Disney board member reelection opposed

Proxy advisory firm Glass Lewis Friday opposed reelection of half of Walt Disney's ten member board claiming excessive exec compensation and one director's ties to a bank that was seized by federal regulators in 2008. Glass Lewis said four nominees, Susan Arnold, John Chen, Fred Langhammer and Alwyn Lewis, served on the committee that awarded CEO Robert Iger north of $30 million in total compensation for fiscal 2011. Glass Lewis wrote that according to its measurements, the Mouse overall "paid more than its peers, but performed moderately worse than its peers" Disney had said in its proxy statement, which is where companies list the salaries of their top five highest paid executives, that much of Iger's pay was tied to Disney performance. Iger wasn't even the highest paid media topper last year. Viacom chief executive Philippe Dauman was awarded $43 million in total compensation. Another Mouse director, Orin Smith was on the board of Washington Mutual from 2005 until its seizure by the FDIC in September 2008, serving on the audit and governance committees, said Glass Lewis, noting, "We believe that all of Washington Mutual's directors bear some responsibility for the company's excessive risk-taking that led to its collapse." Shareholders will vote to elect directors at Disney's annual shareholders meeting next Tuesday in Kansas City, Missouri. Iger will also formally succeed retiring John Pepper as chairman of the board. That's another bone of contention with Glass Lewis, which prefers the chairman and CEO to be split positions although many companies have one person in the role. Iger plans to step down as Walt Disney CEO in 2015. Contact the Variety newsroom at news@variety.com

Universal Playing With Ouija Again

Michael Bay's Platinum Dune team is backLast year, Universal had a big, budget-driven spasm and seemed to jettison just about every film it was developing under its deal with games giant Hasbro that wasn't called Battleship. Among the casualties was a take on spooky spirit conjuring lark Ouija overseen by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes company with McG attached to direct. But it has risen from the development grave thanks to Paranormal Activity.How so? Well, Paranormal producerJason Blum, who has made a name for himself developing low-budget horrors and thrillers, is now involved with the Ouija film after partnering up with Platinum Dunes' Bay, Brad Fuller and Andrew Form. According to Deadline, the concept has been seriously retooled from its blockbuster budget to a thrifty $5 million. The new price tag appealed to Universal (which had been threatened with a penalty if the movie wasn't made within a certain deadline anyway) and it's back on.It's not yet known whether McG is still involved in any way (we'd guess the various companies will prefer to go the Project X/ Chronicle route and hire a fresh, cheaper person to call the shots) or who has written the new script. We tried asking those questions on the office Ouija board, but all we got was blood running down the walls and a fire demon in the loo. You know: the average, every day occurrence at Empire Towers...

Minnie Driver To Star In Kari Lizers NBC Comedy & The Winding Route To Make It Happen

EXCLUSIVE: Minnie Driver is placed to star opposite Andrea Anders in Kari Lizers NBC comedy pilot Lady Buddies. The Warner Bros. TV-created project is all about two existence-lengthy female buddies who're living completely different lives but couldnt do without one another. Nicole (Anders) has everything opting for her.Her closest friend, Jen (Driver), has parents who've no belief in her own, terrible instincts that brought her to some 17-day marriage to some guy who left her, and she or he acquired 15 pounds around the lentil soup diet.But, in some way, she's Nicoles rock. Lady Buddies arrived Driver inside a nail-biter, following a month-lengthy pursuit. The producers cast another lead, Anders, at the outset of Feb once they also recognized Driver because the option for Jen. The issue was that Driver was within talent deal at ABC, which may not release her. Professionals and agents attempted persuasion, which didn’t work. Then your network, NBC, used gamesmanship by means of some traditional equine buying and selling. ABC wanted Kal Penn, who were built with a talent deal at NBC, to star in the comedy pilot Prairie Dogs. NBC provided to release Penn from his deal if ABC would let Driver go so she could do Lady Buddies. That didn’t work either. (Penn did finish up doing Prairie Dogs.) Ultimately, persistence and perseverance compensated off. ABC finally launched Driver and she or he rapidly closed an offer with Warner Bros. for Lady Buddies. The Oscar-nominated former Riches star is by using CAA and Untitled.