Disney Unplugs Metaverse Unit During Initial Round Of Layoffs

The 2023 class of mentees for the Black Boy Writes & Black Girl Writes Mentorship Initiative was announced today. The mentees are presented by writer Mike Gauyo (Insecure, Ginny & Georgia), in partnership with Stage 32, and with support from Culture Creative Entertainment, M88, and Final Draft.

Elsa Keslassy International Correspondent Brut, the influential digital media publisher which became one of the main partners for the Cannes Film Festival last year, has just finalized its fourth funding round for approximately $40 million. The company, founded by Guillaume Lacroix, Renaud Le Van Kim and Laurent Lucas six years ago, has enlisted a pair of powerful financial backers: CMA CGM, the world’s third-largest container shipping company owned by billionaire businessman Rodolphe Saadé, which also recently nabbed 10% of France’s second biggest commercial network M6, and the daily newspaper La Provence; and MoonPay, a leading Miami-based financial service company for web3 whose investors include former tennis star Maria Sharapova, as well as Snoop Dogg, Drake and Justin Bieber, among others. Aryeh B. Bourkoff’s LionTree advised the deal with MoonPay.

American Idol is currently in the middle of Hollywood Week and there was some drama during the duet round, which aired during the episode on Monday night (April 3).

EXCLUSIVE: Disney’s international teams are braced for layoffs and content cuts.

ABC News underwent a round of staff reductions on Thursday, with about 50 positions impacted as part of parent Walt Disney Co.’s companywide cuts.

King Charles III showed off his German speaking skills during a royal engagement in Berlin on Wednesday.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway has welcomed a new study suggesting that minimum unit pricing in Scotland has led to fewer alcohol-related deaths compared with England.

Disney has let go SVP and Chief Compliance Officer Alicia Schwarz, Deadline has learned, amid a major retrenchment at the company.

co-hosted a D23-themed podcast, “D23 Inside Disney,” along with Oh My Disney’s Sheri Henry. News of the ouster came from six separate sources with knowledge of the situation.

The recently renamed Universal Destinations & Experiences (previously Parks & Resorts) has named two executives to key roles at its growing creative division.

Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor As part of a companywide cost-cutting effort, Disney has axed its cross-divisional Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences group, which encompassed the Mouse House’s metaverse ambitions. The elimination of Disney’s Next Generation Storytelling & Consumer Experiences group, led by company veteran Mike White, affects about 50 employees, Variety confirmed. The news was first reported by the Wall Street Journal. A Disney rep declined to comment. The shutdown of Disney’s metaverse group came Monday with the first wave of the company’s move to slash 7,000 jobs under interim CEO Bob Iger, which is part of its attempt to reduce $5.5 billion in costs. Following this week’s layoffs, there will be a larger second round of cuts next month, Iger told employees in a memo Monday. A final round of layoffs will hit “before the beginning of summer,” according to Iger.

the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.The metaverse team, per WSJ, was tasked with “fiinding ways to tell interactive stories in new technological formats using Disney’s extensive library of intellectual property.” It employed approximately 50 people, all of whom have been let go, according to WSJ. However, the division’s boss, former Disney consumer products executive Mike White, remains with the company in an undetermined capacity.Representatives for Disney didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment from TheWrap.The move comes just over a year after Disney created the division under former CEO Bob Chapek.

A Greater Manchester police officer in charge of a cadet unit allegedly used the training scheme as 'a grooming playground', a court has heard.

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Disney will begin layoff notices this week for more than 7,000 staffers whose positions will be eliminated as part of a deep cost-cutting effort that will be felt across all of the company’s key divisions. Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed Monday morning in a memo to employees that the layoffs will come in three waves, starting today. Iger disclosed the plan to significantly cut Disney’s overhead with massive staff reductions on Feb. 8. The cuts are expected to hit across the board and hit senior management levels as well as lower-level executives. “The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly. This company is home to the most talented and dedicated employees in the world, and so many of you bring a lifelong passion for Disney to your work here,” Iger wrote. “That’s part of what makes working at Disney so special. It also makes it all the more difficult to say goodbye to wonderful people we care about. I want to offer my sincere thanks and appreciation to every departing employee for your numerous contributions and your devotion to this beloved company.”

Disney CEO Bob Iger has confirmed the first of three rounds of layoffs is starting this week as the company looks to reduce its workforce by about 7,000 employees.

The Associated Press on Friday that the 25-year sentence was commuted by presidential order after a request for clemency. Rusesabagina, a U.S.

Jane Fonda revealed an intimate part of her nighttime ritual, and then shared that as a gift.

EXCLUSIVE: The CW is undergoing another round of staff cuts, sources tell Deadline. We hear more than 15 people were affected, with the marketing/promotional team impacted, along with finance.

BreAnna Bell Fox has renewed its dramas “Accused” and “Alert: Missing Persons Unit” for sophomore seasons, to air in 2023-24, Fox Entertainment’s president of scripted programming, Michael Thorn announced on Thursday. Hailing from Howard Gordon, “Accused” opened on a season high note as television’s highest-rated drama debut in two years. In its Jan. 22 premiere, the show registered a 2.5 Live + 35 Day rating and 14.6 multi-platform viewers. To date, the show averages 7.5 million multi-platform viewers, up +126% from its Live + Same Day delivery. “Accused” is based on the BBC’s BAFTA-winning series of the same name. “With ‘Accused,’ Howard Gordon has taken the crime anthology to new heights and acclaim, featuring an all-star roster of directors and talent headlining gripping episodes that entertain viewers with a provocative, fresh take on many of the most relevant, timely issues of our day,” said Thorn in a statement.