What's going on with Disney? Crisis?

[acsive@mail.mira.dk]

Hi all

During the last time worrying news have been heard about a big concern, namely 
Disney Co. First thing is that Roy Disney (Walt's nephew) went from the board 
of the company - he now has the webpage www.savedisney.com where he and many 
others advice that Michael Eisner (Is he be any chance a relative of the other 
Eisner in our genre, Will Eisner??) should be removed.

Mr. Disney says that Eisner has forgotten the goals they set in the early 80'es 
when they started to make the company what it has been in the 90'es with great 
movies such as "Lion King" and "Beauty and the Beast". - It seems the company 
is now more concentrated on making money - something that Disney originally 
said was not to be the goal - achievement and quality was the marks of Disney 
when Walt started it. 

Apart from this I first heard that Pixar has left the cooperation with the 
company, as they can easily find a better partner. AND: Then I hear that the 
department that does the animation movies is to be closed?! The production of a 
movie called "A few friendly ghosts" has been stopped - and thus making many 
people unemployed... This makes me very sad as I grew up with the great movies 
as mentioned before. Thanks to a subscriber's offer I got to see the new "Bear 
Brothers" before the premiere in Denmark - it's great IMO. 

Furthermore I read yesterday that Comcast Corp., USAs biggest cable TV company 
has offered to buy the whole concern for 66 billion dollars. 

I wonder if, and how much all this is going to effect our branch of the tree, 
so to speak. Will the license-holders, such as Egmont, Gemstone and the 
publishers in Italy, France and Netherland/Finland suffer from this? Will 
another company know what they have in their hands here, even though the comics 
might be an ever so small part of the whole business? I'm just worrying, and I 
wonder if some of you people here, who are involved in the publishing or 
creating of comics could comment on this - tell us what you think? 

Yours AC


http://www.aftenposten.no/nyheter/okonomi/article.jhtml?articleID=728628