Many Challenges In Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro's First Few Months

Added: 2026-05-25

[00:00:00]Welcome aboard everybody to another episode of OG55. I got Mr. Matthew Mr. all the way from the UK. Today we're talking about Josh Giamaro. How has he done as of yet? He he took the helm back what in March and now we are approaching June. It's been a few months. Is he doing a good job, a bad job?

[00:00:22]A neutral job? We're going to talk about it. We're going to break it down. I got Matthew Mr in the house with me on OG5.

[00:00:30]>> [music] [music] >> Welcome aboard everybody to another episode of OG55. We have our good friend Mr. Matthew Murray joining me today.

[00:01:00]We're talking all about Josh Giamaro.

[00:01:02]How has he done? We're a couple months out of him taking the helm of Disney CEO. Is he doing a good job so far?

[00:01:09]We're going to talk about it. Matthew, welcome back, sir. It's always good to see you. Yeah, it's always a pleasure, brother. Where can everybody find you on social media?

[00:01:16]>> You [snorts] can find me on Instagram under the name Matthew Thomas Mule, all one word. And you can find me on Blue Sky under the name Matt Mule24.

[00:01:24]>> There he is, everybody. Matthew is a very passionate Disney fan. check him out, especially with the animation stuff. Matthew is uh really really knowledgeable on all that good stuff.

[00:01:34]So, make sure you follow our friend, Mr. Matthew Murf. Okay, Matthew, let's dive into Josh Yamaro. We we've we've had him now as CEO uh since March.

[00:01:44]>> We've had a lot of stuff happen though in those few months. He's been tested for sure. We got the Jimmy Kimmel thing.

[00:01:51]There's all kinds of stuff going on.

[00:01:54]>> Overall, where do you stand with with Mr. tomorrow? Like, are you are you happy where we're at right now or are you feeling a little disappointed?

[00:02:01]>> I am. I am mostly satisfied with where we are right now. First of all, let's just deal with the elephant in the room, the layoffs. I really believe that any co right now would have to make those kinds of layoffs like to the VFX sectors.

[00:02:17]>> You know, Matthew, I agree with you. And look, I I want to make it very clear to the audience that like Matthew and myself, we don't like to see anyone lose their job, right? But I've been hearing people talk about Disney's budgets are too high. They're too bloated. They're too inflated. Why is Disney spending, you know, this kind of money on an Indiana Jones movie and yada yada yada yada yada. And then Disney does what it has to do to get those budgets down, whether it be, you know, layoffs or whatever. And then people are complaining about that. It's like layoff.

[00:02:49]>> And more importantly, it AI isn't the only thing here.

[00:02:54]AI is not the Yeah, exactly. Exactly.

[00:02:56]And you know, lowering budgets are important, but I think people need to realize when you lower budgets, I mean, a big part of that equation is probably going to be layoffs. And it sucks. I don't want to see anyone lose their job.

[00:03:09]I want to repeat that, but at the end of the day, that's the reality of the situation. If you want this company to survive, if you want this company to make more money so it can continue on, this is sometimes these are sometimes the decisions you have to make as a leader. You know, it's never a fun a fun call. But I mean, in terms of AI, what are your thoughts on that? Because that's also part of this equation, right?

[00:03:31]>> I do think like some sectors of Disney I think are more protective than others.

[00:03:36]like actors, writers, directors, they're relatively protected, but visual effects and animation, I think they're a bit more of a gray area.

[00:03:47]>> Yes, abs. Absolutely. Are you worried? I mean, I know you we've talked about AI before.

[00:03:53]Are you pretty confident Disney will will will balance this out where we can have lower budgets, but we're not completely decimating?

[00:04:01]>> Yeah, I think that's the way it will come out in the end. But what I think may have to happen is you may you probably heard that Marvel has taken the forefront of a layoff.

[00:04:12]>> Yeah. And why do you think Marvel particularly is it? Because MCU is kind of >> Yeah, the MCU. Yeah, I probably would say the MCU and even a few stars like Evangelene Lily have said that Disney have gone too far in that in this particular case.

[00:04:26]>> Interesting. Interesting. Do you feel like, you know, this plays to the idea that maybe superhero movies are on the decline overall? Not just with Disney, but in general. People don't really >> Yeah, I would say they are. And I would also say a but but I think they're experiment because they are on with the kind Disney are pouring to hinging too much on them and also hinging too much on AI in that area compared to virtually everything else.

[00:04:56]>> That's fair. That's fair. Now, let let's also talk about the other elephant in the room. Uh the Jimmy Kimmel elephant, right? Cuz this Jimmy Kimmel has it's been an ongoing saga for like >> since last September.

[00:05:09]>> Yeah. Yeah. It's been a while, right?

[00:05:10]So, >> but Josh Dearo, I think his tack is completely different to his he's really putting his foot down this time. You may remember, Ember, like at the end of April, ABC filed a blistering 52page petition against the FCC for reviewing their broadcast licenses over Kimmel's remarks against Melania Trump. Well, and it's interesting too, right, when it comes to this whole Jimmy Kimmel thing, because the Jimmy Kimmel thing, because of the wishy-washiness, I guess, of the Bob Iger administration, I feel like the Jimmy Kimmel thing got more traction in the media and in on social media as well.

[00:05:53]>> Yeah, it was like the the talk for like a month or something, right? Where with [clears throat] Josh Yomaro, he was like, "No, we're going to fight back.

[00:06:00]We're not doing anything. I feel like the story died pretty quick. Did Did you kind of get the same vibe?

[00:06:07]>> Yeah, I did get the same vibe. Although, I do think at this point it's just an ongoing grinding battle where the FCC is just getting desperate trying to find some way to punish Disney but finding virtually nothing. And I think that even if this license review does actually go through at the end of May, I think it'll it'll just get thrown out in court.

[00:06:30]Yeah, >> there'll be nothing to discuss.

[00:06:33]>> So, do you think Disney though because I know Jimmy Kimmel's contract is coming up, isn't it? Or if I'm not mistaken.

[00:06:39]>> Yeah, his current contract said XY is at the end of May next year.

[00:06:44]>> So, do you think this is the end? Like, do you think like Disney will just opt not to renew him?

[00:06:49]>> Yeah. Either that or or they may even just ask Kimmel if he wants to maybe just leave on his own terms and only renew the contract if he himself wants it.

[00:07:00]Yeah, that's fascinating. Now, what do you think about Disney, right, in terms of like because we've seen a lot of like, you know, a lot of people have been upset over Disney and and how they're they get involved in politics, right? Now, part of that is out of necessity. I mean, Disney runs a lot of theme parks across the world, not just in America, but around the world.

[00:07:23]There's going to be a political component to some degree with Disney just for the f sheer size of the company. It owns land and stuff. I mean, there's always going to be some politics involved. I mean, even like The Mandalorian and Grou, Disney was able to to lock in some California uh tax credits, you know, to film that movie out here. So, that's political. There's always a element of politics here. But, do you feel that Disney is moving away though from just being like maybe like openly campaigning so to speak for >> Yeah, I do they are moving away from it.

[00:07:56]>> Are you happy about that? Do you feel >> I am happy about that. I do think there's a place for it, but it's not what the company was built on.

[00:08:05]>> Yeah. No. Yeah, I agree with you. I think that Disney you have to get political where you have to get political, right? There there are certain things you can't avoid, right?

[00:08:11]>> In Jimmy Kimmel's case, it is justified though.

[00:08:15]>> Oh, in Jimmy Kimmel's you feel justified?

[00:08:18]>> Yeah. Now, now do you feel like with with Jimmy Kimmel he like the comments like the jokes he makes and stuff do you feel like that's fine because he's >> Yeah, that is fine. I because it is but that kind of satis that kind of satire I is has been protected under American law for years.

[00:08:38]>> Yeah. No, fair enough. Fair enough. Now, in terms of everything else with with Josh Jamaro, now Josh Dearo has had a real big focus on >> it seems like streaming and gaming, you know, a lot of a lot of our theme park people, that's all I heard about for years was like, oh, you know, Josh Maro, he's our parks guy, he's one of us. It's going to be a focus on the parks. I don't really see a focus on the parks. I see more of a focus on gaming with Fortnite and streaming and studio stuff, which is good because that's the stuff that I think they need to work on.

[00:09:09]But what do you think?

[00:09:10]>> They can't leave the parts alone completely.

[00:09:13]>> You can't leave what? I'm sorry.

[00:09:14]>> They can't leave the parts alone completely.

[00:09:16]>> They can't. No, they can't. And the and the parks business is a pretty is a pretty stable business. It doesn't need a whole lot of babysitting, so to speak, where the studio and this fledgling sort of division of the company, which is gaming now, needs a lot and streaming needs more work. So, I think I was actually kind of relieved. Like I thought Josh Yomaro was going to be more park focused and I don't think that's the way the Disney company should go right now because they don't really need to be park focused.

[00:09:44]>> They need to work on these other areas that need more help. So I was actually a little relieved. I'm actually kind of glad he's going in this direction. But what are your thoughts on that?

[00:09:52]>> I I do actually agree actually. I think they do actually need to focus on the areas where where there is more risk.

[00:10:01]>> Right. Right. And I'm glad that he I'm glad that he is approaching this, you know, he's approaching the right areas.

[00:10:06]It seems like >> now, are you bullish on his aggressiveness for gaming? Um I I don't think you're a gamer, but like do you feel like as a business though that's a smart move?

[00:10:16]>> I'd say I'm more bullish on the streaming side than I am on the gaming side to be honest.

[00:10:21]>> Really? Okay. Why is that?

[00:10:22]>> Because I think streaming just generally is more is more stable than than gaming.

[00:10:28]>> Yeah, that's a fair point. That's a fair point.

[00:10:31]Um, what else has been on your mind with tomorrow?

[00:10:36]>> I think he's I think he has been taking a more cautious approach with AI augmentation. Like he's only been doing it to streamline booking and parks for arc operations.

[00:10:48]>> You feel like do you feel like that like that's the right move?

[00:10:51]>> Yeah, I do feel like that is the right move. We haven't heard any big moves on using it for film production at least since the Sora deal fell through in March. Yeah. Yeah. AI is one of those things where it's like it's tough for a company like Disney, right? Because >> I do have a bit of a word of caution though because, you know, we often we occasionally hear of people planning to execute a blanket boycott of Disney, >> right?

[00:11:16]>> You know, to try and to try and steer them away from unnecessary AI usage.

[00:11:21]What I think it would do is it might give bad actors within the company a bit of a siege mentality and it may even give them a bit of a pretext to implement what I call revenge AI.

[00:11:36]>> Oh, interesting. Okay. You want to elaborate on that?

[00:11:38]>> It's basically like if they feel they're if they feel like they're being attacked on all sides, like the entire company's being boycotted, these bad actors will probably feel compelled to automate it.

[00:11:49]and they will probably feel compelled also to paint the audience and the workforce as an ungrateful mob.

[00:11:57]>> Now, do you feel >> purpose?

[00:11:59]>> So, you feel like if if people were to boycott or send a message to Disney, it should be more surgical. Yeah, it should be more surgical like like avoiding pro any project that they feel is too automated or too corporate and pouring their money into those that feel genuinely handcrafted like like new films or park expansions. And I think the perfect the thing that could cause this pivot within Disney away from unnecessary ai augmentation is the Mandalorian and Grou versus Avengers Doomsday.

[00:12:34]because >> because because of the recent stigma over the Marvel VFX layoffs, Avengers Doomsday might not do too well.

[00:12:43]>> You know, it's interesting that you bring that up.

[00:12:45]>> And not to mention, of course, Mark Ruffalo O is has long been in political waters. Although he's managed to maintain a good relationship with Disney and has openly shot down rumors of him of him being fired, he has he has always stuck his neck in political matters and he did actually he openly he he criticized Aigger during the Jimmy Kimmel fiasco last September and you know he even put it you know the ACLU the American Civil Liberties Union >> Ruffalo even put his name on that petition that open letter.

[00:13:21]Wow. Yeah. He Ruffalo has been a political guy for a long time. Um I remember back in like 2011.

[00:13:28]>> Yeah.

[00:13:29]>> He he was out there in New York with Occupy Wall Street and all that stuff too. I mean he's been he's been in this thing for a while, you know. I mean he's Yeah. He's been political for a long long time. Um, now in terms of Mandalorian and Grou, this this movie, and this is one thing that I feel like has been kind of unfair coverage, a lot of like news outlets and like um like like just various like um I don't know what you would say like nerdy >> sort of uh like journalists who cover this stuff.

[00:14:06]They're saying like, "Okay, Mandalorian and Kroger is opening to a small number and it's not opening to a huge number.

[00:14:11]Domestic I think it's like a little bit over 100 million, which I get it. That's not a whole lot of money." But what I feel frustrating and I think is unfair to Disney is when Disney when Disney was making movies that were overbudget like Indiana Jones Dial of Destiny and movies like that, everyone came out of the woodwork to say how these budgets were so overblown these movies can't make a profit, right? Which is fair.

[00:14:36]But now that they have a movie with Mando and Grou with a small budget, I think the budget after the California tax credit is only about $145 million.

[00:14:45]>> I don't see the same sort of context.

[00:14:47]Like where are these journalists saying, well, you know, yes, the movies opening lower, but the budget was like half the budget of these other movies. And I don't see any of that context. People love to bring up Disney and their budgets when they're high, but they don't want to bring up the same context when the budget was under control. Go ahead, Matthew. I'm sorry, brother.

[00:15:05]Yeah. What are your thoughts on that?

[00:15:06]>> What I think will happen is, let's just say Avengers Doomsday flops and Mandalorian and Grogo is a smash. That I think will be the real difference in in pushing Disney away from AI or at least unnecessary uses of the technology.

[00:15:22]>> Do you think there's a real good chance that Doomsday will like severely underperform?

[00:15:27]>> Yeah, I do think there is a good chance actually. We've already heard massive complaints about AI overusage. We've all also heard uh I think Bernie Sanders he's he's trying to introduce a a moratorium on data centers and even he's brought up the Disney layoffs at least once and then we've got Evangelene Illy saying that Disney have overplayed their hands. Yeah, that's fascinating. Well, yeah, because I think Mandalorian and Grou the thing with that movie is I feel like the kiddos are really going to love this thing. I think I've been hearing a lot of people say like their kids loved that movie.

[00:16:07]This thing Mando could leg out and do very well, especially with that lower budget. I know a lot of people are sort of sleeping on this movie and poo pooing it and saying, "No, Star Wars is dead."

[00:16:18]>> I would not count this movie out. I mean, granted, it's not making a huge opening weekend, but you know what?

[00:16:23]Avatar didn't make a huge opening weekend either. And that movie made almost um well, this last one made$1.4 4 $1.5 billion. You can leg out to decent numbers and and the kid market doesn't really have any competition until Minions, which isn't until July.

[00:16:40]>> Yeah. And not to mention, of course, or that or that Disney because their operations are based almost exclusively in California or at least their film operations. They are subject to some of the strictest AI leg regulations in the world.

[00:16:57]>> That's true. Didn't Newm just sign something about that? I think he >> I Yeah, I believe he did sign an executive order of some kind. I'm I impose I I'm mandating all these state ament and like aments around around deep fakes and what have you.

[00:17:14]>> Yeah.

[00:17:14]>> Like to to make absolutely sure the workforce is actually compensated.

[00:17:19]>> Yeah. Yeah. I've had my critiques of of Newsome over the years, believe me. Um there's old school videos of me ranting and raving about the lockdowns. I think a lot of that stuff went on for far too long out here in California which greatly impacted our our our theme parks and stuff, but he also does some good things and I do like the fact that he is cracking down on AI. I think that that is essential though for saving the film business out here in California. Like you you have to the AI element of it is so so connected and weaved in with with the with the studio production stuff.

[00:17:51]So, I think that was a really smart move that he did that and I love the the tax credits he's giving these studios to, you know, continue to um, you know, film movies out here in California. Like I said, Mando and Grou was one of those.

[00:18:03]That's awesome. So, look, the dude ain't perfect by any means. And believe me, I got a laundry list of stuff I can complain about with him because I I even voted to recall him. I'll be honest with you guys. I don't I don't I don't I don't love I don't love Newsome. But I will say with a lot of this stuff, he seemed to be making some really positive positive moves. So we'll see.

[00:18:22]>> And hopefully providing that California's ne next governor is a Democrat, we're going to see more AI more moves to keep AI reigned in, >> right? Yeah. No, absolutely.

[00:18:34]>> I don't want California to go Republican. Well, I don't you Well, the thing too with me is I don't want California Detroit saw the collapse of the auto industry, right?

[00:18:45]>> In the late 60s.

[00:18:47]>> It did. Yep. Exactly. And we saw how that negatively impacted Detroit when you have a town that's dependent on an industry and that industry doesn't isn't there anymore. That could happen with California. Like California is a little bit more diversified than Detroit. We do have a lot other stuff going on too, but >> but the risk is still there. It's still there, Matthew, and it's scary. So, I'm glad that at least they're taking action to sort of protect the jobs here. I go to Universal Studios Hollywood all the time. You can watch these movies being made go into the back lot. It's a beautiful thing. I love it's part of California. It's fantastic and I don't want to see us lose that. So, we'll see.

[00:19:24]Um, so overall, you know, to close it out, tomorrow, you feel like he's been pretty decent, huh? like, >> yeah, I think he's he's been decent overall.

[00:19:35]>> We'll have to see how how how we get further into his tenure, though.

[00:19:40]>> Yeah, we'll see. I mean, it's it's still early in the game, you know. He's he's been tested a few times already, but we're still early in this game, and we'll see how it kind of shakes out.

[00:19:48]But, Matthew, it's always an honor and a pleasure having you on the show, brother. I love talking shop with you.

[00:19:53]You're always welcome here. We'll get you on to again very, very soon.

[00:19:56]>> Before we close it out, where can everybody find you on social media, sir?

[00:20:01]You can find me on Instagram under the name Matthew Thomas Mure or one word and on Blues Guy under the name Matt Mure24.

[00:20:09]There he is. Follow this man on all platforms. Thank you, Matthew. And thank you all for watching this episode of OG55. Comment down below with everything we discussed today. Very interesting conversation. We talked Jimmy Kimmel, AI, layoffs, tomorrow, all that stuff.

[00:20:22]We would love to hear from you. And until next time, see you.

[00:20:28]Thank you so much for watching OT55.

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