Patrick and I have often discussed Jake
Eberts' role in the whole debacle. Consider:
-He was executive producer of both the WB and Calvert versions, sold
the
film to Miramax, and actually commended Miramax on what they did to the
film;
-He was the one who complained that there was too much Thief, that Tack
and
the Thief didn't talk, that there wasn't enough Tack and Yum-Yum stuff;
-He was also the one responsible for the gang-rape of The Magic
Roundabout
for the "Doogal" U.S. release, as Patrick tells me.
Also, some things Patrick and I sort of have inferred, assumed,
postulated, hypothesized (none of it is proven; some of it might not
even be
rumored):
-I formulated a hypothesis that it was Jake Eberts who wanted songs,
which
is why Williams wrote songs and stuff into the workprint;
-Patrick told me that WB actually liked what was coming out of
Williams'
studio, meaning that someone would have had to talk WB into dropping
the
film. I wouldn't be surprised if it were Jake Eberts.
-Apparently, someone was dissatisfied with the workprint Williams
delivered.
If WB was enthusiastic about the film (though maybe a little frustrated
at
the slow speed at which it was coming out), could it have been Eberts
who
wasn't? Think about it; it didn't have the songs or any of the stuff
that
someone (Eberts?) wanted Williams to add; if it were Eberts, could
Eberts
have basically "thrown a tantrum" because they were obviously so far
ahead
into production that the chances of them shoehorning his ideas in would
have
been next to nil?
-I speculated that Eberts had an idea of what he wanted when he
approached
Williams, so him trying to push his demands on Williams wouldn't be out
of
the question.
-Eberts would have had a reason to facilitate Williams being thrown
off,
because only without Williams would he have gotten all the stuff he
wanted,
and did get in the Calvert version.