OT: Disney steers clear of 'Path to 9/11'
Posted: Sat Mar 08, 2008 1:12 pm7 Mar 2008 3:32am EST - By Paul Bond
Top brass at Disney were called on Thursday to defend their decision not to release The Path to 9/11 on DVD and to justify CEO Robert Iger's $27.7 million pay package.
Path was a 2006 ABC miniseries critical of President Bill Clinton's handling of terrorist threats that was so controversial it prompted leading Democrats to ask Disney not to air the program. Disney, after making some hasty edits, ran it commercial-free.
At Disney's annual shareholders' meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., one mutual fund portfolio manager said it was high time Disney turn Path into a DVD and recoup some of the $40 million it spent on the project.
The fund manager, Tom Borelli, accused Iger of protecting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign at the expense of shareholders and pointed out that Iger has been a steady Clinton donor since before the former first lady was elected to the Senate.
He claimed to have a letter from a Lionsgate representative proving that Disney has no intention of even selling the DVD rights to another company.
The Path question came shortly after another shareholder objected to foul language and persistent sexual innuendos on such ABC shows as Ugly Betty and Good Morning America, prompting Iger to cite ABC's right of free speech. Borelli demanded to know why Iger seemed more interested in protecting curse words than he was in protecting political speech.
Top brass at Disney were called on Thursday to defend their decision not to release The Path to 9/11 on DVD and to justify CEO Robert Iger's $27.7 million pay package.
Path was a 2006 ABC miniseries critical of President Bill Clinton's handling of terrorist threats that was so controversial it prompted leading Democrats to ask Disney not to air the program. Disney, after making some hasty edits, ran it commercial-free.
At Disney's annual shareholders' meeting in Albuquerque, N.M., one mutual fund portfolio manager said it was high time Disney turn Path into a DVD and recoup some of the $40 million it spent on the project.
The fund manager, Tom Borelli, accused Iger of protecting Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign at the expense of shareholders and pointed out that Iger has been a steady Clinton donor since before the former first lady was elected to the Senate.
He claimed to have a letter from a Lionsgate representative proving that Disney has no intention of even selling the DVD rights to another company.
The Path question came shortly after another shareholder objected to foul language and persistent sexual innuendos on such ABC shows as Ugly Betty and Good Morning America, prompting Iger to cite ABC's right of free speech. Borelli demanded to know why Iger seemed more interested in protecting curse words than he was in protecting political speech.