But what did it say?

Naturally, the memo leaked, and was widely ridiculed in the Hollywood trade press as a consequence.

Thanks to the wonderful Letters Of Note, you canread it in full here.

So what did he predict, and what actually happened?

However, yes, but will sound extremely familiar.

Specific examples that Katzenberg cites?

We substituted dollars with creativity and big stars with talent we believed in.

And, more and more, we began making them.

With this strength, we can plunge in and successfully find our way no matter how strong the current.

Over 20 years later, that particular battle seems all but lost.

The majority of tentpole pictures have price tags closer to $200m thanDick Tracys of a now-economical $46m.

Katzenberg certainly did his damnedest, but too often, he struggled to buy a hit.

Whilst Disneys animated delivered throughout most of the 1990s, big live action breakout hits were in short supply.

The studio would steer more toward such projects throughout the 2000s, with Miramax providing the more prestige fare.

Roots, it would be fair to say, were not ultimately returned to.

The Decimation Of Home Entertainment Prices

Interesting one, this.

He underlined and italicised the word bargain.

His solution, which wasnt taken up, was to pump up the price for high profile rental titles.

In fact what happened, powered by DVD, is that the rental window disappeared within ten years.

The First Weekend

On a similar point, Katzenberg decried the reliance on a big opening weekend.

He called this correctly, and the situation as he outlined it would only get worse.

In instances like this, the art has long gone, the Excel spreadsheet is king.

And its getting worse.

Star Salaries

The 1990s were boom and bust as far as movie stars and star salaries went.

Now, we must also pay her for her considerable and well-earned celebrity.

Katzenberg coined the term the celebrity surcharge to describe this.

Its surprising it never caught on.

Eventually, in this instance, something had to give and it did.

Special effects are proving far more expensive than a movie star ever was… Because he called for movies where the idea is king.

Money saved in one area usually managed to leak out of another.

Its a temptation well keep having to resist, he wrote.

Disney, ultimately, did not, although it did not make its subsequent changes on Katzenbergs watch.

This is why we should constantly be looking for creative solutions, not financial ones.

The most infamous example remains Schwarzenegger.

Furthermore, he talked of the impact on the studios other films.

When so much effort goes into the big films, what hope do the smaller ones have?

And he was right.

The main machinations of a movie studio are then focussed on eight to ten insanely expensive films a year.

An insurance policy, to protect the ultimate bottom line.

That film,The Rocketeer, proved to be a much loved financial disappointment in 1991.

No sequel was ever forthcoming.

The story in both, he argued, was uninvolving.

Its sharp, harsh analysis, but on reflection, theres a firm ring of truth to it.

Katzenberg pulls it back further.

Its a shame thatApesis the increasingly rare exception.

Pinning Down Writers

If story is king, then studios need writers.

Katzenberg saw this, and tried to address it.

They didnt really, though, and if anything, theres a culture of celebrity around some movie screenwriters.

As ever, the high profile cases shield eyes from the far lower paid scribes struggling to get noticed.

Cheap Talent

As Katzenbergs memo headed for its final pages, he returned to his push for talent.

Especially as two paragraphs later, Katzenberg notes that this does not mean offering talent total creative freedom.

So, a lower bill, and were still in charge.

Passion

Katzenberg raises lots of other issues across the memo.

But then he ends on the section that was most lampooned: passion.

A spoof version, substituting the word passion for greed swiftly did the rounds in Hollywood.

But then is that fair?

Katzenberg is no great filmmaker, nor would he contend to be.

Hes always been at the business end of the movies, and is to this day.

And yet hes shepherded, and fought for, many interesting projects.

His solutions were idealistic, and in his remaining years at Disney, he would try and implement them.

Its interesting, looking back, at just how much he called correctly.