Cook puts Mickey on a diet

Effects of mandate still unclear to H'wood

By CHRIS GARDNER

Walt Disney Studios chairman Dick Cook is fond of pointing out that of the top 100 movies of all time, 80 were (or could have been) a Disney-branded movie.

That belief underlies last week's shakeup in the motion picture division, as the studio moves toward a scaled-back slate made up of easier-to-market, internationally relevant pics that build on the company's storied history of family entertainment. It's "Princess Diaries" vs. "Casanova," "Pirates of the Caribbean" sequels vs. "Hidalgo."

Then again, it was Cook who not too long ago snatched up Mel Gibson's "Apocalypto," a script so violent that other studios wanted no part of it. It will be released in December.

Such inconsistencies between studio mantra and actual action are why producers, agents and other Disney executives last week were still scratching their heads, wondering how the changes at the studio actually will shake out.

It certainly will mean a change in styles. As the president of the motion picture group, Nina Jacobson was one of the last at Disney to follow in the Michael Eisner managerial manner. She was barbed and blunt, and seemed proud of her tell-it-like-it-is attitude.

"She was honest, almost painfully honest," says one veteran producer.

By contrast, new Walt Disney Pictures prexy Oren Aviv is upbeat and polished, a tactful company man with a keen sense of the brand.

But there's little doubt that the primary force behind the transition will be Cook, amiable, even homespun in his approach and who comes across as a man who harbors no secrets.

But in realigning the movie division, he's had to perform some draconian tasks that belie his easygoing demeanor.

When the studio sent out a press release on July 18 announcing the cuts of some 650 jobs, a scaling down of films and a flurry of new appointments, even the higher-ups were caught off guard. He already took some heat for the way Jacobson was let go, as her partner was giving birth in the delivery room to the couple's third child.

"People are complaining how it was done, but there is never a nice way to fire anybody," says one producer.

Of greater anxiety is what a diminished slate will mean for producers on the lot. The slate is being slashed from 18 to 10, with two or three pics from Touchstone; rumors are flying that the studio will let go of producer deals. The studio already has commitments to Pixar, Disney Animation, Jerry Bruckheimer and other high-profile producers like Armyan Bernstein.

"The mere fact that there are fewer movies being made is a challenge," says one producer on the lot. "It will be tougher to get those slots without a lot of wiggle room."

And as producers fret, Disney is expected to announce that it has signed a deal with Robert Zemeckis and Jack Rapke's ImageMovers, responsible for the family-friendly "Polar Express," bringing the shingle over from its former home at DreamWorks. The company already has office space in the animation building, sources say, and its Disney telephone numbers are up and running.

Rarely does a new production prexy keep his inherited staff as-is, but sources at the studio insist that the sweeping changes made last week won't deliver any outside appointments.

Aviv first discussed his vision and the new corporate mandate during a meeting with the film production group around 6 p.m. on July 18.

One person who attended the meeting described it as "awkward." "I hear the meeting went well," says one studio-based producer. "But all the execs are just waiting for the other shoe to drop."

Aviv is expected to trim a few posts (even executive veep levels, say sources) while making major adjustments to the development slate to align projects with what Cook has often referred to as "the name on the door."

During her tenure, Jacobson looked beyond the Mouse House brand and aligned with key filmmakers who could deliver big movies. It worked for a time, with successes such as "The Sixth Sense," but she's had a string of disappointments with pics like "King Arthur" and "The Alamo."

In the coming weeks, producers will be looking to Cook and Aviv for clues as to what they want. In announcing the changes, Cook cited Aviv's success in conceiving and making "National Treasure." A sequel is in the works.

Less certain are projects like the horror pic "First Descent." The pic was developed internally as part of Jacobson's plan to relaunch the Hollywood Pictures brand with a slate of targeted, $10 million pics. According to sources, the script was in good shape, but with Jacobson gone, the status is unclear. Aviv has yet to hold a meeting to discuss individual projects.

Although Jacobson's team is said to be "heartbroken" by the abrupt change, there were certainly warnings that something was coming down the pike. Disney CEO Robert Iger had signaled his desire to move to "Disney-branded" pics at the start of the year, and in April Cook told Variety that they felt they "were taking full advantage of Disney."

"They are finding that it is better to have the resources of the company behind a finite number of films," says one producer with several projects in development at the studio. "I never understood why they didn't do this before, because even if you take a terrible movie and slap the Disney name on it, it'll still make $60 million."