http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news.ht&s=APW9w.hPBRGlzbmV5

This VERY long article is beyond belief. Some highlights:

>>``Maybe I'm crazy, but we don't have a crisis,'' Eisner said during a mid-June interview at ABC
headquarters on New York's Upper West Side. He appears relaxed, wearing a dark sweater and khakis,
sipping a Coke and ignoring his BlackBerry pager's constant buzzing.

``I feel sometimes like Odysseus,'' he says. ``I'm tied to the mast and ignoring the wailing of the Sirens: everybody who thinks they know what we should be doing. <<


More:

>>He says he's waiting for ``lightning'' to strike, as it did with ``The Lion King.'' The company's biggest-grossing movie ever turned into a blockbuster franchise -- with toys, TV shows and a play that still sells out four years after it opened on Broadway. Since the film's debut in 1994, ``The Lion King'' has added $1 billion to Disney's bottom line. Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, another hit, generated about $200 million in profits in 2000.

``We need some kind of creative lightning, whether it comes from our executives, outside directors or
some spiritual being,'' Eisner says. ``When the economy turns, when the fear of flying goes away,
when we get a hit or two on ABC, this company becomes a gusher.'' <<


Executives or outside directors...?

More:

>>``He's smiling, but I'd rather he deliver,'' says G. W. Henssler's Parrish, who adds that Disney's
aggressive cost cutting may hinder its ability to bounce back.

``Maybe they overdid it,'' he says. ``In the parks, there used to be five Mickey Mouses running around.
Now, you're lucky if you find one.''

Eisner says cutbacks haven't hurt.

``Anyone who has been to the parks will tell you they won't see a difference,'' he says. <<


Anyone...?

Which option is scarier:

1) He knows what he's saying is bull excrement but needs to try to keep a good face on things, despite constant evidence to the contrary.

2) He actually believes what he's saying.

Eisner: We Don't Have a Crisis

http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cg...W9w.hPBRGlzbmV5

This VERY long article is beyond belief. Some highlights:

>>``Maybe I'm crazy, but we don't have a crisis,'' Eisner said during a mid-June interview at ABCheadquarters on New York's Upper West Side. He appears relaxed, wearing a dark sweater and khakis,
sipping a Coke and ignoring his BlackBerry pager's constant buzzing.

``I feel sometimes like Odysseus,'' he says. ``I'm tied to the mast and ignoring the wailing of the Sirens: everybody who thinks they know what we should be doing. <<


More:

>>``He's smiling, but I'd rather he deliver,'' says G. W. Henssler's Parrish, who adds that Disney's
aggressive cost cutting may hinder its ability to bounce back.

``Maybe they overdid it,'' he says. ``In the parks, there used to be five Mickey Mouses running around.
Now, you're lucky if you find one.''

Eisner says cutbacks haven't hurt.

``Anyone who has been to the parks will tell you they won't see a difference,'' he says. <<


Anyone...?

OK, I'll say it.

He's crazy. As a loon.

In regards to capturing that "ephemeral as pixie dust" something that made The Lion King a phenom, Eisner says:


>>``We need some kind of creative lightning, whether it comes from our >>executives, outside directors or some spiritual being,'' Eisner says

Some spiritual being? Executives and outside directors? Are you high?

Why not try going to your ARTISTS, you idiot? Oh, I forget. YOU FIRED THEM ALL.

Nice to see that Bloomberg also noted Mickey Mouse's poor showing in the TV Guide poll of animated characters last month.

To bring this back to the topic at hand:


>>Eisner says cutbacks haven't hurt.

>>``Anyone who has been to the parks will tell you they won't see a >>difference,'' he says.

Dude. Seriously. Do you even talk to the people who pay to get into your parks anymore?

Unfriggenbelievable.

Agreed. The man is seriously delusional. Rose colored glasses, anyone? I wish I could enlighten him with some facts and quotes, but hey, I just work there. What do I know about what the guests want?

>>Nice to see that Bloomberg also noted Mickey Mouse's poor showing in the TV Guide poll of animated characters last month. <<

Wow. Fail to show Mickey's classic cartoons to anyone but insomniacs (for the first time in Disney's history) and Mickey's Q rating goes down... Who'da thunk it?

Mr. Eisner, please leave.

[i]Marron-cream said:{/i}
Agreed. The man is seriously delusional.

Delusional? Try bald-faced liar! Puhleeeeze!

>>Which option is scarier:<<

They both disturb me equally.

Revised link to this story:

http://www.bloomberg.com/feature/feature1030743794.html

Revised link to this story:

http://www.bloomberg.com/feature/feature1030743794.html

Originally posted by merlinjones
Mr. Eisner, please leave.
Something tells me they're going to need a crowbar...

to paraphrase the great Dr. Seuss "Mr. M. Eisner, would you PLEASE GO NOW?!"

Originally posted by merlinjones
``Anyone who has been to the parks will tell you they won't see a difference,'' he says.
...as he lovingly glances at the signed contract with the Devil hanging on the wall...

Originally posted by HB Tigger Fan
to paraphrase the great Dr. Seuss "Mr. M. Eisner, would you PLEASE GO NOW?!"
Mike can lick 30 tigers today...
...actually, I think Yertle the Turtle best describes him...

Wow! Harsh reactions from the crowd...

That was a pretty one-sided article, with a lot of quote that sure seemed taken out of context. I can't say I wouldn't feel any excitement if a dynamic new CEO replaced Eisner, but I also don't feel the burning need to eliminate him.

Originally posted by merlinjones
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news.ht&s=APW9w.hPBRGlzbmV5

This VERY long article is beyond belief. Some highlights:

So beyond belief that you started two exact same threads about the exact same article in two different sections? I thought that kind of thing wasn't allowed on these boards?

Originally posted by merlinjones
http://quote.bloomberg.com/fgcgi.cgi?T=marketsquote99_news.ht&s=APW9w.hPBRGlzbmV5

This VERY long article is beyond belief. Some highlights:

So beyond belief that you started two exact same threads about the exact same article in two different sections? I thought that kind of thing wasn't allowed on these boards?

>>So beyond belief that you started two exact same threads about the exact same article in two different sections? I thought that kind of thing wasn't allowed on these boards?<

Actually I started one for business related discussion here, and added primarily the park comment to the Disneyland board (which more people read), because I thought there were people over there who would find Michael's comments highly interesting too, but don't read the business section.

Sorry if I violated your comfort space, but this stuff is important enough that I feel the information should get out to as many readers as possible.

>>So beyond belief that you started two exact same threads about the exact same article in two different sections? I thought that kind of thing wasn't allowed on these boards?<

Actually I started one thread for business related discussion, then added primarily the park comment to the Disneyland board (which way more people read), because I thought there were people over here who would find Michael's comments highly interesting too, but don't read the business section.

Sorry if I violated your comfort space, but this stuff is important enough that I feel the information should get out to as many readers as possible.

Moderator's Note:

merlinjones, we understand what you were trying to accomplish by starting two threads, but we do not generally allow cross-posting. Had the two threads developed as you intended, one park-specific and one more business related, we would have allowed them to stand. (Although the "parks" discussion would have been moved to "Parks General", because it wasn't a Disneyland-specific discussion)

However, since many of the responses have been of a more general nature, we have elected to merge the two threads, leaving all messages intact, into this one forum.

A gentle reminder: we have board moderators to make these decisions. As stated in our Community Policies (http://mousepad.mouseplanet.com/misc.php?s=&action=faq&page=1#policy)

Contact us immediately if you find that a posted message is objectionable. We can remove objectionable messages and make every effort to do so, within a reasonable time, if we determine that removal is necessary. This is a manual process, however, so we may not be able to remove or edit particular messages immediately.
If someone feels that a post is a violation of these policies, please report it to a moderator and we will make the determination about what is allowed. I note that no report was made about this thread, which should have been the first step if anyone thought there was a problem.

AVP

(Back to the topic, however merged it may be :D )

Quote from the Bloomberg Article
Four things will turn Disney's fortunes, Eisner says: cost cutting, acquisitions, international growth and creativity.

It bothers me that creativity is the last thing that he mentions and cost cutting is the first. The last thing we need in the parks are more budget cuts. The very thing has been holding the company back has been budget cuts and the lack of creativity. Just my humble opinion.

I agree, HTH, but at least creativity is on the list. Maybe he included it as an afterthought, but maybe he realizes that Disney needs a creative kick in the pants to get the old magic back.

I also find it interesting that he mentions acquisitions. The Cap Cities/ABC merger has been a modest success, but the Fox Family thing is looking like a dud. With Disney stock in the crapper and the company already carrying a lot of debt due to the Fox Family thing, I wonder how he plans to do any more buying? And I wonder if he means Universal?

Originally posted by merlinjones
Mr. Eisner, please leave.
I'm with you on this one.

I have an example of why things are the way they are @ Disney.

I've been totally engrossed with playing Sim Theme Park on my Mac. It's a totally old game, but I don't have a PC and this is all they have to offer for Mac...

On this game, I have built at least 50 parks. Each one varying from time to time. What I've noticed is this: each time I build another park, the less creative I get about it. I've greedily got myself into thinking how I can make more money with each park despite the fact that my creativity is pretty much tapped by now.

So, I decided to get myself out of that greedy loop and build the ideal crowd pleasing park. It was really pretty, it had great rides and the quality of the food was great. But the cost for doing a park this way was that I went in to the negative six or seven times. Eventually, the park recovered and it started to make millions, but I had to pay for it by going negative first.

I think Eisner realizes that in order to make money he needs to build a quality park, but he doesn't want to look bad going into the negative to get there...

I'm not sure if that made any sense. But I think there's a parallel in there somewhere.
:)

Originally posted by Gemini Cricket
I've been totally engrossed with playing Sim Theme Park on my Mac.

I have honestly wondered if having Eisner play RTC or STP would be a good idea. He might learn something, and it would be less expensive than doing it in real life. :D

AVP

Eisner right there is no crisis now, but just wait its COMING!!!!!
What goes around comes around as that old saying goes.