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[ManaByte]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/09/08/business/media/disney-bob-iger-chapek.html

Extremely long read. The first third is the slowest, basically covering COVID and how Chapek was promoted but Iger was still running things. Then things get really good once it gets into 2021:

That fall, as his end-of-year retirement date approached, Mr. Iger said he didn’t want a farewell ceremony or party at Disney. The thought of Mr. Chapek hosting such an event was too galling. Instead, he and his wife decided to host their own party at their home in Brentwood. Mr. Iger chose a date when he knew Mr. Chapek would be in Orlando, Fla., for an event.
Mr. Chapek canceled the trip.

On Nov. 19, he arrived for the party at the same time as Thomas Schumacher, the longtime president of Disney’s Broadway division. Ms. Bay, Mr. Iger’s wife, was outside greeting guests as they arrived. “Tom Schumacher, it’s been too long,” she gushed. “I can’t believe you came all this way.” She embraced Mr. Schumacher. Mr. Chapek stood awkwardly by until she finally turned to him. “Hi, Bob. I see you all the time,” she said. She turned back to Mr. Schumacher.
A guest who witnessed the exchange recalled Bette Davis’s memorable line in “All About Eve”: “Fasten your seatbelts. It’s going to be a bumpy night.”

About 80 guests were seated at three long tables outdoors behind the house. Mr. Iger was flanked by Mr. Spielberg and Ms. Lee of Disney Animation. Mr. Chapek was in the middle of the table farthest from Mr. Iger’s.
Mr. Iger began a speech recognizing people who’d helped and inspired him. In one of his first jobs at ABC, Mr. Iger had worked as an assistant to the acclaimed sportscaster Al Michaels, who was at the party. Mr. Iger mentioned that back in the day he and Mr. Michaels had covered dirt-track racing in Terre Haute, Ind., for “Wide World of Sports.” Mr. Iger looked toward Mr. Chapek and went off script: “That’s your area, isn’t it Bob?” he asked, referring to Terre Haute, in rural southwestern Indiana. “You’d know all about dirt tracks.”

During Mr. Iger’s tenure, the studio had greenlighted a bevy of projects with progressive social and political themes. But Mr. Chapek worried the development slate had veered too far left on social issues. Disney was being pulled into partisan political debates more frequently, a worrisome situation for a brand that was supposed to stand for everyone.
Some board members agreed. Coming up through the pipeline was “Strange World,” Disney’s first animated film focusing on an openly gay teenager. Ms. Catz, a board member, was so opposed to the character that she told Mr. Chapek she’d have him fired if Disney released the film. He reported the threat to Ms. Arnold.

There's a long section about the Florida situation (politics), but it just further paints Chapek as an idiot.

Perlmutter stuff:

The irascible Mr. Perlmutter had clashed with Mr. Iger over the years. In 2015, Mr. Perlmutter tried to fire Mr. Feige, Marvel’s celebrated movie chief, amid a disagreement about budgets; Mr. Iger saved Mr. Feige and effectively demoted Mr. Perlmutter by stripping superhero movies from his oversight. In 2019, Mr. Iger further marginalized Mr. Perlmutter, taking away the television portion of his job and leaving him with only a tiny fief involving comics publishing and a few consumer products. Mr. Perlmutter had been glad to see Mr. Iger step down.

But Mr. Perlmutter had sources in the company who convinced him that Mr. Iger was plotting a return. Mr. Perlmutter warned Mr. Chapek, fanning Mr. Chapek’s own anxieties about Mr. Iger’s intentions.

With Mr. Perlmutter’s encouragement, Mr. Chapek met with Mr. Peltz in July at Disneyland Paris and the two men forged a rapport. Soon after, Mr. Perlmutter called several board members, including Ms. Catz, lobbying them to add Mr. Peltz to the board. If not, he warned, Mr. Iger “would be back at Disney,” as Disney later put it in a proxy filing.

Instead of dealing with the budget shortfall, Chapek petted a hippo:

Worried that Mr. Chapek was in denial about the gravity of the shortfall, Mr. Gutierrez, the general counsel, called for meetings during an October management retreat in Orlando. Mr. Gutierrez invited the senior leadership team, saying he wanted to ensure a common understanding of the situation and plan for what would surely be a difficult earnings call.
Mr. Chapek didn’t attend Mr. Gutierrez’s meetings. Instead, during one, Mr. Chapek greeted park visitors and petted a hippo at Disney’s Animal Kingdom resort. (Mr. Chapek’s spokeswoman said he went to every meeting he was told about, adding that the hippo encounter was part of an effort, encouraged by the board, to come across as more personable.)

When they fired Chapek:

That Friday, Ms. Walden called Mr. Iger and canceled a walk they had planned for that afternoon. Ms. Walden said Ms. Arnold would be calling him instead. Mr. Iger reported this to his wife.
“They’re not asking you back,” she said.
Mr. Iger agreed, but wondered, “What if they do?”
Ms. Bay said he’d have to accept. “If they’re asking you to come back, they must be desperate. And second, you love the company and the people, you kind of owe it to them.”

Ms. Arnold called as scheduled at 3 p.m. After brief pleasantries, she said she wanted to apologize for their rupture. That was important to Mr. Iger. Without an apology, he wouldn’t consider a return. He accepted it and said they should move on.
“Would you come back?” she asked.
He accepted without hesitating, with three conditions: He wanted it to be announced immediately, no later than Monday, because it was too big a secret for him to keep. It had to be for a limited period — they decided on two years. And he wanted to serve without pay, because he didn’t want anyone to think he was doing it for money.

Ms. Arnold told Mr. Gutierrez to convene a virtual meeting of the board’s independent directors for Sunday without telling Mr. Chapek. During the meeting, Ms. Arnold asked for Mr. Gutierrez’s assessment. He said that Mr. Chapek had lost the support of the senior leadership team and that there was a serious risk of losing some key creative talent. He’d become dysfunctional. He’d missed important meetings in Orlando preceding the disastrous November earnings call. In a moment of crisis, rather than charting a way forward, he was in denial. He seemed depressed.

That night, Elton John was giving a concert at Dodger Stadium that was being livestreamed on Disney+. Mr. Chapek planned to attend, but was still at home in Westlake Village when the call came.
Ms. Arnold got straight to the point: “Effective immediately, you’re out.” He wasn’t even offered the face-saving gesture of resigning.
Despite his anxieties, Mr. Chapek was unprepared for something this sudden. “Why?” he asked.
“We lost confidence.”

Iger fixing Chapek's mess:

Mr. Iger moved swiftly to dismantle Mr. Chapek’s legacy and stifle any internal opposition. DMED was abolished within days of his return, its functions returned to the creative executives. Mr. Iger ousted Mr. Daniel. Mr. Perlmutter lost his job four months later. Next, Mr. Iger demanded Ms. McCarthy’s resignation. Ms. Arnold left the board in March 2023, when her one-year extension as board chair came to an end. Ms. Catz left the board this July.

Mr. Iger returned to a company beleaguered on nearly every front. He soon faced a debilitating strike by Hollywood writers and actors, then a bitter proxy fight waged by Mr. Peltz. “Wish,” a high-profile Disney animated film released in late 2023, became the fifth big-budget Disney film to bomb at the box office that year.

Current Disney executives say Mr. Iger has restored morale and brought needed stability to the management ranks. Marvel and Pixar had big summer hits in “Deadpool & Wolverine” and “Inside Out 2,” both started while Mr. Iger was still creative head. Though Disney stock remains in the doldrums, the streaming combination of Disney+, Hulu and ESPN+ eked out a profit in the quarter ending June 29, three months ahead of projections. Mr. Iger was greeted by fans with delirious applause when he appeared onstage at this summer’s D23 fan gathering in Anaheim, Calif. Mr. Iger was so moved that he had to fight back tears before speaking.

Few feuds among top executives have ever reached the level of intensity and bitterness of the one between Mr. Iger and his handpicked successor. Mr. Iger has called hiring Mr. Chapek for the top job the worst mistake of his career. Still, the question lingers: How could Mr. Iger have so misjudged Mr. Chapek after working with him for nearly 30 years? “I’ve tried hard to conduct my own post-mortem, just so that we as a company don’t do it again,” Mr. Iger said at The New York Times’s DealBook Summit last year, but declined to disclose any conclusions.

 

[SJRB]

Why do they keep referring to them as "Mr. Iger" and "Mr. Chapek"

 

[Jinzo Prime]

So no one on Chapek's side gets to respond with their own insights? Not that I like the man, but this is just a one-sided dump.

 

[ManaByte]

So no one on Chapek's side gets to respond with their own insights? Not that I like the man, but this is just a one-sided dump.

They did, but it was hard to defend the ineptitude.

And there weren't many on his side. The biggest supporters he had were Perlmutter and Peltz, who tried to take over the company and failed recently.

 

[Futurematic]

Why do they keep referring to them as "Mr. Iger" and "Mr. Chapek"

The New York Times style guide is old-timey formal.

 

[jason10mm]

Good grief, if they are gonna try to give iger credit for IO2 and DP3 as being greenlit when he was in charge prior to chapek then ALLLLL those woke bombs before it stem from his previous reign as well.

Disney is just fucked with these guys. The massive slate of sequels makes a lot more sense now.

 

[diffusionx]

Why do they keep referring to them as "Mr. Iger" and "Mr. Chapek"

Might be tough to read if it was "Bob" and "Bob"

 

[AJUMP23]

Quit making the crappy movies and shows they are making. Fire Kathleen Kennedy. Most of what they make now is trash.

 

[ManaByte]

Good grief, if they are gonna try to give iger credit for IO2 and DP3 as being greenlit when he was in charge prior to chapek then ALLLLL those woke bombs before it stem from his previous reign as well.

There are rumors of some woke stuff in Inside Out 2 that Cheapek mandated and Iger had cut when he came back. In the movie there's a deep secret Riley has and the rumor is that it was originally she's gay/bi or something revealed in a credit scene. The rumor is that was changed to what it is now and it's just her setting fire to the carpet.

Iger is also responsible for salvaging Moana 2. Originally it was a Cheapek direct to Disney+ series being produced in the Vancouver animation studio without any of the original cast returning. Iger came back and had it changed to a movie instead of a drawn-out series and was able to get the original cast back.

And Iger is responsible for Deadpool 3. He was saying since the Fox purchase in 2017 that they'd make an R-rated Deadpool 3. He said it every time someone asked about it, but people were so convinced by their own clickbait that Disney would never make it R-rated that they memory-holed that.

 

[Panajev2001a]

There are rumors of some woke stuff in Inside Out 2 that Cheapek mandated and Iger had cut when he came back.

This is from the article You posted:

During Mr. Iger’s tenure, the studio had greenlighted a bevy of projects with progressive social and political themes. But Mr. Chapek worried the development slate had veered too far left on social issues. Disney was being pulled into partisan political debates more frequently, a worrisome situation for a brand that was supposed to stand for everyone.

You cannot have it both ways… or can you ?

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Good grief, if they are gonna try to give iger credit for IO2 and DP3 as being greenlit when he was in charge prior to chapek then ALLLLL those woke bombs before it stem from his previous reign as well.

Iger made this mess, then dumped it on Czapek, sabotaged him at every point, then came back and blamed it all on Czapek. It's typical case of a fireman being an arsonist as well.

 

[Punished Miku]

Chapek doesn't seem so bad. Knew they were going too woke, and likes petting animals. It's not the first time that there's been massive amounts of effort put into dumping everything on Chapek to rehabilitate Iger's image. Sorry, but I don't believe it at all.

 

[Billbofet]

Way to promote your article, Mana...

I think they are both to blame, but Iger has better PR on his side.

Can't wait for a live action version of this article 2 years after the animated version.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

This is from the article You posted:



You cannot have it both ways… or can you ?

 

[ManaByte]

This is from the article You posted:



You cannot have it both ways… or can you ?

Chapek ignored warnings about Strange World and he added the gay kiss back into Lightyear after Iger had them remove it. He was desperate for the vocal minority in the company to like him the way they liked Iger. But they never would.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Chapek ignored warnings about Strange World and he added the gay kiss back into Lightyear after Iger had them remove it. He was desperate for the vocal minority in the company to like him the way they liked Iger. But they never would.

I doubt Iger would have made a different decision. Article from last year: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/06/disney-succession-mess-iger-chapek.html

But Chapek and other Disney studio executives knew they’d have to release the movie. The last thing Disney needed was to anger the LGBTQ community again.

Also from the same article:

Walden, Bergman and others spoke privately to Iger, who advised them that if they wanted to make a CEO change, they should speak to the board en masse.

I mean - come on. You picked the guy, you are supposed to be retired. Stop poking your fingers into place you don't work anymore. Of course Iger couldn't help himself, that man has enormous ego.

 

[Ecotic]

Damn, it's all so overwhelmingly petty and cliquish at the Disney C-Suite. That was a painful read. Every meeting and phone call has to be carefully choreographed to avoid someone feeling slighted or else the ensuing drama will become a major crisis. I'm sure it's like that for most S&P 500 companies, but it's probably considerably worse with Disney being a creative company.

 

[jason10mm]

Damn, it's all so overwhelmingly petty and cliquish at the Disney C-Suite. That was a painful read. Every meeting and phone call has to be carefully choreographed to avoid someone feeling slighted or else the ensuing drama will become a major crisis. I'm sure it's like that for most S&P 500 companies, but it's probably considerably worse with Disney being a creative company.

Shouldn't be hard. Disney is, at almost every level, a company designed to cater to children. So just focus on the children.

Of the ~75 MILLION children in the US (17 or younger), only a few hundred thousand are raised by same sex parents, roughly 0.4% So why target that group AT ALL??? It's undeniable that every human on this planet came from a male and a female, at some level, so just accept that truth.

The more challenging thing for Disney is this:

in trying to deal with the almost catastrophic rise in unwed mothers (not necessarily single, but unwed), particularly in some groups of interest, and how to appeal to those kids. Tie in unwed moms to economics and it seems pretty simple...if you want to appeal to kids with (parents that have) access to $$$ then there are certain demographics to chase and if you lose them your company profits crater. But there are a LOT of kids that don't have the mom/dad home dynamic so I can see why Disney struggles with how to maintain cross-appeal (why losing a parent factors so prominently in their stories) when trying to grab as much of the pie as possible. The writers and creatives we have working today are the product of that decline on the nuclear family.

 

[FullMetalx117]

Article hypes up that Iger is a master chess player

To be clear, Stanger World and Light year had already started and were in midst of development when Iger was CEO in that 2017-2019 period. Iger steps down (but not really) and all these movies release under Chapek leadership. Movies cause circus, Chapek takes blame and fall, and Iger is back fixing "Chapek's mess". As the sacrificial lamb/fall guy, Chapek better had made out with some good money, he's prob not being an executive again.

 

[Dural]

I doubt Iger would have made a different decision. Article from last year: https://www.cnbc.com/2023/09/06/disney-succession-mess-iger-chapek.html



Also from the same article:



I mean - come on. You picked the guy, you are supposed to be retired. Stop poking your fingers into place you don't work anymore. Of course Iger couldn't help himself, that man has enormous ego.

Exactly! Wouldn't doubt this article was paid for by Iger.

Shouldn't be hard. Disney is, at almost every level, a company designed to cater to children. So just focus on the children.

Of the ~75 MILLION children in the US (17 or younger), only a few hundred thousand are raised by same sex parents, roughly 0.4% So why target that group AT ALL??? It's undeniable that every human on this planet came from a male and a female, at some level, so just accept that truth.

The more challenging thing for Disney is this:

in trying to deal with the almost catastrophic rise in unwed mothers (not necessarily single, but unwed), particularly in some groups of interest, and how to appeal to those kids. Tie in unwed moms to economics and it seems pretty simple...if you want to appeal to kids with (parents that have) access to $$$ then there are certain demographics to chase and if you lose them your company profits crater. But there are a LOT of kids that don't have the mom/dad home dynamic so I can see why Disney struggles with how to maintain cross-appeal (why losing a parent factors so prominently in their stories) when trying to grab as much of the pie as possible. The writers and creatives we have working today are the product of that decline on the nuclear family.

So I was at WDW four weeks ago and every male cast member I interacted with was obviously gay; from the cast members at the gate, to ride ops, to restaurants, to guest services. It seems like their hiring practices have heavily skewed to a certain demographic, so much so that everything they do is influenced by it.

 

[jason10mm]

So I was at WDW four weeks ago and every male cast member I interacted with was obviously gay; from the cast members at the gate, to ride ops, to restaurants, to guest services. It seems like their hiring practices have heavily skewed to a certain demographic, so much so that everything they do is influenced by it.

Sure, who else gravitates to the overly theatrical cast member experience? But I bet all the guys who tighten bolts, replace wiring, and scrub rust off rails are straight blue collar dudes.

But who Disney hires is not who Disney SELLS to. They sell to kids and families and appealing to LGB is such a tiny sliver of kids and families, but it puts a HUGE chunk of their core audience at odds, it just isn't a good strategy.

 

[Dural]

Sure, who else gravitates to the overly theatrical cast member experience? But I bet all the guys who tighten bolts, replace wiring, and scrub rust off rails are straight blue collar dudes.

But who Disney hires is not who Disney SELLS to. They sell to kids and families and appealing to LGB is such a tiny sliver of kids and families, but it puts a HUGE chunk of their core audience at odds, it just isn't a good strategy.

Right, I totally agree. But the media and the executives are more interested in appeasing one small group, and that CNBC article that Cyberpunkd quoted said it;

But Chapek and other Disney studio executives knew they’d have to release the movie. The last thing Disney needed was to anger the LGBTQ community again.

They're more worried about offending a tiny portion of their audience than keeping the core family demographic that they've always appealed to. Right now Disney is living off of Disney adults that grew up on them in the 80s and 90s, once they're gone it's going to be even worse. I'm one of those Disney adults and even then my kids tend to lean more towards Universal and their movies.

 

[newtypepilot]

Exactly! Wouldn't doubt this article was paid for by Iger.



So I was at WDW four weeks ago and every male cast member I interacted with was obviously gay; from the cast members at the gate, to ride ops, to restaurants, to guest services. It seems like their hiring practices have heavily skewed to a certain demographic, so much so that everything they do is influenced by it.

reminds me of that clip of a cross dressing male cast member who was interacting with children.

 

[IDKFA]

Why do they keep referring to them as "Mr. Iger" and "Mr. Chapek"

Because the authors are sigmas who understand basic etiquette.

 

[Hari Seldon]

Wow even an article written as a puff piece for Iger still couldn’t hide the fact that he was a complete asshole.

 

[yet_another_alt]

Might be tough to read if it was "Bob" and "Bob"

The title of the article should have been the "Battle of the Bobs"

 

[ManaByte]

Article hypes up that Iger is a master chess player

Sort of. It also shows he made a mistake when he picked Chapek and key members of the board didn't agree with it, and the result was a disaster.

Honestly even though they extended his contract again to 2026, I don't see him leaving. The majority of the company doesn't trust anyone else to run it. He's really the most loved (internally) leader they've had since Walt.

 

[Tertullian]

Did I read the same article as all of you? A lot of you seem to be reading this as a pro-Iger piece, but it seems to me it deliberately shows Iger as a power-hungry monster who made it impossible for his successor to succeed. And the NYT comments agree with me: they're anti-Iger almost to a man.