Disney CEO Bob Iger is trying a different tack to deal with the twin SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes after his recent comments made everyone decide he’s a complete jerk. In July, Iger gave an interview with CNBC where he called the strikes “disturbing.” He also said there’s “a level of expectation” that the actors and writers have “that is just not realistic.”
Everyone — including actual Hollywood writers under the Disney umbrella — roasted Iger for being worth $600 million and suggesting that the people seeking to be fairly compensated just don’t understand how the system works.
The smugness also doesn’t help coming from a guy who was brought back to Disney to right the ship and instead has presided over a nearly $1 billion loss at the box office this year because no one wants to see movies that look bad. Maybe get your own house in order before you start questioning artists who want to buy one of their own before they die of old age.
However, in a recent quarterly earnings call, Iger expressed significantly more goodwill over the state of Hollywood, per The Hollywood Reporter. On Wednesday, the Disney boss said:
“Nothing is more important to this company than its relationships with the creative community. That includes actors, writers, animators, directors and producers. … I have deep respect and appreciation for all those who are vital to the extraordinary creative engine that drives this company and our industry. And it is my fervent hope that we quickly find solutions to the issues that have kept us apart these past few months. And I am personally committed to working to achieve this result.”
That doesn’t seem calculated at all, Bob!
On the one hand, if Iger has any influence on hastening the negotiations in favor of struggling actors and writers, it would certainly be to everyone’s benefit. On the other, he was also personally committed to making Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny a hit, and that didn’t work out either.
On the earnings call, Disney reported a Q2 streaming loss of $512 million, in addition to a $2.4 billion hit tied to the removal of several films and TV shows from its streaming services as part of an initiative to pair down its digital offerings. Still, the strikes are saving Disney money for now, with Iger explaining:
“We currently expect fiscal 2023 content spend to come in at approximately $27 billion, which is lower than we previously guided due to lower spend on produced content, in part due to the writers and actors strikes.”
Hey, if the strikes last long enough, maybe all of Disney’s losses could be recouped by simply not making stuff for a long while (hint: that’s not the way budgeting actually works). But at least the company would have time to figure out how to make the Disney parks suck less. You never want to be outdone by Oklahoma.
