Iger

Walt Disney Studios film chief Rich Ross' abrupt departure Friday comes at a difficult time for one of the largest, oldest and most successful of Hollywood's historic entertainment companies. It has also called into question Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert A. Iger's ambitious attempt to modernize the 89-year-old studio by placing a TV executive in charge of his film division and accelerates uncertainty at a time when all entertainment companies are struggling to come to terms with a dying DVD business and long-term declines in movie ticket sales.

Overcoming its disastrous film flop "John Carter," Walt Disney Co. reported strong quarterly earnings, helped by robust television and theme park income, and forecast a rosy future with plans for a sequel to its current hit, "The Avengers. " Disney posted quarterly net income of $1.14 billion, or 63 cents a share, a 21% increase from a profit of $942 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 6% to $9.6 billion for the second quarter ended March 31 compared with the same quarter last year.

When Walt Disney Co. looked to revamp its troubled retail stores in 2008, Chief Executive Robert A. Iger sought advice from the company's largest shareholder, a foremost expert on the consumer experience. Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs had lured theme-park-size crowds to his company's stores with daring architecture, no-pressure sales staffs and displays that enticed customers to come in and play with the tech world's sexiest toys. Though Disney sold its chain four years earlier, its name was still on the stores.

Walt Disney Studios film chief Rich Ross' abrupt departure Friday comes at a difficult time for one of the largest, oldest and most successful of Hollywood's historic entertainment companies. It has also called into question Walt Disney Co. Chairman and Chief Executive Robert A. Iger's ambitious attempt to modernize the 89-year-old studio by placing a TV executive in charge of his film division and accelerates uncertainty at a time when all entertainment companies are struggling to come to terms with a dying DVD business and long-term declines in movie ticket sales.

I'm assuming that the giant pillars of the Seven Dwarfs are still atop the Team Disney building, but hearing the news Tuesday that Oren Aviv has been ousted as studio production chief, I'm getting the feeling that everything else at Bob Iger's Mouse House is up for grabs these days. Since Iger ousted studio chief Dick Cook and installed Rich Ross as his replacement in early October, Iger and the former Disney Channel president haven't lost any time in reshaping the studio's executive hierarchy.

Overcoming its disastrous film flop "John Carter," Walt Disney Co. reported strong quarterly earnings, helped by robust television and theme park income, and forecast a rosy future with plans for a sequel to its current hit, "The Avengers. " Disney posted quarterly net income of $1.14 billion, or 63 cents a share, a 21% increase from a profit of $942 million, or 49 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue rose 6% to $9.6 billion for the second quarter ended March 31 compared with the same quarter last year.

Walt Disney Co.'s chief executive, Bob Iger, received a total compensation package worth $29 million in 2009, less than the $30.6 million he made last year. Iger's base salary of $2 million remained effectively unchanged, although he collected an extra week's salary in 2009. He received stock valued at $6.3 million and options worth an additional $8.3 million. But Iger's bonus of $9.3 million was down 33% from a year earlier, reflecting the company's weaker financial performance, according to Disney's proxy statement filed Wednesday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Walt Disney Co.'s romance with Marvel Entertainment began last February when Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger first brought up the idea of an acquisition during an otherwise innocuous business meeting with Marvel film chief David Maisel. In June, Iger made his intentions clear and the two companies embarked on a nearly three-month-long series of negotiations that involved four in-person meetings, numerous phone discussions and an intense back-and-forth over price that culminated in the $4-billion deal announced Aug. 31. The timeline of the negotiations that led to the acquisition, along with other details of the agreement, were disclosed Tuesday in a regulatory filing from Disney that led with its public offer of up to $2.12 billion in stock to help fund the deal.

In a continued housecleaning at Walt Disney Co., studio distribution veteran Mark Zoradi is leaving after 29 years. The departure of Zoradi, president of Disney's motion pictures group, follows the ousting of his former boss, Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook, in September and Miramax Films President Daniel Battsek late last month. Under the direction of Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger, the Burbank studio is being remade by Cook's successor, Rich Ross, former president of Disney Channels Worldwide.

Walt Disney Co. reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, buoyed by gains at Disney Channel and ESPN and at the Burbank company's theme parks. The entertainment giant reported net income of $1.08 billion for the quarter ending Oct. 1, a jump of 30% compared with a year earlier. Revenue also rose 7% to $10.4 billion. Disney achieved record revenue, net income and earnings per share for fiscal 2011. Net income for the year reached $5.26 billion on revenue of nearly $41 billion.

Walt Disney Co. is looking to bring some Marvel muscle to Disney theme parks. Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger told shareholders attending the annual meeting Tuesday in Kansas City, Mo., that the company has done preliminary design work that will one day lead to Marvel superheroes appearing in the theme parks along with Disney's other familiar characters. "We haven't announced anything yet," Iger said. "But we're working on some concepts. " When Disney acquired Marvel Entertainment Inc. for $4.3 billion in 2009, the Burbank entertainment company talked about incorporating the comic book giant's library of 5,000 characters throughout its various businesses.

An influential proxy advisor criticized Walt Disney Co.'s board of directors for naming Chief Executive Robert A. Iger as the company's next chairman, a decision that it claims "reversed a commitment to independent board leadership. " Disney disputed Institutional Shareholder Services' contention in a regulatory filing Thursday, calling it "false — no such commitment was made. " The matter of an independent board chairman dates from a contentious period of the company's history, in early 2004, when 45% of Disney's shareholders heeded the late Roy E. Disney's call to cast a vote of no confidence in then-Chairman and Chief Executive Michael D. Eisner.

Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Bob Iger received nearly $31.4 million in total compensation last year, a 13.6% increase from 2010, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The board's compensation committee laid out the case for Iger's package, noting that 90% is tied to Disney's performance. It said the Burbank entertainment giant achieved record net income, revenue and earnings per share in fiscal 2011, and initiated a number of projects that would contribute to the company's' future growth — including expanding attractions at Disney theme parks in California, Florida and Hong Kong, and the joint venture to create a new park in Shanghai.

In the first change to Apple's leadership since the death of Steve Jobs last month, the company announced that Walt Disney Co. President and Chief Executive Robert Iger would be the Cupertino, Calif., electronics maker's newest board member. At the same time, Genentech Inc. Chairman Arthur Levinson, an Apple board member since 2005, will become the company's non-executive chairman, filling the role Jobs occupied briefly after his resignation as Apple's chief executive in August.

Walt Disney Co. reported strong fourth-quarter earnings, buoyed by gains at Disney Channel and ESPN and at the Burbank company's theme parks. The entertainment giant reported net income of $1.08 billion for the quarter ending Oct. 1, a jump of 30% compared with a year earlier. Revenue also rose 7% to $10.4 billion. Disney achieved record revenue, net income and earnings per share for fiscal 2011. Net income for the year reached $5.26 billion on revenue of nearly $41 billion.

Bob Iger has signed a new five-year contract with the Walt Disney Co. that will keep him at the helm until 2015, when he will step down as chief executive and leave the entertainment giant the following year at age 65. In March, Iger will assume the additional role of chairman with the retirement of Disney's current board chairman, John E. Pepper Jr. Iger will serve in the dual capacity as chairman and chief executive for three years, until a...

As Walt Disney Co. prepares to break ground on its first theme park in mainland China, the significance for the company reaches well beyond the opportunity to sell legions of Mickey Mouse-ear hats. Although much smaller than Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., the Shanghai park holds outsize importance for the company, because it would provide entree to a market of 1.3 billion people, 30 million of whom enter the middle class each year. When it opens in five years, the $3.7-billion tourist attraction would serve as a launching pad for Disney's broader ambitions in the region.

ESPN's World Cup soccer coverage and the strong box-office performance of films including Disney/Pixar Animation Studios' "Toy Story 3" helped buoy Walt Disney Co.'s bottom line in the third quarter. The media giant reported a 40% jump in earnings to $1.3 billion, up from $954 million a year earlier. Revenue reached $10 billion for the three-month period ending July 3, an increase of 16% from a year ago. In a call with analysts, Walt Disney Co. Chief Executive Robert A. Iger highlighted the film studio's summer performance, noting that it released three of the top five films worldwide in "Toy Story 3," Disney's "Alice in Wonderland" and Marvel Entertainment's "Iron Man 2. " The three pictures not only were a financial success but also have fueled other businesses such as merchandise sales, he said.

When Walt Disney Co. looked to revamp its troubled retail stores in 2008, Chief Executive Robert A. Iger sought advice from the company's largest shareholder, a foremost expert on the consumer experience. Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs had lured theme-park-size crowds to his company's stores with daring architecture, no-pressure sales staffs and displays that enticed customers to come in and play with the tech world's sexiest toys. Though Disney sold its chain four years earlier, its name was still on the stores.

Days of tributes and memorials to the 10th anniversary of Sept. 11 may have taken their toll, a surplus of sadness pooling like the waterfalls at the new New York memorial. At least most of the stories showed a merciful precision. Most in the media heaped praise on the right figures -- the Goldman Sachs official who died helping co-workers to safety, the firefighter who led a perilous rescue. That restraint didn't extend, unfortunately, to one media giant's communications. In a video memorializing its $5-million contribution to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, the Walt Disney Co. put the focus squarely on that unknown 9/11 hero, CEO Robert Iger.