Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Mouse Loses Big Fish...


"It was a tough decision because I love the whole legacy of the Walt Disney Co. ... But when it came down to my final decision, it was about my feeling that it was right to return to the lot that gave me my first chance to be a director." - Steven Spielberg


Bob Iger, Dick Cook and their team at Disney gave a very enticing offer to Spielberg, but alas, loyalty to Universal Studios won out...

Such is life. While it is a deal to distribute up to six films a year, the deal doesn't prevent him from directing films from other studios, meaning that there is a chance the Mouse could still see a film directed by Spielberg over the next few years.

They just have to find the right script...

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

maybe, finally, a return of roger rabbit?

Anonymous said...

He could have done the TinTin films with Disney.

Doopey said...

If nothing else, Disney at least managed to generate some good will from Spielberg through this process. Like the first "anonymmous," I'm hopeful this may lead to a resurrection of Roger Rabbit or perhaps some other new projects.

Interesting side note, one write-up I read about this said that Spielberg "has been and will remain deeply involved as a creative partner in Universal theme parks."

Anonymous said...

Actually, I'm kinda glad Disney didn't get him. A little competition is a healthy thing for the Mouse. Consider potentially how much weaker Pirates might have been if it hadn't found itself head to head with Lord of the Rings?

Disney's strengths in the past were often that magic of paring strong up-n-coming contracted studio artists with impressive guest directors and actors who were looking to have that one moment of legacy with the Mouse.

Rather than cashing all their chips into a big name for the long term, I think it is healthier that they spread things out with multiple artists.