Disney Opened Up for Story of Man Behind Mouse

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The Walt Disney Co. has traditionally kept a tight control on the image of its co-founder and namesake, but the company took a rare hands-off approach for a new four-hour PBS documentary examining the man who built the Burbank entertainment giant.

“They gave us access to their archives but had no editorial control,” said Sarah Colt, producer and director of “American Experience: Walt Disney,” which will air in two installments Sept. 14 and 15.

Colt made a previous film for the same series about Henry Ford, which showed her subject to be a virulent anti-Semite. Though similar rumors have long swirled about Walt Disney, Colt said her research found no evidence to substantiate those claims, so this documentary doesn’t address them.

It does, however, show that despite Disney’s avuncular public image, he was a tough boss and many of his employees were terrified of him.

“Walt was a very polarizing figure and there are people who didn’t like him too much but this film takes a very objective approach,” said Disney biographer Neal Gabler. “I’ve seen the documentary and think it’s exceptional.”

An interesting side note: The four-hour production is the first documentary of its length PBS had devoted to anyone other than a U.S. president.

Cha-Ching

Tickets for Taylor Swift’s sold-out set of shows at Staples Center have been selling for three or four times face value on secondary ticket markets.

The chart topper’s five-night run at the downtown L.A. venue, which will conclude Aug. 26, has drawn an average resale ticket price of $338.

Upper-level tickets with a face value of $40 were going for $165, while floor seats next to the catwalk originally priced at $160 were fetching $492 on ticket site Seat Geek.

“We estimate $5.7 million has already been spent on the secondary market for Taylor’s five Los Angeles shows,” said Chris Leyden, spokesman for the New York-based ticket reseller.

Nye-ce Work

Bill Nye, an L.A. scientist and TV personality known as Bill Nye the Science Guy, has broken a crowdfunding record.

A planned film about his life has become the most funded documentary project ever on Kickstarter, with $859,425 pledged by 16,850 backers. The campaign, which launched July 13 and closed Aug. 13, had set out to raise $650,000.

The movie, which has Nye’s support, has just started filming. It will be released on streaming services, but a premier date has not been set.

Baywatch Back

After several years in development, a movie version of L.A. lifeguard show “Baywatch” is soon to go before the cameras.

Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson and Zac Efron head the cast of the Paramount Pictures film, planned as an R-rated action comedy, which will start shooting early next year with “Horrible Bosses” director Seth Gordon at the helm.

The biggest stars of the iconic ’90s TV version, David Hasselhoff and Pamela Anderson, are not currently attached, but The Hoff is believed to be in negotiations and close to signing on for a role.

Compton Proud

Music mogul Dr. Dre is sending the earnings from his new album straight into Compton.

Dre, real name Andre Young, will use royalties from the record to fund a new arts and entertainment center in his hometown.

The new album, titled “Compton,” is his first in 16 years and he was moved to record it after seeing an early screening of box office-topping film “Straight Outta Compton.” He co-produced the film, which is based on his days in gangsta rap group N.W.A.

“I felt myself being so inspired by the movie that I went to the studio and started recording an album,” he said on his Beats 1 radio show.

The Universal film is on its way to being one of the most profitable movies of the year. Made on a reported budget of $29 million, the Aug. 14 release grossed $60.2 million in its first three days of release.

Short Takes

Fox TV’s L.A. duopoly, which consists of KTTV (Channel 11) and KCOP (Channel 13), has named Bob Cook general manager and vice president. … City National Corp.’s Bram Goldsmith, who stepped down as chairman of the bank holding company in 2013 but remains on the board, has long been a supporter of the arts in Los Angeles and now he will be the one in the spotlight when a gala evening of classical music is held in his honor in Beverly Hills. The Nov. 10 event will be a fundraiser for both the venue, the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and the performers, the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra.

Staff reporter Sandro Monetti can be reached at [email protected] or (323) 549-5225, ext 226.

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