Dick Cook Departs

[ajp]

I am surprised that we have not mentioned this yet, that Dick Cook has resigned/been sacked, depending on what you read where. This is a significant moment for the future of Walt Disney Studios. I don't know if it's a good thing or not, as there have been some great movies, and some duds come out of the studios over the last few years.

However one thing that does strike me is this. I have just finished listening to the LP Podcast and they absolutely raved beyond belief at the Dick Cook presentation at the expo (Keith, Gerard, Wayne, your opinion on this would be interesting as well). He was, according to them, the highlight of the expo, and then a week later he is no longer employed (shown the door, or otherwise). Not sure if we'll ever know exactly why but it would be curious to find out. Has anyone read anything that might be more informative?

[KeithS]

Yep - I've been meaning to post about this - I'm still in shock given his triumphant presentation just a week before his sacking! I'll post something in more detail on the weekend - there is a lot to discuss about this!

[KeithS]

My initial thoughts about Dick's departure is that it was something to do with the Marvel acquisition. Dick Cook was a bit of a Disney traditionalist - he got his start working in Disneyland as a ride operator on the steam train. He liked making traditional Disney films featuring talking animals, pirates, and adventure. All of a sudden, Iger gets his hands on Marvel and now the studio is likely to have to produce superhero movies - I wonder how that sat with Mr Cook's thinking about the studio?

[KeithS]

Some more executive shake ups in the Disney world today with the swapping of roles for Tom Staggs and Jay Rasulo.

You probably know Jay Rasulo was the executive in charge of Parks and Resorts - he now becomes the CFO of the company, whilst Tom Staggs (the former CFO) now heads up Parks and Resorts.

I hope Tom listens to the fans (hey Tom, how about stopping the co-branding of Disneyland and WDW - we want unique merchandise at each park - I don't want to buy t-shirts with WDW printed on them when I visit California! Go back to how it use to be two years ago please!)

[KeithS]

Just two and a half years after Dick Cook was fired as head of Walt Disney Studios, his replacement, Rich Ross has been fired today by Bob Iger.

I guess this is the result or a number of factors - but clearly the failure to properly market John Carter is one of them and also his choices of greenlit new movies does not look spectacular. His next big-budget live action Disney film is Oz-The Great and Powerful which will be released in March next year (and I don't have high hopes for this!) followed by The Lone Ranger with Johnny Depp. He also has the lower budget "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" later this year - and basically that is it.

There are a number of live action films that Ross has put into development based on Disneyland rides:
The Matterhorn
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (although it is based on a movie)
Jungle Cruise
Swiss Family Robinson (with Will Smith attached...)
Haunted Mansion (a second shot at this)
Mr Toad's Wild Ride (announced this week)
and of course "Magic Kingdom" itself - a movie along the lines of Night in a Museum, but this time in Disneyland (I think this could be cool!)

There are also a few future Pirates movies - so these will be bankable. And Maleficent - a retelling of Sleeping Beauty could be a standout adventure film if it is centred on the villain. We'll have to wait and see.

So, is the future bright or bleak for Disney live action movies? Or are you concerned that the only big success films we'll see from the studio in the coming years will be under the Marvel banner? (The Avengers does look like a sure fire hit). Have we had too many Johnny Depp outings? Has the focus on Disneyland ride movies gone too far? What will the new head of the studio have to do to turn things around? Some interesting months ahead I think.

[mushu mama]

IMHO waaaaay too many Ride based movies... really lost its uniqueness.

also I'd read that Angelina Jolie is slated to play Maleficent and from the snippets I've read it sounds like its going to be quite good.

Even I questioned the ol' Johnny playing Tonto... will reserve judgement till I see it I guess, but yes, I think they need to find a wider range of bankable talent because I'm seeing Johnny as a mish-mash of characters now every time he pops up on a new screen rather than the single character he's playing at the time.

[KeithS]

Thanks Lisa - and as for "The Odd Life of Timothy Green" which comes out later this year, the website Gawker perfectly expresses my opinion of this film:
http://gawker.com/5829239/the-odd-life- ... -dirt-baby

And to add to the weirdness/creepiness of this film, it was filmed in the same house as Halloween II!

[mushu mama]

I hadn't heard anything about this movie so decided to take a look...

OH.... DEAR....LORD

What were they thinking?

[KeithS]

OH.... DEAR....LORD

I guess you watched the trailer then!

[KeithS]

Disney today announced that Alan Horn will be the new head of the Disney Studios.

Alan was formerly the head of Warner Bros movie studios and was instrumental in buying and launching the Harry Potter franchise for that company, so he has the experience to work in Hollywood and deal with the family and adult demographic.

There is a larger article about him at Variety:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118054865

Let's hope he can green light movies we actually want to see!