Ken Graffeo of Universal no more?

Paul Hillenbrand · 03-17-2008, 11:22 AM

Ken Graffeo of Universal no more?

Post #1811 in "Club Penton" thread @ blu-ray.com.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Penton-Man

Well, I don’t believe any of the trades have discovered it yet but, this stuff inevitably leaks out so, let me be the first to tell you that said person has *moved on*.

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheRealBob

That's too bad to hear about Ken Graffeo. While I always supported Blu-ray, I, like many other people, could at least respect the stance Universal took by starting with HD DVD and sticking with them through thick and thin, hoping to make the format work. I'm glad they didn't succeed, but there's something to say for loyalty.

Paul

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Brandon Conway · 03-17-2008, 01:51 PM

Not too surprising. The higher ups at GE couldn't have been happy that they lost out at getting a foothold on the BD market earlier.

Man-Fai Wong · 03-17-2008, 05:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway

Not too surprising. The higher ups at GE couldn't have been happy that they lost out at getting a foothold on the BD market earlier.

I don't know about that. The market is still so small afterall. But GE might be more peeved that Universal didn't end up getting even a fraction of the kind of lucrative deal that Warner got out of all this though.

_Man_

Patrick_S · 03-17-2008, 06:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brandon Conway

Not too surprising. The higher ups at GE couldn't have been happy that they lost out at getting a foothold on the BD market earlier.

This really doesn't make much sense in that U hasn't really lost any "foothold" since there is no foothold since each studio brings to market unique content.

Sam Posten · 03-17-2008, 07:43 PM

Despite being famous for shouting "BS" at Ken (heh!) I have a lot of respect for him and Uni. Hopefully now that Uni is BD targetted they can find someone as passionate about the format as Ken was about HD DVD. I think Ken was a bigger cheerleader for the format than the other studios combined and I can't even put a name/face to anyone at Toshiba who was as public about it as he was. Good luck to him!

Jeff Adkins · 03-17-2008, 10:48 PM

Interesting that the two biggest HD-DVD cheerleaders at major studios (Steve Nickerson at Warner, Ken Graffeo at Universal) are both gone. I wouldn't think that one's support of a format would be enough reason to either get the axe or leave the company, whichever one was the case here. Certainly these guys didn't stake their whole career on the success of HD-DVD.

Edit: I almost forgot about Amir from Microsoft. That makes three.

I still say this stuff would make for a great book someday.

Ronald Epstein · 03-18-2008, 03:48 AM

I'm very sorry to have learned about Ken's departure.

That man went through a lot of unnecessary BS during his
leadership at Universal Home Entertainment. I'll never forget
the way he received such unfair press at last year's EMA event --
especially when he was so willing to come out and talk with us
knowing the increasing demands for his studio to go "Blu."

Sam Posten is right on the money about the kind of person Ken
Graffeo was. He was very passionate about the things he spoke
of. He wasn't afraid to come out and speak in public amidst
controversy. He was always sincere and polite. He never deserved
to be treated as disrespectfully as he was by certain individuals.

Sam, the fact you offered an apology following that incident and
the fact that Ken shook your hand as a result goes to show how
much class the both of you had. Wish others had followed in your
footsteps.

Patrick.C · 03-18-2008, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jeff Adkins

I still say this stuff would make for a great book someday.

You can bet there will someday be a Frontline-style documentary about all of this. It may come sooner than later now that many of the people involved are already switching companies and careers. I can't wait to see it myself. I would imagine there is a lot that we still don't know.

Ronald Epstein · 03-18-2008, 07:55 AM

Quote:

I would imagine there is a lot that we still don't know.

Most of the inside stuff that went on has been discussed on
this forum already. You can research most of it in the Hi-Def
areas.

Jari K · 03-18-2008, 11:02 AM

I doubt that mr. Graffeo can really talk about the issues why he left, even if he wanted to. These things happen all the time, "executive vice presidents" etc come and go. I´m sure that Graffeo is doing just fine.

So who is the new guy? Let´s hope that he has a fresh, "blue" face.

Nick Graham · 03-18-2008, 11:11 AM

As I posted elsewhere, it's crappy news to hear. The one thing that always stood out to me was how even Blu-Ray insiders like Penton and Max always went out of their way to compliment him and defend him, even in the thick of the format war. That says a lot about the man, I think.

So how was the power structure at Universal? I never was for sure if Ken was on top or if Kornblau was.