Michael Eisner's Last Day

So, today, a friend of mine over at the Disney Studios invited me to come by for Michael Eisner's last (and rambling) farewell to his employees.

It was a small affair, with maybe 300-400 people, out of 128,000 worldwide employees (and probably close to 8,000 local), out in front of the studio Commissary. He made some baseball analogies that didn't seem to connect, and told a couple of anecdotal stories, then went on his way with a humble round of applause that then grew to a cheer from a smaller remnant, enough to bring him back to wave goodbye again.

And that was the end of Michael's era.

Today, he cleaned out his desk on the 6th floor, and then came by the wardrobe department on the lot where he and Jane picked out the clothes that he will keep and have sent over to his home.

Today, he was a man, and not a giant, nor a threat to anyone.

His most honest comment, was after saying some nice things about people, and about people who had said nice things about him over the years, said something along the lines of "And tomorrow, everyone can say whatever they'd really like to say."

That was followed by a bittersweet smile, and some nervous laughter from the crowd.

I remember my few weeks working on the 6th floor - and I'm sure he doesn't remember me. I was working for Lucille Martin (Who was Special Assistant to Michael and the Disney Board of Directors, and was Walt's original secretary for many years) as a temp, helping her rebuild his personal Rolodex in FileMaker Pro. Flirting with his other assistants, and trying hard to make a good impression. I still have a letter of recommendation on his letterhead, from Lucille, for the work I did there as an upbeat 24 year old who was (lightly) chastised for not wearing a tie in the office.

Some months later, after I no longer worked in his office, and was working on the backlot, I was working for Tom Bronson, who was dealing with Michael's wardrobe for the "Voice of Disney" shoots at that time. We shot one Saturday, on Stage 2 if I remember correctly, though it might have been Stage 1, and that was my first, and only real conversation with the man.

We were on set, in between setups, and Tom introduced me - I noted that I had worked for Lucille for a bit, and he sized me up in about 2 seconds flat. From there, we had about a 10 minute conversations about things. At the time, I was working full time at Disney, producing on one short film, and coordinating on another, so I was really working my ass off. We chatted about it for a minute, and he stopped to ask if where I had gone to film school. I told him I had not attended film school. He stopped at that, looked at me and said "Where did you learn to do all this work?" and I said something along the lines of "flying by the seat of my pants." He said something like "Good for you," and he went back to shooting the segment.

It was a good day, and while I do not agree with a lot of the management style and priorities over the years, I will give him some respect for the successes that Disney has had through his tenure.

Good luck to whatever the future holds for you Mr. Eisner. My brief time on the 6th floor, and the understanding of some of the inner workings of the studio, opened a lot of doors for me over the years; and for that, I am grateful.

'77 Again

Well, I wasn't planning on being a part of the "Serenity" blogger recruitment campaign, but it seems that I'm inadvertendly about to be.

My friend Gino told me one day I'd have to watch this TV series that the idiots at Fox had cancelled, called "Firefly." So I did. Now, the show was pretty good. Had some great moments, some decent acting, fun premise. After it's cancellation, the fan base went rabid, evidently. And here it is, two years later, and the shows creator, Joss Whedon, has made a feature with Universal, based on the same show, same cast, same story.

One big difference.

What was a pretty good TV show, has been made into a GREAT film.

Tonight, watching this movie was like seeing Star Wars all over again, for the first time. THIS is the boat the George Lucas missed every time since Episode IV (the first Star Wars). THIS is a story of humor and little humans in a big universe. THIS was so much better acted, and written, and directed than the TV show. But that is also what happens when you have more time than you get with a television shooting and production schedule.

Mr. Whedon, fan-freaking-tastic job. I predict a $200m plus domestic run for your film, but more importantly, MUCH more importantly, watching the way people loved, loved, your movie... you've created something very special for your audience.

I'll be going to see it again next week, and this time paying for my ticket, thank you very much - because you've managed to make one of those rare films worth my two hours, and my 10 bucks. Hats off.

Not So Proud to be an American

Been caught up in Katrina for days now - and it's amazing to me to see that the major networks have been able to pull together some kind of aid faster than the goddamned government of our country.

And now the questions of racism arise.

While I think ignorance and hubris played a bigger part than racism, I cannot rule out the specter of racism affecting the speed (or lack thereof) with which we have responded to this disaster.

Though the more I think of it, the more I think it's not just a black thing either. I think there are elements of simple prejudice against the poor, and those who were simply not able to leave. Perhaps because they didn't have a car, or a friend to get a ride with. Or because they couldn't afford the $40 tank of gas (that would now be $60) they needed in order to get to safety.

I think back to President Bush's words from Fahrenheit 9/11 (an admittedly leftist piece of propaganda, but still quotable) - where he was at a fundraising dinner and said "What an impressive crowd: the haves, and the have-mores. Some people call you the elite, I call you my base."

I can't help but admit that we may no longer see ourselves in our fellow humans who do not have the same things and same means that we may have (even when they are modest means indeed).

There will be committee investigations by congress, and maybe even a "Katrina Commission" to peer into how the government can better cover it's ass next time - but in the end, I begin to doubt it will at all change how we, as a society think towards those who didn't have the option of finding safety in time. (For arguments sake, I'm ruling out those people who decided to stay just because they wanted to.)

Perhaps a natural disaster you couldn't run from and couldn't see coming, like a major earthquake, that affects EVERYBODY no matter income level or race, or mobility, would wake us up.

We desperately need to be looking at the people we see in New Orleans and elsewhere in the Gulf, and see our selves. Our own humanity and suffering. And beat the crap out of the little voice in your head that might be saying "well, I'm smart enough, I would have left." or "Well, I'm not like them."

Yes. We are.

Please consider donating to the victims of this disaster:
Red Cross, The Salvation Army, Catholic Charities.