The Disney Thread | Happy 90th to Donald Duck!

[Jonwo]

9 hours ago, excel1 said:

I don't think anything satisfies Iger on the DeSantis front more than seeing other Republicans burying DeSantis on the issue. Nikki Haley openly soliciting Disney to move to SC is a hilarious slap in the face to Ron. Guy definitely thought he would look like a culture war champion but it has turned into something that even his own party is ostracizing him over. 

 

We'll see where his campaign goes but right now, The DeSantis Disney War looks like a future case study of political mishandling that has crushed his once strong momentum. 

I cannot see Disney moving to South Carolina like at all. They're pretty much committed to Florida and they can wait out DeSantis leaving office in a few years time 

[JWR]

2 minutes ago, Jonwo said:

I cannot see Disney moving to South Carolina like at all. They're pretty much committed to Florida and they can wait out DeSantis leaving office in a few years time 

 

They've been in FL before DeSantis came along, and they'll be in FL long after he's gone.

[Eric Prime]

 

[Porthos]

So, Disney is pretty fucked now in its fight with DeSantis

 

Original judge recused himself thanks to a relative "within the third degree" who owns stock in Disney.  Case was reassigned and as (rotten) luck would have it, it's now before a pretty Trumpy judge.  Note, I did not say "pretty conservative" judge, as IMO there is a difference between, say a conservative judge who nonetheless has recognizable principles and one who is a culture warrior.

 

(admittedly they too have recognizable principles, but they usually begin and end with "making libs cry")

 

Now maybe Allen Winsor (former FL Solicitor General under Pam Bondi) will surprise me.  Or maybe the case will be so one-sided that not even a Trumpy judge can do anything with it (or rather anything that isn't immediately nuked on appeal as seen by the judge who got her head handed to her over her rulings on the Trump classified docs case).  But it's this exact situation (being in front of a hostile legal system) which is why I did not, and still do not, share the confidence that some here had over the Disney/DeSantis legal fights.

Edited June 5, 2023 by Porthos

[sabrecmc]

Would a “Trumpy” judge want to hand a defeat to DeSantis? Not that this case will get far anytime soon…

[Porthos]

1 hour ago, sabrecmc said:

Would a “Trumpy” judge want to hand a defeat to DeSantis? Not that this case will get far anytime soon…

 

Not particularly.  "Trumpy" in this usage is shorthand for Conservative Culture Warrior/Ideologue, as I mentioned in my last post.  Hell, DeSantis is running a very Trumpy campaign right now (his whole entire schtick could be summarized as Trump, But Effective [Now With Extra Added Woke Repellent]), so it's not like a Trumpy judge would feel particularly bad about handing DeSantis a win.

 

More to the point (and keeping it on topic) handing a defeat to Disney, especially a case centered on Culture War nonsense issues is gonna be right in the wheelhouse of a certain type of judge.  If this judge is particularly hackish, that is.

 

Even if this judge isn't particularly Trumpy (and scanning his priors I wouldn't bet on that), at the very least I expect some extraordinarily harsh questioning/pushback against Disney's legal arguments and some very forgiving/broad latitude given to the State of Florida's.  Might not matter in the end if the legal arguments are as strong/weak as some here think.  But, well, time will tell, as they say.

[Sckathian]

It’s a constitutional case so going to go to the SC most likely whatever is decided in Florida I imagine.

[filmlover]

To be fair, the original judge recused himself from the case because it turned out he had a family member with Disney stock (before that, DeSantis unsuccessfully tried having him removed). If only some other judges would have the dignity of stepping down when there's a clear conflict of interest involved *cough* Clarence Thomas *cough*.

 

But yeah, regardless the outcome here (especially if it's discovered there's also a clear conflict of interest with this judge), Disney's gonna continue tying DeSantis up in a legal battle and prolong it to the point that he will no longer be governor of Florida by the time it's over. Of course, DeSantis could drop all this now and avoid giving his opponents for the 2024 election even more ammunition for their attack ads against him (of which there is already plenty, given that he's on the record threatening to build a prison next to Disney World), but what is it they say about making one's bed and needing to lay in it?

[Planodisney]

I’m amazed at the lack of wisdom and foresight of everyone involved here.  Desantis had the upper hand by blasting Disney ridiculously opposing a piece of legislation that virtually everyone but some Disney employees and the most far left of people, not talking mainstream democrats, were overwhelmingly supportive of when the law was completely explained.  
But then he inexplicably overplayed his hand ever since.  
Disney and Iger on the other hand are absolutely burying themselves by allowing this story to stay in the headlines for even 1 more second.  There is NO DISNEY BOYCOTT, because Disney has finally just lost millions of lifelong fans who feel they are putting agenda driven content over creativity. Hell, they even had a leaked internal staff meeting that said as much.  Millions of families, not millions of people, but millions of families who ate and slept all things Disney, who were Disneys most profitable loyal fanbase, have just flat out lost their love of Disney.  It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about that, it’s just simply a fact that Disney is going to have to acknowledge and adjust to going forward. Their pool of families to market to is now millions of families smaller than it was a few years ago.  Everyday that Iger continues this battle is a reminder of Disneys “political agenda” that started this battle in the first place. STUPID LEADERSHIP for him to do this. 
Disney is in such deep deep trouble and they don’t even know it yet. 

Edited June 6, 2023 by Planodisney

[Jonwo]

Anyone who thinks Disney is in deep trouble is clearly delusional. 

[Planodisney]

4 hours ago, Jonwo said:

Anyone who thinks Disney is in deep trouble is clearly delusional. 

Are you kidding me?

They fired their CEO, slashed 7,000 jobs, taking content off of their streaming service to save money.  Stock has fallen dramatically. Have had movie after movie fall short of break even and they have 2 huge budget films about to be released that are both looking like huge flops. 
Found themselves in the middle of a cultural battle that has been the nail in the coffin of many families to finally close the door to Disney films and television.  
Somehow the parks are a separate entity in most peoples minds and have remained somewhat unscathed but that is changing as well. 
That is MASSIVE TROUBLE!!

Doesnt mean they can’t right the ship but that would require changes I don’t think they can make. 
At the very least they have to slash budgets across all sectors to account for a loss of fans to market to.  That would be a start. 
 

Edited June 6, 2023 by Planodisney

[CloneWars]

3 hours ago, Planodisney said:

Are you kidding me?

They fired their CEO, slashed 7,000 jobs, taking content off of their streaming service to save money.  Stock has fallen dramatically. Have had movie after movie fall short of break even and they have 2 huge budget films about to be released that are both looking like huge flops. 
Found themselves in the middle of a cultural battle that has been the nail in the coffin of many families to finally close the door to Disney films and television.  
Somehow the parks are a separate entity in most peoples minds and have remained somewhat unscathed but that is changing as well. 
That is MASSIVE TROUBLE!!

Doesnt mean they can’t right the ship but that would require changes I don’t think they can make. 
At the very least they have to slash budgets across all sectors to account for a loss of fans to market to.  That would be a start. 
 

Cultural Battle??? You mean standing up for LGBTQ and trans rights. Well, excuse me if you think that's a nail in the coffin for Disney. Now, that I got that off my chest, there was a study that found 71% of Americans and 89% ages 18-29 support LGBTQ rights. Supporting trans people and gay people is not some far ultra left agenda. And maybe they've lost some supporters, but it's like coming out against racism in the 60s and losing money from racists. At some point, you have to take a stand, and it's better to be on the right side of history.

[dudalb]

15 hours ago, Planodisney said:

I’m amazed at the lack of wisdom and foresight of everyone involved here.  Desantis had the upper hand by blasting Disney ridiculously opposing a piece of legislation that virtually everyone but some Disney employees and the most far left of people, not talking mainstream democrats, were overwhelmingly supportive of when the law was completely explained.  
But then he inexplicably overplayed his hand ever since.  
Disney and Iger on the other hand are absolutely burying themselves by allowing this story to stay in the headlines for even 1 more second.  There is NO DISNEY BOYCOTT, because Disney has finally just lost millions of lifelong fans who feel they are putting agenda driven content over creativity. Hell, they even had a leaked internal staff meeting that said as much.  Millions of families, not millions of people, but millions of families who ate and slept all things Disney, who were Disneys most profitable loyal fanbase, have just flat out lost their love of Disney.  It doesn’t matter what anyone thinks about that, it’s just simply a fact that Disney is going to have to acknowledge and adjust to going forward. Their pool of families to market to is now millions of families smaller than it was a few years ago.  Everyday that Iger continues this battle is a reminder of Disneys “political agenda” that started this battle in the first place. STUPID LEADERSHIP for him to do this. 
Disney is in such deep deep trouble and they don’t even know it yet. 

There are as many bigots and religious wackjobs out there as you think.

[dudalb]

1 hour ago, CloneWars said:

Cultural Battle??? You mean standing up for LGBTQ and trans rights. Well, fucking excuse me if you think that's a nail in the coffin for Disney, and also fuck you. Now, that I got that off my chest, there was a study that found 71% of Americans and 89% ages 18-29 support LGBTQ rights. Supporting trans people and gay people is not some far ultra left agenda. And maybe they've lost some supporters, but it's like coming out against racism in the 60s and losing money from racists. At some point, you have to take a stand, and it's better to be on the right side of history. And, if you don't think standing up for gay and trans rights is the right thing, then again fuck you!

I think it is pretty clear we are dealing with a bigot here.

[Boxx93]

Its not DeSantis that Disney should be worried about.... It's Comcast and the remaining share of Hulu (20 Billion dollars) that's gonna fuck their wallets really hard. That's the real reason why they are slashing content and laying off thousands of people at the company. No company is too big to fail, even the Mouse knows that.

Edited June 6, 2023 by Boxx93

[excel1]

Disney has every right as a company to say whatever it wants. If the general public hates "woke" stuff as much as Ron, it will affect Disneys bottomline. 100% not Ron's place to get involved and its comical to see 1) other Republicans going after him about it, 2) him doubling down it.

[dudalb]

Would not be surprised to see SONY join the Anti Woke hate list with some of what is in ATSV.

[PlatnumRoyce]

17 hours ago, CloneWars said:

At some point, you have to take a stand, and it's better to be on the right side of history.

 

But this isn't a hypothetical about what one needs to do "at some point," it's specific actions made by Disney in the real world with real world results. Even Iger kinda-sorta walked back explicit political activism interpretation of this move (while broadly reaffirming LGBTQ support...and engaging in more political activism centered around the randy creek stuff). Anyways, this is a messy subject that I could be wrong about but I don't think you've captured the relevant dynamics. 

 

Quote

Now, that I got that off my chest, there was a study that found 71% of Americans and 89% ages 18-29 support LGBTQ rights

Ok, but, again, look at specifics. Disney got into this mess because they were basically on the short side of a 70/30 issue as opposed to a topic that has 70% public support (probably something like a generic support of LGBTQ rights). Similarly, Iger/Disney's in a much better political place in 2023 because he's been defining the issue as a personal grudge by the governor against a private corporation. They're...not really still trying to repeal this legislation. The fact they announced they were hosting a major LGBTQ conference is a materially different manner of "support for LGBTQ rights" than demanding a state change education policies in a way contrary to public opinion. 

Look at page 27 of this gold star poll put out by KFF and the Washington Post. 

https://files.kff.org/attachment/Topline-KFF-Washington-Post-Trans-Survey.pdf

70%-75% of adults just tell pollsters they don't want gender identity brought up in elementary schools. That number drops to 50/50 approval in middle school and jumps to 2/3rds supportive in high school. 

https://dornsife.usc.edu/news/stories/opinions-of-teaching-controversial-topics-in-schools/

and here's another gold quality poll. https://www.ednc.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/House_Divided.pdf showing 30% support for teaching in elementary school versus high school at 60%. 

That's why DeSantis was able to take them to the woodshed in 2022 and it continued his setup as third most likely person to be president in 2024. Allowing GOP to define the issue in terms of elementary school education placed the broad middle of public opinion in the conservative instead of liberal camp and disney suffered real hits. These are probably not fixed numbers and such topics can be reframed but they're showing a snapshot of pretty clear opposition to the specific ground Disney chose to take a stand on.  

Edited June 7, 2023 by PlatnumRoyce

[Joel M]

14 hours ago, dudalb said:

Would not be surprised to see SONY join the Anti Woke hate list with some of what is in ATSV.

 

[kayumanggi]