M Eisner's Letter to Disney "Cast Members"

All topics relating to Disney-branded content.
Post Reply
User avatar
2099net
Signature Collection
Posts: 9421
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2003 1:00 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

M Eisner's Letter to Disney "Cast Members"

Post by 2099net »

Eisner fights back...

From the Disneyland Cast Portal.
12/03/2003

Dear Fellow Cast Member:

I'm writing to you from a plane on my way to Disneyland for tonight's annual employee Christmas party, having just wrapped up two days of regularly scheduled meetings with your Company's board of directors. As you might guess, the board spent a great deal of time reviewing the results of all our hard work, and it's a privilege for me to tell you that the creativity, innovation and dedication displayed by each of you are paying off.

Disney was not alone in its struggle to navigate the tough economic and international waters of late — companies and individuals across America and around the world have had to work harder and longer. At Disney, the countless hours our employees put in over the past year were certainly worth the effort, and I'm happy to report the results are extremely encouraging.

First, congratulations to The Walt Disney Studios on making industry history by becoming the first studio to surpass $3 billion in global box office receipts for 2003. With Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, Finding Nemo, Freaky Friday, Bringing Down the House and a string of other great Disney/Touchstone films paving the way, the studio has enjoyed a phenomenal year. In home entertainment, the benefits of increased DVD player penetration and the tremendous strength of our content have brought us recent record-breaking sales for The Lion King and Finding Nemo DVD releases. In fact, the combined current releases of Finding Nemo and The Lion King have already exceeded 30 million units, and yesterday's Pirates of the Caribbean DVD release is already off to a tremendous start.

The ABC Television Network team has made solid progress with its prime time schedule. Over the last 2-1/2 years, the network has successfully added an unprecedented 10 comedies to its primetime schedule. Versus regular competition, all 10 of ABC's comedies rank either first or second in their respective time periods in the key Adult 18-49 sales demographic (eight rank #1 and two rank #2). Just as important, these young comedies are building blocks that will form the groundwork for the future of the network. While there is clearly more work that needs to be done, we are pleased with the results the ABC team has shown thus far. In cable, ESPN's ratings were up 13% in 2003, and ESPN and ESPN2 had their highest viewership ever in October, up 39% over the same month last year. Disney Channel had its best year ever with ratings up 47% among Kids 6-11, propelling the network to #1 among Kids 6-14. Disney Channel has also evolved into a new engine of creative and franchise development with the introduction of new Company-wide properties such as Kim Possible, That's So Raven, Stanley and Lizzie McGuire. And we are equally focused on delivering growth from our other cable assets, including ABC Family, Toon Disney, our international Disney Channels and SOAPnet.

At Parks and Resorts, we're pleased to see continued signs of the gradual recovery in attendance that we have been expecting. Having just completed an extended period of investment, making each location worldwide a multi-day resort destination, Disney continues to strategically invest with the addition of new "E-ticket" attractions such as Mission: SPACE, one of our greatest technological and creative achievements, which had its grand opening in October.

As we discussed in our last quarter earnings call, the Consumer Products licensing business has experienced solid growth. One of Consumer Products' greatest successes has been its Disney Princess line of merchandise, which has grown from $100 million in worldwide sales in 2000 to $1.3 billion in 2003.

I hope these results will add to your enthusiasm and renew your energy for the coming year because, as Walt put it, "if any of you start resting on your laurels, I mean just forget it, because . . . we are just getting started."

We still have a lot of work ahead, but I could not be more confident in the team we have to meet these challenges. And we will not be distracted from what has been and must remain our sole focus — delivering growth and shareholder value.

There's no question that together we've made Disney the worldwide leader in quality, family entertainment. We've taken the strength of the Disney brand, nurtured it and built a wonderful array of assets that touch the lives of people in every corner of the globe. Of course, in creating and growing this fantastic enterprise, the most important assets of all are the people who make the magic happen . . . you!

I thank you and keep up the great work!

Michael
Most of my Blu-ray collection some of my UK discs aren't on their database
PatrickvD
Signature Collection
Posts: 5166
Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2003 11:34 am
Location: The Netherlands

Post by PatrickvD »

I bet, this is the first time ever, that he writes a letter to Disney cast members... in one word, pathatic, i hope the emplyees will see RIGHT through this miserable letter...
Dear Fellow Cast Member:

I'm writing to you from a plane on my way to Disneyland...
that just made me sick to my stomach :x
Jack
Collector's Edition
Posts: 2320
Joined: Tue Apr 29, 2003 4:51 pm

Post by Jack »

Roy's letter: All heart.

Micheal's letter: All soulless stats & money.
Maerj
Collector's Edition
Posts: 2748
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2003 11:31 pm
Location: Ephrata, PA
Contact:

Post by Maerj »

It does sound like the company is doing pretty well, great job Disney!

:lol:
User avatar
poco
Special Edition
Posts: 929
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2003 10:40 am
Location: looking for the blue fairy

Post by poco »

Eisner avoided the issue that Roy talks about! Oh my! THis is going to get messy if he doesn't at least acknowledge what is happening.
"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living." -- Dr. Seuss
User avatar
disneyfella
Anniversary Edition
Posts: 1264
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 1:49 pm
Location: Small-Town America
Contact:

Post by disneyfella »

i'll bet 10, 000, 000 to 1 that this letter never would have happened if Roy hadn't left a couple of days before. Michael has never written a "keep up the good work" letter in his tenure there at Disney. it's interesting to note, that this letter does not even mention the reason for the letter...as if it were completely natural for Michael to write on the cast portal. Believe me, I'll bet he doesn't even know how to navigate the cast portal, it took me a while and he's so busy burning $100 dollar bills to light authentic cuban cigars that he probably didn't even have the time to do it himself.

DON'T LET HIM FOOL YOU!!!!! Creativity has NOT grown at disney, just ask Roy Disney since you probably won't believe me! Maybe we should look for the person who has more interest in the company:

a person whose blood line is in the company and quits upon principle, whose biggest interest is the representation and quality of the company and its cast members



or


a person who fires the 2D animation department (the origins of disney), cuts pay rates for cast members, makes less than satisfactory television and theme park decisions, micromanages his company like a greedy bastard, AND.................gives himself $200,000,000 bonuses each year!



Hmmmmmmmm, i wonder who i'm going to believe..............






LEAVE MICHAEL!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:





p.s. Maerj, i hope your only kidding about "how good the company's doing". i just wouldn't feel comfortable leaving all my christmas dvds to someone who supports michael eisner ;)
"It's Kind Of Fun To Do The Impossible"
- Walt Disney

Image
Maerj
Collector's Edition
Posts: 2748
Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2003 11:31 pm
Location: Ephrata, PA
Contact:

Post by Maerj »

disneyfella wrote:p.s. Maerj, i hope your only kidding about "how good the company's doing". i just wouldn't feel comfortable leaving all my christmas dvds to someone who supports michael eisner ;)
You are leaving me your Christmas DVDs?
SNERWW22785
Member
Posts: 37
Joined: Sat Nov 22, 2003 12:41 am

Post by SNERWW22785 »

Why do I feel like I AM back in 1984, except this time Roy Disney is casting himself as Ronald Regan taking on the "Evil Empire"?

Look, this isn't exactly the sincerest overture to ever come out of corporate America, but skip down to the bottom line - the goal of a CEO is to INCREASE SHAREHOLDER VALUE. If you've taken Business Practices 101, you ought to be able to understand that. And what has Eisner's business philosophy done in the past 18 months? INCREASED SHAREHOLDER VALUE, to the tune of almost 35% if estimates hold.

In 1984 we had a real problem - the Disney Company was tanking while Corporate America on the whole was beginning to enjoy a period of economic prosperity. In the last five years stocks and values have decreased across the board - simply put, Eisner has not driven the company into the ground while the rest of industry thrived around him, as was the case with the headless army back in 1984. Not only did Disney take it on the chin with many other businesses, it is beginning to climb it's way back. Has the creative energy & mood changed? Yeah, and that's something that ought to be addressed.

You can decry the lack of heart, the misguided feelings, the micro-management - I don't disagree with those claims. But while you continue to pontificate about how evil and manipulative Eisner's stats are, you ignore something more significant - EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THEM IS TRUE.
"The Poor Captain Has a Splitting Headache...We musn't Annoy Him!"
User avatar
disneyfella
Anniversary Edition
Posts: 1264
Joined: Mon Apr 28, 2003 1:49 pm
Location: Small-Town America
Contact:

Post by disneyfella »

point of note, i would never call michael eisner "evil"...........maybe "very very very very very bad", but never "evil"


:lol:
"It's Kind Of Fun To Do The Impossible"
- Walt Disney

Image
User avatar
jeffs854
Member
Posts: 19
Joined: Sat May 31, 2003 3:55 pm
Location: Ohio

Post by jeffs854 »

The only letter I want to read from this guy is his RESIGNATION.
User avatar
Aladdin
Gold Classic Collection
Posts: 123
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2003 12:01 pm
Location: Jasmine's Palace :) Toronto, CANADA

Post by Aladdin »

I agree 100% with jeffs854.
Love watching my "babies" on my wide-screen :)
User avatar
2099net
Signature Collection
Posts: 9421
Joined: Sat Apr 19, 2003 1:00 pm
Location: UK
Contact:

Post by 2099net »

disneyfella wrote:i'll bet 10, 000, 000 to 1 that this letter never would have happened if Roy hadn't left a couple of days before. Michael has never written a "keep up the good work" letter in his tenure there at Disney. it's interesting to note, that this letter does not even mention the reason for the letter...as if it were completely natural for Michael to write on the cast portal. Believe me, I'll bet he doesn't even know how to navigate the cast portal, it took me a while and he's so busy burning $100 dollar bills to light authentic cuban cigars that he probably didn't even have the time to do it himself.
Well, I'd agree 100% about the above (apart from the last sentance obviously)
disneyfella wrote:DON'T LET HIM FOOL YOU!!!!! Creativity has NOT grown at disney, just ask Roy Disney since you probably won't believe me! Maybe we should look for the person who has more interest in the company:
Well, I'm not sure if it has or hasn't. But I do know that more films and tv are being produced by Disney and out of their increased line up, there's as many, if not more with entertaining and appropriate creative content as there was before Eisner joined.

Disney needed to increase it's entertainment output. A major studio (which is what Disney is) cannot survive by releasing 5-10 films a year. Especially if the animated films were only released once every couple of years. Pixar can manage it for a number of reasons (they're smaller, to date have only had to invest 50% of the cost, they do not pay for the advertising campaign). The fewer films released, the more rides of the success of each and every release. A single box office failure can dramatically affect the standing of the company. People who critisise the "new" Disney need to understand without many of the "new" Disney's business practices there would probably be no Disney today.

Entertainment has changed. If "quality" is so important, why are there so many big budget blockbuster films made with no story? Why are most of the TV channels filled with cheap realilty shows? Why are fewer people reading books?

Yet, as Eisner says Disney has had a good year at the movies, and it's had a good year due to successful quality films (even if one is a Pixar film). Now I'm not even going to credit Eisner for that success - he's only the money man. But it shows creativity is still at Disney.

All in all (and I'm sure Eisner's facts can be confirmed) Eisner's letter shows it has been a good year for Disney. It may not have heart, but it's not Eisner's job to have heart. Roy has the company's interests at heart, but he's not proposed any viable alternatives.

As for the sequels - yes, they all could have done with extra money and time and talent. But the characters need to remain in the public eye if they are to continue to bring in money. Even Walt needed to keep the revenue stream from his past films going. Walt's solution was to re-release the films. But that method is just not effective these days. Everybody has the VHS or DVD and very few people pay to see a film at the theater that they already own. Nobody expects the Lion King DVD to sell as many as the VHS did - but it's clearly a superior package. Most average people simply don't "upgrade". But the same people may buy a sequel. And buying the sequel may make them buy new soft toys, computer games or books. Does this mean I think the sequels were good? No, clearly most could have been many times better. Does it mean I think the sequels are bad? No. Not at all. I think in principle there's nothing wrong with doing a sequel to anything. It just needs to be done right. (And I still maintain Return to Neverland is a better film than the original Peter Pan. Hey! Don't lynch me, it's just an opinion!).
disneyfella wrote:a person whose blood line is in the company and quits upon principle, whose biggest interest is the representation and quality of the company and its cast members



or


a person who fires the 2D animation department (the origins of disney), cuts pay rates for cast members, makes less than satisfactory television and theme park decisions, micromanages his company like a greedy bastard, AND.................gives himself $200,000,000 bonuses each year!



Hmmmmmmmm, i wonder who i'm going to believe..............
Roy didn't resign by choice. He was pushed out. If all these issues had been going on for some time, why did he only resign when it looked like he wasn't renominated for the board?

As for the 2D animation department closures, I agree. I think it is wrong. I'm sure nobody here supports the decision. Even if Disney doesn't want to make 2D animated films for a while they could make theatrical shorts. Not only would it add value to cinema showings, it would keep the animation talent in-house and in todays market the shorts could easily be sold on to television and home video. I'm sure they would return profits. I doubt they would loose money. Plus they would keep the characters in the public eye. I also think that, being as the animation division basically creates the characters that Disney "market" it can be run as a loss-leader (as long as the losses are reasonable).

There's no doubt in my mind it's a bad decision. It is a decision that, in my opinion, means Eisner should leave, or at least be held accountable for. After all, nobody's actually heard Eisner's reason for doing this. But does it mean he's evil. No.
Most of my Blu-ray collection some of my UK discs aren't on their database
User avatar
Jens
Special Edition
Posts: 686
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2003 6:14 pm

Post by Jens »

2099net wrote:Well, I'm not sure if it has or hasn't. But I do know that more films and tv are being produced by Disney and out of their increased line up, there's as many, if not more with entertaining and appropriate creative content as there was before Eisner joined.
Yes, but can't anyone see that Eisner is just using the "Disney brand" to keep selling all the movies they are releasing? All the normal people (besides us Disney freaks) are expecting a great movie everytime they hear that a new Disney movie is coming out. If a new company pops up with for example the same animation and story as Finding Nemo they will sell less than Disney. Just because of the name! Eisner knows that, no matter what you release from Disney, people will buy it. And that's very bad of him to think that, he should be keeping the quality of the Disney company high!
User avatar
Disney Guru
Platinum Edition
Posts: 3294
Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2003 5:31 pm
Location: Utah

Mike Eisner

Post by Disney Guru »

:twisted: Mike Eisner in the head chair at Disney :x

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

I hope that he quits or leaves or something and Roy Goes Back In.

:) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

I THink His Letter To Cast members are a bunch of lies rolled into a short letter.
Post Reply