What’s bothering Disney's Bob Iger: too many Marvel shows and labor movements
Bob Iger says too many Marvel shows dilute focus, and also that actors and writers unions aren't being "realistic"
Heavy is the head that wears the crown! Bob Iger just extended his contract to rule over the Disney empire through 2026, so now it’s all on him to carry the heavy burden of an imperiled entertainment industry. There are just so many existential issues facing Hollywood today, like audiences getting kind of tired of superhero content and creatives fighting for fair contracts. What’s a poor studio executive to do?
Speaking at the Sun Valley Conference (via Variety), the Disney CEO admitted some of the megacorp’s recent flops reflect a problem “in our zeal to basically grow our content significantly to serve mostly our streaming offerings, we ended up taxing our people way beyond—in terms of their time and their focus—way beyond where they had been.”
A media executive admitting to a problem with the infinite growth model? Groundbreaking! He’s even willing to throw Marvel Studios, the movie biz’s big cash cow, under the bus on the subject. “They had not been in the TV business at any significant level. Not only did they increase their movie output, but they ended up making a number of television series, and frankly, it diluted focus and attention. That is, I think, more of the cause than anything.”
Superhero fatigue isn’t the only thing troubling Mr. Iger. The concurrent writer and actor strikes are also “very disturbing” to him. Right now is “the worst time in the world” to further disrupt the industry, in his opinion. (N.B.: The point of a work stoppage is to cause disruption.) Iger totally gets that labor unions are supposed to fight for good deals, but he doesn’t seem to get why the WGA and SAG-AFTRA don’t just accept what’s being offered to them like the directors union did. “There’s a level of expectation that they have, that is just not realistic. And they are adding to the set of the challenges that this business is already facing that is, quite frankly, very disruptive.” (Again, the point of a strike is to be disruptive.)
Writers and actors, per Iger, need to “be realistic about the business environment, and what this business can deliver.” For instance, the business has delivered Iger a $27 million/year salary (according to Fortune), which isn’t even as much as when he was executive chairman in 2020, making $45.9 million. So you see, everyone is suffering right now.
The ongoing strike(s) “will have a very, very damaging effect on the whole business, and unfortunately, there’s huge collateral damage in the industry to people who are supportive services, and I could go on and on,” Iger said. (N.B.: Disney, as a major player for the AMPTP, could help facilitate getting all parties back to the negotiating table and granting fair deals, rather than letting writers starve.) “It will affect the economy of different regions, even, because of the sheer size of the business. It’s a shame, it is really a shame.” Hope things get better for you real soon, Bob.