RunningScared2 on X - "LucasFilm has spent a decade chasing an audience that doesn't exist to ever decreasing returns, turning the largest entertainment IP in the world to a section on a streaming platform, Indiana Jones into a film that missed breaking even by $500m and Willow into a tax write-off"
Review Bombing: The Toxic Tactic That Doesn’t Work | by Glenn Sanders - "It’s the most recent iteration of a long history of toxic fandom that arguably kicked off with the launch of the Star Wars prequels and so-called fans who cried that their childhood had been ruined, and harassed some of the actors to the point that at least one, Ahmed Best, contemplated suicide... The latest example is the Disney+ series Willow. (I haven’t seen the series but quite liked the original movie.) But when it comes to review bombing, you have to assume the content of these reviews has less to do with the content of the series, and more to do with political context... What impact does review bombing have on the viewership of a movie or series? Review bombers would argue that it can flatline a property before it has a chance to get its footing, but there’s not much evidence for that. One look at the numbers for The Rings of Power (100 million views and 24 billion minutes streamed and counting) or the box office of The Last Jedi ($1.3 billion globally), and the argument is rendered moot. Even Willow doesn’t seem much impacted, as the #6 show on Disney+. Would it be #5 or #3 if there weren’t review bombers? Maybe? Do you think that would make a huge difference? I don’t think so. From inside the studio, review bombing often results in the opposite effect that trolls intend. First, it’s now expected that most big properties will get the troll treatment. Long before a marketing campaign even begins, there are plans in place for social media moderation, and ways to protect talent from these attacks and diminish the direct impact of trolls on their emotional well-being... Plus, audiences are now pretty savvy about trolls and review bombing and even the algorithm effect... blogs and news sites will report on the controversy, but the bigger ones tend to post smarter, more nuanced analysis, while those who want to hate can still find their fellow haters in increasingly niche spaces... Unfortunately, review bombers and trolls can’t be ignored. But they can be mitigated and dismissed, downvoted, blocked, hidden, and reported. And they can’t ever really win. Because the truth is, review bombers aren’t warriors. They’re losers whose only tool is dumb, blind hate. And for people who love movies and TV, love will always prevail."
Weird. We're told that The Acolyte failed because the review bombing brainwashed viewers into not viewing it or worse, not continuing to watch it, despite how excellent it was
TIL the media slamming Ahmed Best was the fans' fault
Pixar Allegedly Made Inside Out 2's Riley "Less Gay" In Response To Disney Blaming Lightyear's Failure On Same-Sex Kiss - "Pixar reportedly changed aspects of Riley's character in Inside Out 2 due to the backlash against Lightyear's same-sex kiss between Alisha and her spouse, Kiko. When the trailers for Inside Out 2 were released, there was speculation about Riley being gay and romantically interested in Val, but this possibility was not explored in the sequel. This has led to discourse about the Pixar film’s lack of explicit LGBTQIA+ representation despite teasing it. According to sources who spoke with IGN, edits were made to depict Riley as "less gay" due to fears grounded in Lightyear's backlash and box office disappointment. This included an emphasis on making Riley and Val's relationship as platonic as possible and even adjusting the lighting of certain scenes to avoid any connotations of "romantic chemistry” and " doing a lot of extra work to make sure that no one would potentially see them as not straight." Another source says this is because Pixar’s leadership mistakenly believe “Lightyear was a financial failure because it had a queer kiss in it.”... As positive as Inside Out 2's box office record-breaking success is for Pixar and for Disney, shying away from even implying that Riley is gay casts a negative light on the studios. They have tried to walk a fine line between including minor LGBTQIA+ characters while not committing to these characters or their identities being a significant part of the story. This line can only be walked for so long, and Disney and Pixar will eventually need to have better follow-through on improved representation in this area."
It casts a negative light on a studio if it makes money
Woke logic is that the fewer markets that show a film due to queer content, the higher takings will be
'X-Men '97' Showrunner Told to Downplay Gay Relationship Amid Pixar Controversy - "Beau DeMayo, the former showrunner of ‘X-Men ’97’, sparked controversy by revealing some behind-the-scenes disputes with Marvel Studios and Disney. DeMayo was quite open about being asked to tone down the depiction of a relationship in the series, suggesting a shift in how the studio wants characters to interact. He claimed that during the production of ‘X-Men ’97’, he was instructed to portray the dynamic between Professor X and Magneto as less intimate... Despite the corporate backpedaling, industry professionals and fans alike have voiced concerns that such decisions might hinder genuine storytelling and diversity in animation. It raises the question of how studios balance creative integrity with market dynamics without diluting the richness of their characters’ worlds."
I love how shoving in "representation" everywhere does not "hinder genuine storytelling and diversity"
Disney Legend John Musker Lampoons Disney For Going Woke: "They Need To Do A Course Correction" - "Musker commented on his work with The Princess and the Frog, “We weren’t trying to be woke, although I understand the criticism. The classic Disney films didn’t start out trying to have a message. They wanted you to get involved in the characters and the story and the world, and I think that’s still the heart of it.” He added, “You don’t have to exclude agendas, but you have to first create characters who you sympathize with and who are compelling.” Next, Musker declared, “I think they need to do a course correction a bit in terms of putting the message secondary, behind entertainment and compelling story and engaging characters.” Not only did Musker criticize Disney for prioritizing wokeness, he also criticized the company for it’s live action remakes of animated film. He said, “Companies are always like, ‘How do we reduce our risk? They like this, right? We’ll just do it again and sell it to them in a different form.’ Or they think, ‘Well, we could make it better.’” He specifically criticized Disney’s most recent live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid, “I think there was a question even with The Little Mermaid. They didn’t play up the father-daughter story, and that was the heart of the movie, in a way.” “And the crab — you could look at live animals in a zoo and they have more expression, like with The Lion King,” he continued. “That’s one of the basic things about Disney, is the appeal. That’s what animation does best.” Earlier in the interview, he also criticized the way Disney makes films now as well. While talking about his work on Moana, he shared, “Moana was a very difficult project. It was our idea, but with Pixar and John Lasseter, our story kept changing hands. In the ‘90s, we had Jeffrey [Katzenberg]. He was an emperor, you know. But there weren’t 10 Jeffreys.” “Now, you have too many people to satisfy, before we didn’t have 15 directors telling you how to make the movie. But in some ways, they were right, it was a good thing,” he said. Disney CEO Bob Iger has made comments similar to Musker’s regarding the company’s push of woke ideology... Despite Iger’s comments, the company’s actions tell a different story. For example, the company’s subsidiary Lucasfilm and Marvel Comics recently revealed Pride Variants for various of its Star Wars comics. One of the covers features a so-called transgender Jedi named Ruu that was introduced in the company’s short story collection, The High Republic: Tales of Light and Life... Disneyland announced Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite in April... in Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Tales of the Empire animated series, the company embraced and promoted transgender ideology by introducing a chracter that is referred to by Barriss Offee and the Fourth Sister with “they/them pronouns.”"
Clearly, an ignorant bigot who doesn't know what he's talking about
The 'Willow' Disney Plus TV Show Is An Abomination - "I’m sorry to report, but Willow—the Disney Plus TV sequel series to the 1988 film of the same name—is an abomination. It’s neck and neck with Rings Of Power, She-Hulk and Fear The Walking Dead for my Worst TV Show of 2022 award. The only reason I can’t be certain is that not all 8 episodes have aired yet."
'Willow' Ratings Are The Worst For Disney Plus - "Nobody tuning in to watch Willow isn’t surprising as the fans that did tune in, don’t like it at all. The Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score has now dropped to 27%, which I believe might also be a Disney Plus low, as it is lower than the 33% for She-Hulk. The fans are right, too, as I watched the first episode and couldn’t believe how bad it is. Willow is barely in it, the story follows the LGBTQ princess who is set to get married to a loser prince, where her twin brother, the best swordsman in the realm, gets kidnapped, and a band of weak misfits who aren’t capable of much of anything – let alone battle – is off to save him (the best fighter, the most seasoned veteran of the bunch, the male Knight gets killed off right away). Yeah, that sounds like a success... Star Warwick Davis also revealed he was inspired by Star Wars: The Last Jedi, which makes perfect sense... Willow is another example of content put out by Disney that no one likes as it’s another spit in the fanbase just like Disney did to Star Wars and is now doing with Marvel. Is it any wonder Wall Street has skeptical for months if not years and why things are such a mess at the company? Disney needs to get rid of these creatives who only care about promoting agendas and who could care less about the fans and putting out quality content."
Willow Star Warwick Davis Slams Disney For Removing The Show From Disney+ - "IGN’s Willow review gave it 9/10 and said: “Jon Kasdan brings an unabashed joy and passion to Willow. His love for the property shines through, making this one of 2022's most unexpected and brilliant new series. Expertly balancing accessibility for new viewers and continuing the story that '80s babies love, with stunning cinematography, charming performances, and vibrant storytelling, this feels like Disney+ at its best.”"
Why did Disney remove such a well-reviewed show? They must hate money. Or they're so evil they want to destroy diversity at the cost of losing money (like with The Acolyte)
It’s No Surprise Disney’s Stock Hit A Nine-Year Low. Here’s Why - "During the peak summer season this year, social media was awash with reports of how quiet it was at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida. There was so much chatter that CNBC asked Disney's chief executive Bob Iger about the low crowds which he claimed were due to the high temperatures in the sunshine state... putting its chips on streaming placed Disney in direct competition with theater chains which are its clients. So the financial gains from streaming come at the expense of revenue from exhibitors. It's a particularly pronounced problem as subscribers to the Disney+ streaming platform don't just get access to all of the studio's back catalogue but also any new content released during their subscription period. Previously, customers had to pay theaters multiple times to see different movies released by the same studio but one streaming subscription is all it takes now. This wouldn't be such a problem if Disney+ had been a profit center but it has been loss-making since it launched in 2019... In line with the times, Iger soon signaled a shift towards releasing more new content theatrically rather than streaming it. That was just the start. He then cut 7,000 jobs and saved $5.5 billion of costs. In February, Iger explained that Disney needs to "reduce costs on everything that we make because, while we're extremely proud of what's on the screen, it's gotten to a point where it's extraordinarily expensive."... Marvel's upcoming streaming slate includes series based on B-List spinoff characters called Echo and Ironheart. That doesn't sound like something from a studio that is trimming the fat. If Marvel had scrapped these shows and got a tax write-off it might perhaps not have needed to cut so many jobs... Inter-connected storytelling across multiple movies is no longer groundbreaking, it's egotistical world-building for the sake of it. Flogging this horse isn't just expensive, it's self-defeating as it means that if viewers miss one movie they might not watch future instalments for fear of not understanding them. Marvel appears to be well into the third stage of what can be summarized as the Three I’s - Innovation, Institutionalization and Iteration... It began a process of institutionalization leading to movies based on characters who appeal to a diverse range of groups to maximize takings. The past five years alone have seen it introduce Chinese superheroes in Shang-Chi, a deaf superhero in Eternals and a British librarian with the split personality of an American adventurer who moonlights as an Arabic-inspired anti-hero played by Oscar Isaac. It certainly represents a diverse cross-section of society. Covering all bases means directly targeting kids which is why 20 year-old Iman Vellani took the role of Marvel's first Muslim superhero Ms. Marvel last year and a young Avengers team is even understood to be on the horizon... Marvel doesn't seem to have moved with the times as the recent 'Barbenheimer' phenomenon showed that post-pandemic audiences don't want more of the same, they want something different."
From 2023
Disney Stock Downgraded. 2 Things Going Wrong, and What’s Going Right. - "Walt Disney stock was slipping again early on Thursday as Wall Street reacted to the entertainment giant’s latest earnings. Hopes for a turnaround are being delayed again"