TV movie will examine Disney feud

TV movie will examine Disney feud

MUMBAI: Two Blind Mikes. See how they run! Cable broadcaster Showtime in the US will make a television movie Two Blind Mikes. It examines the controversial and turbulent relationship between Disney CEO Michael Eisner and Mike Ovitz.

A report in Variety states that the film will examine the friendship that went sour from the time Ovitz was at Disney to the current courtroom battle.

Disney shareholders filed suit against the board of directors in 1997, alleging that they had hired and fired Ovitz without sufficient consideration of the financial impact. Trial proceedings are expected to conclude in the next couple of weeks although it could take months before the judge announces his decision.

Ovitz was hired as Disney president several years ago. He only managed to last a little over a year due to differences with Eisner. Ovitz walked off into the sunset with a cool $140 million no fault package settlement. Shareholders argue that Ovitz should have simply been fired.

Last month when the trial commenced, Eisner said that he was amused by Ovitz. One line of questioning in the shareholders litigation focusses on Ovitz's expenses. The litigation suggests Ovitz's tendency to spend was a problem from the start.

Talking about his relationship with Eisner at a court deposition last month Ovitz said, "I had a 25-year relationship with Michael Eisner. We spent an enormous amount of time together socially and professionally, I trusted him 1,000 per cent. I was this guy's friend. But it all went downhill. I don't understand how a guy could be with me so much and then write in a memo that he never sent to me that said I'm a liar, that I have a veracity issue, that I'm a psychopath. I can't figure it out. I can't figure it out."