Last week we reported that Disney was responding to its recent Pirates success by slashing movies and jobs (and no, that’s still not Steve Jobs). This week we finally get details about those cuts, courtesy of Variety.
The new Mouse House changes have worked their way pretty much through all levels of the company. For starters Nina Jacobson, head of the Buena Vista Motion Picture group is leaving the company, leading to a restructuring of the company. Oren Aviv will serve as president for Walt Disney Pictures, which will develop and produce live action films. Mark Zoradi will head up Walt Disney Motion Pictures Group which will produce and distribute Disney and Touchstone films. Meanwhile, Buena Vista Worldwide Home Entertainment will work under the leadership of Robert Chapek who will oversee the distribution and marketing of… well, home entertainment.
The changes make Disney second only to Universal as far as company layout with the number of marketing executives. Even more interesting is that the higher number of execs will now have less to do, as Disney cuts its slate down to ten upcoming live action and animation films. Less films means less jobs, which means Disney is cutting loose quite a few employees: 650 to be exact, half from their domestic employees and the other half internationally. Home entertainment is targeted as the department suffering from the most cuts, with distribution and theatrical marketing also taking hits.
There is no word as to whether Jacobson’s departure has anything to do with her appearance on the “tell all” book The Man Who Heard Voices: Or, How M. Night Shyamalan Risked His Career on A Fairy Tale, which details Disney’s loss of Shyamalan; a story in which Jacobson is the villain.
The cuts have met with mixed responses. While some might question how a company can justify cutting jobs while becoming more top heavy through reorganization. At the same time, cutting back on the number of movies being produced might force Disney to tighten the reigns on a lot of the junk movies that are being put out right now, particularly in the Home Entertainment section with all the straight to DVD movies and sequels.
