Right, I’ve got some pretty hot news for you guys and it’s to do with Disney, and specifically how creators within the company are not happy with Bob Chapek.
Alright, on to the details.
It seems as though creators inside of Disney are not pleased at all with the direction Bob Chapek is taking the company in.
Chapek is the new President of Disney – taking over from Bob Iger.
He’s bringing in a lot of changes that are messing with the things that have been run at Disney for quite some time now.
The era of Bob Chapek has begun
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So, Disney has gone through what can only be described as an era of incredible prosperity and that all happened with Bob Iger at the helm.
He was someone who always put the creator first and did everything he could to remove as much red tape for them as possible.
He’s also the man who oversaw the acquisitions of Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm and most recently 20th Century Fox.
Iger is, in many ways, the reason why Disney is where it is today – at the top of the food chain in Hollywood and pretty much the world.
And he did all of this by making sure his creators were happy and making the best (and most profitable) movies they could make.
Well, that’s all starting to change with the era of Chapek.
Creators aren’t happy with Bob Chapek at Disney
Credit: Disney
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OK, on with it. Here’s what our source with very close ties to Disney had to say:
Disney as a company is doing very well. However, it’s in turmoil as far as the creators are concerned. Creators who’ve had long standing relationships with Disney and the likes of Bob Iger are not happy at all with the direction Bob Chapek’s taking the company.
It’s actually getting quite bad for them and there are grumblings from the likes of Pixar that they just want out of the House Of Mouse – but that’s virtually impossible for them now.
There’s a lot of in-fighting between Chapek and his team (who has the shareholders on their side – mostly) and the creators (people at Pixar, Marvel Studios, Walt Disney Animation Studios and now also 20th Century Fox).
It doesn’t look like this rift will be fixed any time soon, and Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit has really caused a stir.
Let’s unpack all of this
Credit: Disney
Read more: Bob Iger Has Stepped Down As Disney’s CEO And Bob Chapek Has Stepped In
So, there’s a lot to unpack here.
First, one of the main takeaways has to be that the era of Bob Chapek has begun and it’s begun badly.
At least, as far as creators are concerned.
I can’t overstate this enough, it seems not many people are paying attention to the reign of Bob Chapek.
Chapek is clearly thinking merchandising first and content second TEXT:(‘content’ – the most overused word of our time).
Creators at Disney have been put at the very back of the queue and that’s evident for all to see.
Scarlett Johansson’s lawsuit against Disney for the release of Black Widow on Disney Plus is evidence of that.
Chapek’s Disney does not care about its creators and creatives.
I’m also pretty sure that this must be making Bob Iger absolutely insane.
Pixar is NOT in a good place at Disney now
Also, our source spoke of Pixar.
Pixar has easily been the studio inside of Disney that’s been hit the worse by Chapek’s new direction.
Their movies, which are huge money-spinners for Disney, have been released on Disney Plus for free!
That’s insane to me since Pixar’s films have made a ridiculous sum of money at the box office.
They are family films and are bound to make a bomb at the box office.
Why release them for free on Disney Plus? It’s a clear slap in the face as far as I’m concerned.
Unfortunately, there’s no way that Pixar will be able to free themselves of Disney.
They would be too expensive to acquire and I doubt Disney would ever want to let them go.
All of this is pure and utter madness to me.
It’s insane to think that Disney’s new President is just thinking about how much money Disney can make out of things such as Disney Plus, merch and the parks.
Those are his three main priorities moving forward and they are the wrong ones.
Chapek vs. Iger
Read more: Black Widow Is Still Going To Be Coming Out In Cinemas
Iger was all about content.
He then ended up being the President of one of the world’s most valuable companies.
Chapek is all about the product: merch, merchandising and streaming.
Will this result in Disney being at the top of the Hollywood food chain in ten years’ time?
Only time will tell, but as it stands, if this complete disregard for creators (filmmakers, actors, film and television crew, writers, producers…) then I doubt Disney will be the powerhouse it was up until 2019.
What do you make of all of this? Let us know in the comments below.
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