Read this: Making the Mouse Roar

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hello, my guest today is often described as the most powerful figure in Hollywood and indeed global Media

Bob iger is the CEO of the Walt Disney company is aggressive and acquisition of some of the most sought-after brands in Entertainment from Marvel and Star Wars to Steve Jobs Pixar studio and most recently Rupert Murdoch's fox has propelled Disney to a value of over 180 billion pounds.

I got you cancel is running for US President is loaded as a master deal maker and has chronicled his nearly five decades in Media in a new book the Ride of a lifetime you want to understand where power lies in media today and what the future of this industry will look like there is perhaps nobody better qualified to answer shall we begin and this is only interview with a British broadcaster.

My father was very demanding that I spend my time productively it would drive him crazy if I was doing frivolous things I never quite challenge that and I did feel pressured by it looking back on it.

I think it was a good thing.

I think it instilled in me a Hunger and a discipline that is certainly extremely well in my adult years and my career and you'll be very over.

The family dynamic at home which was largely driven by the fact that your father was manic-depressive for the time when that was rather taboo, what impact did your father's mental health have on the family have on you well.

I never felt unsafe when I will never heard we're never threatened.

It was nothing like that, but there was a general uncertainty in the household mostly tied to with moody was another as we would wait for him to come home from work not knowing whether it was happy data angry that he is married depression.

He was always disappointed in himself a smart man well-educated man a talented man who was never able able to really use the toilet in a positive way as he saw any project that onto you to do want you to do the things that you could do he projected onto me at work ethic clearly and then later in life.

They started to achieve it clearly he was living my achievement if I carry slee your first jobs.

Where are the desks in the school used to work in a Pizza Hut teach you well, I had to take jobs from early and 15 years on spending money in some cases to buy certain things that I needed because the family didn't have money certainly help me to college for instance and I think doing those jobs with me because they think he just told me that not everything about the job is necessarily fun or interesting effect could be quite boring but that doesn't mean that you don't apply yourself to do it well.

Would you say what should a TV as a kid? This is the 60s and 70s? What were you watching the earliest memory is watching the live.

Mickey Mouse Club on a small black and white television set was probably 3 or 4 years old at the time my younger sister is born colour came into our lives probably when I was maybe 12 years old the weekend for a colour television set TV television programme and interestingly it was and it was a Disney programme cousin's house when I was probably 1415 feel like it was it was like watching real life and instead of something else black and white on small television watch TV growing up we were restricted my dad.

Mum.

Won't let us watch as much as we wanted to but I watch sitcoms and dramas then in the United States the Western was very popular.

They were variety shows a show called in solving The Beatles first appeared on a lot of comedies.

I like just about everything.

Reports of course because one of your first jobs was weatherman, how did that come about totally random? I wanted to be a newscaster and I took over job I can get there was a job opening at the television station in the town that I went to college in for a weatherman, and I edition forward and got I did not know anything about whether you any good now.

I wasn't wasn't very good at Wetherby is being right.

Just a little bit more than your on the side of you mention you and ambition to be young can a water cronkite side actually your future belongs behind a camera rather than front of it.

Well.

I practice as a weatherman or I work as a weatherman for 1-year and about halfway through the year.

I realised that my location to become a big television network Anchorman in the United States was probably not going to be fulfilled and should start thinking about another career path and I decided I want to stay in Tel Aviv

So I started looking for jobs behind the camera instead of on camera American broadcasting company Talent behind the camera and a string of hits shows like NYPD Blue and America's funniest home videos success in television for the role of ABC president and not long after that Disney came calling United States the house of the masterkova ABC in a 19 billion dollar deal that created the most powerful entertainment company in the world by Disney public face of the company.

Movie production movie development a lot about theme parks as well and he also was a perfectionist love working things until they were great and he also believe the details may likewise, they turned Disney around in the 80s and 90s the opening theme parks and a cruise ship division transform the way to make money from merchandise and ordered huge movies that the life I never thought I use essential but by the early 2000s box office was waltz in f u Roy I've become concerned with the direction in which the Disney company is moving I believe it's time to take action and we could use your help.

If you're a Disney shareholder in my view the best way to help save Disney is about no and the re-election of Michael eisner George Mitchell as the number two at Disney a natural contender for izons job.

It was clear that the company needs new Direction and so I had to articulate very specifically to the board.

What was the new Elgin and what about the cultural needed to be changed when you see his right-hand man prove that I could change, but I was able to articulate and I have enough credibility with the board at least after 15 interviews I think maybe I just wore them down and you free one down yourself by that campaign because you you mentioned in the book.

There's one bad anxiety attack when you're at sports fixture with your son.

Getting sweaty for no reason and the tightness in my chest and then I felt the shortness of breath and I just thought I was having a heart attack symptoms of a heart attack both my parents had heart attacks and it just felt as though that was happening to me which was shocking because I was in very good shape and have maintained a very very quiet.

I did everything possible to avoid following my parents footsteps from a health perspective and so I convince myself that I couldn't possibly be having a heart attack but you must be Rylan ultimately I saw Doctor Who told me Canada with a grin on his face that I was having a classic anxiety attack and I should go home have a glass of wine and basically chill out and there's no point at which you almost lost out on the top job because of a protein bar.

Where are the day that I had my first interview to become CEO by the entire board.

1 and 12 and 12 and 112 board members and a I have participated in a triathlon in Malibu California in the morning quite early in the morning so that the beach in the morning or maybe even earlier when I only did the bike leg of the triathlons in about 18 miles finish that ran home shower and change went to the office went to the boardroom to face the Disney again that first interview and I had a gigantic protein but I don't know how many grams of protein it had more than I've ever had and I sat down and I could hear my stomach.

Just rung I was a kid embarrassed by it because I thought the board would see that is a sign that I would nervous and I don't remember being nervous, but I remember my stomach particularly the point in this inexhaustible saga you walked out of interview without shaking any hands.

Why?

Composmentus, what was it that everybody has a button that can be pushed to fish was well, what happened in this interview with my 15th interview by the border members of the board this was again and all on one session will the second one I had in the process all the others except for the first with the protein bar were one and one and I was just done it would have gone on for many many Manson a lot of public scrutiny in a lot of self-doubt and a lot of questions as to whether I would potentially get this job and the board was peppering me with questions in one particular board member who had been begging me throughout the process to be openly critical of my my boss my Collider would become my predecessor and I had refused the prices to do that.

I didn't think there was any any any good they could possibly come of that it was not the way I was going to get pay my way into the job and I just

Just fed up really interested and that translates to British and I said so I got up and left without shaking hand I edit the interview.

It was about to end anyway, but it wasn't recorded by mmv.

Got the job of Disney CEO and top of his to do this was to fix it animation division.

It's like Toy Story could be the result of a distribution deal Michael eyes.

I had made with Pixar the computer animation studio, but the partnership now looks in part because of a falling out with Pixar's owner Steve Jobs a solution we propose a takeover that would cost Disney over 7 billion dollars in the first meeting that I had with the boiler cos I raise the fact that our animation was in deep trouble at had about a decade of mediocre performance analyser.

The head I didn't see anything in the pipeline and I was particularly confident about Noah's Ark offerings and current management of Disney animation which is such an important part of the company and always husband and so I laid out for them.

Not only how cute the problem was when I laid out for them potential Solutions one of them being buying Pixar but it that point I had not entertained buying Pixar with Steve Jobs who was the controlling shareholder and really not spoken about it publicly at all.

So you put it in the bud before you if you was interested.

Yes, I decided I would raised it and when I said that the problem.

I thought it was a potential solution a great solution actually I said the problem is I don't know that it's for sale or ever will be any if it is will be extremely expensive.

I don't think I knew that it would be 7.4 billion, but I knew that was going to be in the billions the right way to approach the beginning of your CEO tenure with the board of directors, but they

Play accepted the argument that something had to be done about animation that there was a sense of urgency and I got from the board instead of a completely negative reaction.

I got enough curiosity Indian people were intrigued by and interestingly enough.

I think a majority of the board members thought it was such a far-fetched idea that they didn't even have to say no because it would likely never come to pass but how did you know persuade jobs? Who had a difficult relationship with Disney to sell your pixel will I called him immediately after the board meeting meaning a couple of days later raise the notion that called a crazy idea.

I wasn't is appreciative that point about Steve was I had a sensible and really work with them when Steve hurts a crazy idea.

You must always wanted to hear it and so I told him that led to a discussion with him about the pros and cons of buying picture but in the interim period of time.

Why was basically waiting to step into the role he and I did a deal to put salt or television shows on the iTunes platform which should I have play store is just about to release a video iPod that could play video instead of just playing music and Steve was extremely impressed that one mine Alex of the iTunes platform in my in my willingness to disrupt using technology our current business models my ability to do a deal very quickly without too much for accuracy and those things created the Beginnings of a relationship that would become a very close friendship as well, but I think it was a trust and there was just a basically I believe the two of us have nothing in common, then we can actually get stuff done and yet half an hour before the press conference where you're going to announce this 7 billion + dollar deal you took me for a walk.

What did he say to you? Yes, he asked me to go for a walk around the pixar campus which is where we were making the pixar acquisition announcement from and we sat on the bench.

He put his arm behind me and tell me that he was going to confide in me with something that only his wife and his doctor new and that was that he had had cancer he had had cancer a few years back, but he declared himself cured after surgery and so the fact that she was telling me that had cancer was an ominous sign that not only had it Returned in him, but given the fact that they returned that he didn't have that long to live when he wasn't really certain how long he would live and he did that because she wants to give me an opportunity to back out of the deal.

I think he had a crisis of conscience and felt that he owed to me to tell me that and give me that chance given the fact that he was going to become our largest shareholder remember the Disney board.

Isn't actually a rather disgraceful way to behave in the electric pretty late to tell you he left it too late to tell you something that would have been quite useful to know sometime before.

Well, I never did ask him nor do I know to this day how long before that day he knew that he had cancer again what I did what I did discover is the this way for the rain had had an argument about whether to tell me or not because it was such a private matter and he had not even informed people at Apple the Apple board and his children didn't know there's life is against telling his wife was she never told me she was against although clearly she she pushed back with about telling me because she wasn't certain that I could be trusted because they know me well and they definitely had that the bed the night before the announcement the night before Steve told me you describe your relationship with jobs as a kind of sudden development of a very tight Bond what was it leave bonded on a holiday in Hawaii together.

It's a lot of time together.

What was it that?

In Steve you have a person who is hard was a technologist, but he loved the Arts and entertainment and he was always fascinated by the combination of both but coming about it mostly from the technical side in me.

You have someone who is fascinated by art and entertainment of it all has been my life, but always fascinating curious about technology and I think when you put the two of us together.

You know he needs to say the combination of technology and liberal arts are the archmage's heart saying if they got a heart saying in a word in a way to peas in a pod on the weekend with data from two very different directions to plant and read about some of the stuff you got up to clean your films with Steve he let it be known that he considered me a friend.

And I think that gave him licence to be blood with me, but it also enabled me to keep would he said in perspective so I never really got under my skin one point he called on a Sunday you're taking his son to a Marvel film and he said he told me I took my son to the film last night and it sucked sorry.

It was lovely and not a great profile nice sunny Sunday afternoon in Southern California thanks very much and see you next week.

He took that you know I'd say thank you very much.

It's done extremely well.

America's voted top secret lab.

Apple HQ as well.

What are the security going to get through the first time? You do that Steve Jobs for five different doors and they kept opening we finally got into the beautiful room.

Gorgeous apple design tables in each table had like it's on and I wasn't there was kind of funny you getting into all this through all the security protocol to get to a room then everything was covered in blankets for Santa all the blankets for the new devices.

I miss the ability just pick up the phone and either telling me I really saw something great today and I just can't wait to share it or you know it's been a really tough to say I've got some problems.

I need to solve and just see his opinion on things occasionally I just like walking with him and listening to music you know we we talked about play Sweet onto my favourite songs at one point he said he asked me whether I had an absolute top 25 song list and I had it back I have 825 playlist and he said he had one too and we shared we shared that there are some songs and comment on it.

Why do you say that had lived your companies merged I mean how close did you get that might look like we never discussed it, but if you look at the trajectory of apple and the fact that there and then I'm making contact and if you consider what I said.

This conversation about Steve's love of the combination of technology and creativity and the Arts is he would have concluded that the next step for Apple would have been going into the creative business now Pixar was that don't forget he bought picture from George Lucas control the public control and sort through first five or six films as its CEO and so I think he had already proven the value of technology and storytelling and I think he wanted apple to do that as well and given the relationship that we had given the fact that he was our largest shareholder given the fact that he was a member of the board given the fact that we love doing things together.

There is only one of disgusting then we probably would have done it, so I see you and your leadership Disney bought Pixar and Marvel lucasfilm enough fox.

That's acquisitions.

Are the what of the stretcher that's what you've done.

The why why have you been in the activation game?

Well, all three 1-hour 4 cases very opportunistically we create a strategy when I became see you and that was to invest most of our capital and high quality branded entertainment II primers to use technology to take it to bring it to the consumer in a more relevant ways and use technology to make the product better and so we were looking to invest more in that direction Pixar comes first high quality branded entertainment use of technology to make the product better brand really matter Marvel came next fit right into the same same strategic vision high quality branded entertainment stories great storytelling Lucas the same thing and it's not that we had said in 2005 when I got the job playlist by Pixar Marvel and Star Wars but we were very clear we wanted to a car.

And so as we looked at these things first Pixar and that did well.

We said well that did well.

Let's do another and there was more Holland ok that workout into another but what are the underlying trends shaping the media industry which makes out of mega acquisitions necessary?

well, I think if you look at today's Media landscape and where are you in the UK or the United states are in many other places in the world first start with contact content is King love to consume stories movies television shows sporting events you name it and so owning and controlling a lot of it if it is equality equality is important because you have a huge proliferation of cancer that is being made and provided quality standards really tall in a sea of choice so I think more more than raising get the carton and then secondly get content that is so valuable so important so loved by consumers that are accessible by it almost anywhere possibly can only third have brands which you can spin out of merchandises for your parks and cruisers and someone yes in in all cases, but notably in Pixar and Marvel and

Those stories travel crossover of businesses across markets in the world over time you think about the evergreen stories stories told 70s and 80s and 90s R&B of the 30 Snow White still relevant in today's world and that wasn't very happy.

You bought lucasfilm.

What was his hair was his reaction of George's films and I thought about asking whether you want to sell and I think he kicked himself.

He did I know the exact same as he did because why didn't I think of that leave the relationship with Georgia was a good relationship? Why do everything about I want to talk about your biggest acquisition of 21st Century Fox which was completed last year? Why do you think that wanted to sell well? I think the primary reason is that he looked it was going on the road the media and all the disruption and he didn't believe that the hand that they had was a strong as it needed to be if that's.

Solution and selling was a solution because he could get at that time a good price for it and in doing so pare down the size of the business that has Fox News the Fox Network free sports channels primarily in television stations in a way that he can manage it but not be as exposed to basically larger business that was it large enough to essentially with stand all the disruption who initiated the conversation about a potential deal in Bel Air California and we spoke for about an hour about the business and he spent most of the time talking about some things we just talked about which is concerned.

He had about how his company was in a changing Media landscape.

I left and realised that what he was really signalling me throughout the whole conversation was the vegetable and selling so I called him instead.

Am I reading you're right? I don't mean to insult you but I'm I believe you you just suggested.

You're interested in selling.

He said yes, but when invited you over.

What do you think is agenda? Really which was about your celebrations get together every so often and as compelling as we respected one another and he really respected some of them all things that we're done including buying Lucas from and I respected him building the company needed from scratch and just having a good City had time and time again and so we like we like each other's company but that particular time.

I just couldn't really figure out.

Why and I was kicking around the notion of running for president and there was some rumours about it and I thought maybe he's been sent in by President Trump to ask me that question delete first thing that the esta muy said that are you running for president? I told you I wasn't and not decided that I was right.

I wasn't the time and it's not well.

He's asked the question.

I thought it was going to ask.

I looked at my watch it was like 5 minutes into the conversation that we're going to talk about for the next hour.

What do you eat and drink when you're invited over to Bell environment and what we drinking while presumably this is called moraga venues Mor AGA we had a Sauvignon Blanc makes a pretty good Cabernet Sauvignon as well in order, but I don't remember who else is within a one-to-one meeting or is it kind of him saying here my new tenants and no no just the two of us when you decided finally that you were going to have accountability comcast who came in with a very big offer the American Jain fly from Belfast in order to secure the deal many main consent to the processing of this very very competitive actually didn't realise what it became between comcast and Disney we were getting down to the wire.

There was a fox word mean 21st Century Fox board meeting scheduled in London in July 2018 the contest was at that point the higher better and I knew that I can't get paid would be voted on by the 21st Century Fox board.

They didn't mean with inevitable is coming in top if they voted to approve but I was going to change the dynamic completely and put more on the defensive and in other words that have the board approved it would have been harder for us to turn it around so I decided that we make another bed preempting their bed before the first board meeting but do so in a very very private or very very confidential way and we had heard rumours that comcast track corporate plans.

I know though that was true and I don't even know if that was true to this day.

I don't know.

So we decided if we flew at Disney Crawford plane to London it made tip can't get off to the fact that we might be coming in with a bit there was higher than that.

I didn't want anybody to know that your circle.

How many if you knew there were five of us maybe maybe 6 in the circle plasterboard approval from the board before we flew to London to go to a higher bid we decide to stay the different hotel that I typically stay out in London and hundred different names and basically came in didn't tell me that I was coming till the day before I came in and request meeting the evening before the board may actually the afternoon before his evening board meeting and so when flying in which we decided we would leave are playing in Belfast and then try to another time from Belfast to London so we went flying with the Disney jet next time you're coming to London to fix a big deal feel free to take me off now.

Front page suggested that James was being lined up to replace you at Disney and that's a lot of us as they've on the table.

Which think that story came from I don't know I've never really thought about it.

They were all kinds of rumours that the time about what changes might have it Disney James and I did talk we have a very nice relationship and he was quite helpful in the integration process.

We talk very early on about whether there was a roll or not for him at Disney and in the end.

I couldn't come over the role that he was particularly interested in and I didn't have an obligation to provide him with her with a roll and so quite early on we both going to work out and we go our separate ways, but he remained involved in 21st Century Fox close to the closing and as I said he helped the centigrade in that you telling you what time so you don't get into the Shakespearean drama of the murder of family, but I'm sure you'll see the TV hit succession, did you send that as it were succession weighed heavily on Ripper murder of mind?

I think there are details about my discussions with Rupert and the negotiation and I just did not care to share publicly that gives me sense that you're a fan of the TV show succession of you have seen a few episodes of a Hyundai Getz a second season now.

Does it mean painfully true well, I think there are things in it reminds me of a certain family has been involved in the media business, but I think you know there's a lot of pictures as well, but I never let that I don't know you haven't seen enough episodes.

I'll give you a call when you get better and better trust me that Brian Roberts comcast some years ago who were rival bidders and told you that an intermediary claiming to represent a board member and encourage him for Disney who was that.

There was 2004.

I never confirmed to them by the band that there was any Media who claimed that he had a direct relationship with the member of our board there are rumours about you that was I have some I don't know for sure and speculating now.

Just not a value.

So you've been avoiding for mega negotiations and lots of small and of course the principles that you take station.

Well, I obviously I like to do a deal that is good deal for the company that I'm representing that's very important, but I also like negotiation that are honest.

I think that creates some level of expediency.

I think you can get you can cut to the chase you can get to the crux of the matter at hand mostly price much quicker.

If you're willing to work and an artist you get there anyway, but you can take forever to do it to conclude basically the right price for instance and they can be a lot of heartache and lot of it.

Just doesn't seem worth it.

What's it like in the Ghost Writer

What is a good you expect it as a tough Negotiator but his true to his word when he says yes to something he he sticks to the boat and channel with him text for instance or do you go through bankers doing that to the level most of our conversations with direct they were bankers involved in some of the details but river and I talk face-to-face se11eu that told him that you can go up to $38 per share when comcast ab35 head of Strategic planning in mergers and acquisitions Kevin Meyer was with me in the two of us visitors officers here in London and John Mellon was designed the CFO of 21st century fox's the four of us sitting around a table in his office one acquisition university did it make was Twitter Caulfield because of responsibilities that we will have to take out and running Twitter in terms of its position in the world in its effect on the world.

Well, I was intrigued with one of my representations of opportunity for us.

I thought the responsibilities with Bernice with things that would be potentially too distracting to controversial too challenging to manage and yet you got the board sign off.

You gone a long way down the line and a lot of a search your team and said you this might work for us in terms of your your content is a distribution.

Is it this of nastiness of Twitter is it the solute mean? It's been described by House of Commons committee in this country is a cesspit and you are a company that is in the business of joint which is not in the business of Joy is it a lot of people I was on before I came to this interview and then I saw some rather uplifting videos not but you know I think we all know how complex this world is today.

And technology plays a big role in the complexity in fact social media plays a big role in it.

Just look what's going on in in in your country and the impact of social media on politics.

I just thought the Disney's place in the world was different and taking that on that complexity on will take so much of our time and potential harm the brand the perception of the company my ability to focus on things that were important to Disney is France's will you be making any more major acquisitions in your time, I see you.

What I never Say Never but I think given the fact that we've recently made a big one and we're still absorbing that and given the fact that I don't have that much time left in this role.

I think it's probably on another big one of you not looking anything at the moment.

Let's talk about the future.

You're launching in the USA streaming service called Disney plus you taken a lot of Disney content out of Netflix Vincent's new banned adverts for 6 from Disney services, what is Disney plus Disney life subscription service will call over the top director consumer that will feature five brands from the Walt Disney company Disney course Pixar Marvel lucasfilm and now National Geographic which was an acquisition we made with the 21st Century Fox merger tiger plus and it will have about a significant library content many hundreds of movies made by those branded production houses at thousands of television shows or library and will also have a lot of new original programming including the first original Star Wars live action.

And when is Disney plus and who launched in the UK in the UK our plan is to roll out Disney Plus in most of Western Europe within the first year that we watch in the US if you've got all this content and if the Lights of Netflix have been reshaping Media why is it taking you so long to launch Disney plus? Why don't you do it much too and give me your content as you did the net for a very high price and you have to offer much earlier years ago recent market is still developing and even know Netflix's occupying a huge huge market share in that market is plenty of room for others and others are coming in so I'm not concerned about the larger when you have the technology rain when you have enough contact it takes time to get both of those right.

Dementia Netflix that's the obvious big rival to your company at the moment it does slightly different things slightly different things actually doesn't make it alright.

I think Netflix is a volume play with a lot of quality in it, but it's huge volume and they created the director consumer space with video and brilliantly by the way and globally are we come in with a different place much more branded less volume and there's plenty of room for us to occupy space as well and not to some extent be a very expensive but not necessarily they may be room for people have more than one question to basically too over-the-top director consumer services and you as we took the share price of Netflix is slightly down.

It's right of user growth.

Is Saturday finished and I know you're the boss of Disney rather then positive Netflix but as the boss of Disney where do you see the potential vulnerabilities of Netflix what do you think is exciting about the way you might take the lead on you, but I don't think we know how large the global markets for these products yet, as though.

I think one question is are there more potential subscribers in the world or not.

If so, how many are there? So I don't know if you call it a risk, but it's an unknown now.

We haven't started yet.

So the way I look at it with the potential to get subscribers Netflix does I'm not projecting that at all, but one could argue that with the service like our is anyone that has subscription over-the-top essentially telling I will be interested in what we have now.

We know that it will be 100-percent but as I think in terms of risk.

I think that's one of the big risks.

I am in the fat the other risk.

This is more competition in general in the space from Apple and Amazon and and Disney and down the road.

I'm sure nbcuniversal comcast AT&T DirecTV Time Warner everybody's launcher, but you say that you sold them your contact for a very good price and a lot of money and obviously taking a short term hitting putting that up Netflix was it really like right to licence so much for your content to the movie Netflix employee classic ladders trust you with a use other people's stuff to get very rich and established total market dominance in giving too much well first thing we did was we didn't have a good deal for our movies and they stepped up and paid as well.

Well.

Well above was then going market value for those so was an enormously profitable deal at a time when we had no ability to larger on Netflix like service.

Technology and we don't have enough content.

I think it's just extremely well.

I would never second guess the decision and because we believe there's plenty of room for us to enter this Market Place and I think will do just fine.

I don't look back on a decision and field where we should have done Martin Scorsese says about your Marvel films honestly the closest I can think of them as well made as they are with the best.

They can under the circumstances is theme parks.

It is at the cinema in human beings trying trying to convey the emotional psychological experiences to another human being why is he wrong? I think he is a great filmmaker relationship with him, but doesn't matter I admire mentally and he's made some great.

I like back in for you.

Good films and Raging Bull adjust the name of you taxi driver is a phenomenal filmmaker.

I would obey them on the subject first of all we making models making movies movies that's what Martin Scorsese makes and they're good movies are they not recognising good riders and good cinematographers in good cost of designers and good sound engineers and good editors like I can go on and tell the people that are playing your hard work and to making films that entertain people in theatres around the world everybody goes the Lights Go Down people buy popcorn.

They have a good to our experience of feeling happy.

You're better about that.

He's not making a commercial point of view.

There's no question that was a commercial success.

He's making it a pretty sting and creative point he said it's not the cinema of human beings trying to convey psychological experiences to another human being.

Statement have you been in touch with his remarks Marvel and Star Wars assets too hard and you believed too many moves into shorts vs.

Your business and their pipeline is very very rich with new stories and new characters in New Adventures in new superhero exploits that Sarah and so on so not true.

I have probably they think we made and released too many Star Wars films over a short period of time I have not said that they were disappointing anyway.

I've not said that I'm disappointed in performance.

Just things to do something so special about Star Wars film and blesses more.

I want to finish by bringing it back to you until the lessons about your own character and leadership you mentioned in the book in 2017 President Trump's business advisory Council after you withdrew the US from the Paris climate deal you said it was a matter of principle this year.

You said Disney will likely stop making films in Georgia if the state implemented is controversial abortion law.

Why do you think it's important for a CO2 have principles which apply to all I need to clarify those those actions are those statements on on my part.

I first of all when I take a position that is viewed in some form of those political in nature because I've been the sea of Disney as long as I haven't because when I speak probably people tend to believe is coming from the Disney guy in that is from Barbados I tried to say things that I tried to take position that are positions that are relevant to the company and health of the company.

So when it came to the climate the Paris climate Accord I have in a belief that the Earth is imperiled.

We as citizens of the world have to do something about it and I am thinking about from a business perspective.

You can't run a successful company in a world.

That is not environmentally how people not got the same part if they can't breathe the air so I took a position on that with great conviction because of what it meant to Disney on the second substrate which of the ocean law in Georgia I did not say anything about the law itself.

I only suggested that if a past we have a very hard time shooting there because a lot of people involved in our shows would not want to work there, so was not a Disney position on the law itself.

I was just calling it like I say but which is if it passes were going to have a hard time convincing people to go there to work, but there is also principal at stake as you say on the on the climate issue.

What about the Principal

Business in China I love your most recent tenure as CEO has been based in China do you have qualms about doing business in the place with such an appalling record of Human Rights business Around the World in many places where the policies and politics of a territory don't necessarily online with those of the United States but Disney doesn't take positions on those things that she's not we look at the world is a great opportunity in Chinese a market.

That is service extremely well over over time and is not for us to weigh in on on on local policy or local cultural or local conditions on the question of your presidential ambition your you often say that the reason you initially against your wife rather sceptical about it.

Isn't a real reason that politics is fantastically hard and that to run for president but to not be successful.

Would have been rather ignominious end.

Otherwise unless career no, I didn't look at it when I considered running for president I can stay for one reason and that was how much I care about the country is it I grew up in and it worked in all my life and there's me and my family extremely well, and it was my desire to to see a future for the United States that is positive is the future that I saw when I was growing up there would have led me to make the sacrifice required to run but there are other Reasons from my not running another question even as many times before but I'm going to put it another way your bed a lot of money in the board would say that you're worth it because of Disney's huge success and growth and your leadership and they want more of it, but I sense that you're born with the company for the money.

Would you stated more than is necessary to get you out of bed in the morning?

I have no reason to make any common whatsoever about my conversation.

I love it.

I do I work for this company for 45 years.

I've been the president and CFO or a chairman and CEO for 20 years and have given a good part of my life to an end.

I do not have any reason to turn on when I come and see it or two in anyway defendant.

What about the broader question that you may have a dress.

Have you had you run for president and you didn't which is whether or not we are at this inflection point Western capitalism is under his banner strain and people would say that it would be in Sunday greatest train if there is a big difference between the guy runs a company and for instance the guys are cleaning chewing gum off the desks at your theme parks.

What's the question?

I'm not asking you.

I think it's boring and tired too as well and that you're working.

Sorry.

I'm asking about you what you think it does for American capitalism when there's a big difference between the guy at the top of the bottom.

I'm proud of our efforts for our employees are cast members of recording around the world which they know about 230000.

There are thousands more of them today by the way in the world when I got the job, so we've created a huge amount of of jobs and for hourly workers are the people that maybe you're talking about.

I'm I am proud of the conversation and proud of the benefits that we've we've bestowed upon them probably opportunities with created for them because there's been a huge upward mobility in our company by The Very people that started the bottom.

I'm one of them and had a neighbour themselves to Natalie work their way up, but they work their way up in oranmore.

We also be free.

Hourly employees in the United States now while working to create more opportunity for the weather is high school equivalency vocational education college or graduate degree, so I don't have to be defensible or I do think that in today's world companies particularly large companies have an obligation to look for solutions that are making the lives of the people who work for us better in the time.

We have left ask you about a very sensitive subject which is shooting important and urgent like we haven't covered sensitive.

So what is your exercise routine you get up at 4:15 every day exactly is cardiovascular muscle mass what are you doing? I'm mostly going to be quiet.

I'm not in the gym straight away now.

I am I go to the gym straight away in my house.

So I basically wash my face brush my teeth get.

Amazon make sure that the coffee is made from My Wife and I hit the gym is it really truly follow a diet much like my own in that you avoid all carbohydrates except for pizza correct.

Just love pizza pizza.

I do like pizza.

I want my one voice surgery well in terms of my I feel about myself and I look and why is that quiet? I'm the morning when you don't have technology important to a number of reasons.

It's my zen time.

It's my thinking time is my creative time this time.

It's the time that I get to really think about what it is.

I need for a carpet in a given day.

Where am I want to do is give me up to the dream as you look back over 45 years in the media and if you're addressing a 23rd barber go to starting out.

What do you know now that then?

Well, would be nice to know that is going to turn out as well as it has because I probably would have been just a little bit more relaxed but then again if I had been a little bit more relaxed.

I probably would have worked this hard hit because you can't go back and do it over and anyway and I wouldn't change a thing but I'll see you at the Walt Disney company and the Ride of a lifetime.

Thank you very much indeed for your time.

You're welcome.