Mark Bozon, who spent 12 years at Apple in creative and gaming executive roles, has been hired by Disney in a senior post to help oversee the company’s push into the metaverse.
Mark Bozon, who spent 12 years at Apple in creative and gaming executive roles, has been hired by Disney in a senior post to help oversee the company’s push into the metaverse.
Hulu is offering new and select returning subscribers its basic, ad-supported tier for $1 a month for their first three months.
Twenty-four hours before his win for Best Documentary Feature would result in one of the most powerful speeches of this year’s Oscar night, Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson and his Summer of Soul team gathered at an intimate brunch in the picturesque gardens of Dana Walden’s Brentwood estate. Walden was there, along with Peter Rice, Matthew Greenfield, David Greenbaum and other high-level Disney executives. Even Disney CEO Bob Chapek put in an appearance.
David Furnish, Elton John’s longtime partner, will direct the documentary alongside R.J. Cutler, who directed the Billie Eilish documentary “The World’s a Little Blurry” for Apple TV+ last year, which earned four Emmy nominations.
Rita Ferra, president of ad sales for Disney, said the forthcoming ad-supported tier of Disney+ will have a less “robust” amount of ads compared with Hulu. That disparity, at least initially, will mainly be because about 65% of viewing on the streaming service is for movies, which don’t lend themselves to commercial interruption.
EXCLUSIVE: Disney Original Documentary and Disney+ have won the rights to a big feature documentary package, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road: The Final Elton John Performances And the Years That Made His Legend. No one would comment, but we hear the docu, from Academy Award-nominee R.J. Cutler as well as filmmaker (and longtime Elton John partner) David Furnish, sold for about $30 million.
Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorBob Iger, Disney’s former CEO and chairman, is now a part-owner of Gopuff, a company that provides quick-delivery services in 1,200 cities worldwide that counts Selena Gomez among its investors.The amount of Iger’s investment in Gopuff wasn’t disclosed. He will become an adviser to the company’s co-founders and co-CEOs Yakir Gola and Rafael Ilishayev and the rest of the executive team to “help deepen Gopuff’s consumer engagement and growth globally,” according to a statement.Gopuff, founded in 2013, says it has raised $4 billion to date — and has a $15 billion valuation.
David Zaslav, CEO of Warner Bros Discovery, proclaimed the merged company as essentially the fifth broadcast network, and repeated his vow that the company would overcome any skepticism about its prospects.
Unlike the upfronts themselves, Jimmy Kimmel was not back on-stage live in NYC today for the first time since 2019. Having tested positive for Covid-19 again, the late-night host had to change plans and appear virtually to take a flamethrower to some of Disney’s executives, streaming dreams, and offerings old and new.
Cynthia Littleton Business EditorJimmy Kimmel had zingers aplenty for companies across the TV spectrum at Disney’s upfront presentation on Tuesday, even though a positive COVID test kept the late-night host from appearing in person.As always, Kimmel didn’t hold back at his bosses in his 10-minute standup bit that was beamed in live to the event held in a giant tent at Manhattan’s Pier 36. He noted that he’s been doing his much-anticipated comedy bits for 19 years.
Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeAttendees at the Disney upfront could have played a drinking game by taking a sip everytime someone referred to the company as “unrivaled.” The message to advertisers: You’ve heard from other congloms this week, but no company offers such a wide range of storytelling options than the Walt Disney Co.’s suite of offerings.After an embattled several months atop the helm, Disney CEO Bob Chapek didn’t address any of the recent arrows pointed at him and the company, instead opening the presentation by calling the Walt Disney Company “the most powerful force in the industry” and noting how he started his career in advertising.“Now, as many of you know, Disney will be celebrating our 100th anniversary later this year and that is an incredible milestone,” he said. “I can’t help but think about this moment in the context of what this company has always been, what it is today, and what it will be.
With Marvel’s global juggernaut Doctor Strange missing in action in China, Disney CEO Bob Chapek called the situation there “very fluid and very complicated, both from a business standpoint and from a political standpoint.”
fiscal second-quarter earnings conference call Wednesday afternoon, an investor asked CEO Bob Chapek what was holding the company back from expanding it as an all-in-one service. Chapek said that Disney is trying to preserve the “huge” cash flow generated by its linear networks before jumping into a direct to consumer (DTC) decision like that.“At the same time, we’re very conscious of our ability to go more aggressively into the [direct to consumer] area of ESPN,” said Chapek.
While the idea of ESPN going “over the top” as a stand-alone streaming offering has been bruited about for years, Disney CEO Bob Chapek enthused about the scenario and describe it as an inevitability during the company’s quarterly earnings call.
Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterDisney has previously revealed it has 500 shows in the pipeline outside of the U.S., but on Wednesday, the company broke down for the first time how those planned local-language programs are being dispersed throughout global regions.According to Christine M. McCarthy, senior executive vice president and chief financial officer, 140 of those shows are in the works in the Asia/Pacific region, including Southeast Asia; 150 are in the EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa) territories); 100 are set up in India; and 200 are being developed for Latin America.Click here to sign up for Variety‘s free Strictly Business newsletter covering earnings, financial and investment news, and more.Elsewhere on the call, CEO Bob Chapek was pressed by analysts on another international topic: Disney’s lack of traction in recent months with getting its movies approved for release in China.
a 200,000 drop in subscribers — its first loss in more than a decade — and warned of steeper declines ahead as layoffs have already begun.“Our strong results in the second quarter, including fantastic performance at our domestic parks and continued growth of our streaming services—with 7.9 million Disney+ subscribers added in the quarter and total subscriptions across all our DTC offerings exceeding 205 million—once again proved that we are in a league of our own,” said Disney Chief Executive Bob Chapek. “As we look ahead to Disney’s second century, I am confident we will continue to transform entertainment by combining extraordinary storytelling with innovative technology to create an even larger, more connected, and magical Disney universe for families and fans around the world.”The announcement ripped through Wall Street, as investors began reevaluating the industry’s aggressive shift into streaming subscriptions.
Disney CEO Bob Chapek has made some very public mistakes of late, including his handling of the company’s response to Florida’s so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
An Encanto sequel might be in the back of Lin-Manuel Miranda‘s mind, but it won’t be happening just yet.
the New York Times wrote. Morrell moved from London to Los Angeles for the gig, serving under new CEO Bob Chapek, who had taken over for the revered Iger.Among other things, Morrell was jeered by the fan community for sharing a photo on Twitter of himself inside the show building for the new Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind rollercoaster at EPCOT, accidentally revealing the opening date for the attraction before an official announcement (Memorial Day weekend) and tagging an EPCOT joke account instead of the actual Twitter handle.
After less than six months, there is another changing of the communications guard at the Walt Disney Company.
Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaThe Walt Disney Company is parting ways with Geoff Morrell, its head of corporate affairs, after a series of public relations debacles. Morrell, ousted after less than five months on the job, joined Disney in December from a post as the executive vice president of communications and advocacy at oil and gas company BP.
Dana Walden knew she was part of a historic Hollywood moment when she drove onto the Disney lot the following day for the first time as an employee. The executive, who is now chairman of entertainment for Walt Disney Television, knew she had an enormous job to integrate two studios — 20th Television and what was then ABC Studios — in addition to steering ABC Entertainment and adding Hulu Originals soon after she started.
NBC News. To handle other matters, such as policing or the courts, Disney has partnered with other local governments to share some of the burden.But DeSantis became fixated on the special status granted to Disney after the company spoke out against and called for the repeal of a so-called “parental rights” measure he signed into law limiting LGBTQ content or discussions in schools.The law, which goes into effect July 1, has been dubbed the “Don’t Say Gay” bill by critics.
Another Disney star is urging the company to “step up” amidst Florida’s Parental Rights in Education Bill, also known as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
Does it ever feel like those of us in and around Hollywood are at war with the world?
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis escalated his attack on The Walt Disney Co. on Tuesday, as he called on the state legislature to end a self-governing special district covering Walt Disney World.
Los Angeles Times that they can no longer remain silent amidst the public battle over CEO Bob Chapek’s initial lack of opposition to Florida’s controversial “Parental Rights in Education” bill, aka the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was signed into law by Governor Ron DeSantis on March 28. Last week, Charlee’s father Roy P.
Earlier this week, it was announced that Dancing with the Stars would be moving to Disney+ after sixteen years on ABC.
Marvel Studios’ Victoria Alonso said she had a 45-minute sitdown with Disney boss Bob Chapek recently regarding the anti-LGBTQ legislation in Florida, Texas, and Arizona. She revealed the details of their chat while accepting the GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Film for Eternals.
finally denounced the “Don’t Say Gay” bill, which was signed into law earlier this week.After weeks of controversy surrounding Disney’s silence on the anti-LGBTQ+ legislation and subsequent walkouts by Disney employees, CEO Bob Chapek apologized and announced a pause in political donations in Florida. On Monday, Disney reacted to the law’s passage by stating that Florida HB 1557 “should never have passed and should never have been signed into law,” and adding that the company would be working with other organizations to get it repealed.Since then, DeSantis has taken aim at the company several times, including on Thursday when he told reporters that the state government may be re-evaluating Disney’s “special privileges” in Florida. “Someone said, ‘Hey, Disney has all these special perks.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis suggested that The Walt Disney Co. should be stripped of its “special privileges” in the state following its opposition to the new Parental Rights in Education law, dubbed by detractors as the “Don’t Say Gay” bill.
“COVID got people a lot more comfortable watching New Media, app-based media in the home,” Iger told CNN’s Chris Wallace in an interview for the network’s new streaming service. “While I don’t think it duplicates the experience in the theater, it is good enough.“And when you consider what you have to do to go to a theater, which is drive there or commute there in some form and pay for transportation, parking, etc., sit in a large room with a lot of people, to some there’s friction involved and it’s just not worth it,” he added.
Bob Chapek, the Disney CEO who is under siege, hopefully does not watch much TV. If he does, he’ll see a succession of fellow CEOs who seem prone to self-destruction — Adam Neumann of WeWork, Travis Kalanick of Uber, Elizabeth Holmes of Theranos, etc. — portrayed on buzzy TV series. Viewing these shows back to back, the stolid Chapek might wonder whether the CEO is extinct as a folk hero.
Florida State GOP Representative Spencer Roach said legislators have met twice to discuss repealing a statute that impacts how Disney can invest in its theme parks there. The move is retaliatory after the company and CEO Bob Chapek came out strongly against the so-called “Don’t Say Gay” bill just signed into law by Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has been lobbing criticism Disney’s way this week.
Todd Spangler NY Digital EditorThe Daily Wire, a conservative media organization with no history of producing children’s programming, is using Disney’s opposition to Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law as a rallying point to enter the business of kids entertainment.The Nashville-based company announced Wednesday that it plans to invest at least $100 million over the next three years into live-action and animated kids’ content. The right-wing outlet’s first content targeted at children is supposed to launch on Daily Wire’s subscription platform in the spring of 2023; it didn’t detail any kids’ shows or movies that it may have in the works.Americans are “tired of giving their money to woke media companies who want to indoctrinate their children with radical race and gender theory,” Daily Wire co-CEO Jeremy Boreing said in announcing the initiative.
Zack Sharf Ron Perlman slammed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis this week after he signed into law the controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill on March 28. The “Hellboy” and “Don’t Look Up” actor posted a video to his Twitter page in which he called DeSantis a “fucking Nazi pig” and a “piece of shit.” The legislation, officially titled the Parental Rights in Education Bill, bans kindergarten to third grade classrooms from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity topics.
What about having some fun reading the latest showbiz news & updates on Bob Chapek? Those who enter popstar.one once will stay with us forever! Stop wasting time looking for something else, because here you will get the latest news on Bob Chapek, scandals, engagements and divorces! Do not miss the opportunity to check out our breaking stories on Hollywood's hottest star Bob Chapek!