DisneyWar

I absolutely loved this book. First of all the people that Stewart is writing about are bigger than life. They are the Hollywood SHAKERS and the MOVERS. They are the people that dominate American culture. They make our movies, and they produce our television shows. They own our news channels.This book read like a novel. The author has a compelling writing style and compelling subject matter to go along with it. How could you not love this book - after all it's about Disney, the people that gave you Mickey Mouse, and Minnie too? There's scandals, and intrigue. There are big heavy egos trying to blow each other out of the industry. You are going to eat it up, no, more than that. You are going to love it.You meet all the players in this book, and the funny thing is that in spite of all the wealth and power that is displayed in this book, there are no happy people. A man like Michael Eisner (Chairman Disney) amasses a billion dollars, and he's still insecure looking over his back wondering who's going to put the knife in.Eisner to his credit along with Frank Wells created one of the most dynamic Hollywood teams in decades. Wells died an untimely death while helicopter skiing in 1994. With Wells' death, it seemed that the magic in the Eisner-Wells partnership died with it. Within a few years, the extraordinary growth in sales, and earnings that had been talked about in the 1980's takeover was gone.Eisner alone apparently, simply could not continue the magic. He had Jeff Katzenberg, a brilliant, egotistical (not a negative, every heavy in Hollywood is egotistical) producer running the movie studio for Disney. The problem was that Katzenberg wanted Wells' job, before the body was buried. Katzenberg keeps hammering Eisner to give it to him, and Eisner just won't do it. The two butt heads, and Katzenberg gets fired, and then the fun begins. There's severance pay to discuss, and this means lawyers, courts, judges, and testimony, and then there's David Geffen.David Geffen is one of the smartest men in Hollywood with a $4 billion net worth. He created Asylum Records, and then sold it, and created Geffen records, and sold that too. Over a 30-year career, he had an uncanny sense to figure out where the world was in terms of music, and then bring it to them. He's made movies, plays, and is a brilliant dealmaker. He's the richest man in Hollywood, raises $18 million for President Bill Clinton, and then recently goes public telling Hillary, "Obama is number 1 with me".Geffen is also one of Jeff Katzenberg's closest friends, and confidants. Geffen would call Disney CEO Eisner constantly, and tell him to settle with Katzenberg. Each time Eisner resisted, and each time Geffen would tell Eisner, "Whatever you settle for today, is the cheapest settlement you are ever going to make." The bids just kept getting bigger and bigger until ultimately Katzenberg scored one of the biggest settlements in Hollywood history.Katzenberg then takes the settlement, and joins financial forces with David Geffen himself, and Steven Spielberg to form DreamWorks SKG, which Katzenberg ran as CEO for the three of them. What a story, it's a story without end, and continues even today.In this fabulous book, which you won't be able to put down, you will meet Steve Jobs of Pixar and Apple Computer fame. Eisner and Disney had an opportunity to buy half of Pixar for $10 million dollars from George Lucas, the Star Wars creator, and Eisner walked away. Lucas settling his divorce, sells to Jobs instead for $10 million, and years later Jobs sells the whole thing for $7 billion to who - WHY DISNEY OF COURSE.But wait - There's MOREThe author James Stewart does a fabulous job telling the story of Michael Ovitz the man who created the most powerful talent agency in Hollywood, Creative Artists Agency (CAA). Ovitz was Hollywood's ultimate deal man. Eisner always liked Ovitz, and their wives were best friends. Before Wells died, Eisner had discussed with Wells the possibility of Ovitz joining Disney. You can read the rest of the Ovitz story in the book.There's battles, yelling, screaming, power, anger, revenge, and it's all about Mickey Mouse. Where else are you going to find this kind of drama involving a corporation. The answer is NOWHERE.Eisner gets FORCED OUT TOO!!!Perhaps the best part of the story is the long process by which Michael Eisner gets forced out of the company that he completely rejuvenated with Frank Wells back in the mid 1980's. Very few visionaries know when it's time to quit. They don't quite realize when the creative juices are gone, or its just not as much fun getting up in the morning as it use to be.The arguments between Disney shareholder and namesake Roy Disney and Eisner went on for years. The clashes were private and the clashes became public. The laundry was hung out to dry for all of us to read about. In this final clash you learn about Eisner's brilliance, and his pettiness. His vindictiveness is evident for all of us to read about, and wonder.If you want to understand how an American icon like the Disney Company is managed and mismanaged, this is the book for you. If you want a page-turner that you just can't put down, written in an action packed style, than James Stewart's Disney War is in a class by itself. Get it in time for a weekend of fabulous reading. Good luckRichard Stoyeck

Disney is a justly revered name in the world of mass entertainment. Few of us don't hold a special place in our hearts for one Disney character or film (even if we won't admit it in sophisticated company). James B. Stewart has written a terrific book documenting the reign of Michael Eisner over that empire. Stewart quickly covers how Disney came to be and how it stagnated after Walt's (and Roy's) death. This book really gets underway when Eisner, Wells, and Katzenberg arrive on the seen and begin ten years of phenomenal success and growth.Things changed drastically when Eisner broke with Katzenberg, Wells died in a helicopter crash, and Disney bought ABC. The network became a drag on Disney rather than an engine for growth. Eisner advocated the need for ABC to protect Disney from a hostile takeover. Others never really bought that notion. Some have seen Eisner has trying to recapture his early success in TV, but times had changed no matter what Eisner thought of his ability to make the network successful. Whatever the reason, the integration of ABC into Disney has not been smooth or seamless. The overpriced acquisition of Fox Family and the failed scheme of repurposing ABC programming on ABC Family was also an anchor to earnings and growth.However, this book is much more than a narrative of actions, acquisitions, and numbers. In fact, there are very few numbers. It provides rich insights into the politics, maneuvering, and outright fights between the many managers and directors involved in this story. The cast of characters the author provides at the front of the book is a real help in following the machinations of the people who make up the fabric of this tale of ambition, greed, betrayal, and boardroom war. The three main sections of the book tell the arc of the story: The Wonderful World of Disney, The Disenchanted Kingdom, and Disney War.I found the background story of how certain programs got on the air, how movies were greenlighted and then backed or abandoned all fascinating. The way failure was assigned to people often had nothing to do with their actual culpability, but rather the need to get someone off the plank and into the sea so that another's career ambitions could continue. It was also fascinating how Eisner's ego never lets him be wrong even when he so clearly was. As his power grew, and he carefully groomed its growth, his identity of self with this public corporation became not only odd, but also a bit creepy. It is clear to me that the board of Disney managed the company for their own benefit and their egos rather than for the benefit of all shareholders. However, I am sure that Eisner and others on the board do not see it that way. One of the many strengths of this book is that the author does not take sides or make anyone out to be a villain (or a hero). In fact, he often points out contradictory accounts of certain conversations and actions. Stewart provides a balanced account that is very clear and lets each character speak for himself (or herself).For me, the saddest part of the story is the really bad behavior at the highest levels of management in the way they treated not only each other, but the employees they were managing. One person said that Eisner liked to put six pit bulls together and see which five died. Since Eisner was above the firing line, it was easy for him to keep rivals from becoming a threat to him by keeping them tearing each other apart. One of Eisner's methods of staying in power was keeping the board afraid that he would leave because there was no one left who could run the company. Just as a possible successor would appear, something would happen to undermine them and drive them away. All coincidences.The epilogue does a superb job of analyzing Eisner and his time at the top of running Disney and noting that even though it appears Eisner is through in 2006, that it might not be so. This is a book that should be widely read and I strongly recommend it.

This book by former Page-One editor of The Wall Street Journal and Pulitzer Prize winner, James B Stewart takes a detailed look at the reign of Michael Eisner at the top of the pile at The Walt Disney Co, from his joining in 1984 through to his being eased out in 2004.Despite his arrogance and almost total insensitivity which intensified as the years passed, Michael Eisner for the first part of his stewardship must be given full credit for turning a faltering animation and amusement park company into one of the world's most sucessful suppliers of home entertainment. With the invaluable help of his number two and proverbial 'sweeper-up of the Eisner tsunami of hyper-activity, President Frank Wells, he transformed a sleeping 'seen-better-days' entertainment once-goliath into a vibrant, inovative, cutting edge, commercially sucessful outfit.However, after the untimely death of Frank Wells in 1994, it all deteriorated with Eisner proceeding to turn himself into the 'villain' of the piece (worthy of one of his animated nasty characters) displaying an unedifying serving of megalomanic and insidious management style which alienated just about every talented senior executive, and important corporate partners. Among the many who experienced Eisner's arrogant and disengenuous modus operandi were Michael Ovitz, Jeffrey Katzenberg. Roy Disney (who he kicked off the board), Harvey Weinstein, and last but not least Steve Jobs, boss of Pixar, the massively sucessful animation company, that was making lots of money and market penetration for Disney from joint ventures. Jobs got to the stage with Eisner that he totally mistrusted him and refused to deal with him further.Eventually Eisner was brought down by the tactile Roy Disney and his friend and former Disney Board member Stanley Gold, who engineered a campaign to unseat Eisner from initially the position of CEO but a complete severance from the company in short order.This is a masterful work of investigative journalism, which is highly informative, interesting, and a great read. Highly recommended and a compulsive experience.

As the 1980's drifted on, the once mighty kingdom of Disney seemed to be crumbling beneath bad management, financial flops and a tired crop of characters 40 years past their sell by date. Enter Michael Eisner.This book is the fascinating story of how he spun the company arround, rebuilding it into multi media power house by sheer force of will. How he hired all the right people, made good decisions and aquired the right assets, then blew it as his ego grew out of control.This makes a fascinating companion book to 'Enron: The smartest guys in the room'. Both are meticulously well reserched, easy to digest and brimming with fascinating characters. But whilst Enron died at the hands of utterly incompetent managers, Disney almost fell at the hands of people too good at their jobs.A great read, an important lesson in humility, and a stark reminder that behind the magical castles and talking animals, Disney is still a corporation that exists to churn out profit. Highly recomendid.

A detailed account that is accurate, but it’s fricking loooong

Brilliant book. Second time I've bought it. Seventh time I've read it !!

It has nothing of Disney magic. It’s not like Marty Sklar books that make you feel wonder at Disney. Or even Bob Iger’s clever stories.It’s the sordid story of boring and arrogant men running a business very badly.Embarrassing for Disney really. But I don’t regret having read it.