Change is always difficult. I have respect for Jeffrey and what he's done. Now it's time to move on.'' So says Walt Disney chairman Michael Eisner, who last week may have been the only man in showbiz who wanted to stop talking about the sudden departure of Walt Disney Studios chief Jeffrey Katzenberg after 10 years at Team Disney. Although a showdown had been expected for months as Katzenberg politicked for a bigger job, the actual adios-or dismissal, as some describe it-was oddly abrupt. Shortly after being summoned to Eisner's office Aug. 24, Katzenberg basically was told See ya real soon by his boss of 19 years. The official press release, which was being written as Eisner pronounced his judgment, buried the news behind the announcement of a sweeping restructuring of the company-a tectonic shift that included naming former Twentieth Century Fox movie chief and Disney producer Joe Roth as the de facto replacement. How did Katzenberg, the man behind such spectacular Disney hits as The Lion King, wind up in this mousetrap? The don't-quote-me-but wave of stunned reaction swirls around three theories: *Theory I: Eisner refused to share power and negotiate a peace. This is the scenario advanced vigorously by the FOJs (Friends of Jeffrey), most notably < his Dive! restaurant partner Steven Spielberg, who called the move ''Eisner's Machiavellian loss'' in the Los Angeles Times. FOJs can't fathom why Katzenberg-who has been Eisner's faithful lieutenant for two decades, starting with the duo's days at Paramount-wasn't treated with more respect. They point to Katzenberg's tireless, 100-calls-a-day energy, his creative skill in retooling movies from Pretty Woman to Aladdin, and his recent efforts to up Disney's prestige level with tonier live-action films. Katzenberg helped further this spin by adopting a conciliatory tone. He lunched publicly with Roth at the Disney executive dining room, paid an emotional visit to the animation staff, and told reporters that his next step was a trip to Disney World. Of his ex-commander, he says, ''With Michael, it's a genetic thing, I'm convinced. He doesn't like partnerships in anything I've ever observed. It's not a criticism-it's an honest observation.''
*Theory II: Katzenberg pushed himself out. The stage was set for a breakup, says an industry exec, when Eisner's second-in-command, Frank Wells, died in a helicopter crash in April and Katzenberg began pressing hard for a promotion. Tensions rose again after Eisner's quadruple heart-bypass surgery in July. Says the source, ''Too much pressure was put on (Eisner) at a time when he wasn't able to deal with it; nor could he be expected to under those conditions. If everybody had kept their mouth shut, Jeffrey would have gotten the job down the line. He overplayed his hand and forced his own demise at a place he didn't want to leave.'' An observer close to the animation staff also says Katzenberg's hotdogging credit for The Lion King-most notably in a May 16 Wall Street Journal profile- was ''one of the biggest nails in the Jeffrey coffin. Corporate people at the highest level were extremely upset that he was so lionized.'' Mix in a slate of live-action movies that one Disney exec calls ''atrocious'' (precious few blockbusters in three years), and Katzenberg's tireless campaigning-in the eyes of FOMs (Friends of Michael)-became intolerable.
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