Bob Iger returning as Disney's CEO; Bob Chapek leaving post

Discussion in 'Visual Arts' started by Turnaround, Nov 20, 2022.

  1. Turnaround

    Turnaround Senior Member Thread Starter

    Location:
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    Surprise news - Bob Iger is returning at Disney's CEO. Iger had retired as CEO in 2020, and was replaced by Bob Chapek, who had run the parks and consumer products division for Disney before. Chapek was not loved by many Disney fans, but Disney's board renewed a multi-year contract with Disney this summer. Iger has committed to staying two years in the CEO role with this return to the post. Iger is 71 years old.

    Bob Iger Returning as Disney CEO, Bob Chapek Fired by Board – The Hollywood Reporter
     
  2. mBen989

    mBen989 Senior Member

    Location:
    Scranton, PA


    "...what?" - R.M. Nixon
     
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  3. Vahan

    Vahan Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glendale, CA, USA
    Why am I not surprised? Lots and lots of people were angry over things Disney was doing recently.
     
  4. BeatleJWOL

    BeatleJWOL Senior Member

    Lots of people have been angry about things Disney has done for a long time. I don't see one guy changing that.
     
  5. Jrr

    Jrr Forum Resident

    Well, it’s perceived by many one man really screwed things up quickly. I’m one of them. I guess the hope is, one man can move the team towards fixing it. Never seen so many terrible anti consumer decisions made by one individual before. I won’t go to the parks anymore, and many feel the same. He really needed to go. Good riddens!
     
  6. SRC

    SRC That sums up Squatter for me

    Location:
    New York, NY
    What were these terrible anti-consumer decisions he made?
     
  7. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    Ha farfignooging ha. Serves him right. The product has been dreadful and they can't even fill the parks (the Star Wars one has been a disaster. They have been giving tickets away).

    I would sack a lot more of them.

    It would be lovely if Disney went bust and the important IPs went to companies that cared about them and we're only interested in making films the fans will enjoy.

    By all accounts Iger isn't much better so I don't see things getting any better.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 21, 2022
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  8. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Bob Chapek greatly increased the ticket costs at all the Disney theme parks to make up for the $1.5 billion dollar losses from the Disney+ streaming channel. The board fired him on Sunday because their stock dropped 37%. Former CEO Bob Iger -- who was a classy guy, very well-liked -- has kind of been bad-mouthing Chapek in several interviews this week, so something was up, as they say.

    It's the biggest Hollywood industry story in a long time. I was just telling somebody the other day, "I think Chapek will be gone after the first of the year unless Disney comes out of this financial nosedive." Nope, they axed him 6 weeks early. (In other news, actress Scarlett Johansson and her agent Bryan Lourd are laughing and clinking their champagne glasses at the news.)

    [​IMG]

    Disney Shocker! Bob Iger Back As CEO, Bob Chapek Out – Deadline

    Bob Chapek's Blunders Made It Hard to Escape Bob Iger's Shadow - Variety

    Bob Iger Returns to Disney to Save a Battered Company – The Hollywood Reporter

    Bob Iger’s Return as Disney CEO Is Embraced by ‘Elated’ Hollywood: ‘I Don’t Think I’ve Ever Been So Happy’

    Bob Iger named Disney CEO in shocking development | CNN Business
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2022
  9. BwanaBob

    BwanaBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Was Chapek the one responsible for the reduction of physical media production? If so, good riddance, and I hope Iger sees all the money left on the table.
     
  10. Vidiot

    Vidiot Now in 4K HDR!

    Location:
    Hollywood, USA
    Every studio cut back on physical media ten years ago. It's an industry trend, not the decision of one person.
     
  11. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    The logic would be it forces people to subscribe to their streaming service obviously.

    I don't think we'll ever know if that works or people would subscribe anyway, and all they are doing are losing sales. There is no way to judge that.

    But I'm with you, dumb decision imo.
     
  12. Bruce Racket

    Bruce Racket Forum Resident

    Location:
    Washington DC
    Anyone who owns stock in Disney will be overjoyed by this development.
     
  13. MikaelaArsenault

    MikaelaArsenault Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Hampshire
  14. forthlin

    forthlin Member Chris & Vickie Cyber Support Team

    Which parks are these Jim? The U.S. parks are packed to the gills, the Star Wars attractions are hugely popular. The Star Wars hotel experience, not so much.
     
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  15. Drew

    Drew Senior Member

    Location:
    Grand Junction, CO
    Disney needs to buy Paramount. Then we can see Thor fight the Na'vi with a lightsaber on the bridge of the Enterprise.

    I figure it's only a matter of time.
     
  16. BwanaBob

    BwanaBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    Maryland, USA
    Reducing manufacturing and refusal to even release physical media are two different things. Not everyone is halting selling of physical media.
     
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  17. Stereosound

    Stereosound Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Raising prices and removing perks for one thing.
     
  18. Crack To The Egg

    Crack To The Egg Forum Resident

    Location:
    OR
    Basically every movie is going to turn into the ending of Blazing Saddles.
     
  19. unclefred

    unclefred Coastie with the Moastie

    Location:
    Oregon Coast
    Theme parks aside, they need to pull Disney+ out of the ditch.
     
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  20. Turnaround

    Turnaround Senior Member Thread Starter

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    I'll try to answer the comments above asking what the criticisms of Bob Chapek were.

    As Disney's CEO, Bob Chapek was disliked by park enthusiasts for decisions like getting rid of the fast-pass, and replacing it with a Genie app that you had to pay for. But park enthusiasts already disliked Chapek before he was appointed CEO, when he headed the parks division. Fans criticized Chapek for cutting costs, complaining the parks became less well-maintained, less staffed, and had longer wait times for rides. Fans also complained about proposals (which may have been true or rumors) to replace some traditional rides and attractions with Pixar or Marvel IP themed rides. Part of this was fans wanting things to stay as they grew up with, but part of this was complaints that Disney was moving away from "original" ideas towards franchise concepts. The overall complaints by fans were mostly around how Chapek was an MBA/bean counter, and he was nicknamed "Bob Paycheck" by unhappy fans.

    In the movies divisions, Chapek was criticized for restructuring management to put in consumer products people, over artistic people. Again, the theme was favoring MBA/bean counters over art. This led to criticism over decisions to release Pixar movies intended for theatrical release on video streaming instead. Which also led to reports of employees being less satisfied about working for the studios.

    Chapek also had some tough PR moments as CEO. For example, the Scarlett Johansson lawsuit over Black Widow aired a lot of dirty laundry, and was a smear on how Disney deals with talent. Another example is how Chapek initially tried to stay clear of politics when Florida passed certain laws addressing sexual orientation in schools. Disney employees became angry that Disney refused to take any position publicly. When Chapek realized that Disney needed to address this, else have major trouble with company employees (Disney relies on many performers, which is a diverse group that leans one direction politically), then the politicians went after Disney for its public position. So Chapek basically wound up angering people on both the left and the right.

    Ultimately, Chapek's responsibility is to the Disney stockholders, and most of the issues above have more to do with fans and employees than the bottom line. But the recent earnings call, which revealed how much Disney has been losing on its video streaming service, and recently declining stock price most likely did him in.
     
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  21. Jim B.

    Jim B. Senior Member

    Location:
    UK
    The Star Wars hotel is what I was referring to.
     
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  22. forthlin

    forthlin Member Chris & Vickie Cyber Support Team

    I pretty much figured that's was you were referencing, thanks for your reply.
    The hotel experience actually could be very popular, but the price is astronomical and out of reach for many of those who would like to try it.
     
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  23. ky658

    ky658 Senior Member

    Location:
    Ft Myers, Florida
    He was in charge when I worked for them back in 1999. He kept (ABC) moving forward, with High Definition broadcasting and overseeing a host of programming changes. This is a positive step for that company, IMO.
     
  24. Dillydipper

    Dillydipper Space-Age luddite

    Location:
    Central PA
    Tangential (but barely off-topic) to this, we just watched the recent episode of Daniel Glover's Atlanta, a bizarre piece involving the man who wasn't supposed to be the Disney CEO. The episode, entitled "The Goof Who Sat By The Door", pseudo-documents the short tenure of Thomas Washington as the Disney Chairman, is convincingly stright-faced, and Zelig-like in its' plausible authenticity, that will have you second-guessing yourself and wondering, "how did I not know this".

    Presented and skillfully crafted as a documentary piece removed from Atlanta's main continuity (which has taken some steps far outside the box this season as it is), it details the kid from the hood who made it into the Animation division, and got elected to the top position by accident. Seeking to re-calibrate the culture of the company from the top, he focuses on 1995's animated feature, A Goofy Movie, as his obsessive project, to make "the blackest movie of all time". The fate of the films' ambitious intent, and the dreamer himself, are not so much a disappointing surprise as a commentary addressing the nature of a creative process in a corporate environment with foregone conclusions at every turn.

    The topics and issues raised in the episode go far outside of the subject matter of course, but I find the way it raises serious social and matters in that context, incredibly clever. It should be a slam-dunk Emmy lock, if not for, well, you know, the fact that it pokes The Mouse right in both eyes. Somewhere down in the Disney Vault, Walt's frozen head must be steaming, tea-kettle-like, from his ears. Hell, its' audaciousness alone is worth the achievement award...and that award in itself, deserves its' own faux-documentary. As satire, social commentary and execution, this episode of Atlanta deserves more attention and eyeballs outside of the context of a basic cable comedy-drama series. And, could possibly have only gotten made amid the short period of instability as Chapek's waning months distractied everybody.

    And despite having two brand names separating it from those now holding the purse strings, let's not forget that it's an FX network series domestically distributed by Disney-ABC Networks Television, internationally through Fox Networks Group, and is actually available on Disney+ itself. I wouldn't be too surprised if you should find it immediately, before somebody conveniently slips the only master copy under whatever dusty shelf they keep the work parts to Song Of The South.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2022
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  25. Mirrorblade.1

    Mirrorblade.1 Forum Resident

    Disney may go under in a decade.. based there current polices..
    Sadly , it will never be the place some us went when we were children..
     

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