"You’re 60 days early," Jeffrey Katzenberg said.
The chairman of the Walt Disney Studios was working the phones again. A legend in Hollywood because of his ability to make 200 phone calls a day, Katzenberg was in the middle of his third of four phone calls made to talk me out of writing a story about the tough times at Disney.
Even in the good days, Katzenberg had never wanted to have anything to do with the press. He lived in a world of oversize egos and high-wire friendships, where the slightest offhand comment could easily offend. Like most of the men who run Hollywood, he had long ago decided that the risks that came from talking to a reporter far outweighed the benefits. Whenever someone did write about him, he spoke to them only on background or offered up a few safe quotes to fill out the story.
This time, there was even more reason not to want to talk. […]
