Walt Disney Studios Showcase - 9/24/2008
Page 1 of 5
Disney Studio head Dick Cook is quite a guy. After spending a whole day on stage at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, talking about 26 films to 1,800 people, (including Disney CEO Bob Iger, seated up in the first balcony), Cook remained unruffled, even while simultaneously juggling the USC Marching band, a masked man on horseback, and a bafflingly wordless Johnny Depp.
But that’s getting ahead of the story.
The day began with a curtain rising on Maestro John Mauceri and the entire Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and chorus, live on stage. At nine o’clock in the morning. Really. As the whole tuxedo clad crew swung into a performance of “How Does She Know” from Disney’s hit film Enchanted, the screen filled with images from some seventy year’s worth of Disney films. (Obsessive types can check out the complete list of titles at the end of this article.)
Following the deafening applause (and as a crew of stage hands eased the orchestra’s massive platform upstage), Dick Cook strolled in from the wings, offering thanks to Mauceri and his crew, and congratulations to Barnet Ritchey for creating the montage. He began by noting that this was an historic year for the Walt Disney Company. It was, he noted, exactly seventy-five years ago that Donald Duck made his film debut, Walt Disney accepted an Academy Award for The Three Little Pigs, and production began on what would be the company’s first feature film, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Looking back on Disney’s creative legacy, Cook stated that this was a day to, “Concentrate on what we do best—to be Disney.”
He recalled that three years earlier he had presented a look at 17 new films. Those films, he proudly noted, had gone on to earn five billion dollars at the box office.
But before starting this year’s presentation, Cook cited a few sobering statistics. With bar charts to back him up, he pointed out that film attendance had leveled in the last five years, and DVD sales had actually gone into a slight decline in the same time period. “There is a finite number,” he said ruefully. He expressed his considered belief that entertainment properties could no longer expect to create new audiences.
He chuckled as he related a question he was asked at a party: “Why doesn’t Hollywood make more hits?” As the audience joined in on the laughter, he told how he decided that this was a great strategy. So he called the studio’s head of production and instructed him to simply make more hits.
The answer, of course, is not that simple. Cook then explained what they could, and would do: Keep the focus on Disney. The “Disney Difference,” he said, is that “consumers know and trust Disney.” This gives the studio a powerful and strategic advantage, manifested in utilizing the best talent and pioneering the best new technology. He summed up by stating, “Quality is the key to our success.”
Cook turned to Disney CEO Bob Iger, saying that he was obsessed with quality. No quality, no success, he flatly stated. He even brought up a humorous graphic, entitled The Iger Quality/Value relationship Axiom. It is, quite simply, this:
VALUE=
QUALITY
PRICE
After explaining how the axiom worked, Cook concluded, “Good is good, better is better, but only the best is good enough for Disney.”
To illustrate this, a brief clip from the hit summer release Wall-E was shown. Wall-E and Eve share a tender moment, gazing into the flame of a lighter. As the house lights came back up, Cook pointed out details that could have easily been overlooked. There was an array of lights reflected on the curved surfaces of Eve’s arms. The flame they gazed in was reflected back in their eyes. Without a word of dialogue, it was clear that these two little robots were sharing a moment. Director Andrew Stanton, Cook went on, chose each of these details, despite the technical challenges, knowing that in the end audiences would respond to quality.
But now it was time to look forward. Dick Cook stated that 2009 and beyond would offer “the most creative slate of films in Disney history.” He grinned as he declared, “Let’s get going.”
The presentation began with a couple of films about to hit the theaters. As there had already been a premiere (just the previous week) for Beverly Hills Chihuahua, Cook said it wasn’t necessary to say much more than that it promised to be a great family comedy with an all star cast, opening October 3. As he prepared to move on, a familiar voice boomed through the theater. While it sounded a lot like star George Lopez, it was apparently coming from a frisky little dog who scampered across the stage. Cook greeted Papi, the “star” of Beverly Hills Chihuahua, as George Lopez himself entered from the wings. Lopez picked up his screen alter ego, saying, “This is me if I was a dog!” Lopez made a promise to the assembled journalists: “This will be the greatest dog move ever!” He went to describe it as the Citizen Kane of chihuahua films.
Cook then turned to one of Disney’s biggest brands, courtesy of the Disney Channel. High School Musical 3: Senior Year, opening in a month, would mark the big screen debut of the small screen phenomenon. Saying there wasn’t time to present the cast in a musical number from the film, Cook instead promised that he himself would provide the entertainment, A musical vamp began as a basketball was tossed in from the wings. In the spotlight, Cook looked into the house, and deadpanned, “That’s not gonna happen!” Instead, he introduced a trailer from the film.
Following the High School Musical 3 trailer, the principal cast and director Kenny Ortega took center stage. Cook congratulated Ortega and his team for not only creating another Disney hit, but for encouraging creativity in young people across the country. Ortega noted that over 5,000 high schools were mounting live productions of High School Musical that year, inspiring artists and performers at a young age.
High School Musical 3: Senior Year official site and trailer: http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/highschoolmusical3/
Laughing Place Podcast
This week on the LPP - Disney World discounts, Mickey's Christmas Party, Disneyland holiday changes, the Disney / Verizon announcement and Reader Mail plus the crew give their favorite Magic Kingdom attractions, Brent's Corner, Stump the Crew and everyone's favorite - the Captain's Challenge.
Jeff Lange DVDs at
The LaughingPlace Store
The LaughingPlace Store carries all of Jeff Lange's theme park DVDs featuring the best of Walt Disney World and Disneyland past and present.