Eisner//dt1st/mark2nd

By FRANK SWERTLOW

Staff Reporter

For the past few weeks, Michael Eisner has been everywhere.

In conducting nearly non-stop interviews to promote his autobiography, the normally publicity shy chairman of Walt Disney Co. has the opportunity to clear the air about his relationships with Jeffrey Katzenberg, Michael Ovitz, Frank Wells, Barry Diller and other Hollywood titans.

He also has a chance to present a softer, kinder image than the one often portrayed in books and media accounts.

So what does he offer up?

Relatively little, as it turns out. Instead, “Work In Progress” concentrates not so much on personalities, but on Eisner’s 14-year management rein at Disney.

“This is not a P.R.-driven book,” he told the Business Journal last week. “I think the people who know me and the people who don’t have a completely different view of me. I am not a politician worrying about my image. I worry about my family and what I do in this company. Certainly the people in the public relations department would like me to be more accessible, but frankly there are only so many hours in the day.”

For Eisner, who said he already is planning a sequel, the book is “a road map” explaining the success of Disney, why the company is different from other multinational firms, and where the entertainment giant is headed in the next millennium.

The company, whose consistent ability to generate 20 percent-plus earnings growth has made it a darling of Wall Street, has run into trouble in recent months. Its film division has not been performing, tourism is down at its theme parks, and it has proven unable to turn around the fortunes of No. 3 network, ABC.

Eisner helped make ABC No. 1 in the late 1970s, but it, like the other networks, is suffering from an erosion of viewers. Eisner said he has no plans to sell ABC and considers it a valuable, synergistic asset one that will become even more valuable when high-definition TV becomes a major factor for viewers.

Eisner said Disney’s array of broadcast and cable networks ESPN, the Disney Channel, A & E;, the History Channel, Lifetime, Classic Sports, and the ABC network will give the company an enormous advantage over its competitors.

He also believes that the Internet has enormous potential as a vehicle for both commerce and entertainment. Eventually, he believes it will be dominated by three to six large companies similar to the domination of the film and television businesses today and he plans to make Disney one of them.

As for movies, Eisner said, “There’s always been an ebb and flow in Hollywood. I expect there will be another 10 disaster movies after ‘Titanic.'”

But Disney won’t be making them or at least, it won’t be repeating the high-budget formula. “Titanic” was by far the year’s top film at the box office, but it was also the most expensive to produce.

“Not at this company,” he said. “The movie business has always been like the wildcatting oil business. Everyone wants a gusher. This was an expensive drilling.”

Throughout the book, it is Frank Wells, the company’s former president, who plays a central role. Eisner said Wells’ death in a helicopter crash in 1994 was an even bigger loss to him personally than it was to the corporation.

“We are all replaceable (in a company),” Eisner said. “There are people here who do my job as well and better than I can do. What I miss is his being here and the fun of high-fiving it It is rare to find a business partner who is selfless. If you are lucky, it happens once in a lifetime.”

The bitter departure of Katzenberg, who reportedly demanded Wells’ job 36 hours after his death, is described in Eisner’s book. So are the efforts by Katzenberg to lure many of Disney’s animators to DreamWorks SKG.

“There is tremendous pressure on our talent,” Eisner said in the interview. “We kept all of (the artists) at the company, although it is slightly more expensive.”

On the home front, Eisner said he doesn’t understand why so many of L.A.’s biggest companies have been acquired or moved away in recent years. He does believe the state government could be more aggressive about tourism, the way Florida has been.

“I love Los Angeles,” he said. “I even like the freeways and listening to the radio when I drive.”

One of the major topics of Eisner’s autobiography is his heart bypass surgery, which forced him to confront his own mortality.

“I think I changed more than I admit,” he said. “I certainly work hard to take better care of myself, exercising and eating a better diet. But I don’t think we basically change our personalities. I am still highly competitive. I wish I wasn’t. I do have less interest in petty things.”

Before his operation, Eisner was told that patients who undergo heart surgery often suffer a dramatic depression. He didn’t. He remained the eternal optimist.

“I had a lucky break,” he said. “I had a life-endangering moment, which, unlike cancer, passed in three days and I recovered totally. I did not linger in a long-term illness. I was like I was in a bad turbulent plane ride that ended.”

Early in his career, Eisner went to Paris to write plays. He admitted he has often considered what might have happened if he remained a playwright and not become an entertainment executive.

“I have thought about that, but I’ve gone back and read what I wrote, and I made a very good life choice,” he said. “No Tennessee Williams here.”