Iger & Favreau Look to the Future With Disney+
Anthony Breznican is over at Vanity Fair these days and while that means that we’ll probably be getting a solid Star Wars breakdown soon, earlier this week, he covered Bob Iger and Jon Favreau at “Vanity Fair’s New Establishment Summit.”
Favreau is the creator and producer of the first Star Wars television series, the bounty hunter saga The Mandalorian, which will be one of the main attractions when Disney’s streaming service launches on November 12. He and Iger have had a close relationship over the past six years as Favreau directed lush adaptations of The Jungle Book and The Lion King while also shepherding the first season of the series. As Favreau put it: “We’ve had a good run.”
Once the laughter quieted, Iger dove into the relationship between commerce and creativity, between executives and storytellers.
Check out the video:
Bob Iger and Jon Favreau Talk “The Mandalorian,” Disney+, and George Lucas #VFSummit https://t.co/MnKY4JputK via @VanityFair
— John Bishop (@jmbishopjr) October 24, 2019
Here are two great quotes:
- “It takes a deft hand to have a successful relationship in that regard,” said Iger. “We feel a responsibility to give some input because it’s our money that’s on the line. That sounds crass, but I don’t mean it to. If done right, [executives] can add a little bit of perspective that doesn’t tell the creator about what direction to go, but opens the creator’s eyes to something that they may not have seen or may not have thought is as important, perhaps, as we do.”
- “We also feel a sense of responsibility for a product that predates us. You’re dealing with legacies,” Favreau said. “As we’ve collaborated on Disney properties over the years, we were always trying to boil it down to, ‘What’s the essence?’ How can we do something that’s relevant, that’s new, that’s contributing to that legacy, rather than just repeating it?…You have to put the audience on a pedestal and give them something that delights them.”
Exactly!
But what do you think about the work of Jon Favreau? The Leadership of Bob Iger?
Let us know in the comments.