Opening Day Issue! Eisner Knocks His Team’s New Duds
OC Insider by Rick Reiff
If you aren’t thrilled with the Anaheim Angels’ new red look, neither is Michael Eisner. Disney chief Eisner confided at last week’s Chapman U Economic Forum in the Disneyland Hotel that Major League Baseball encourages occasional team makeovers in order to boost souvenir sales: “I said, ‘Paul (Paul Pressler), what was wrong with the stripes?’ Money. Everybody that is going to buy a uniform has already got the stripes”
A record crowd of 700 at the Chapman event also enjoyed a spirited exchange between Eisner and Chapman benefactor/U.S. Spanish Ambassador George Argyros. Argyros, back for a visit, complained about films that denigrate America in the wake of Sept. 11. He singled out David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive,” which he saw in a Madrid theater, calling it “the worst movie I ever saw.” Eisner, whose company produced a TV pilot of “Mulholland Drive” but passed on it, replied that American movies dominate worldwide because filmmakers don’t worry what politicians will think of them; the results can be very good or very bad entertainment, but not films that tend toward government-influenced mediocrity as in almost every other country. And Eisner reminded Argyros that teenage moviegoers “kind of like bad taste because you don’t”
Soap Opera Pacific, cont’d: OC Performing Arts Center President Jerry Mandel, responding to Dick Engel’s prediction of an “implosion” on the arts center board: “There is no turmoil on the board, there is no implosion, and that is a foolish, foolish statement for anyone to make. Our fundraising goal is the largest ever and our programming is the most extensive ever and next year we plan to offer even more programming and raise more money to support it.” Meanwhile, hard feelings over the Broadcom lawsuit did not interfere with everyone being pleasant at UCI’s Medal Dinner and the New Majority’s Signature Gala
Mea culpa: The Insider is chagrined about misspelling Engel’s name last week and for recently turning Warren Buffett’s name into a dinner table
The Association performs at this Saturday’s Alzheimer’s Association “April in Paris Extravaganza” at the Four Seasons Hotel Newport Beach. Call (714) 283-1111
Play ball! To wile away the time after check-in, John Wayne Airport has opened a baseball exhibit by Miriam Smith’s Art Resource Group of Costa Mesa. It features vintage gloves, bats, jerseys, photos and other memorabilia. And here’s a trivia question: What do Dodgers GM Dan Evans and EE RR have in common? Both are from St. Matthias parish on Chicago’s Northside
This just in: The Nuclear Regulatory Commission wants to store San Onofre’s waste at El Toro,April Fool’s!
