When Mickey Met Sam Altman — and What It Means for Every Other Studio Now
Scorched by the Streaming Wars, Bob Iger won’t let Mickey Mouse be steamrolled by Big Tech again. And eventually, all our studios will follow
I cover the intersection of Hollywood and AI for paid subscribers. I dove into how AI search is disrupting Hollywood discovery, what AI performer Tilly Norwood means for actors and how the tech is threatening other jobs across Hollywood.
This is the moment, people. The moment when Hollywood’s proudest, most aggressively brand‑protected studio looked at the swirling future of AI and said: Fine, let’s ride the beast instead of letting it chew our face off.
Disney, the studio that once defended Mickey Mouse’s copyright expiration like it was guarding nuclear launch codes, is now signing hundreds of its most cherished characters over to OpenAI, while also dropping a casual billion into the company.
Think about that for a moment. Disney is not only giving its blessing. It’s handing over the keys to the (Magic) Kingdom — a collection of mythic intellectual property built across a century. The Mouse, the most defensive IP dragon on Earth, is officially selling out to Big Tech.
And before anyone reaches for the “innovation” spin cycle, let’s ask the only question that actually matters: Why did Disney do this? Why now? Why OpenAI? Why this level of capitulation?
Because Disney has been living with a decade‑long migraine called technological humiliation, and this time it’s done pretending that small tweaks to its longtime blueprint will cure the company’s woes. Disney didn’t jump into OpenAI out of curiosity, optimism, “storytelling innovation” or whatever PR concept it stapled onto the press release. It made this move because the company has been repeatedly, publicly and financially pantsed by technological disruption. The streaming wars didn’t just drain Disney’s balance sheet — it broke the centenarian conglomerate’s confidence.
In today’s bonus edition of Reel AI, I’ll dig into the why and the what-next of this deal, including:
How Disney is spinning this deal vs. what’s really driving it
Disney’s streaming wars scars and aggressive new embrace of tech “rather than just watching it happen and essentially being disrupted by it”
Why OpenAI needs Disney, and what CEO Sam Altman’s view on its iconic characters means for Universal and other Hollywood IP holders
Bob Iger’s claim that this pact “honors creators” as he signs off on the one thing Hollywood actors, writers and director have feared most
The domino effect on development, greenlighting, marketing and every other segment of the entertainment industry