landstuhl (Germany), probably overnight tonight," he said. Woodruff and Vogt were injured by an improvised explosive device, or IED, which insurgents often plant on roads to attack U.S. vehicles. ABC named Woodruff and Elizabeth on December 5 as co-anchors to replace the late Peter Jennings on its "World News Tonight" evening newscast. They started on January 3. Woodruff, 44, is from Michigan and joined ABC in 1996. Vogt, 46, an Emmy-award-winning cameraman, is Canadian and lives in France. "Obviously we are praying for Mr. Woodruff's and Mr. Vogt's full and speedy recovery. Our thoughts and prayers are with them and their families," a White house spokesman said. Iraq remains the most dangerous place for journalists. Some 60 journalists have been killed in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists. At least 41 of those were Iraqi, the CPJ said in a recent report. Others say the toll is higher. An Iraqi television cameraman was killed in clashes between Sunni rebels and U.S. forces on Jan 24 in the insurgent stronghold of Ramadi. Many journalists have also been taken hostage; some have been killed by their abductors but most have been released unharmed. American journalist Jill Carroll was kidnapped in Baghdad on January 7 and is still missing. ABC is a unit of The Walt Disney Co. |
||
|
|
||
|
Once upon a time, there was a movie company
that catered to the delights of children with wondrous
animated productions.
"Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," "Peter Pan," "Bambi" and the most wondrous of all, "Fantasia," are examples. Short films with characters including Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck pleased viewers, and the "Silly Symphonies" were amazing blends of music and animation. The company is, of course, the Walt Disney Company, which is wealthier than a lot of countries. So let's go back to the days of yesteryear when the Disney company still was under the guidance of founder Walt Disney. One way is to watch the DVD set "Walt Disney Treasures: Disney Rarities, Celebrated Shorts: 1920s-1960s." This collection of short films begins with very early Disney in 1923 and goes through 1962. This collection is dedicated basically to non-series cartoons. One exception is the "Alice" series that kicks off the collection with seven examples of silent shorts that combined live action with animation between 1923 and 1927. Musical scores added to the silent films make them even more enjoyable. This collection is almost five and a half hours of joy. |
||
|
|
||
|
Robert
Iger vs. Steve Jobs
Barely four months into his tenure, Disney CEO Robert Iger has made a bold and possibly suicidal move. Disney announced it would spend $7.4 billion in stock to acquire Pixar, the animation studio that made blockbusters such as Toy Story; Monsters, Inc.; Finding Nemo; and The Incredibles. The sale removes a major uncertainty from Disney's agenda. The deal under which Disney co-produces and distributes Pixar movies was set to expire, and Michael Eisner and Pixar CEO Steve Jobs had been unable to come to terms for renewal. Iger, Eisner's successor, signed the check in weeks. By owning Pixar, Disney will have a free hand to do what it used to do better than anybody else: create and sell proprietary kid-friendly content across a range of platforms, from movies to theme parks. And it adds major talent. Pixar President Ed Catmull will serve as head of Disney's new combined animated division. More important, Disney has acquired the services, reputation, and vision of one of the true original minds in American business. Steve Jobs, the founder and chief executive officer of both Apple and Pixar, will join Disney's board. But the move carries risks, far beyond the fact that Disney is now committing more funds to the fickle film business. By acquiring a company with a charismatic, legendary, youngish CEO, Iger at the very least may have made his own job more difficult. At worst, he may have acquired himself out of a job. It's happened in the past. In the mid-1990s, veteran executive Michael Jordan (not the Michael Jordan you know) aimed to transform Westinghouse from a boring industrial company into a sexy media company by buying CBS and Infinity Broadcasting. When he acquired Infinity in 1997, Jordan also acquired the company's CEO, Mel Karmazin, a savvy operator beloved by Wall Street. Within months of his arrival, as Alan Deutschman wrote in New York in 1998, Karmazin grabbed power and muscled out rivals. By the end of 1998 Jordan was gone. When J.P. Morgan Chase acquired Bank One in the summer of 2004, part of the deal was that Bank One CEO James Dimon would ultimately take over from J.P. Morgan Chase CEO William Harrison in two years. Once the deal closed, however, the clamor for the cost-cutting Dimon to take over sooner rather than later started to build. Last fall, the bank announced that Dimon would become CEO at the end of 2005, six months ahead of schedule. Dimon was taking a play out of the book of his longtime mentor Sandy Weill, who performed a similar drill on Citigroup CEO John Reed. When Citigroup and Weill's company, Travelers, merged in 1998, the two men agreed to run the combined firm as co-chief executives. By April 2000, Reed was gone. The danger for any acquiring CEO is that the acquired CEO will have more credibility and a better track record and thus be able to function as a shadow CEO. And on this point, Iger certainly has grounds for concern. After the deal, Jobs will become a member of Disney's board. Jobs has more entrepreneurial, managerial, and Wall Street credibility than anybody at Disney. (How many other executives have built multi-billion-dollar stakes in two companies from scratch?) Jobs owns 60 million shares of Pixar, a bit more than half the company, which means he'll wind up with 138 million shares of Disney, about 6 percent of the company. That would dwarf the holdings of today's largest Disney shareholders. Meanwhile, even with a big deal like Pixar, Disney will still be Disney—a big company that operates in difficult industries like movies, broadcast television, radio, and theme parks, and has had problems with its retail operations. Its portfolio includes some great businesses, such as ESPN. But its assets have rarely clicked at the same time, which is one of the reasons Disney's stock stands roughly where it did 10 years ago. And Iger will be still be Iger, a longtime No. 2 who is still feeling his way into the No. 1 role, the sober, conciliatory, nonvisionary manager that Disney needed after two decades of the dramatic, pugnacious, visionary Michael Eisner. The acquisition may be sold as a win-win deal for shareholders of Disney, who get some security about future Pixar films, and for Pixar shareholders, who are getting a slight premium for their stock. But for Iger, it's not as clear-cut. Let's say Disney continues to muddle along under Iger as it did in the late Eisner years. Shareholders and observers will begin to note that having Iger run the company while Jobs sits on the board is like having Michael Jordan (the basketball player) on the bench while Will Perdue is tossing up bricks. One of the biggest issues Disney faces is how to cope with the digitalization of the media. No one has done a better job than Jobs in helping established companies and industries cash in digitalization. So, there is little doubt Jobs will be a goad to Iger. And Jobs has toppled his boss before. In the mid-1980s, Jobs left Apple after a dispute with CEO John Sculley and started a new computer company, NeXT. (This Colin Barker article in Computing provides good background.) In early 1997, Apple CEO Gilbert Amelio, eager to restart Apple's growth, acquired NeXt and the services of Jobs. In less than six months, Amelio was gone and Jobs assumed the role of CEO. Michael Eisner was able to hold on for so long at Disney because his miracle first decade at Disney served as ballast when he came under criticism. Iger won't have that luxury. Eisner also benefited from the fact that he continually drove away executives who had the capabilities to succeed him. As a result, there was never an obvious replacement for him. Iger won't have that luxury, either. |
||
|
|
||
|
Toy
pistol and dagger seized from Disney boy at airport
Airport security staff confiscated an eight-year-old boy's toy gun and plastic dagger before a flight home from a trip to Disneyland Paris because they were deemed a security threat. The Buffalo Bill pistol and Peter Pan dagger were bought by Luke Stokoe during a visit to the Disney theme park with his parents Jon and Michala and sister Daisy, two. Mr Stokoe realised the £8 toys might show up when the family's luggage was checked by x-ray at Charles de Gaulle Airport, so carried the toys in his hand luggage for guards to examine personally. But the toys were taken by security staff at the airport and put in a secure box. Back home in Whitby, Mr Stokoe said: "I must admit that I am not a big fan of guns and daggers at the best of times, but as far as I could see they posed no threat whatsoever. "They were quite clearly toys, and I was amazed when I was told that I had to hand them over. Luke was really upset, and there were all the other people trying to get through to the departure lounge wondering what was going on. "I understand that the airport staff have got a job to do, but it was ridiculous." Charles de Gaulle Airport spokeswoman Corrine Bokobza admitted she was surprised that such toys had been seized but said: "It depends on the decision of the security officials and whether they think that there is a threat. Security is of paramount importance." |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney's
guidelines still govern novel town
It had been more than six years since my last visit to Celebration, the New Urbanist community developed by Walt Disney Co. on 5,000 acres of former orange groves adjacent to its theme park. Celebration was just three years old in 1999, the stuff planners talk about and journalists write about, but still more idea than reality: a town center hugging a lake, about 400 houses, and a school that went only to fourth grade. It was the school, not the architecture, that attracted me. I had let it slip that my then-10-year-old son had Down syndrome. My guide introduced me to the parents of two second graders with Down's, who were mainstreamed into a curriculum designed by Harvard University and other educational consultants. The school now encompasses kindergarten through eighth grade, and there is a two-year-old high school that serves all of Osceola County. But town manager Pat Wasson says the earlier, more experimental educational methods have changed. "With so many universities involved in designing the school, issues began arising, especially since most of the 1,500 students in our high school come from outside Celebration," Wasson says. The original concept - "put all the kids in the same room and let them work at their own pace" - has been replaced by "finding the best way children can learn," she says. J. Carson Looney of Looney Kiss Ricks of Memphis, one of the founding architects of Celebration, calls the last 10 years "a good ride." And, he quickly adds, "a good walk," since one of the chief tenets of New Urbanism is pedestrian-friendliness and de-emphasis on the automobile. Wasson says she never walked before she became town manager, "and now I walk three miles to work every morning." Celebration has almost made it to completion with the last residential development, Artisan Village, says town architect Mark Jones, but "there are still parcels and pieces for offices and hotels." It now has 9,000 residents, and the final number probably won't exceed 10,000 - truly a "small Southern town," as, Jones says, was Disney's intention. For some, the Disney name was a big draw, but as Wasson and Jones explain, most people who bought in Celebration thinking it was an extension of the theme park quickly left. "In the theme park, Disney takes care of your every need," Jones says. "Here, you are on your own, just like the town you came from." The average age of a resident is 40. Families typically have two children. The average annual salary is $85,000. Median home prices have tripled in five years. A 1,400-square-foot single-family house sells for $430,000 in Celebration, while the median in the rest of Osceola County is $260,000. "When prices rise, we've tried to bring in the next group of houses at more affordable lower prices, but they don't stay low for long," Jones says. Although Disney turned over control of the homeowners' association in 2003 and sold the town center in 2004, the company's concepts are firmly in place. Just try to get a housing style not in Celebration's five pattern books past the committee of architects and residents that enforces the guidelines, and see how far you get. The plan books allow five styles: Victorian, Colonial Revival, Mediterranean, Classical and Coastal. "Early on, you couldn't build an Arts and Crafts because it didn't fit into the plan, but that changed in 2000," Jones says. The books also have a list of approved colors, but changing decorating tastes are being considered and new colors added, Wasson says. "The homeowners really believe in these guidelines," Jones says. They also believe in the "couple of pages of covenants and rules" designed to guarantee that Celebration is the same 100 years from now. In Celebration, if the lawn goes unmowed, the town starts with a phone call to remind the homeowner to cut the grass. Repeat offenses mean a visit to "the covenant committee." Personally, I prefer a less-ordered society, even if the more orderly one provides an attractive solution to 50 years of suburban sprawl. Why do we need to build old-looking houses anyway, when we have a lot of traditional architecture in our cities and close-in suburbs just dying to be salvaged? |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney
hopes to mine gold in Pixar
When Apple Computer Inc. founder Steve Jobs bought what became Pixar Animation Studios for $10 million in 1986, it was a small animation-systems firm with a few alumni from Walt Disney Co., not the least of whom included creative director John Lasseter. Last week, Disney secured the return of Lasseter and his talented team as part of a $7.4 billion deal for Pixar aimed at jump-starting the media giant's animation empire. Over the past two decades, the 730-person Pixar has garnered a reputation as a place where creative genius thrives, and in recent years the studio has far outpaced the bigger and more institutionalized Disney with hits such as "The Incredibles" and "Finding Nemo." Beyond its money-making ability, Pixar won critical acclaim for bringing adult emotional appeal to a traditional kids' medium. Pixar started as a computer graphics company, and it is still known for its technical prowess and its ability to digitally replicate the look and texture of rusting cars, peeling paint and fur blowing in the wind. But Pixar's hands-off management style and its artisan cultivation of the creative process have helped it become the benchmark against which the rest of the industry measures itself. "For us now, the high-water mark is Pixar," said Dug Ward, manager of the Animation Workshop at the University of California Los Angeles film school. "I remember just a few years ago when students wanted to go to work for Disney. Now they want to go to Pixar." Under the deal, Pixar President Edwin Catmull, 60, would head Disney and Pixar's animation studios, and Lasseter, 49, would head the creative operations of both companies' animation divisions. News of the merger prompted some animators to worry whether Pixar would be able to maintain its free-wheeling culture. Disney executives pledged to protect Pixar's independence but did not say whether the two companies' animation units might merge. "A fear a lot of us have is ... if Disney takes over Pixar and micromanages every detail, they will strangle the golden goose," Ward said. Even if Disney leaves Pixar alone, there is no guarantee that the relationship will lift the parent's fortunes on Wall Street. Ford Motor Co., for example, never really capitalized on its purchase of Jaguar, nor did America Online Inc. make much of its acquisition of Netscape Inc. Lasseter, though, is among a handful of Pixar's longtime executives credited with shepherding the company from its early days as a spinoff of "Star Wars" director George Lucas' Lucasfilm operation to a powerhouse in animation. Lasseter graduated from a school founded by Walt Disney and his brother, the California Institute of the Arts, and started his career as an old-fashioned pen-and-paper animator at Disney, where making early film classics like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" required millions of drawings. Lasseter's hallmark is his ability to foster originality and create strong story lines, taking advantage of innovative technology to deliver the results, Ward said. Still, the culture Lasseter has built at Pixar "is in some ways very close to the historical Disney culture," with its focus on story and the back and forth between the artist and the producer, said Steven Lavine, president of the California Institute of the Arts. "There is a real sense of cultivating the individual talents of employees." Starting with its 1995 Academy Award-winning hit "Toy Story," Pixar has six major feature films to its name, all of which were hits at the box office. |
||
|
|
||
|
'Adventure'
in sister's shadow
Disney's California Adventure turns five years old next week, bigger and blessed with a broader range of attractions than the day it opened. The theme park continues to grow and evolve, but a recent visitor pointed out why it also continues to fall below the company's attendance projections. "This has some cool stuff, but it's just another theme park," said Matt Lock, 27, of Temecula, as he toured California Adventure. "Disneyland is Disneyland." As the newer park, California Adventure has fresh appeal, but it's fighting the power that Disneyland relies on to pull people in year after year. Most Disneyland visitors have a deep affection for the 50-year-old park because of childhood memories. California Adventure can't compete with
that, even as it adds attractions such as the While Disneyland casts a big shadow, the president of the Disneyland Resort says it also can be an "advantage." "The way I think about it is, 'Who wouldn't want to sit next to something as prestigious as Disneyland?' It's a national icon," said Matt Ouimet, who oversees both parks, along with three hotels and Downtown Disney. "From a marketing standpoint, it's great. Everybody knows Disneyland and what it stands for. So we market it to visitors who know Disneyland, and then we let them discover California Adventure." Lisa Szybowski and her friends from Temecula discovered Anaheim's second park this week, after buying annual passes that grant admission to both parks. She talked about wanting to go on "that thing with all the smells and scenery" (Soarin' Over California) and the "roller coaster" (California Screamin'). She didn't refer to those attractions as "Soarin'" or "Screamin'" the way she talked about her familiar Disneyland favorite – "Pirates" (of the Caribbean). That's where California Adventure may need more time. Ouimet frequently walks through the resort to evaluate how the "Disney magic" is working. He's still promoting Disneyland's 50th anniversary celebration, which is halfway through its 18-month run, but he's spending more time lately at California Adventure. "Now is the time to begin shifting the focus" to California Adventure, he said. Attendance at California Adventure rose 3.6 percent last year, to 5.8million visitors, according to estimates by trade magazine Amusement Business. But some of that resulted from overflow capacity at Disneyland, which drew a reported 14.5million - up 8.5 percent, the magazine reported. Disney does not release attendance figures. The biggest boost for California Adventure could come from Disney's purchase this week of Pixar, the animation studio. Several Pixar movies have become themes for attractions at the park, and Pixar employees worked closely with Walt Disney Imagineering on the most recent project, the Monsters, Inc. ride. That attraction was one of the items that Ouimet listed as notable additions to the park, along with the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror last year. He also said Soarin' over California "may be the highest-rated attraction" at either Anaheim park. "Our guests tell us that they love Disney's California Adventure," he said. "It's right on track and continues to improve." Still, visitors complain that there's not enough to do at California Adventure. "You can't make it a full day, like you can at Disneyland," said Pam Brissette of Culver City. "You'd get bored." Brissette was visiting with her daughter, Maya, 2-1/2, who was dressed as Belle from "Beauty and the Beast." Brissette said the food is better at California Adventure, and it's easier for Maya to interact with characters because they don't have to deal with large crowds. Another impediment for California Adventure is the sophistication of Southern California's audience, said Craig Hanna, an industry expert. He's chief creative officer for Thinkwell Design & Production and president of the board of TEA, an association that represents the professionals who create theme parks and similar immersive experiences. "When you look at the pricing being on par with that of Disneyland, it doesn't take long to see the disparity in the two parks, and people wonder if they're getting the same value for their money," Hanna said. "Disney does a great job once you're in the gate delivering compelling experiences, but it's a struggle for the locals to make that decision." TEA gave two of its annual awards to attractions inside California Adventure in 2002, including the popular Soarin' over California. It will take more of those types of attractions to boost the park's appeal, Hanna said. "It's not something you can do overnight," he said. "Disney has had a slow, planned, methodical approach to growing that park since day one. A lot of critics would love to see that happen all at once, but rarely will you see any organization willing to do that." Disney officials won't comment on any potential changes because many of them are still in the "blue sky" - Disney's term for the dreaming stage. But Lutz said he's heard from insiders that major changes are planned. One plan would reconfigure the entry plaza to make it more welcoming, while removing the Golden Gate Bridge and the large letters that spell out California. Those letters have become a prime photo stop, with children climbing into the curve of the C or the O to pose. "They just made a core mistake with this (California) theme," Lutz said. "It alienated the locals, and, unlike Florida, our attendance is mostly locals. To get people to come now, they're giving that park away with the two-fers." Lutz was referring to the promotion announced this month that allows local residents to buy a pass that's good for admission to the two parks on two different days. Hanna, from TEA, agreed that the theme is a tough sell for Californians: "It's like selling snow to Eskimos. It's a much better place to visit if you're from out of town." Lutz and other fans are looking forward to the creative touch of Pixar's John Lasseter, who becomes creative adviser to the parks in the recent deal. "The next major addition could be an attraction tied to 'Cars' (a Pixar film due out this summer)," Lutz said. "I think they'll push for 'Cars' because that's very near and dear to Lasseter's heart." |
||
|
|
||
|
Are
Disney and Pixar cut out for marriage?
How will the laid-back Pixar cope with corporate giant and new owner Disney looking over its shoulder, asks Hugh Linehan Just over the Bay Bridge from San Francisco lies the impressive headquarters of Pixar Animation Studios. Swanky, but in an understated way - recycled red bricks, brushed steel - its post-industrial, millionaire hippy chic is pure northern California. Inside, the studios, offices and heavy-duty computer equipment are wrapped around a vast atrium space, the size of a small football pitch, equipped with big, comfy couches, pool tables, a juice bar, a chill-out area... It's not brash or overbearing, but you can definitely smell the money. When I was there in 2003, on the eve of the release of Finding Nemo, Pixar had just moved in, and one of the company's employees remarked with a chuckle that "they do say that you should hold stock in a company until it gets an atrium. Then you should sell". Since then, both Finding Nemo and The Incredibles have set new box-office records. Pixar is rich. Very rich. And now it has been sold, to its long-term partner Disney, for a whopping $7.4 billion (6 billion). The deal, which calls for 2.3 Disney shares to be issued for each Pixar share, makes Pixar chief executive Steve Jobs the largest single shareholder in Disney, with a 6 per cent stake. It also hands over control of Disney's legendary but ailing animation division to John Lasseter, the creative powerhouse behind such hits as Toy Story, Monsters Inc and A Bug's Life. Jobs, of course, is also boss of Apple, the computer company riding high on the success of the iPod music player and iTunes online music store. With iTunes currently forging into the new business of downloading TV shows and other forms of entertainment, the business is abuzz with talk of new synergies and possibilities. This week's rapidly concluded deal brings to an end four years of sparring between the two companies. Disney has distributed all the Pixar films made to date, splitting box-office receipts and licensing revenues, with Disney holding the rights to any sequels. But that contract was due to come to an end with the release of the next Pixar movie, Cars, this summer, and Jobs had been looking to strike a much harder bargain, which was rejected by former Disney CEO Michael Eisner. The clash of personalities between these two alpha males of the entertainment industry was one of the great Hollywood sideshows of this decade. In a sense, what's happening now is that Pixar is coming home. After all, John Lasseter served his apprenticeship at Disney and has always cited it as his formative influence, a view shared by Roy E Disney, Walt's nephew, who was highly critical of Eisner's handling of the Pixar deal, and who was forced off the Disney board for his pains. Since then, Eisner himself has left, replaced by new CEO Robert Iger, and Roy has made his peace with the company. HOWEVER, THERE IS some sense of foreboding about what the takeover might mean for Pixar, a company that in less than 10 years has revolutionised the animated feature film, a form invented in the 1930s by Walt Disney himself. Much attention has focused on the fact that, in the process, Pixar has supplanted hand-drawn, "classical" animation with digital technology. But that rather misses the point. It's not the technology that draws the audiences, it's the fact that Pixar movies are fresher, funnier and better made than their competitors. As Pixar people never tire of reminding you, it's not computers that do this, it's human beings. The big question is whether their Bay Area culture and attitudes will sit comfortably with the much more corporate world of Disney. As Marla Backer, an analyst at Research Associates, told New York's Daily News this week: "Disney is bureaucratic. People roller-blade down the halls of Pixar . . . I don't think Pixar needs Disney looking over its shoulders." |
||
|
|
||
|
How
Pixar Adds a New School of Thought to Disney
Sure Disney's deal last week to acquire Pixar is about big money — how Steven P. Jobs turned a fledgling outfit that he had bought for $10 million into a juggernaut valued at $7.4 billion. And, yes, it is about a big strategic shift at the Walt Disney Company, as Robert A. Iger, the chief executive, exorcises the ghost of his predecessor, Michael D. Eisner. But it is also about the potential for big changes in how the entertainment business operates — specifically, in how major studios organize talented people to do their best work. Since 1995, with the release of "Toy Story," Pixar's films have reinvented the art of animation, won 19 Academy Awards and grossed more than $3 billion at the box office. But the secret to the success of Pixar Animation Studios is its utterly distinctive approach to the workplace. The company doesn't just make films that perform better than standard fare. It also makes its films differently — and, in the process, defies many familiar, and dysfunctional, industry conventions. Pixar has become the envy of Hollywood because it never went Hollywood. More than a few business pundits have drawn parallels between the flat, decentralized "corporation of the future" and the ad-hoc collection of actors, producers and technicians that come together around a film and disband once it is finished. In the Hollywood model, the energy and investment revolves around the big idea — the script — and the fine print of the deal. Highly talented people agree to terms, do their jobs, and move on to the next project. The model allows for maximum flexibility, to be sure, but it inspires minimum loyalty and endless jockeying for advantage. Turn that model on its head and you get the Pixar version: a tightknit company of long-term collaborators who stick together, learn from one another and strive to improve with every production. Consider the case of Brad Bird, writer and director of "The Incredibles," who spent the first decades of his career shuttling around the business as an ever-promising, never-quite-recognized animator. (He worked on "The Simpsons" and directed one feature, the critically acclaimed but commercial dud, "Iron Giant.") When Pixar recruited him, Mr. Bird went to work immediately on "The Incredibles," which went on to win two Academy Awards and a nomination for best original screenplay. Unlike a typical Oscar-winning director, however, Mr. Bird is not a free agent with his sights set on the next big-budget negotiation. He is an employee of the studio. Indeed, he is part of a group of directors and technical talents at Pixar — including Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich, the creators of "Finding Nemo," and Pete Doctor, the director of "Monsters, Inc." — who have staked their reputations on their work at Pixar. Again, in contrast to convention, these professionals have traded one-time contracts for long-term affiliation and contribute across the studio, rather than to just their pet projects. According to Randy S. Nelson, who joined the company in 1997 and is dean of Pixar University, a company-run education and training operation, this model reflects "Pixar's specific critique of the industry's standard practice." He explains it this way: "Contracts allow you to be irresponsible as a company. You don't need to worry about keeping people happy and fulfilled. What we have created here — an incredible workspace, opportunities to learn and grow, and, most of all, great co-workers — is better than any contract." There is a tough-minded business strategy behind Pixar's we're-all-in-this-together workplace. A single animated feature takes four or five years to complete, the last 18 months of which feel like a breathless sprint. In such a high-stakes environment, even the most outrageously talented individuals are bound to suffer creative setbacks. One reason Pixar has produced such a string of hits is that the organization has learned how to hang together under the pressure. "The problem with the Hollywood model is that it's generally the day you wrap production that you realize you've finally figured out how to work together," Mr. Nelson said. "We've made the leap from an idea-centered business to a people-centered business. Instead of developing ideas, we develop people. Instead of investing in ideas, we invest in people. We're trying to create a culture of learning, filled with lifelong learners. It's no trick for talented people to be interesting, but it's a gift to be interested. We want an organization filled with interested people." Mr. Nelson, an energetic, colorful, 50-something artist and executive, is himself a wide-ranging talent. He has juggled knives on Broadway as a founder of the Flying Karamazov Brothers, acted in feature films and served alongside Mr. Jobs at Apple Computer and Next Software. But his real talent, and his agenda at Pixar, is coordinating how other talented people express their most creative ideas, collaborate with colleagues and meet deadlines. You have been recruited to take a survey
that will help us provide better value to our advertisers
while at the same time maintaining overall quality for
readers like you. |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney
sues Highland resident for file sharing
The Motion Picture Association of America doesn't take kindly to illegal movie file sharing. Even bad ones like 2004's "National Treasure." A Highland woman has been named in a lawsuit filed through U.S. District Court in Hammond by Disney Enterprises Inc., claiming she — or perhaps someone using her computer — illegally downloaded and distributed "National Treasure" on or about Jan. 20 last year. The movie, deemed a poor "Raiders of the Lost Ark" knockoff by critics, stars Nicholas Cage. Nada Stjela is listed on lawsuit documents as the defendant. Disney is represented by a New York firm as well as Beckman, Kelly & Smith of Hammond. The civil suit, filed Thursday, seeks damages for copyright infringement. The complaint accuses the defendant of using an online media distribution system to share the movie via the Internet with others, violating reproduction and distribution rights. Motion Picture Association of America spokeswoman Michelle Greeno said the MPAA has been investigating online file sharing of movies for several major motion picture studios since November of 2004 and has filed several hundred suits. She said a team of investigators collects evidence by locating Internet Protocol addresses, subpoenaing the Internet service provides and locating those who are "stealing" the movies. "Basically, it's like walking into a video store and stealing it off the shelf," Greeno said. "Just like any other company, we have to protect ours. What they're doing is wrong and illegal." Under the Copyright Act, damages for infringement can be for as much as $30,000 for each movie illegally copied and distributed over the Internet. The fine can go as high as $150,000 if the distribution is found to be "willful." |
||
|
|
||
|
Why
Disney wooed a crazy Canuck
When Walt Disney Co.'s lucrative distribution deal with 'toon darling Pixar ended in late 2002, the Mouse House went looking for talented, edgy animators with whom it could partner up. It ended up on the doorstep of San Francisco-based Complete Pandemonium, a tiny firm whose eccentric creative brain is Toronto-born Steve (Spaz) Williams, a special-effects whiz who lives in the United States but remains a fervent -- some would say fanatical -- Toronto Maple Leafs / Don Cherry-loving Canadian. Disney was specifically wooing Williams, a graduate of Oakville, Ont.'s Sheridan College, to direct The Wild, an $80-million (U.S.) animated feature film about a madcap troupe of animals who run away from the zoo. At first, Williams waffled, unsure about working for a monolith of Walt's proportions. But finally he accepted -- on one whopping condition. Williams wanted to team up with a Toronto-based special effects / animation house named CORE, co-founded 12 years ago by Star Trek's William Shatner. The 44-year-old director also insisted that all the work be done by Canadian animators on their own turf: right in Hogtown. Wanting him bad, Disney caved. And Williams, a rough-around-the-edges guy who always speaks his peace, started hiring. Before The Wild went into production, CORE employed 120 employees. Within the space of a few months, the company had expanded to 450 people, and moved to a much bigger shop -- from 25,000 square feet to three times that much in a converted warehouse on Toronto's high-creativity King Street West. Now in postproduction and due to be released in theatres Good Friday, April 14, The Wild ranks as the largest animation production ever done in Canada. And Williams -- whose second hero after Cherry is Stompin' Tom Connors -- is damn proud of that. "It really was a long time coming," says Williams, whose standard garb is a ratty T-shirt (or Leafs jersey), combat boots and camouflage fatigues. "It's an all-Canadian talent doing it in Toronto instead of in some U.S. studio. We killed ourselves, we truly did. It was tough, because production -- on that size budget -- was difficult. Making a film of this quality for under $80-million is a triumph, seeing as the majority of them, like Chicken Little, cost $150-million. "But it was also exciting, because I've always wanted to bring a film back to Toronto," says Williams, who apprenticed in his field at George Lucas's Industrial Light & Magic, and has since worked as chief animator and special-effects supervisor on such films as Jurassic Park, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, The Abyss and The Mask, for which he received an Academy Award nomination. He also created Blockbuster's popular hamster/ guinea-pig commercials. With the tax breaks and low Canadian dollar, it also made good financial sense for Disney to hire a Canadian shop. "Little did I know there'd be a goddamn hockey strike when I was back here," says the buzz-cut sporting Spaz, reached at his 20-acre farm in Marin County, Ca. "Of all my luck. Christ!" The Wild is Williams's directorial debut, and it's reportedly almost as irreverent as the man himself. It follows the after-hours life of a group of animals at the New York Zoo. (Ask him about the fact it sounds a bit like a clone of Dreamworks's Madagascar, and Williams bristles -- "I saw the script of The Wild in 2001. I call Madagascar the short before the feature. There's quite a quality difference." Not surprisingly, Williams's film also features some Canadian vocal talent, including Kiefer Sutherland, as the lion leader; Shatner, as a villainous wildebeest; and Cherry, as a penguin announcer (hardly a stretch there). "There was no way I was doing a film in Canada and not having Don Cherry in it," says Williams). Other actors on board include Jim Belushi (a street-smart squirrel), Janeane Garofalo (a pampered giraffe), Richard Kind (a dim-witted anaconda) and Eddie Izzard (an acerbic koala who hates being called cute). Williams's 10-year-old daughter, Hannah, also has a voice role, as a little monkey girl. The film took 2½ years to make, with most of the staff -- whose average age was 30 -- working 10 to 12 hours a day. "We were like a big family," says Williams of CORE headquarters, which seems to have as many dogs on the premises as people. "I've never hung out with executives, ever," sniffs Williams, whose producing partner in Complete Pandemonium is Clint Goldman, another Industrial Light & Magic alumnus. "As soon as we walked out the door, I wasn't the director any more. I was just another guy to hang out with, throw darts, and drink beer." CORE president Bob Munroe said the Disney contract -- green-lit in February, 2003 -- bumped his company to a new level. "I like to think we always had the potential to be considered among one of the best animation/ effects and film-production studios in the world, but like many facilities, we had not gotten the opportunity to prove it," says Munroe, 44. Prior to The Wild, CORE had done special effects for films such as Resident Evil: Apocalypse and Doctor Dolittle, and has animated such TV shows as Angela Anaconda and Franny's Feet. "We went from playing in the very capable minor leagues directly into the major leagues," adds the executive, whose other partners are Shatner, John Mariella, Kyle Menzies and Ron Estey. Recently, CORE brought on a new minority partner, billionaire film producer Ted Field, whose Chicago family owns department store Marshall Field's. "Steve wanted to bring this movie to Toronto because he's from here, all his friends are from here, and he wanted to give Canada the opportunity to prove it can compete on the world stage," adds Munroe, who met Williams 20 years ago when both were so-called demo jockeys (a.k.a. product specialists) working for competing computer-software-design firms. "I've got to say, Disney -- which is constantly being accused of being anything but entrepreneurial and innovative -- took a fairly big leap of faith," says Munroe. "I don't think any other studio out of the States would have had the courage to do it." That may be true, but Williams -- whose "Spaz" nickname originated with his computer log-on -- is quick to add that the joint venture was not always a walk in the park. "Make no mistake," says the straight talker. "This was a bastard production from the get-go -- a movie that had had several foster homes" and various incarnations going back as far as a decade. "It was called The Big Break, then Wildlife. Then Disney Animation stopped production on it. Then they gave it to Disney Live Action. And then they found me. The stakes were very high for us, and with the growing pains Disney was going through, a massive amount of focus came down on our film." The irony also isn't lost on Williams that The Wild -- which came to him after Disney and Pixar parted ways -- is now about to be released just as the two animation giants have joined forces once again, in a $7.4-billion deal. As far as the animation veteran is concerned, the remarriage is a good thing. "Pixar didn't own any of the library it had created, so it was essentially starting over again. Disney, for whatever reason, had lost its way in animation, and really needed the expertise of Pixar in this new frontier. Combined, they're going to create an arsenal of quality for audiences." Now back on his Marin County farm, Williams is focusing for the time being on hobbies other than film-making. Obsessed with rebuilding large machinery, he recently put together an old Ford tractor, which he rides around his property. And he's excitedly awaiting the delivery of a 60-tonne British tank, an FV4201 to be precise, that he plans to reconstruct and then "drive around and crush things." He also has spent countless hours wiring his forest with speakers. "I blast Porky Pig cartoons through the woods," he hastens to explain, "to scare the yuppie bikers" who whiz through the trails surrounding his quirky homestead. And no matter how far away he may be, Williams remains in daily touch, via satellite, with his Canadian -- and Commonwealth -- brethren. "I have Bell ExpressVu, so I never miss Coach's Corner, or any Leafs game. And certainly never Coronation Street." |
||
|
|
||
|
Disney
Institute Brings Program on Leadership, Management, Service,
and Loyalty to Lincoln, Nebraska
Disney Institute is bringing its renowned professional development program, "The Disney Keys to Excellence" to Lincoln, Nebraska on May 18, 2006. Sponsored locally by ASTD-Lincoln, the full-day event will give area business professionals a chance to discover the business behind the Disney magic. Register for this exciting program that will introduce participants to innovative Disney business strategies that they can easily implement in their own organizations. "Professional development programs that we offer to groups meeting at the Walt Disney World Resort have proven extremely popular," said George Aguel, senior vice president for Walt Disney Parks and Resort. "Community leaders around the country started asking us to bring similar programs to their cities, and 'The Disney Keys' program does just that. Participants will discover Disney success stories and learn about management philosophies and behind-the-scenes operations that have made the Walt Disney World Resort a benchmark for businesses around the world." According to Aguel, Disney Institute programs are unique in the world of business. "What makes the Disney learning experience so different and meaningful," says Aguel, "is that we don't simply teach theory. We showcase philosophies and strategies that have made the Walt Disney World Resort a success – ideas that are easily adaptable to other organizations. We do this by taking people inside the Disney operation, showcasing on-stage and behind-the-scenes locations so attendees see firsthand how it all happens." The Lincoln Disney Keys program has four 90-minute sessions: Leadership, Disney Style – Participants discover how effective leadership has been the catalyst at Disney to drive employee/customer satisfaction and bottom-line results, from the company's inception to today. Management, Disney Style – Participants examine the importance of integrating an organization's corporate culture into selection, training, and care. Service, Disney Style – Participants explore world-renowned Disney principles for service excellence. Loyalty, Disney Style – Participants learn key practices and principles in building and sustaining loyalty that have made Disney a trusted and revered brand around the world for more than 75 years. Registration and tuition fees for the program are $415 for the full day, and includes complimentary breakfast, lunch with ASTD-National President Tony Bingham, and course materials. For registration information, visit: www.astdlincoln.org or email info@astdlincoln.org. Tickets are on sale now. Thousands of business leaders from more than 35 countries and 40 industries have attended business programs at Disney Institute. At the Walt Disney World Resort in Florida, Disney Institute offers customized programs, workshops, business presentations, and behind-the-scenes tours tailored to meet the needs of groups meeting at Walt Disney World. For more information about Disney Institute, call 407/566-2620, or visit www.disneyinstitute.com |
||
|
|
||
|
Contamination
fear spurs teether recall
A Massachusetts company has recalled
500,000 liquid-filled baby teethers distributed in the U.S.
and Canada because of a possible bacterial contamination
that could cause serious illness. |
||
|
|
||
|
Missy
Elliott 'Sticks' to soundtrack work
Rapper Missy Elliott has joined forces with Mike Simpson of production duo the Dust Brothers to write the score for the Disney movie "Stick It," starring Jeff Bridges. The April 2006 theatrical release centers on the world of competitive gymnastics. Elliott's Disney hookup emerged after the company asked to place Elliott's song, "We Run This," on the movie's soundtrack. "Run" is the third single from Elliott's Grammy-nominated album "The Cookbook." Elliott is definitely ready for the challenge. "I've always wondered what scoring a film would be like, and this fell into my lap at a great time," she says. "I've been doing the artist thing for so long that you get to the point where you want to venture into other projects." Elliott says that working with Simpson (whose credits include Beck, the Beastie Boys and the Rolling Stones) eases some of the first-time pressure. The producers also helped her make the transition to film composer by placing temporary music in scenes to give her an idea of the tempo and tone they want. "I've been in scarier situations," she says. "But this isn't like I'm left in limbo. I have an outline. I'm just anxious to see what comes of it. This is a big thing for me." The rapper shot a video for "We Run This" earlier this month in Los Angeles. It features Olympic gold medalist Dominique Dawes in a cameo as Elliott's gymnastics coach. Scenes from the "Run" video, due to premiere in February, range from a balance beam in the sky to uneven bars in a basement laundry room. Elliott assures the new video tackles the same innovative ground covered by her Grammy-nominated video for "Lose Control." "It's crazy," Elliott says with a laugh. "When it comes to uptempo records, I always get creative." Elliott is working on a tight schedule. The score is due at the end of January. "Studios work differently than artists and labels," Elliott adds. "They're on serious deadlines." Also in the works is a new studio album -- not to mention writing songs for Monica and Fantasia. However, Elliott definitely plans to squeeze in a visit to Los Angeles on February 8. "I wouldn't miss the Grammys for the world." |
||
|
|
||
| Back News |
