It looks like Disney is serious about shaking up it’s film division (You’ll remember Dick Cook got the boot last month) and now they’re getting serious about change at Miramax.

The article below is from Variety.com

Miramax continues to downsize, losing Daniel Battsek as the president of Disney’s specialty film label.

Battsek will step down in January. No replacement has yet been named.

The move came as a surprise to staffers at the company on Friday, and most first found out in an email sent out by the exec who attributed his departure to the “change in direction” at Miramax.

That recently involved slashing the number of films the company releases to three a year, from the six to eight it previously had on its release sked, and folding much of its operations — marketing, distribution, operations and administrative support functions — into the Mouse House’s larger film group.

The resulting layoffs of its 80 employees included production chief Keri Putnam, who headed up Miramax’s L.A. office.

Disney started downscaling the division less than a month ago, (Daily Variety, Oct. 2), only three days before Rich Ross was officially named chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

While Battsek and the rest of Miramax’s creative, development, production and business and legal affairs teams were to remain in New York, the company and its 20 remaining staffers will now relocate entirely to Los Angeles. Battsek will assist in the transition.

“With the change in direction at Miramax, we have reached a mutual agreement with Daniel Battsek that he will leave his post as president, effective January 2010,” Ross said in a statement early Friday afternoon. “During his 18 years of service, he has brought some very prestigious and award-winning films to the studio from ‘Calendar Girls’ to ‘The Queen’ to ‘No Country for Old Men.’ We wish Daniel the very best on his future endeavors.”

Disney is still trying to figure out the future of Miramax as the company puts a greater emphasis on tentpoles and family fare.

While studios have increasingly been downbeat on spciality lables, saying it’s become more difficult to recoup the costs of adult-targeted pics, Miramax’s survival so far, albeit in smaller form, was likely helped by the fact that the studio has a first-look pact with Scott Rudin, whose “No Country For Old Men” won the best picture Oscar in 2007 for Miramax (and partner Paramount Vantage) and received a number of noms for the shingle with “Doubt” as well.

This year, Miramax has suffered from a string of disappointing performers at the B.O., including “The Boys Are Back,” “Cheri” and “Extract.” “Boys” has earned just $728,000 domestically since its release Sept. 26. Its biggest earner to date is “Chicago,” which earned $307 million worldwide in 2002.

Miramax could continue to be a home for Rudin’s more high-profile dramas given that Disney will have to find a spot on its own slate for films from other producers like Jerry Bruckheimer, as well as pics from DreamWorks, for which it will turn to Touchstone.

Miramax will still unspool “Everybody’s Fine” in December, while the animated toon “Gnomeo and Juliet,” featuring songs by Elton John, is still in production.

Battsek was tapped to head Miramax in July 2005, following Disney’s split from Miramax co-founders Harvey and Bob Weinstein. Its library includes “Pulp Fiction” and “Shakespeare in Love.”

A well-respected exec, Battsek first began working with Disney on U.K. film distribution in 1991, and joined Buena Vista Intl. in 1992. He was exec veep and managing director of distribution and production for BVI U.K. prior to his appointment at Miramax.

Before Disney, Battsek was managing director of Palace Pictures, overseeing marketing, acquisitions and distribution for the U.K. and Ireland.

Disney has begun production on a new animated series that revolves around the lives of fish that attend school in the middle of a large pet store fish tank.

The idea, of course, is to explore the “traditional teen issues” in a way that hasn’t been done before.

Wait, isn’t there a popular animated show about sea creatures on Nickelodeon? Sponge something? Oh wait, those are ocean dwellers, never mind.

I’ll certainly give it a fair shake when it premieres in 2010. Chelsea Staub is excited to be voicing “an overly dramatic goldfish!” and that’s more than enough to make me interested.

What follows is the official Disney press release:

Production has begun on “Fish Hooks” (working title), an animated comedy series centered around three aquatic friends in a fish tank, produced using an innovative mixture of 2-D digital animation and photo collage by Disney Television Animation for Disney Channels Worldwide. “Fish Hooks” is scheduled to premiere Fall 2010. The announcement was made today by Gary Marsh, President, Entertainment, Disney Channels Worldwide.

“The ‘Fish Hooks’ team has created one of the most original, inventive animated series on television – bringing an ingenious twist to the classic archetypes of high school life (where else but in the world of a high school fish tank would you find characters named Piranica, Clamantha or Jocktopus?),” said Marsh.

The 21-episode series follows Milo, Oscar and Bea, three friends and neighbors who attend Freshwater High, a school submerged in a giant fish tank in the center of a local pet store. Together they experience the typical challenges and triumphs of tween life, like friendship, dating and sports, along with more atypical teen issues like giant lobster attacks and school field trips to the hamster cages.

The series was created by children’s book illustrator Noah Z. Jones, developed for television by Alex Hirsch (“The Marvelous Misadventures of Flapjack”) and Bill Reiss (“Chowder”), executive-produced by Adam Burton (“The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy”) and co-executive produced by Noah Z. Jones. Carl Greenblatt (“Chowder”) and Bill Reiss will direct.

“Fish Hooks” features a talented voice cast including Kyle Massey (“Cory in the House”) as Milo, an adventurous party guy; Chelsea Staub (“JONAS”) as Bea, an overly dramatic goldfish; and Justin Roiland (“The Sarah Silverman Program”) as Oscar, Milo’s neurotic brother.

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For those of you wondering what Michael Eisner’s been up to since he was forced out of Disney, the following article is for you!

Vuguru LLC, an Internet-content production house launched two years ago by former Walt Disney Co. (DIS) Chief Executive Michael Eisner, has become a stand-alone company under an investment and distribution deal with Rogers Communications Inc. (RCI).

Eisner is chairman of Vuguru, which plans to increase its annual productions to 30 series a year. Its current shows include the Internet hit series “Prom Queen.” It was Vuguru’s first production, a scripted, serialized mystery about the final two months of the high school year leading up to prom night. The next installment of the franchise is forthcoming.

The agreement between Rogers and Eisner’s Tornante Co. LLC “ensures that Vuguru will remain at the forefront of the ever-evolving business of original new media content,” the companies said. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Rogers executive Claude Galipeau said the partnership will allow Vuguru to program series exclusively for Rogers’ customers and advertisers across Rogers’ range of channels, including broadband Web mobile and cable video-on-demand. Some 10 to 15 productions are scheduled for 2010, the companies said. Rogers and Vuguru have also reached a long-term distribution deal for the exclusive Canadian rights to future Vuguru projects.

When Vuguru was launched, Eisner said advertisers were skittish about marketing alongside user-generated content on places like YouTube, where the quality and appropriateness of videos is an unknown. At the time, Eisner said Vuguru’s goal was to be “the leader in producing high-quality, story-driven content for the Internet that up until now could only be found in movie theaters or on television.” Eisner said his aim was to “create compelling stories” to attract interest from consumers and marketing dollars from advertisers.

Eisner founded Tornante – which means “hairpin turn” in Italian – after he left Disney in 2005.

-By Mike Barris, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2330; mike.barris@dowjones.com

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I hope Dylan and Cole aren’t feeling typecast! This will make the 7th season for their characters! I still liked the original series better (mostly ’cause it had Ashley Tisdale) but the spin off is also very well done, and it deserves to continue. And I certainly won’t complain about seeing more of Debby Ryan.

What follows is Disney’s press release about the renewal of the show:

DISNEY CHANNEL ORDERS MORE HIGH SEAS ANTICS WITH
A THIRD SEASON OF “THE SUITE LIFE ON DECK”

Disney Channel has ordered more high seas antics with a third season of “The Suite Life on Deck,” the hit comedy series set on a cruise ship. Production on the series will resume in Hollywood in early 2010, it was announced today by Gary Marsh, President, Entertainment, Disney Channels Worldwide.

2009-to date, “The Suite Life on Deck” is the #1 TV series among Kids 6-11 and the #2 scripted TV series among Tweens 9-14. It recently (October 2) posted series highs in Total Viewers (6.8 million) and across all target demos. In addition, Season Two to date, the series surpasses its first-season average by an impressive 24% in Total Viewers (5.1 million vs. 4.1 million), by 21% in Kids 6-11 (2.4 million vs. 1.9 million) and by 24% in Tweens 9-14 (2.1 million vs. 1.7 million). Source: NTI, 2009 to date: 12/29/08-10/11/09, most current, U.S. ratings, trackage data.

The series follows identical twins Zack and Cody Martin and hotel heiress London Tipton on a semester at sea aboard the luxurious SS Tipton. Joining the hijinks are London’s roommate Bailey, a sweet, southern girl who has just left her small-town Kansas roots to experience a whole new world, and Marcus Little, a former singing teen sensation who is now making a fresh start. More often than not, their antics make the dutiful cruise ship’s hotel manager, Mr. Moseby, want to walk the plank.

The series stars Dylan Sprouse as Zack Martin, Cole Sprouse as Cody Martin, Brenda Song as London Tipton, Debby Ryan as Bailey Pickett, Doc Shaw as Marcus Little and Phill Lewis as Mr. Moseby. Recurring cast members are Erin Cardillo as Ms. Tutweiller, Matthew Timmons as Woody and Windell Middlebrooks as Kirby.

The new season will be executive-produced by Pamela Eells O’Connell (“Family Matters”) and Irene Dreayer (“Sister, Sister,” “Smart Guy”). “The Suite Life on Deck” is produced by It’s A Laugh Productions for Disney Channel. It carries a TV-G parental guideline.

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Breaking News! Our very own Rich Ross has been selected as the new chairman of the Walt Disney Studios.

Ross was the president of the Disney Channel, and has been our #1 recomended target for letters and emails ever since the founding of SDS. But now that Ross is moving on to the film division, we need to change our strategies.

We’ll be watching as Disney reshuffles it’s personel, and we’ll keep you apprised on whom you need to write to.

Disney press follows:

Rich Ross, President of Disney Channels Worldwide, has been named Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, it was announced today by Disney President and CEO Robert A. Iger.

Ross will oversee worldwide production, distribution and marketing for the company’s range of live-action and feature animated film labels, including Walt Disney, Touchstone, Miramax and Disney/Pixar. In his new role, which he assumes immediately, he will also head Disney’s theatrical and music groups.

In his thirteen years at Disney, Ross has consistently created hit original programming, effectively expanded a worldwide creative and distribution organization, skillfully built the Disney brand with global franchises that work across borders and technology platforms and put in place a strong management team.

“Rich has an outstanding record of creating high-quality family entertainment that delights audiences around the world,” said Iger. “With his success in building the Disney brand across many of our businesses, his astute marketing sensibility, his proven ability in working effectively with talent and his skill at navigating complex global markets, I’m confident he’s the perfect leader for our studio group.”

“I am very excited to play a key role in continuing the storytelling legacy of The Walt Disney Studios. There has never been a better time to entertain our global audiences with high-quality and compelling content and introduce new characters that will become family favorites. I look forward to working with Bob, the team at the studios and all of our Disney family towards that goal,” said Ross.

Under Ross’s leadership, the performance of Disney Channels Worldwide has been consistently strong in both creative and competitive terms, in the U.S. and globally. The group now includes a total of 94 channels and channel feeds available in 163 countries in 32 languages and features such brands as the flagship Disney Channel, the boy-focused Disney XD and Playhouse Disney for younger kids.

Ross has also overseen the growth of Radio Disney and of the group’s multiplatform offerings, which includes subscription video-on-demand and content-rich broadband websites DisneyXD.com and DisneyChannel.com, the number one kid’s entertainment website among Kids 6-14.

In the U.S., Disney Channel has been the #1 TV network among Kids 6-11 and Tweens 9-14 for the last seven and nine years respectively, buoyed by such breakout series as Lizzie McGuire, That’s So Raven, The Suite Life of Zack and Cody, Hannah Montana, Wizards of Waverly Place and Sonny With A Chance. Stars of Disney Channel programs, including Raven-Symone, Selena Gomez, Jonas Brothers, Demi Lovato and Miley Cyrus, have become household names.

Disney Channel’s record with original movies is equally impressive. With recent blockbusters like High School Musical 2, Wizards of Waverly Place The Movie and Camp Rock, Disney Channel can claim cable’s top two movies of all time and three of the top five.

Disney Channel programming has also helped build other Disney businesses, including the quadruple-Platinum-selling Hannah Montana soundtrack and the number one US album in 2006, High School Musical soundtrack. Books, stage shows, feature films, video games and merchandise featuring original Disney Channel characters have become a critical part of The Walt Disney Company’s success in recent years.

Ross joined Disney in 1996 as Disney Channel’s Senior Vice President, Programming and Production and was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility before being named Disney Channel president in April 2004. Prior to his tenure at Disney, he was a member of the executive team that launched FX Networks. Ross also held several senior positions at Nickelodeon from 1986 to 1993 where he oversaw talent booking, casting and program development and was involved in the launch of the channel’s first successful syndicated show and its first international network.

Ross is a member of the Board of Directors for Hollywood Radio Television Society and Cable in the Classroom — an organization that represents the cable telecommunication industry’s commitment to education. A native of New York and a 1983 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania with a Bachelor of Arts degree in International and English, Ross received his J.D. degree from New York’s Fordham University in 1986.