Dick Cook Talks Disney/Walden

In BoxOfficeMojo’s recent interview with Walt Disney Pictures Chairman Dick Cook, he briefly talks about Disney’s relationship with Walden Media:

Q: Why did Disney terminate its development deal with Walden Media?

Dick Cook: We look at those deals on a case by case basis. They like to do the same kind of movies we’re doing and where it’s appropriate, we’ll do it. But it just didn’t make a lot of sense for us based where we are with our own development to want to have another permanent supplier. Their ambitions were to produce a lot more movies than we could actually take in—there are only so many major slots every year and we were filling those up [on our own]. There’s always room for that great movie but I think at the time their desire was to have four or five movies a year and that probably was more than our appetite could satisfy. We’re still going to continue with the Narnia series and whatever else may in fact come along.

Cook mentions Narnia a few more times as during the interview. He calls Ben Barnes “a real find.” “I think he’s going to be a bonafide star and he needs to be because he has to carry not only this movie but the next movie as well.” Talking about the Christian themes in the story, Cook says, “If you also see other parts that symbolize things that are religious for you, that is great, too. We’re not making any giant statement there but it’s certainly there if you want it.” Read the full interivew. Thanks to WardrobeWarrior and Icarus for the find!