Though he has his goal, the former president of Warner Bros. reveals that Disney CEO Robert Iger does not set an exact number of films that should be produced by the studio per year.
- Jun 1, 2012
AceShowbiz - Soon after Walt Disney Studios named Rich Ross' successor, Alan Horn has talked about his plans with his new position as the company's chairman. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, the former President and COO of Warner Bros. revealed he would like to see the studio making eight movies per year.
"Six to eight movies [a year] feels like the right number for me [live-action films, excluding Marvel]," he said, before adding that it's not an exact number. "That's a range. It could be four... Bob [Disney CEO Robert Iger] has been very flexible and very open about the number of movies. We don't want 25 movies a year, [but] we're not backing into any number. Bob did not give me any budget constraints."
Since Iger emphasized on the importance of making "good movies," Horn said, "Each movie has to earn the right to be made with the concept, screenplay, casting and so on. All that has to come together." He added, "I don't think it's a critical criterion that each individual movie has branding potential."
"Every movie will be, as best we can conceive and execute it, a good movie. Branding will not be the tail that wags the dog. But this is a powerhouse [company], so if we can make a movie that can live beyond the theatrical space, that's just terrific," the Union College graduate went on explaining.
Unlike the former Disney chief Ross, Horn will oversee animation and will be involved with everything Pixar does. Commenting on this, he told The Wrap, "I love movies and the movies these guys make at Pixar and at Marvel."
Asked whether the changes he brings to Disney will involve firings and cuts, Horn said, "When I went to Warner, I went by myself. I have a philosophy: I assume that everybody's terrific. And that's my belief coming in. I have to get to know them."
Horn is tapped to replace Rich Ross who resigned from his position as Disney chairman following "John Carter" big flop. "The best people need to be in the right jobs, in roles they are passionate about, doing work that leverages the full range of their abilities. I no longer believe the chairman role is the right professional fit for me," so he stated when announcing his decision in April.
