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EXCLUSIVE: John J. Nicoletti is exiting as VP of Global Communications for The Walt Disney Studios and returning to flack for the Walt Disney Parks And Resorts. He’ll be replaced by Paul Roeder, a Walt Disney Studios publicist and disciple of chief Disney PR woman Zenia Mucha. “John realized he was in over his head in the movie division and wanted to go back to what he was doing before,” an insider tells me. 
Before joining the studio, Nicoletti served as director of external communications for Walt Disney Parks and Resorts’ Worldwide Public Affairs team. Roeder was promoted by Mucha to manager in her corporate communications department and then to director. Early this year, she installed him at the studio under Nicoletti. Now he’s VP. So here’s what happened:
When Secretariat opened to disappointing box office on October 8th, I wrote what a “weak start” this was for Disney marketing under the new Rich Ross regime and that “no one’s impressed yet with Ross’ new marketing czarina MT Carney (who comes across as Ross’ Yes Woman, I hear)”. For reasons I don’t fully comprehend, my words made Nicoletti panic and, without obtaining approvals from Rich Ross or Zenia Mucha, he put Carney on the phone with two Hollywood news outlets on October 10th solely because they weren’t Deadline. Carney was supposed to only talk about Secretariat marketing and instead gave full-blown interviews. The next day, when both Mucha and Ross saw the Carney interviews, they were dismayed, to say the least. Nicoletti feared he would be fired then and there. He wasn’t. On the other hand, I received profuse and repeated apologies from him and everyone at Disney. And, that’s why Nicoletti is leaving the movie division. Look, I don’t envy anyone in a publicity role having to deal with me even occasionally much less regularly. And John is a helluva nice guy. I wish him well.
Editor-in-Chief Nikki Finke - tip her here.
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I know that people who work in corporations are sensitive (heck, I work in one too, and I know how sensitive people are), but executives usually receive more leaway and backing from upper management. It’s funny how Nicoletti managed to sink himself. What about Carney? I would think both are deposed.
Secretariat is a bit of a marketing mis-step. This marketing to Christians is a crock. What Christian would want to be involved with horse racing and betting? The movie seemed to do fine at the box office, nonetheless, although I probably won’t see it in theaters.
And after Disney’s theatrical movies continue to tank at the box office, Empty Carney will probably get a slap on the wrist, while the worker bees will be faced with pink slips.
Empty was brought in to sell the sizzle on a steak that doesn’t look that good on the menu to anyone.
I love how marketing people believe that great marketing will bring people to a movie. The truth is that Secretariat looked boring and many people told me that I was correct.
I am too busy to sit through a boring movie. They could have put on the greatest marketing drive in history and I still wouldn’t have seen it.
The solution for a good box office is to make a good movie. Let me repeat that for any marketin gpeople out there – the solution for a good box office is to make a good movie.
Unfortunately, that doesn’t happen too much nowadays. Which is why my netflix queue is mostly filled with TV shows.
You can have the best movie in the world though, and if the marketing isn’t there to support it properly, no one’s going to go see it. Good movies need good marketing.
Jackson,
“Secretariat looked boring” isn’t a statement about the movie; it is a statement about the marketing message. There are good movies that are sold poorly and bad movies that are sold well. Office Space was a good movie that nobody saw in the theaters because Fox dropped the ball on selling it theatrically. It wasn’t discovered until it started airing on Comedy Central. Clash of the Titans was an awful movie that was sold well. It opened to over $60M, and it was far more painful to watch than Secretariat.
If something “looks boring” that is the fault of the marketers. If it IS boring, that is the fault of filmmakers. Boring movies can and have opened well when they were marketed well; just as entertaining movies have opened poorly when their marketing message failed to sell what was great about the film: (see Wizard of Oz, It’s a Wonderful Life, Heathers, Fight Club, The Shawshank Redemption, Office Space, etc.)
I disagree. Plenty of seats for bad movies have been filled by marketing. But the best case is always a great movie with great marketing.
It’ll be interesting to see how all the marketing for the new Tron movie will drive people to the theaters, as it’s one of the former film types.
Is that based on actually seeing the movie or just judging it from the trailer and your own biases?
Bet they’re all wishing marketing guru Cheryl Boone Isaacs would chime in these days…
Secretariat was the latest in a long line of Disney’s underdog sports pictures, many of which were among former Disney Studios head honcho Dick Cook’s personally favored projects. He was often quoted as saying how much he loved these sports stories.
If anything the studio should be commended for taking responsibility for Secretariat and not trying to lay the blame for the film’s lackluster performance at the feet of the previous regime.
Even the diehard Disney fans I’ve spoken with said that after string of such films, Rember the Titans, The Rookie, Miracle, The Greatest Game Ever Played, and Glory Road to name a few they’d grown tired of the inspirational, over coming all odds, sports stories the studio “seems to keep churning out.”
When you reach the saturation point with your core audience I don’t think it matters how well a film is made or marketed, they’re going to sit it out and wait for the home video.
The only mistake they made with Secretariat was allowing it to be depicted in the press as the next Blind Side and discussing their marketing strategy before it was released. Diane Lane is a terrific actress, but she’s not Sandra Bullock as far as the public is concerned, and expectations for the film, which should have been positioned as a nice little sleeper, were blown way out of proportion. What should have been perceived as a perfectly respectable opening for the film was instead viewed as a major disappointment.
If anyone in this scenario is in over his head, it’s Studio Chair Rich Ross. It’s just a matter of time until he’s revealed for what he is: a TV guy who had never made a movie when he was tagged by Bob Iger as another of a long line of ABC cronies he’s advanced since becoming CEO. Don’t get me started on the insulting list of ABC “Disney Legends” Mr. Iger has honored.
Zenia Mucha??? Has anyone ever met a more rude and overbearing person? I thought not. What’s Eisner’s hack still doing at the Mouse? She needs to retire and on the way out the door, Mr. Iger can hand her a Legend Award “for her many contributions to creating the MAGIC OF WALT DISNEY!”