Tag Archives: Dick Cook

Richard W. “Dick” Cook is the former Chairman of the Walt Disney Studios. At the time of his separation from the company, he was the only remaining top Disney executive who had worked for the company since before Michael Eisner took charge in 1984. Cook holds a degree in political science from the University of Southern California (USC).

Dick Cook Career

Cook began his career with Disney in 1970 as a monorail and steam locomotive amusement park ride operator at Disneyland in Anaheim and moved to the Disney Studios in Burbank in 1977 to manage pay television and non-theatrical releases. In 1980, he moved to the company’s film distribution department, eventually heading both its distribution and marketing efforts. He earned a reputation there by his marketing of Disney’s home video collection and hosting media-worthy movie premieres, for example securing a United States Navy aircraft carrier based in Pearl Harbor to host the debut of the film Pearl Harbor.

In 2002 Eisner named him as Peter Schneider’s replacement as chairman of studios, popularly called the studio chief. Cook was in charge of developing, distributing and marketing all films, live-action or animated, released by Walt Disney Pictures, Touchstone Pictures and Hollywood Pictures. Cook was also the executive in charge of the Disney Music Group, which encompasses Hollywood Records and the better known Walt Disney Records. He also oversaw the Home Entertainment and Home Entertainment International divisions of Buena Vista Motion Pictures Group. He was responsible for legal and business matters relating to the studio.

Cook, described by BusinessWeek in 2003 as “the nicest guy in Disney’s jungle,” is known for his down-to-earth personality and his good relations with Disney’s partners, including Jerry Bruckheimer.^[1]

On September 18, 2009, Cook stepped down as chairman of Walt Disney Studios, allegedly having been asked to do so by Bob Iger, president/CEO of the Walt Disney Company.^[2] He was then replaced by Disney Channel president Rich Ross.

Dick Cook Honors

The Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers will fete former Walt Disney Studios chair Dick Cook during the inaugural edition of CinemaCon, the exhibition confab hosted by the National Assn. of Theater Owners.

CinemaCon — the new version of the former ShoWest — runs March 28-31 at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas. Cook will receive the 2011 Pioneer of the Year award during a gala dinner on March 30.

The decision by NATO and Will Rogers to partner in honoring Cook was made in a show of industry unity.

“From the outset, NATO’s main objective for CinemaCon was to create an event about, and for, the entire industry. Our partnership with Will Rogers Motion Picture Pioneers Foundation demonstrates our commitment to that important goal,” NATO prexy-CEO John Fithian said.

“The most exciting aspect, of course, is having Dick Cook as the honoree of our first joint effort. Exhibitors have held Dick in the highest regard throughout his illustrious career,” Fithian continued.

During Cook’s tenure at the top of Disney Studios, the Mouse House released 60 films that grossed north of $100 domestically, a rare feat.

Paramount vice chair Rob Moore was this year’s Pioneer of the Year.

Dick Cook Leave Disney

With all the signs of a classic Hollywood shake-up, Dick Cook, the longtime head of Walt Disney Studios, abruptly left the company Friday afternoon after 38 years.

The news, which came just as offices were emptying out for the weekend, stunned the entertainment industry for its suddenness, even as it revealed a rift between Cook and Disney Chief Executive Robert A. Iger. The studio has had an uneven box-office performance and has been struggling creatively. It lost money in its most recent financial quarter.

Why Is Dick Cook Leaving Disney?

Even Hollywood insiders were shocked by the news late Friday that Dick Cook, the Walt Disney veteran and beloved chairman of Walt Disney Studios is stepping down immediately. Just last week at Disney’s big expo, D23, I spoke to Cook about his plans to revive Disney’s studio and innovate with 3-D technology in the home. The fact that Disney’s studio has gone through a rough patch this year is responsible for this surprise news. The studio lost $12 million in the company’s most recent quarter, down from a $97 million profit in the year-ago period and CEO Bob Iger has singled out the studio as a drag on company results.

What now for Disney [DIS 37.01 0.06 (+0.16%) ]? Disney bought Pixar for $7.4 billion in 2006, earlier this year made a deal with Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider’s DreamWorks to distribute their films, and just last month acquired Marvel Entertainment for $4 billion. Industry insiders tell me—and this makes sense—that Disney could be moving towards a model of dramatically cutting back its own creative development. Instead Disney would focus entirely on distributing films from Pixar, DreamWorks, Marvel Entertainment, and Jerry Bruckheimer films, and perhaps also Disney Animation. DreamWorks plans to release six movies a year, Pixar generally produces one a year, Marvel is shooting for two a year, and if Bruckheimer releases two a year: that alone is 11 films for Disney to release annually.

The idea would be that Disney would reserve its powerful “Walt Disney Pictures” brand for a select few theatrical products (cutting its production overhead way back) and let its crackerjack marketing and worldwide distribution pipeline deploy the DreamWorks, Marvel, Pixar brands. Some of my Hollywood sources are speculating that Mark Zoradi, currently president of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Group, which oversees marketing and distribution, would be a natural fit to take over the studio if it does indeed shift away from production.

* Slideshow: The Highest Grossing Movies of All Time

Despite the studio’s under-performance, Cook’s departure is still such a surprise because he was so well-liked by key producers and big talent in the industry. Executives at Disney, DreamWorks and Marvel all say they were surprised by the news. Johnny Depp is quoted in the Los Angeles Times questioning whether he’ll want to continue playing his key role in “Pirates of the Carribean” sequels without Cook heading the studio. Steven Spielberg and Stacy Snider are both huge fans of Cook and that relationship was key to establishing their distribution deal with Disney. (Rumors that Snider would go take over Disney’s studio are easily dispelled as Snider is in a contract at Dreamworks, and her leadership is also key to Reliance’s financing deal with the studio).

Why push Cook out now? (And it does appear that he was pushed out). It’s been a rough summer for Disney’s studio performance and it appears that “Surrogates,” which will be released next week could be a big disappointment. But perhaps more importantly, Disney’s fiscal year ends on Sept. 30. Some have speculated that the company wants to take the hit of paying out Cook’s contract in a lump sum this quarter, when earnings from the studio are sure to still be weak, and flush out that salary hit before starting a new fiscal year.