WHEN: TODAY, THURSDAY. April 16, 2015
WHERE: CNBC'S "POWER LUNCH"
Following is the unofficial transcript of a CNBC EXCLUSIVE interview with Disney CEO Bob Iger today on CNBC"s "Power Lunch." The video of the interview will be available on CNBC.com.
All references must be sourced to CNBC.
SULLIVAN: WELL JUST MINUTES AGO WALT DISNEY COMPANY RELEASING THE NEW STAR WARS TRAILER. THE STOCK IS MOVING UP AS THE VIDEO IS GOING OUT HERE IS THE TRAILER ABOUT 90 SECONDS WORTH IN ITS ENTIRETY AND THIS IS THE FIRST TIME THAT MOST OF US ARE SEEING THIS AS WELL. CHECK IT OUT. THAT IS GOING TO GENERATE A LOT OF BUZZ. LET'S GO NOW LIVE TO JULIA WHO'S GUT A GUY THAT APPARENTLY IS RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS MOVIE. DISNEY CEO BOB IGER.
BOORSTIN: THAT'S RIGHT. THAT TRAILER GENERATED SCREAMS OF EXCITEMENT HERE AT THE CONVENTION CENTER. BOB IGER, CEO OF DISNEY, THANK YOU FOR JOINING US.
IGER: MY PLEASURE.
BOORSTIN: WE'RE NOT HERE TO TALK EARNINGS OR NUMBERS. I KNOW YOU'RE IN A QUIET PERIOD AHEAD OF YOUR EARNINGS IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. WE'RE HERE TO TALK STAR WARS. WHAT'S YOUR REACTION TO HOW THE FANS REACTED TO THE NEW FOOTAGE.
IGER: IT IS FUNNY TO HEAR YOU SAY QUIET PERIOD HAVING JUST COME FROM THE HALL WHERE WE SHOWED THE FANS THAT TRAILER, IT WASN'T EXACTLY QUIET. WE KNEW THAT THESE MOST ARDENT, PASSIONATE FANS WERE GOING TO GO CRAZY WHEN THEY SAW THAT TEASER TRAILER, BUT I HAD NO IDEA WHAT IT WAS GOING TO BE LIKE WATCHING IT WITH THEM. IT WAS INCREDIBLE THE FEELING IN THE ROOM, EVERYBODY RISING FROM THEIR SEATS AT THE BEGINNING AND CHEERING AT THIS MOMENT AND THAT MOMENT AND THAT MOMENT. OF COURSE WHEN HANS SOLO COMES OUT WITH CHUY AT THE END AND SAID CHUY, WE'RE HOME. THE CROWD JUST WENT CRAZY. IT WAS GREAT.
BOORSTIN: SO WHAT ARE YOUR EXPECTATIONS FOR THIS MOVIE? HOW BIG IS IT GOING TO BE?
IGER: NO PREDICTIONS ON HOW BIG THIS WILL BE. WE KNOW THAT STAR WARS FILMS DID INCREDIBLY WELL BUT THERE HASN'T BEEN A FILM OUT SINCE 2005 ACTUALLY. AND STAR WARS 6, EPISODE 6, ACTUALLY CAME OUT IN 1983. SO THIS IS EPISODE 7 PICKING UP FROM THAT 1983 FILM. THAT'S A LONG TIME. BUT THE MOVIE GOING AUDIENCE IN THE WORLD IS MUCH LARGER THAN IT EVER WAS. THERE ARE MARKETS TODAY THAT WERE NONEXISTENT BEFORE IN TERMS OF MOVIE GOING, CHINA BEING A GREAT EXAMPLE OF THAT. SO WE'RE FAIRLY CONFIDENT THAT THIS FILM IS GOING TO DO QUITE WELL. BUT WAY TOO SOON TO MAKE PREDICTIONS AND PROBABLY WE WILL NOT MAKE ANY IN PUBLIC.
BOORSTIN: THERE CLEARLY IS A HUGE DEMAND FOR MORE STAR WARS CONTENT. DO YOU THINK THERE'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO, SAY, BUILD A STAR WARS THEME PARK OR BUILD A BIGGER PRESENCE IN THE PARKS?
IGER: YES. CLEARLY THERE IS. THERE'S WORK BEING DONE NOW BY OUR IMAGINEERING TEAM TO DEVELOP THOSE PROPERTIES. I SAY PROPERTIES PLURAL BECAUSE IT WILL BE AT MORE THAN ONE THEME PARK LOCATION BUT WE'RE NOT READY TO GIVE DETAILS ON THAT YET. BUT EXPECT THAT THEY ARE COMING.
BOORSTIN: HERE IN CALIFORNIA YOU HAVE CALIFORNIA ADVENTURE AND DISNEYLAND, TWO SEPARATE PARKS. COULD THERE EVER WE A SEPARATE TOTALLY STAND-ALONE STAR WARS PARK?
IGER: I'D PREFER NOT TO GET INTO ANY DETAILS.
BOORSTIN: THERE ARE OTHER WAYS YOU COULD EXPAND THE STAR WARS FRANCHISE. COULD WE SEE MORE STAR WARS THEMED PROPERTIES ON NETFLIX, THE WAY YOU HAVE MARVEL DAREDEVIL ON NETFLIX?
IGER: WELL, WE'RE WALKING BEFORE WE RUN HERE ALTHOUGH WE'RE DOING A FAIR AMOUNT OF RUNNING. THE FOCUS WILL REALLY BE ON SIX FILMS, 7, 8 AND 9 AND THREE STAND-ALONE FILMS. WE PUT REBELS IN THE MARKETPLACE ON DISNEY XD FAIRLY RECENTLY I IMAGINE THERE WILL BE SOME OTHER TELEVISION DEVELOPMENT DOWN THE ROAD, BUT NOTHING ABSOLUTELY DETERMINED YET. AGAIN, THE FOCUS RIGHT NOW FROM A CREATIVE PERSPECTIVE AT LUCAS IS ON THOSE FILMS.
BOORSTIN: AND WHEN WILL YOU SEE THE FIRST FILM? HAVE YOU SEEN THE WHOLE THING YET?
IGER: I'VE SEEN JUST ABOUT EVERYTHING SHOT. I PROBABLY WILL SEE A CUT OF THE FILM I'M GUESSING SOMETIME IN THE NEXT THREE OR FOUR WEEKS. BUT WITHOUT A LOT OF SPECIAL EFFECTS, WHICH ARE BEING DONE AT ILM, WHICH IS THE SPECIAL EFFECTS HOUSE THAT WE BOUGHT WHEN WE BOUGHT LUCAS FILMS. A LOT OF THE POST PRODUCTION WORK, FINISHING WORK WILL BE DONE THERE.
BOORSTIN: WHAT ABOUT MERCHANDISE? CLEARLY HERE THERE'S A TON OF NEW MERCHANDISE. HOW BIG IS STAR WARS MERCHANDISE GOING TO BE FOR DISNEY IN YOUR CONSUMER PRODUCTS DIVISION?
IGER: WELL, STAR WARS AS A FRANCHISE AND THE CONSUMER PRODUCTS FIELD IS ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL FRANCHISES EVER. IT'S STILL QUITE POPULAR OUT THERE. JUST LOOK AT WHAT LEGO HAS IN THE MARKET AS A FOR INSTANCE AROUND THE WORLD. AND SO THIS IS LIKELY TO BE ONE OF OUR MOST VALUABLE PROPERTY ONCE THE MOVIE COMES OUT AND THERE'S HUGE AMOUNT OF WORK BEING DONE ACROSS MULTIPLE SEGMENTS. HASBRO HAS DONE A LOT OF WORK, LEGO, AND THEN THERE'S THE GAMES FRONT TOO WITH EA AND OTHER GAMES GOING INTO THE MARKET.
BOORSTIN: YOU SPENT $4 BILLION TO BUY LUCAS FILM. AT WHAT POINT WILL THAT INVESTMENT HAVE PAID OFF?
IGER: I CAN'T TELL YOU EXACTLY WHEN, BUT WE ALREADY ARE FAIRLY CONFIDENT THAT IT WAS A GOOD DEAL FOR US AND IT'S BEEN A GOOD DEAL FOR GEORGE LUCAS AS WELL. HE TOOK CASH AND DISNEY STOCK AND THE DISNEY STOCK HAS APPRECIATED SIGNIFICANTLY SINCE LESS THAN THREE YEARS AGO WHEN THE ACQUISITION WAS MADE. I THINK IN THE END THE SHAREHOLDERS OF THE WALT DISNEYCOMPANY, INCLUDING GEORGE LUCAS, WILL BE QUITE HAPPY ABOUT THE INVESTMENT THAT WAS MADE.
BOORSTIN: YOU HAVE THE AVENGERS COMING UP IN A COUPLE OF WEEKS. WHICH IS GOING TO BE BIGGER, STAR WARS OR THE AVENGERS.
IGER: I TAKE ONE STEP AT A TIME. I'M FEEL GREAT ABOUT THE AVENGERS TWO. THE AGE OF VOLTRON COMES OUT MAY 1st IN THE UNITED STATES. ACTUALLY OPENS UP IN SOME INTERNATIONAL TERRITORIES BEFORE THEN. I THINK THAT WILL DO JUST FINE. THE FIRST FILM WAS THE THIRD HIGHEST GROSSING BOX OFFICE IN THE HISTORY OF MOVIE BUSINESS. I'M NOT MAKING PREDICTIONS ABOUT THIS, BUT I THINK IT'S JUST AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN THE FIRST FILM, SO HIGH HOPES.
BOORSTIN: EXCELLENT. THANK YOU FOR JOINING US. WE'LL LET YOU GET BACK TO THE FANS HERE AND CONGRATULATIONS ON THAT REACTION TO THE TRAILER.
SULLIVAN: THE ONLY THING I WILL SAY JULIA IS LOOK AT THE NEW TRAILER. MELISSA YOU KNOW WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT IF YOU'VE SEEN THE MOVIES, THE STORM TROOPERS WILL BE FOCUSED ON, PRELIMINARILY YOU CAN SEE THAT. LET'S HOPE THERE ARE BETTER SHOTS. HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A WORSE GROUP OF SHOTS THAN THE 1970s STORM TROOPERS? COULDN'T HIT THE SIDE OF A DEATH STAR.
MELISSA LEE: BRIAN I HAVE A CONFESSION TO MAKE ON NATIONAL TV AND THAT IS I'VE NEVER SEEN STAR WARS.
SULLIVAN: NOT EVEN LIKE -- SO IF I SAID C3PO.
LEE: I KNOW HE'S A LITTLE ROBOT GUY.
SULLIVAN: NO, THAT'S THE BIG ROBOT GUY. THE GOLD ONE, THE SNARKY CYNICAL BRITISH ACCENTED TRANSLATING ROBOT.
LEE: I GOT THEM CONFUSED. I'M GLAD BOB IGER CANNOT HEAR US RIGHT NOW. THAT'S ALL I HAVE TO SAY.
SULLIVAN: BUT I -- REALLY? NOT EVEN LIKE JUST PASSING FLIPPING CHANNELS? ON YOUR COMCAST XFINITY SERVICE COME ACROSS LUKE SKYWALKER CRAWLING INTO A POLAR BEAR'S STOMACH IN "EMPIRE STRIKES BACK".
LEE: FLIP PAST THAT. I'LL TRY AND WATCH IT FOR YOU, BRIAN.
About CNBC:
With CNBC in the U.S., CNBC in Asia Pacific, CNBC in Europe, Middle East and Africa, CNBC World and CNBC HD , CNBC is the recognized world leader in business news and provides real-time financial market coverage and business information to approximately 371 million homes worldwide, including more than 100 million households in the United States and Canada. CNBC also provides daily business updates to 400 million households across China. The network's 15 live hours a day of business programming in North America (weekdays from 4:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC's global headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC News bureaus worldwide. CNBC at night features a mix of new reality programming, CNBC's highly successful series produced exclusively for CNBC and a number of distinctive in-house documentaries.
CNBC also has a vast portfolio of digital products which deliver real-time financial market news and information across a variety of platforms. These include CNBC.com, the online destination for global business; CNBC PRO, the premium, integrated desktop/mobile service that provides real-time global market data and live access to CNBC global programming; and a suite of CNBC Mobile products including the CNBC Real-Time iPhone and iPad Apps.
Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Universal Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcumv.com/mediavillage/networks/cnbc/.