Bob Chapek's memoir "Behind the Castle Walls" hits bookstores Tuesday, claiming Bob Iger "didn't want to let go of the ball" when Chapek took the top job, according to The Blast. One Disney insider called the book "a bit of a yawner" and said "the Chapek thing is done and dusted from Disney's point of view."
The memoir works the way every deposed-boss memoir works: the fired guy writes the story, and the company that fired him answers through anonymous insiders, which is the same as not commenting except with a media contact. Chapek casts his rise as his own "hero's journey" and his tenure as the moment he got trapped in a bitter power struggle. A source even admitted his sense of being an outsider "was a real thing inside Disney," which is the most generous review a victim story gets.
The Yawner reaction is the most honest review the book cycle has ever produced. "A bit of a yawner" is not a blurb, it is a verdict, signed by people who were actually in the room. "Done and dusted from Disney's point of view" does the same job in a different font: the company closed the ticket months ago, and the book is a late arrival to a meeting that ended. When an insider heard the claim that Chapek "did nothing wrong," the review was "give me a break."
The strange part is what Disney is actually worried about. The book scaring the Mouse House is not the one arriving Tuesday, it is "The House of Mouse," the Wall Street Journal's Robbie Whelan book about Iger and Disney that lands in December. An unread book is frightening the company more than the one going on shelves in three days. Meanwhile Iger is reportedly working with a former Hillary Clinton speechwriter on a Ride of a Lifetime sequel, and he is going to be the face of the Lakers' ownership group. The man who, according to Chapek's book, called himself the modern-day reincarnation of Walt Disney is not done. He is planning a third act.
YOUR TURN: If Disney calls the book a yawner, who is the Yawner?
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