Eisner says Disney is in good shape

I watched the entire interview and even tried to call in to ask a question but couldn't get through. The people who DID ask questions asked stupid one's like, "what is your favorite ride."

Eisner is good in that setting. He comes off very well spoken, particularly when there is noone to challenge his answers. He wasn't really pressed on Pixar, Comcast, Disneyland Paris, animation, or any of the real controversial issues facing the company right now.

I am not an Eisner hater. Heck, I worked for him during the Disney Decade. But, I believe there are legitimate issues that demand some type of response from him and he seems to duck and cover masterfully, as is the case with most CEO's I suppose.*** This post was edited by wahoo skipper 2/23/2004 10:36:19 AM ***

I was laughing when the first question was on the lack of rides at DCA. Man, he didn't even get his own land's names right in the park!

Well, the woman called it "Soaring Through America" or something like that, so it must have confused him.

I taped the interview and watched it later that night and I thought that Eisner came across as arrogant in his responses and pretty much out-of-touch with what is going on. He seemed to dismiss any and all criticism that was mentioned, and almost seemed irritated about a few of the questions (which were about pretty general stuff, nothing really in-depth).

Did anyone else get a laugh out of Eisner's face when Larry King said "Michael Eisner, CEO and Chairman of the Walt Disney Company... today"?

I though Eisner's answers (especially regarding the company's status) came across as obvious spin. I expected him to be much better at selling himself, the company and everything else without looking like he was trying to.

All in all, it wasn't as interesting as I had anticipated.

You also have to remember.. they screen questions.. if you say you're going to ask one thing then when on you start into another.. they cut you off..

Not that I've done that or anything... :)

It almost sounded as if the questions were pre-recorded and then played. It was obvious at one point that the person posing the question was no longer "on the line" as soon as Eisner started answering.

Gonch- I got the same impression about his answers being nothing more than "spin." It was almost as if he had written a generic list of responses before the interview and used them when King asked his questions. Not only were his responses incomplete (he only touched upon one point in the many-pointed questions) but he made it very clear that he was being a salesman and cheerleader instead of a down-to-Earth and informed CEO.

When you refer to the new DCA kids' area as "the bug town", you know that he is a little ill-informed. Unless that was a dig at Pixar...