Bob Iger is the CEO of Disney. Which means he’s getting a lot of the credit for the “success stories” in Hollywood these days. Disney owns LucasFilm, Marvel and Pixar, arguably the most successful properties in the film industry, domestically and internationally. So it’s no surprise that Iger was named The Hollywood Reporter’s Most Powerful Person In Entertainment. You can see THR’s Hollywood 100 list here. It includes people like Leo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jimmy Fallon and Lin-Manuel Miranda. My intention was just to glance through Iger’s extensive interview, but I ended up being drawn in and I read the whole piece. Iger talks a lot about Marvel, Rogue One, Shanghai Disney, the Orlando massacre and more. He says Rogue One is “actually going to be a fine film” and that Disney is truly working on another Indiana Jones movie. But here’s something that might interest you at a gossip level: Iger was asked directly about Johnny Depp. THR: Do you have Jack Sparrow from Pirates of the Caribbean in the park? Iger: Yes. And Johnny Depp’s personal problems? Not worried about it. The scandal will pass? I don’t know whether it passes or not. We have Jack Sparrow. You think people separate. Right. [From THR] And that’s it. That’s the only thing he says about Depp. I give Iger some credit for not slamming Amber and for not giving Depp some ringing character reference or endorsement. But I do think Iger is kidding himself if he thinks the public will be able to separate Jack Sparrow and a drunk, abusive scarf monster. Also: this interview took place several weeks ago, during the heat of the Depp-Heard back-and-forth in the press. It also took place after Disney’s Alice Through the Looking Glass bombed at the box office. Disney has a lot of money invested in Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean, and while Disney will still be okay if Pirates bombs (they still have Stars Wars and Marvel, after all), Disney doesn’t want to eat the $320 million it cost to make POTC: Dead Men Tell No Tales. And that’s just the production cost! It will cost Disney tens of millions to promote the film. Iger is counting on the idea that by the time the film comes out (next summer), people will have forgotten all about everything. Is that what will happen though? Embed from Getty Images Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN, The Hollywood Reporter.
