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Katzenberg still speaks of Eisner with affection and respect. "For 19 years," he says, "Michael has been my mentor, teacher, No. 1 champion, my boss and my friend. I just wanted him to take me as his partner, to bring me into his inner circle. I did not want his job. I was prepared to be his No. 2 guy. This was a teacher and a student, and now the student asked to be a teacher's assistant. It's been Eisner & Son, and that's how Michael wanted it to remain."
Katzenberg, who waxes ecstatic over the allegorical import behind the cartoons, is asked to explain the allegory of his traumatic week. "It's about a father not being able to accept a son," he says. "I still don't understand it, and it's hard to reconcile."
But when he looks ahead, the old enthusiasm returns. "There's a gigantic shift in the world of entertainment, and as I try to find my future in it, I've decided only to have one rule, and that is: there are no rules. Maybe I should start my own company. Maybe I'll work for a company where I own one share or a big equity stake. Maybe I'll go over to Dive and make sub sandwiches." As of Oct. 1, he is at leisure. "I'll take a 60-day pit stop -- and I'm sure I'll be incompetent at that. I want to rest and recharge, make sure there's enough traction on them wheels." Or perhaps, as he told Eisner in a friendly chat at week's end, "I'll start up a company, and later you'll buy it. Then I'll end up working for you."
/ For now, though, the Katzenberg era at Disney -- one of phenomenal growth, an eerie stability and that amazing revival of the precious cartoon heritage -- has ended. Oh well, as the Lion King would say, hakuna matata. Not to worry. Eisner will reinvent his company, and soon, perhaps, Katzenberg will invent his own. For the moment, he's in the hot seat. His former colleague -- and future competitor -- is sitting in the Katzenberg seat.