A day before the Walt Disney Co.'s annual shareholder meeting in Philadelphia, ex-directors Roy Disney and Stanley Gold proclaimed at a news conference they will work as long as it takes to oust Disney chairman and ceo Michael Eisner. They believe that a dissenting vote of 15-20% will be sufficient. Gold said whatever the outcome they are not going away. They hope to rally as many as 1,000 shareholders during their 15-minute presentation at Wednesday's (March 3, 2004)10:00 am meeting (EST), which will be Webcast live at www.disney.com/investors.

Six more state pension funds lined up Thursday to oppose the reelection of chairman Michael Eisner to the Walt Disney Co. board. Funds in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Virginia plus the California State Teachers Retirement System joined the California Public Employees Retirement System in withholding support for the embattled Eisner, according to Bloomberg.

The founders, the stockholders and now the Canadian authorities have approved the sale of CINAR Corp. to the investor group comprised of Michael Hirsh, Toper Taylor and TD Capital Canadian Private Equity Partners through 4113683 Canada Inc. ("Newco").

The Quebec Superior Court granted approval by Justice Joel A. Silcoff, on Feb. 25, 2004, following a hearing in Montreal, on February 19 and 20.

The California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), the 29th largest single shareholder in Disney, has announced its decision to withhold voting for Michael Eisner for the position of chairman/ceo of The Walt Disney Company at Disney’s annual shareholder meeting on March 3, 2004. CalPERS cited the firm’s dismal performance for the past five years and its lack of confidence in the long-term strategic vision of the company for its decision.

On Feb. 17, 2004, Walt Disney was in French courts defending itself against charges by author Franck Le Calvez that FINDING NEMO is an infringement on his creation PIERROT THE CLOWN FISH reported REUTERS. Le Calvez seeks to bar the release on any books and merchandising featuring the image of Nemo, which resembles Pierrot. Disney's lawyers claimed that Nemo's likeness cannot be considered a brand in and of itself. Judge Louis-Marie Raingeard de la Bletiere said he would rule on the case's merits on March 12, 2004.

Ascent Media is launching a new set of services that allow advertising agencies to work with the world's best post-production talent-without leaving their hometown. UP Sessions enables Ascent Media clients to participate in telecine sessions, and other picture critical finishing work, from remote sites in realtime while interacting with the artists performing the work. UP Sessions encompasses three different products that facilitate virtual collaboration: UP Satellite, UP Fiber and UP Web.

On Feb. 24, 2004, the epic legal battle between the Walt Disney Co. and Winnie the Pooh copyright holders, the Slesinger family, heated up with Disney accusations that the family stole and altered documents, reported REUTERS. Disney lawyers again asked Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Charles McCoy, who took over the case in October, to throw out the case, which could lose Disney hundreds of millions of dollars.

Peak Entertainment Holdings Inc. in the U.K. has finalized consulting agreement with POW! Entertainment, Llc., a company incorporated in the U.S. to capitalize on the highly acclaimed action hero creations from Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee.

Lee will offer his extensive live-action experience to the traditionally animated company and Peak will offer Stan Lee a platform via its flexible vertical properties for any future creation and development.

MGM vice chairman/coo Chris McGurk admitted on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004 that he has discussed a distribution partnership with Pixar Animation Studios during a conference call with financial reporters to discuss MGM's record net income of $60.3 million for the fourth quarter- spurred by DVD and video sales of LEGALLY BLONDE 2 and JEEPERS CREEPERS II.

CINAR shareholders voted at a special meeting in Montreal on Feb. 17, 2004 to accept the acquisition offer from the investor group comprised of former Nelvana execs Michael Hirsh and Toper Taylor, and TD Capital Canadian Private Equity Partners.