Friday, September 18, 2009

Disney Fires Its Cook...


The Walt Disney Company has fired Dick Cook...

Or he resigned, depending on who you believe. Wow, now that's a surprise I wasn't expecting after his D23 Expo keynote which was held a week ago today.

Now who to replace him? I like Cook, he's been a good Suit. It's going to be hard to replace someone with the connections he has in Hollywood. But two names are floating around as replacements. One is Kevin Feige, who is head of Marvel Productions. The other choice is John Lasseter, currently head of Pixar and Disney Animation, and Head of Creativity at Imagineering. Wow, Lasseter has a shot at running the whole Disney film division. Now as interesting as that could be, I don't want the animated division to suffer. He's a very, very busy man now. But imagine what the Disney line up would look like under his guidance. More commentary to follow later.

Here's Dick Cook's official statement:

"STATEMENT FROM RICHARD W. COOK, CHAIRMAN, THE WALT DISNEY STUDIOS

I am stepping down from my role as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, effective immediately.

I have loved every minute of my 38 years that I have worked at Disney…from the beginning as a ride operator on Disneyland’s steam train and monorail to my position as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. To wrap up my Disney experience in a neatly bundled statement is close to impossible. But what I will say is, during my time at the Studio, we have achieved many industry and Company milestones. Our talent roster is simply the best in the business. I believe our slate of upcoming motion pictures is the best in our history. But most of all, I love the people, my colleagues, my teammates, who are the most talented, dedicated and loyal folks in the world. I know that I leave the Studio in their exceptional hands.

I have been contemplating this for some time now and feel it’s the right time for me to move on to new adventures…and in the words of one of my baseball heroes, Yogi Berra, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Here's Bob Iger's official statement:

"STATEMENT FROM ROBERT A. IGER, PRESIDENT AND CEO, THE WALT DISNEY COMPANY

Throughout his distinguished 38-year Disney career, Dick Cook’s outstanding creative instincts and incomparable showmanship have truly enriched this company and significantly impacted Disney’s great legacy,” said Disney CEO Bob Iger. “We thank Dick for his tremendous passion for Disney, and his many accomplishments and contributions to The Walt Disney Studios, including a very promising upcoming film slate. On behalf of everyone at Disney, we wish him the best with all the future has to offer."


If only this story was about Rasulo I'd be throwing a party instead of a wake...

26 comments:

Anonymous said...

It's a Friday story, so, probably fired.

Pooh Bear said...

Oh bother..

Nigel Smith said...

After 38 years with a company you don't quit - you RETIRE!

He was fired. So sad.

I feel sorry for the way he's been treated after devoting his working life to the company. He could of at least been transferred to another division within the company. So much for looking after your loyal staff.

swatsi said...

Its not surprising that he is leaving\let go, so much as the timing of the departure - just after D23.

The performance for this division has been lacking, so changes of some form are needed.

I hope for a positive restructure. Who gets the job will be very interesting to see.

Anonymous said...

Yeah, this had been kicking around for a while. It's sad to see a guy with 38 years experience go, but he's made some questionable decisions over the past few years.

Anonymous said...

Bob Iger is a scumbag. I want him, staggs and rasolu fired.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous, Iger is NOT a scumbag and neither are Rasulo or Staggs!

Why do morons like you take delight in speaking without thinking?!

Capt. Tomorrow said...

Anonymous 2, I beg to differ. Jay Rasulo IS a scumbag. The guy hasn't had a creative thought in his life; it's all about numbers, spreadsheets, business models, and homogenizing everything into every park. The sooner he's made to "retire", the better.

Anonymous said...

ENOUGH WITH THE RASULO-BASHING ALREADY!!!

BE GLAD WE HAVE HIM INSTEAD OF PAUL PRESSLER OR CYNTHIA HARRIS!!!

Anonymous said...

It's funny that when a company is doing well, the guy in charge gets credit, but if it is poorly performing fingers are pointing! Whatever may be the decision for Dick Cook's leaving... I just hope that Iger isn't pointing the finger at Cook for under performing films this year. Jerry Bruckheimer can be blamed for the G-Force crap since he produced it. He can also be blamed for the over-the-top storylines in the last 2 pirate films. Yes, those films made money for Disney, but I don't know a lot of people who felt the need for a repeat visit to the theaters to see them again. To me, it is a collective effort and there should be a collective blame.

Rodan said...

Firings like this one are happening all over the country. Is one person trulky to blame for a downturn in a company. i don'tthink so.

I hope Lassiter does not get the position. He is doing enough already; spread him to thin and the company will suffer and giving him manical power could be dangerous also. I hope they take thier time and choose wisely.

Buzz Lightyear said...

I agree, one day Lasseter might be right for this role. But it could be too soon to do it now. He is still learning and shouldn't be spreading himself too thin across the company until a) he can handle it and b) others can step up to help him.

amake said...

Iger is NOT a scumbag and neither are Rasulo or Staggs!

Why do morons like you take delight in speaking without thinking?!


ENOUGH WITH THE RASULO-BASHING ALREADY!!!

BE GLAD WE HAVE HIM INSTEAD OF PAUL PRESSLER OR CYNTHIA HARRIS!!!


Well, we've obviously got a management troll here. Don't presume that people aren't aware of what is happening throughout the company. While the initial comment may have been a bit strong, it expresses the feelings brought on by some corporate maneuvers.

Believe me, we ARE glad we no longer have Pressler and Harris. Bu that in no way negates the issue that Rasulo has had a negative effect on the creative aspects of Imagineering.

Anonymous said...

Why is everyone so down on Jay Rasulo? I'm not disagreeing with you, I just want to know why so many people hate him. All I hear about him is that he's scum, but no one says why they feel that way. What's he done?

Capt. Tomorrow said...

"BE GLAD WE HAVE HIM INSTEAD OF PAUL PRESSLER OR CYNTHIA HARRIS!!!"

Tweedle Dumb & Tweedle Dumber were local and only screwed up Disneyland. Darth Rasulo's evil is company wide and he won't stop until every park has the EXACT same rides, food, product, etc.

My aplogies in advance "Anonymous" for continuing to bad mouth your father/brother/uncle/nephew/step-father/son-in-law or however he is related to you.

Anonymous said...

This is my favorite Dick Cook story:

Nina Jacobson was the head of the Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group. She developed a number of properties, including Pirates of the Carribean, the Sixth Sense, and the Chronicles of Narnia.

Disney's live action films weren't performing well at the time (were they ever?).

In 2006 Dick Cook fired Nina Jacobson.

He fired her while her partner was having a baby.

Two weeks after Pirates 2 was released.

Cook's as big a scumbag as anyone else.

Anonymous said...

No to John Lasseter running the studio. Please, for the love of all that is wonderful in the world of Walt, leave him be.

The guy is an animation legend and still has his hands full turning the animation division around. We don't want him needing to stick his fingers in Price of Persia 2.

Besides, this needs to be a job for a suit.

Spokker said...

They're all scumbags, including Walt.

However, Rasulo has them all beat, lol.

Honor Hunter said...

The best thing that Jay Rasulo has going for him is that he's not Paul Pressler...

That's it, actually.

cluscro said...

^^^^
Well, at least he's not TOO Paul Pressler. But, he's enough to still cause problems.

Anonymous said...

Why is everyone so down on Jay Rasulo? I'm not disagreeing with you, I just want to know why so many people hate him. All I hear about him is that he's scum, but no one says why they feel that way. What's he done?

Ah, a welcome relief to have from someone else who's potentially more sensible than some other people I could mention.

Most of you don't even know Rasulo personally or well enough, which is another reason why you shouldn't be so mean and go about jumping to conclusions and pointing fingers.

After all, if you can't say anything nice, don't say anything.

Spokker said...

"Most of you don't even know Rasulo personally"

We're not talking about his personal life, but his professional life. You can disagree with what he's doing as an executive without condemning his entire life.

When someone talks about Rasulo on this blog, assume they are only talking about what he did within the capacity of his job.

Anonymous said...

Apparently he tried to green-light a Hannah Montana porn film.

He was really pissed off when Iger stopped him.

Anonymous said...

Spokker, don't try to act like you're not talking about his personal life. You've called people retarded before on Disney forums for having an opinion, meant it, and you'll do it again.

Don't try to act all innocent when it comes to having an opinion of someone... cuz you're always nasty.

Anonymous said...

Oh STFU!

Spokker said...

"You've called people retarded before on Disney forums for having an opinion, meant it, and you'll do it again."

But my opinion was that they were retarded.

Of course, on some forums certain people are allowed to flame, and others aren't. Heh-heh-heh...