CEO Pay Up, Average Worker Not so Much (Time)

Executives in the corner office now make 62 times more than the average worker, and that's just in bonuses alone.

A study done for the Wall Street Journal, found that incentive pay for the chief executive officers of 50 major corporations jumped 30% in 2010. That's on top of their base pay. And it also doesn't include a whole bunch of other things, like generous retirement packages, gold-plated healthcare plans and use of the corporate jets. Remember how the financial crisis was supposed to wipe away the bonus culture of pay for short-term performance in corporate America? Yes. Well, not so much. ...

Some of lucky (they would say deserving) recipients included Walt Disney's CEO Robert Iger, who received a $13.5 million bonus. That was an increase of 45.5% from a year ago.

I get it. CEOs have a lot of responsibilities. Their jobs are hard. But do they deserve to make 62 times more than the rest of us? That means if you're getting paid a "generous" $600/week, a CEO is making - in that same week - more than you do the whole year. No joke. Do they deserve $37,2000/week? Say it with me, folks... Not so much.

Read the full article here.

ArcLight Cinemas to Showcase Disney Classics in August (The Wrap & ComingSoon.net)

D23, Disney's official fan club, and ArcLight Cinemas, the premier moviegoing venue in Southern California, will present classic Disney movies every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday throughout the month of August, giving movie lovers the rare opportunity to revisit some of their favorite Disney characters and stories on the big screen. ...

Aug. 2: Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983) - Hollywood
Aug. 3: Cinderella (1950) - Sherman Oaks
Aug. 4: Newsies (1992) - Pasadena
Aug. 9: The Rocketeer (1991) - Hollywood
Aug. 10: Pinocchio (1940) - Sherman Oaks
Aug. 11: Bedknobs and Broomsticks (1971) - Pasadena
Aug. 16: 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954) - Hollywood
Aug. 17: Alice in Wonderland (1951) - Sherman Oaks
Aug. 18: Pete's Dragon (1977) - Pasadena
Aug. 23: The Black Hole (1979) - Hollywood
Aug. 24: The Jungle Book (1967) - Sherman Oaks
Aug. 25: Mary Poppins (1964) - Pasadena
Aug. 30: Escape to Witch Mountain (1975) - Hollywood
Aug. 31: Peter Pan (1953) - Sherman Oaks

Can you say supercalifragilisticexpialidociously awesome? I can!
Read the full article from The Wrap here.
Read the full article from ComingSoon.net here.

Disney, Celador Rest; 'Millionaire' Case Goes to Jury (The Wrap)

Celador, which first filed suit in 2004, alleges that Disney, ABC, Buena Vista Television and Valleycrest Production conducted a series of slippery deals and secret arrangements that saw the “Millionaire” creators left short hundreds of millions in expected revenues and profits from the hugely successful American version of the game show...
Judge Virginia Phillips called the case a “dispute about a contract” when the trial started almost a month ago In the process, however, the trial has become an investigation into the often shadowy world of Hollywood accounting.

Ah, the shady accounting of Hollywood - I just love it! Almost as much as I love Ben Silverman, who was the WMA agent in the middle of this deal. (That is, not at all.)
Read the full article here.

Miramax and Ron Tutor at Turning Point: Cash, or Bail (+ David Bergstein? Really?) (The Wrap)

How bad does the building magnate want it? That essentially is the question, and it is the same one faced by another L.A. billionaire, Ron Burkle, a few weeks ago.

In his case, the answer was: not bad enough.

The Walt Disney Company had sought $700 million for the 700-film Miramax library, leaving the fate of modern Hollywood gems from “Pulp Fiction” to “Shakespeare in Love” hanging in the balance.

What I really want to know is how David Bergstein convinced yet another person to back him?! This is a man that has literally been called a criminal by people who have worked with him and who has a seriously lousy track record. He is thought to have paid his gambling debts with company funds - and it's not just the casinos he owes. In fact, in a previous article, Sharon Waxman wrote this about DB:

I was not joking when I wrote recently that Bergstein is one of the most despised people in Hollywood, having left everyone from gaffers to publicists to actors chasing after him to get paid.

How does someone like this continue to get second (and third and fourth and fifth) chances?

Pixar, with TOY STORY 3, shows increasing reliance on sequels (LA Times)

On Friday, Pixar debuts the highly-anticipated third chapter of its popular "Toy Story" saga, to be followed in the next two years by new installments of "Cars" and "Monsters, Inc." Pixar won't have another original movie until 2012, when "Brave," about a young Scottish girl of royal blood who dreams of becoming a champion archer, arrives in theaters.

Read the full article here.