Allegedly out of pique, Mr Eisner reportedly refused to negotiate a settlement with Mr Katzenberg, whose payoff ballooned from $60m to $280m. He left to found DreamWorks, a rival studio, with the director Steven Spielberg and music supremo David Geffen. DreamWorks' animation arm has long since overtaken that of Disney. While his colourful behaviour has added to Hollywood lore, Mr Eisner's high-handed and sometimes bizarre way of treating senior executives has won him no favours in the company. One such example came when he rounded on Andrea Van de Kamp, a board member who was critical of Mr Eisner's management and supported the campaign to oust him led by Mr Disney and another director, Stanley Gold.