Free Republic

Former Disney CEO Michael Eisner believes women are rarely both funny and beautiful. Speaking with Goldie Hawn at the Aspen Ideas Festival, he said: 'The hardest artist to find is a beautiful, funny woman.' He prophetically added: 'Boy I'm going to get in trouble, I know this goes online. But usually, unbelievably beautiful women - you being an exception - are not funny.' Accordingly, his words have have prompted outrage on Twitter, with thousands of people name-checking comedians such as Tina Fey, Mindy Kalig and Kristen Wiig as examples of the supposedly unattainable formula.

Disney CEO Michael Eisner was a guest on "Your World with Neil Cavuto" this afternoon on Fox News. Eisner, who left Disney in 2005, spoke to Cavuto about the departure of ABC News chief David Westin, whether the network should keep its news division and even "CBS Evening News" anchor Katie Couric. Cavuto: I was thinking of ABC because David Westin, the ABC news chief is stepping down, and some say that ABC might disband the news division, what do you think? Eisner: I don't think that is true frankly, and David leaving is not a result of changes in...

During his 20-year reign at Disney, Michael Eisner's commitment to family values was viewed with suspicion by many. The worries apparently were well-founded. His animation studio, Tornante, has a new clay-animated cartoon on Nick at Nite called "Glenn Martin, DDS." Eisner and Nick at Nite executive Cyma Zarghami claim it's a show for the entire family. Even TV critics -- the crowd always wanting to applaud anything pushing the cultural envelope -- think it's outrageous to make that claim. "You know you're in for a bumpy ride when the first joke has to do with killing prostitutes," wrote Mike Hale...

Walt Disney Co.'s board is expected to name President Robert Iger as its new chief executive shortly, according to a person familiar with the situation. Mr. Iger would succeed longtime chief Michael Eisner, who has announced plans to step down. Disney's board met late Saturday to discuss the CEO search and could announce Mr. Iger's promotion as early as Sunday. The leading external contender in the succession battle, EBay Inc. Chief Executive Meg Whitman, withdrew her candidacy for the position Friday. Having been stripped of his chairman title after a shareholder revolt last year, Mr. Eisner announced plans to depart...

"DisneyWar," James B. Stewart's expose of Michael Eisner's 20-year tenure at Disney, arrived in bookstores Wednesday -- three weeks ahead of schedule. Publisher Simon & Schuster, which had sought to preserve a publicity campaign tied to the original release date of March 7, decided earlier this week to accelerate publication. Several Disney executives and reporters had seen early drafts of the manuscript, which paints a decidedly unflattering picture of Eisner's time atop the Mouse HouseMouse House. The leaks generated so much publicity for "DisneyWar" that industry insiders have begun to speculate whether the accelerated schedule was an elaborately choreographed PR...

ASPEN, Colo. (AP) - Disney chief executive Michael Eisner has seen "Fahrenheit 9/11," the film that The Walt Disney Co. refused to distribute - and he liked it. "The reason it is a hit is it's entertaining," Eisner said last week. "I thought it was like going to a rock concert. I loved it, but not in a political (sense)." Eisner spoke at Fortune magazine's fourth annual Brainstorm conference, co-hosted by The Aspen Institute. "Fahrenheit 9/11" criticizes President Bush's response to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the war in Iraq. The documentary has filled theaters since its release in...

<p>PHILADELPHIA - As each hour passed, Michael Eisner's voice grew more hoarse.</p> <p>Disney's annual meeting yesterday was painful to watch.</p> <p>Eisner remained poised, though it was obvious he was exhausted from the weeks of politicking to save his job.</p> <p>During a question-and-answer session late in the day, Eisner began answering a question and his voice cracked.</p>

Jobs Jabs Disney As Pixar Earnings SoarLOS ANGELES (AP) - Boosted by a record quarterly and full-year performance, Pixar Animation Studios chief Steve Jobs on Wednesday explained his company's decision to split with The Walt Disney Co., blasting Disney as weak creatively and unwilling to compromise on a new agreement. In a conference call with analysts to discuss Pixar's earnings, Jobs took a slap at Disney's recent animated films.``The truth is there has been little creative collaboration with Disney for years,'' Jobs said. ``You can compare the creative quality (of Pixar films) with the creative quality of Disney's last three...

BURBANK, CA-Roy E. Disney and Stanley Gold respond to remarks made by Michael Eisner.Not just going quietly into the good night, Roy E. Disney and Stanley P. Gold of Shamrock Holdings issued the following statement following Michael Eisner's presen-tation at the Smith Barney media conference held in Phoenix. "While we were pleased to hear that the Walt Disney Company and, in particular, its studio entertainment division, is expecting strong momentum going into 2004 with anticipated 30% EPS growth, we have several observations on the company's comments and first quarter projected results from the viewpoint of a long-term investor like the...

Letter From Stanley P. Gold to the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Company BURBANK, Calif., Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- Stanley P. Gold today sent the following letter to the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Company: December 1, 2003 To the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Company: It is with regret that I resign effective immediately from the Board of Directors of the Walt Disney Company and second Roy Disney's call for the removal of Michael Eisner as Chairman and C.E.O. I am proud of my more than 15 years of service and my role...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - A key ally joined Roy E. Disney in resigning from the Walt Disney Co. board Monday, becoming the second vocal opponent of chairman and chief executive Michael Eisner to quit in two days. Stanley Gold issued a long rebuke to Eisner and the Disney board Monday, seconding complaints made Sunday by Roy Disney and further criticizing the board ad a rubber stamp to senior management. Gold also repeated Disney's calls for Eisner to resign. "It is clear to me that this board is unwilling to tackle the difficult issues I believe this company continues to face,"...

I sure hope Michael Eisner--the boss of Disney--likes what we're having tomorrow for dinner at our house, because he's invited. And after dinner, it sure would be nice if he'd personally explain to my 8-year-old twins about "Bad Santa"--the new movie from Disney-owned Miramax studios, starring Billy Bob Thornton. "Maybe I'll make some patsah (tripe soup)," said my wife, who's never made it and hates the idea, though years ago my Aunt Sandra was the queen of tripe soup and made it once a year for the men in the family. "So how about tripe soup?" she said. "He could...

Friday, March 14, 2003 - Entertainment giant Walt Disney Co. arrives in Denver next week for its annual shareholders meeting - a move its critics say is intended to avoid angry stockholders. Mickey Mouse, Goofy and other Disney characters will greet shareholders Wednesday as they enter the Colorado Convention Center, the site of Disney's meeting. Inside, huge television screens will tout images from Disney's famous subsidiaries: ABC television network, ESPN cable network, theme parks, Miramax films and Pixar animators, all of which helped Disney generate $25.3 billion in sales last year. Yet one piece of technology will be missing: a...

Filed at 10:45 p.m. ET LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Walt Disney Co. paid Chairman and Chief Executive Michael Eisner $6 million last year and gave President and Chief Operating Officer Bob Iger a package, including a promotion-related bonus, worth more than $18 million, company filings showed on Tuesday. Disney's board said it had rewarded Eisner for steering the company through tough times and laying the groundwork for future growth with a $5 million bonus, and it gave Iger options worth nearly $13 million after he extended his contract last year and to reflect new responsibilities. The company, which reports its...

ABC asked to reduce prime time By DOUG HALONEN David Barrett, who heads the company that has the most ABC affiliates in the country, has a message for the network: Slash your prime-time schedule from 22 hours a week to 15 so his stations can make some decent money. "I would love to see the networks cut back to 15 [hours a week]," said Mr. Barrett, president and CEO of Hearst-Argyle Television, at a financial seminar hosted by Bear Stearns in Washington last week. Mr. Barrett has already had discussions with ABC suggesting that it return to affiliates the 10...

LOS ANGELES, Dec. 3 — The Walt Disney Company announced several changes today to its board, including one that could reduce the influence of a chief critic of Michael D. Eisner, the chief executive. Disney also said it was lowering its 2002 earnings estimate because of the disastrous performance of the animated "Treasure Planet," which cost $140 million to make but took in only $17 million at domestic theaters over the holiday weekend. As part of the boardroom changes, Disney will add a new independent director, Robert Matschullat, a former Wall Street banker and top media company executive. It will...

NEW YORK - This morning as guests gathered at a media breakfast to hear Michael Eisner, chairman and CEO of the Walt Disney Co., the weather outside was cold and nasty. But, if you were an employee of Disney subsidiary ABC, the biggest chill was inside when the raspy-voiced Eisner stated that he did not see the third-ranked network being around in "four to five years." Eisner has been under increasing pressure from shareholders to bolster the company's stock price, which is trading in the $17 range, lower than where it was five years ago and more than 60% off...

Ted Turner, hard of hearing and approaching his 64th birthday, has got his groove back. The billionaire "Mouth of the South," who spent much of last year demoralized and complaining about having been fired, is now looking much more like the corporate rabble-rouser he used to be. "A great leader has two key qualities," Turner said in a speech this month at the University of Rochester in New York. "He knows where he wants to go; he's able to persuade others to go with him." After a year of virtual corporate exile, Turner has figured out the first part and...

BURBANK, Calif. (Reuters) - Two titans of their industries, The Walt Disney Co. and Microsoft Corp., on Thursday banded together to launch a family friendly Web service in a challenge to AOL's leading role as an Internet service provider. By pairing up with Disney in the new service called Disney on MSN, Microsoft's new MSN 8 service gains access to the Walt Disney's movie properties like hit film "Monsters Inc.," ABC broadcast TV network, ABC News, ESPN cable TV sports channel, and Radio Disney. AOL, a unit of No. 1 media company AOL Time Warner Inc., has the largest number...

Three years ago, when it appeared that nothing could get worse at Disney -- fleeing executives, share-price collapse (and this was during the boom), dismal results at ABC, and a CEO involved in a bitter, costly, and very public lawsuit with a former subordinate -- I wrote that "Michael Eisner's extraordinary reign" at Disney was "coming to an end." Two weeks ago, some media bigs I know were out for a little retreat at Herb Allen's place in Sun Valley and, over drinks, put together a friendly pool about whether Michael would last the year. When I dismissed Eisner, I...