DVDizzy Forum

PatrickvD wrote:
wow. So... as much as I agree that things have changed for the better. Very much so actually. Stop pretending as though the Tinkerbell franchise didn't emerge under new management.

It sure did. And it shows. If it was made under Eisner's watch, it would have been released in the version that Lasseter called "unwatchable." (We get a couple peeks into that version on the DVD of "Tinker Bell." Yeah, that would have been tough to sit through for over an hour.) Instead, we have a pretty good series that captures some of that Disney magic, and that is arguably the best thing that DisneyToon studios has ever done in its entire godforsaken existence. Thank you John Lasseter!

But, I must say, Rudy Matt, your ranting is infectious. I'm going to have a difficult time saying "Michael Eisner" instead of "Chimp Jackass" from now on!

The best thing DisneyToon churns out is still mediocre. The Tinkerbell films are decent, but not much more.

And I'm not saying I hate them. I understand the position Lasseter is in and I applaud the way he's handled Disneytoon.

Personally, I'm a pretty big Disney Fairies fan. But of course, it's all a matter of personal opinion. But, yeah, in my opinion, shutting down all DisneyToon operations save for that series was about the best thing Lasseter could have possibly done for them.

Yeah, it was the best thing to make both the studio and management happy.

I still think TPATF is going to be crucial. Much mores than Disney would want us to believe. It really needs to be a success in order for WDAS to finally have some bigger budgets.

Definitely. I'm sure it will be. In the box office, it's already promising to do better than even TLK!

I think for the most part Iger has done a great job!

While I have just about all of them, in truth I could do without the DTV films. I agree with Lassiter, they take away from the originals. I own them more for collection sake and the study then for entertainment value.

I didn't really know where to post this, so I guess this will have to do.

http://www.contactmusic.com/news.nsf/st ... bc_1135099

The article mentions a quote from Iger concerning ABC, Disney's American adult broadcasting division. In the article it's basically mentioned that Iger doesn't care whether ABC stays with the company or not.

A lot of sales and closings are happening over the last couple of months, Miramax up for sale, Zemeckis' mo-cap studio closed, and now this. It seems like anything remotely geared towards older folks only - is getting ditched by the Mouse House. I just can't believe Iger is so indifferent towards so many parts of the company. Completely boggles my mind, ABC has been doing a lot better since it's acquisition, with powerhouse shows like Lost, Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy, etc. constantly making the top 10 list of most watched shows.

Iger Suck? No, unless of course he kills of WDT line.

Duckburger wrote:A lot of sales and closings are happening over the last couple of months, Miramax up for sale, Zemeckis' mo-cap studio closed, and now this.

Well, we're still in the middle of an economic recession.

Duckburger wrote:In the article it's basically mentioned that Iger doesn't care whether ABC stays with the company or not.

Reading the article, it appears not really to be the case. It would be extremely stupid on his part of he were to just drop such a potentially huge source of revenue and advertising space. This is a man who bought Pixar and Marvel after all.

bradhig wrote:Eisner was better. .

Eisner was fine for a while. Certainly at the beginning but the last half of his reign was a disaster.

bradhig wrote:I remember a time when just about every disney website was bad mouthing poor Eisner. .

bradhig wrote:Including this one. Am I the only one that wanted Cinderella sequels? .

Not the only one, but certainly in the minority

bradhig wrote: I got run off one site for standing up for the DTV sequels..

I don't agree with your opinior, but you are entitled to one. Hope you don't feel that way around here.

bradhig wrote:What happened to Roy and his save disney thing? bought out cheap? .

He had enough money that I don't think he was bought out. However, it was time to start making a positive contribution again.

bradhig wrote: I can't stand Hanna Montana ,Wizards of wavely place ,etc. .

Well artisticly I don't like them but as a Disney shareholder I do.

bradhig wrote: I was upset when that snow white sequel never made it. ..

90 minutes of happily ever after reallly is not that interesting

bradhig wrote: I sometimes feel like the victim here...

I don't understand how this makes you a victim?

bradhig wrote:especially when the people running the old site wanted to make it more anti sequel....

Originality is a good thing. Bolt was pretty good.

bradhig wrote:Yes Eisner killed Skyway....

I loved the Skyway but between maitenance costs and the risks inherent in the ride no responsible executive would have kept it ,

bradhig wrote:peoplemover....

Never should have gone., and other attractions

bradhig wrote:but Iger isn't doing much better he killed MR Toads ride at WDW....

No that was Eisner Didn't anyone ever watch the The PHantom Menace? Fear leads to Anger Anger leads to hate Hate leads to Suffering. THe suffering of me and others like me who were silenced by those trying to make DIsney believe every Disney fan disliked this or that and claiming the company shouldn't do this or that cause Walt didn't believe in it. Why aren't the same people trying to chase off Iger do they think things are any better. The only vassalage Disney Magic I saw left was at WDW and the other parks and who knows how much longer that will last.[/quote]

Please, don't get me started on Iger in relation to ABC again...

Goliath wrote:Please, don't get me started on Iger in relation to ABC again...

Goliath, I love Twin Peaks too. But Iger is not the villain - its unsustainable to produce a TV series at a loss. And sadly, when the audience fell, Twin Peaks would have been created at a loss.

The villains are the - I hate to use this word but I will - ignorant viewing public who once Laura's Killer was "revealed" lost interest in the show (I use quotes around revealed because as we all know, the revelation sparked more questions than answers and created all sorts of new plot-lines) and the fact that (lets face it) Twin Peaks did start to go slightly off the rails (did that Nadine age-regression thing, or James Hurley's road-trip actually contribute anything to any on-going plot point, or were they simply padding?) didn't help.

Another "villain" is the stupid US formula for paying artists and creators. They end up with shows which cost millions of dollars to film just one episode! Fine if you have the audience to support it, but quickly leads to loss-making once support drops. Iger can hardly be blamed for an industry-wide practice.

Finally, at that time TV was rarely offered for home video viewing in the US - and while Twin Peaks had many VHS releases throughout Europe knowing how multi-national companies work, the US originator would only receive a small fraction of the VHS sale profits.

TV in the US is commercial. It has to make money. It's not good enough to simply make a product because its art. Thankfully - especially recently with HBO's huge success - audiences realise that quality shows make must-see TV viewing. We can bemoan the US commercial only system, but I think it is a fact that most of the best TV in the world is currently being made in the US.

As for public service stations such as the UK's BBC, it too cancels TV which doesn't get enough viewers to justify the cost. I'm still absolutely livid at the BBC for messing about with S3 of Jam & Jerusalem and then cancelling the series on S3's completion.

We just have to accept sometimes that "stars that shine the brightest sometimes burn the fastest.

Personally I think we should celebrate the fact that Twin Peaks was even commissioned - I'm sure it was a huge risk and gamble at the time. Truly "Lynchian" films while finding dedicated audiences are hardly mainstream after all. You should also feel the same for any other ABC show you feel Iger may have killed. Celebrate its life, not its death.

As for Twin Peaks (although I'll admit I don't fully understand it myself) there is some small conclusion to Agent Cooper's cliff-hanger in the prequel movie "Fire Walk With Me" - remember time in the Red Room is not necessarily linear.

I've rambled a bit, but all art that costs money to produce has to walk a line between artistic merit and funding. Even some of the greatest works of classical art were paid commissions and paid for by others. It's not a new concept and sadly its something I don't see changing.

Well a little off topic but Twin Peaks deserved to get cancelled by the time it did. It was some of the best TV ever produced while it did and it was even pretty good for a few episodes after Laura's killer was revealed. It was terrible by the time it finished. I think it was the only DVD series I ever bought(and there are a couple hundred of them) that I did not finish.

As Netty said, the start up costs for a US series are ridiculous. It is too bad you cant make a 20-30 episode series like that. Instead we get ER which is good for a few years and then mediocre or even less for a decade. A good comparison currently is the Office. It will make so much in syndication it is just churning on doing absolutely nothing it did not in its great first four seasons. Even something like the Big Bang Theory is losing a good deal of steam in Season 3. Don't even get me started on Law and Order or the Simpsons.

Mr. Toad wrote:Well a little off topic but Twin Peaks deserved to get cancelled by the time it did. It was some of the best TV ever produced while it did and it was even pretty good for a few episodes after Laura's killer was revealed. It was terrible by the time it finished.

I disagree. Like 2099net said, the writers dropped the ball after Laura's killer was 'revealed'. Storylines like Nadine's age-reversal, Ben going insane, and James' storyline with the weird rich lady made it painful to watch any further --but only for a handful of episodes. The show quickly recovered with the introduction of Windom Earle. But in the meantime, of course, the public had abandoned the show. Apparantly, it was too much to ask to sit through the 3 or 4 bad episodes before it picked up the pace again.

You're right, we are way off-topic here. Is there a thread in 'Movies, music & tv' were we can continue? (Preferably a broad thread for discussing (American) television practices.)

Disney’s Iger exceeding expectations
http://animatedviews.com/2010/disneys-i ... ectations/

ajmrowland wrote:Eisner even turned down Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, and who would honestly do that?

Not to mention that he was also the one quoted saying that "Finding Nemo" will probably flop AND was also the one responable for firing producers from ABC for actually having faith in a show like Lost and financing a 10 million dollar pilot.

^Exactly. Do I think Eisner is a bad man? No, but he was a bad, no.....horrible CEO in the latter part of his term.

ajmrowland wrote:^Exactly. Do I think Eisner is a bad man? No, but he was a bad, no.....horrible CEO in the latter part of his term.

Don't even get me started on that money-hungry scrooge! It's HIS fault Disney is a stupid piggy bank and that hand-drawn animation was almost obsolete!

^my point exactly.