Disney Entertainment, the new division run by Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, will oversee the main streaming services including Disney+ as details of the company’s strategic restructuring emerge.
The TV and film unit will now share some back-end functions with ESPN and employees from Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution, the Bob Chapek-created unit previously run by Kareem Daniel. International Content and Operations has shifted under Disney Entertainment and ESPN.
From the TV and film perspective, the biggest news coming out of the shakeup is that Walden and Bergman will oversee the company’s global streaming business and manage all content decisions for Disney+ and Disney-controlled Hulu. Michael Paull, who was previously President, Direct to Consumer, DMED, will continue to oversee Disney+ and Hulu, reporting to Walden and Bergman. >>> Memo From Bergman, Walden & Pitaro |
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Animating Principal - Former Skydance President of Animation and DreamWorks Animation Chief Creative Officer Bill Damaschke is in talks for the top Warner Bros. Animation feature position. It’s not a done deal yet, but it sounds like talks have heated up. >>>Would Report to De Luca & Abdy
'Squid' Scrutiny - Netflix reality series Squid Game: The Challenge faced an independent safety assessment after contestants required medical attention during filming. Britain’s Health and Safety Executive reminded producers to plan properly for risks, but ultimately decided that no further action was necessary. >>>Concerns About Conditions On Set
On The 'Balls' - Peter Farrelly is looking to get back in to the genre that helped launch his career. The Oscar winner is partnering with Skydance on the new action comedy Balls Up that he will direct from a script by Deadpool scribes Paul Wernick & Rhett Reese. >>>Details
"This Is A Miracle" - Following an exhaustive 19-month struggle to help free his father from a Nicaraguan prison, writer and producer behind shows like Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin and his family are to be reunited with patriarch Francisco Aguirre-Sacasa imminently on U.S. soil. >>>Political Prisoner
'Your Place Or Mine' Review - Deadline's Pete Hammond lauds the "comfortable familiarity" in the Reese Witherspoon-Ashton Kutcher rom-com that isn’t trying to rewrite the rules of engagement in a time-worn genre that makes this pleasing confection a perfect Valentine’s Day offering. >>>Shades Of Pillow Talk
New Blood - The Paramount+ mob drama Tulsa King starring Sylvester Stallone will have a new showrunner for Season 2. Terence Winter is stepping down from the post while remaining an executive producer on the series from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. >>>Scorsese Project
Polanski On Trial - The real-life criminal case of Chinatown director Roman Polanski, a tale of dark secrets and perverted justice that has dragged on in Los Angeles Superior Court since the 1970s, will likely play its final scenes in a downtown courtroom soon – one way or another, say writers William C. Rempel and Sam Wasson. >>>Guest Column |
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Krysty Wilson-Cairns is one of the hottest screenwriters in the business right now, working with heavy hitters like Sam Mendes, Edgar Wright, Tobias Lindholm, John Logan, Darren Aronofsky and now, Taika Waititi (she’s currently co-writing his Star Wars project). Here, she talks about the arc of her career, giving her character agency and helping others climb the ladder behind her. >>>The Interview |
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More News
🖥️ HuffPost writers and editors represented by the WGA East have officially ratified a new 3-year contract. A deal had been reached February 1, averting a strike.
🚨 Alec Baldwin is already facing involuntary manslaughter charges and up to five years in prison if found guilty for the 2021 fatal shooting of Halyna Hutchins. Now, the parents and sister of the slain Rust cinematographer have filed a lawsuit of their own against the actor and producer.
👋 Activist investor Nelson Peltz said Thursday morning that he’s ending his proxy fight against Disney. The company's stock jumped on news of a truce but later dropped into red numbers despite praise from Wall Street analysts for the company’s improving finances and CEO Bob Iger's sweeping restructuring and cost-cutting plans.
🕷️ A live-action Spider-Man Noir series based on the Marvel comic is in development at Amazon. Written and executive produced by Oren Uziel (The Lost City) the as-yet untitled series follows an older, grizzled superhero in 1930s New York City. The show is set in its own universe that involves an alternate Spider-Man character who is not Peter Parker.
🕯 Burt Bacharach, the massively influential composer of dozens of hits including “Walk on By,” “Do You Know the Way to San Jose,” “Alfie,” “I Say a Little Prayer” and the Oscar-winning “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head,” died Wednesday of natural causes at his home in Los Angeles. He was 94.
In Brief - Lionsgate earnings blew past forecasts with record library revenue...Harvey Weinstein was hit with new rape suit from Los Angeles trial’s Jane Doe #1...The Peripheral was renewed for a second season by Prime Video... Mike Pence has been subpoenaed by the special prosecutor overseeing Donald Trump investigations. |
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Hirings, Promotions & Exits
Sharon Levy has been promoted to CEO of Endemol Shine North America...Yahoo is laying off 20% of its workforce in a pullback from ad tech...Rupert Murdoch's News Corp said it will lay off 5% of its workforce after reporting disappointing quarterly results....The CW has hired ex-Masterclass & Quibi exec Tom Martin as Head Of Business Affairs & General Counsel...Dana Brunetti has departed Cavalry Media, the studio he co-founded.
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Trending  Disney shares have risen 24% in 2023, reflecting continued optimism about the company’s prospects under Bob Iger.
🔻 Florida’s House of Representatives passed a bill that will strip The Walt Disney Co. of its control over a special district covering Walt Disney World and allow Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to appoint members to the board of the entity. |
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On the Radar
Fri - Titanic rereleased in theaters; Harrison Ford on Colbert
Sun - Super Bowl LVII
Wed - VES Awards, Roku earnings
Thu - Berlin Film Festival & EFM begin, Paramount Global earnings |
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Knight Moves- Ben Affleck directs and stars as Nike co-founder Phil Knight in Air, the story surrounding Nike’s longshot effort to sign Michael Jordan to a shoe contract in the mid-’80s, an endorsement deal that seemed impossible at the time. Amazon Studios, which just released a full trailer, will release the film in theaters on April 5. |
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