Sep 30, 2005 03:08 PM
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Hollywood, 7:09 AM
Thu Mar 18
58 posts in the last 24 hours
Hey, Bob Iger, you're taking over as CEO of the Walt Disney Company! What are you going to do now? "I'm going to Disneyland!...And firing members of Michael Eisner's regime to show everyone I'm in charge!" Jim Hill Media, your source for all things Disney inside baseball, reports:
This past Tuesday was supposed to have been a day of celebration at the Muppet Holding Company. The day when Kermit the Frog would be appearing on "Good Morning America" and reveal that the Walt Disney Company would be holding a 15-month-long celebration in honor of that character's 50th year in show business.But — by the time Tuesday evening rolled around — nobody at MHC was in much of a partying mood. You see, word had just come down that — reportedly at Bob Iger's direct order — much of the senior staff at the Muppet Holding Company was being let go. Vice President and General Manager Chris Curtin was removed from power, as were most of the people that he'd hand-picked to run MHC. By the end of the day, only three senior staffers still had their jobs.
As to why these firings occurred when they did, there are now dozens of theories bouncing around the Mouse House. Some have suggested that Curtin was let go because — after 18 months of being the head of the Muppet Holding Company — he had so little to show for his efforts. That Disney is now looking to put someone much more dynamic in charge of MHC so that the corporation could then capitalize on these characters that much quicker.
While still others are suggesting that Chris was removed from his job as head of the Muppet Holding Company for strictly political reasons. That Curtin did in fact have MHC on the right track. But that Disney's new CEO was looking for a way to get the word out that the Eisner era was finally officially over.
The new CEO had to do something to celebrate his coronation and distinguish himself from the old guard, and the board resoundingly vetoed his suggestion that the Disney's iconic character be clumsily renamed "Iger Is The Boss Mouse."
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