The Animation Options Blog

The news last Friday was brief, but BIG: Dick Cook was “stepping down” as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. Mr. Cook officially stated:

I am stepping down from my role as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, effective immediately. I have loved every minute of my 38 years that I have worked at Disney… from the beginning as a ride operator on Disneyland’s steam train and monorail to my position as chairman of The Walt Disney Studios. To wrap up my Disney experience in a neatly bundled statement is close to impossible. But what I will say is, during my time at the Studio, we have achieved many industry and Company milestones. Our talent roster is simply the best in the business. I believe our slate of upcoming motion pictures is the best in our history. But most of all, I love the people, my colleagues, my teammates, who are the most talented, dedicated and loyal folks in the world. I know that I leave the Studio in their exceptional hands. I have been contemplating this for some time now and feel it’s the right time for me to move on to new adventures…and in the words of one of my baseball heroes, Yogi Berra, “If you come to a fork in the road, take it.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger’s short eulogy read:

Throughout his distinguished 38-year Disney career, Dick Cook’s outstanding creative instincts and incomparable showmanship have truly enriched this company and significantly impacted Disney’s great legacy. We thank Dick for his tremendous passion for Disney, and his many accomplishments and contributions to The Walt Disney Studios, including a very promising upcoming film slate. On behalf of everyone at Disney, we wish him the best with all the future has to offer.

Of course, everyone knows that there is always more to an abrupt corporate departure of this magnitude, and within days the “untold” stories began to surface in the Los Angeles Times and elsewhere. Google “Dick Cook”, and you can triangulate a fascinating story.

I had the pleasure of breaking bread with Mr. Cook a few years ago in the rotunda of the Team Disney building. As a CG supervisor with Walt Disney Feature Animation, I must admit to being pleasantly surprised that someone like Dick Cook would accept an unsolicited lunch invitation from a “below the line” frame jockey. But he was as down to earth as you can imagine: from his order of spare ribs and fries, to the candid expression of his concerns and hopes for The Walt Disney Company. Given the content of that conversation years ago, it was with sadness but no surprise that I read of his departure last week.

Time will tell what lies in store for Dick Cook and the company that he loved and served so well. “It’s just business” is a pervasive rationale in Hollywood, but for Dick Cook it never was “just” that.

Farewell, Captain Cook!

Here’s a snapshot from 2002 during the opening of the “Chicken Little” production pod in the Walt Disney Feature Animation “southside” building. That’s Director Mark Dindal on the left. On the right is Producer Randy Fullmer. They say that tone comes from the top, so you probably wouldn’t be surprised if I told you that the working environment on “Chicken Little” was pretty fun - even during some fairly stressful and volatile times at the Mouse, with a lot riding on the film.

A couple of years before my departure from the company, I made a list of every production executive and producer that I knew, and began inviting them to lunch to pick their brains. I eventually worked my way up to Walt Disney Studios Chairman Dick Cook, and in the process of more than two dozen meals received quite an education on the business of animated film production. Randy Fullmer was the first to accept my invitation, and he prepped our lunch with a few pages of typed notes that I take the liberty of sharing with you now, reprinted from November 29th, 2005. Here’s Randy on producing - speaking plainly, but with resonance:

Assemble the best dog-gone crew in the whole world.

Only hire nice people who don’t freak out when things get tough.

Stay calm even when you’re not.

Learn not to say everything that’s on your mind.

Stay positive.

Don’t think you have to be the smartest voice in the room.

Learn to ask simple story questions. Who should we care about and why? What does our main character want, and why can’t they get it? Is there a goal for our main character to achieve? Do we have action to watch? Is there something visual about this story that we can show? Is this movie entertaining, or does it just line up logically? Can you describe the movie to anyone in one or two sentences and make them want to see it?

Don’t get caught up in the minutia and forget the fundamental building blocks.

Ask questions and invite participation. At the same time, protect you and your director’s ability to calmly think. Don’t send out any message to anyone that you’re closed to new ideas. This is a hard one. There are many times when you just want to be left alone.

Making a movie is a marathon. Don’t get too up or too down.

Keep in mind that it’s your job to hand the investors/studio a great FINISHED movie on a date and for a price. Stay open to everyone’s idea on how to make the movie better, but handing the studio a brilliant half-finished movie when time has run out will not be appreciated.

Treat your superiors with respect. They have a tough job too. At times they may seem in your way. You must figure out ways to work with them or it will be horrible.

Public stock companies must give their honest assessment of how their company is doing every quarter. It’s the law. As a producer, you must do the same with your superiors. If they have any experience at all, they will know that it’s a difficult task to put together a movie. Avoiding all problems is impossible. The true measure is how you solve problems while keeping things moving in the right direction.

Constantly try to define what the issues are and what the problems are. Having a clear idea of what you’re trying to fix is critical. Most suggestions have their roots in trying to fix an unarticulated problem. If everyone can at least agree on what the problems are, then you have a fighting chance of solving them to everyone’s satisfaction.

Smile and acknowledge people. Everyone’s most basic work instinct is to be relevant to the task and to be acknowledged. Be a cheerleader, but don’t overdo it. People crave honesty and genuine support. Support when you’re just going “blah blah blah” means nothing.

Make sure that everyone has a clear job description. This will avoid many disputes.

90% of your job is human nature and instinct-based. If you have lined up the best dog-gone crew on the planet, then you don’t have to know everything yourself. In fact, it works better if you don’t. The biggest turnoff to a crew is to have its leader tell them exactly what to do.

Learn the lesson that “I assumed” is the worst thing that you can say.

Understand the potential for disaster with talent. They are called talent usually because there is only one of them. You need them. They are human beings and just want to be treated with respect. If you need to kiss their feet to get them to do their job, then you probably hired the wrong “talent”.

Don’t make enemies. These films are really difficult to make. You need all the good will you can muster.

The Producer’s job is all about the gray areas. Almost never do you get to make a decision that you’re 100% sure is right.

Try to get the same joy that a teacher would get from his or her students. No one drops by on a regular basis and says, “Hey, nice producing!” The joy you will receive is seeing the power of a team and seeing people grow to do things they and you could never have imagined.

Treat success and failure as the imposters that they are. Your job is to make a good movie.

Words to produce by. Thanks, Randy!