The new power brokers of Hollywood

You know Iger from Eisner and Rupert from Sumner. You know who to call if you saw them all having lunch together at the Grill on the Alley (hint: the hometown paper).

But could you spot Jason Kilar, the chief executive of Hulu.com, walking through LAX? Or Jordan Hoffner, director of content partnerships at YouTube, in a crosswalk in Silicon Valley?

Now, you can. The Hollywood Reporter has issued its first-ever list of the 50 digital power brokers. No. 1 is Disney's Steve Wadsworth (right), head of the company's Internet group. He's credited with rejuvenating its premier sites such as Disney Online and spearheading the purchase of virtual world Club Penguin.

Ranked 8th, Thomas Lesinski, president of Paramount Pictures Digital Entertainment, spurred the Web-first release of "Jackass 2.5." Ranked 11th, Eddy Cue, vice president of Apple's iTunes, is the guy who negotiates music, movie and TV deals with the entertainment industry.

Many of these folks are not household names -- yet. Their stars are rising, either inside big media companies or from the outside, as they figure out what the new entertainment world is becoming.

--Michelle Quinn

Photo: Steve Wadsworth, president of Walt Disney Internet Group, ranked No 1. on Hollywood Reporter's top 50 digital power brokers. Credit: Bryan Haraway / Getty Images. 

Disney Virtual Kingdom shutdown creating real angst

With the aid of a special mouse pad and an on-screen keyboard, Madison Reed has found a way to venture beyond the protective confines of her home in suburban Columbus, Ohio, and play with other children in a Disney theme park.

Madison, who suffers from a severe neuromuscular disease called spinal muscular atrophy, gravitated to Walt Disney’s Virtual Magic Kingdom, an online game that recreates aspects of the company’s theme parks. It was in this online world that she took her first steps. She rode a ride without being held or sitting in a wheelchair. And, at the age of 11, she celebrated her first birthday party with friends in February.

“This is huge for an 11-year-old girl who has never been able to have a birthday party with friends because of the risk of getting sick,” said her mother, Annette Reed.

Now, Madison faces the loss of her connection to the real world. Disney plans to close the Virtual Magic Kingdom today. The company says the game was created in 2005 as part of an 18-month promotion for the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, and that celebration has long ended.

“It never achieved scale,” Steve Wadsworth, president of the Walt Disney Internet Group, said last month in response to questions at the EconSM conference. “It was promotional. There was no business model attached to it. It had a small but passionate audience.”

But the decision ...

Disney launches online community for gamers

The Walt Disney Co., which has built online virtual worlds with igloos, pirate ships and fairy dust, is creating another digital playground around the Nintendo DS handheld game system.

Disney Interactive Studios today is launching an online community for Disney video games with the sale of the Nintendo DS version of "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian."

The DGamer site lets players create a 3D avatar and a profile, choosing from a variety of outfits, hats, eye wear and accessories (including such Disney staples as mouse ears and Disney-themed costumes).

Kids can go online, using an Internet-connected PC or the Nintendo DS's Wi-Fi connection, to chat with other gamers, view profiles of their friends and post high scores to the leader board. They can also earn "honors" for completing in-game missions, and unlock features, such as special Prince Caspian character costumes, which transfer automatically from the DGamer website to the DS games.

This is another attempt to foster community around the big D: brand Disney.

-- Dawn Chmielewski

Disney: Virtual Magic Kingdom Had No Business Model

At the EconSM conference today, Steve Wadsworth, president of Walt Disney Co.'s Disney Internet Group, responded to a question from an attendee about the company's controversial decision to pull the plug in May on an online game called "Virtual Magic kingdom."

Wadsworth said the game, which let players explore a digital version of the Burbank company's theme parks, was never meant to be permanent.

"It was built as a promotion" for the Mouse House's 50th Anniversary celebration of Disneyland, he said. "It had no business model."

Disney's decision sparked outcry among its fans, who accuse the company of heartlessly yanking a haven for disabled fans for whom the site is their only way to experience the theme parks. Some have launched a campaign to lobby for a reprieve.

Disney so far is not moved. "As dedicated as that audience is, it's super small," Wadsworth.

-- Alex Pham