Dana Walden Latest Celebrity News & Gossip

The Walt Disney Company announced details Thursday of its strategic restructuring, which will, according to an official release, “refocus the organization on creativity, empower creative leaders and ensure they are accountable for all aspects of their businesses globally, and put the company’s streaming business on a path to sustained growth and profitability.” This offers some clarification and insight into the expanded roles of top executives Alan Bergman, Dana Walden and Jimmy Pitaro, first announced during the February 2023 earnings call with CEO Bob Iger on Wednesday. Thursday’s announcement states that, effective immediately, the company will be organized into (and around) three business segments: Disney Entertainment, ESPN and Disney Parks, Experiences and Products (aka DPEP, which was created by Iger in 2018).

Disney Entertainment, the new division run by Dana Walden and Alan Bergman, will oversee the company’s main streaming services including Disney+ as details of the company strategic restructuring emerge.

Disney is moving back closer to how things used to be run on the content side with the creation of a new Disney Entertainment unit that will encompass TV and film.

Dana Walden, chairman, Disney General Entertainment Content, has restructured another area of the division she took over last summer, bringing back together publicity and communications years after they had been split. She laid out the changes in the company memo, which you can read at the bottom of the story.

EXCLUSIVE: 20th Television has extended its overall deal with Liz Heldens, co-developer and executive producer of the studio’s new crime drama Will Trent, starring Ramon Rodriguez, which premiers on ABC tonight. Under the new pact, Heldens will create, develop, write and produce new series for all platforms.

Kareem Daniel is exiting Disney as head of its Media and Entertainment Distribution division, one day after the ouster of CEO Bob Chapek.

Ryan Murphy has another anthology after Netflix ordered two additional installments of his Monster franchise following the success of Dahmer.

Sydnee Rimes has been promoted to senior vice president of series at ABC Signature.

Jenna Riley has been promoted to senior vice president of drama development at 20th Television.

K.J. Yossman Hargobind Tahilramani, the alleged “Hollywood Con Queen,” has spoken publicly for the first time after taking the stand in court on the first day of his extradition trial. The U.S. government has formally requested the self-described food blogger be extradited from the U.K. to face eight charges in California, including conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. Tahilramani is accused of being the “mastermind” behind a $1 million scam targeting film industry professionals, in which he is alleged to have posed as dozens of mostly female Hollywood executives and their assistants in a bid to lure victims out to Jakarta in Indonesia with the promise of work. Among those he is accused of impersonating are producer Gigi Pritzker, Disney exec Dana Walden and Annapurna Pictures founder Megan Ellison (pictured above, left to right).

Craig Erwich, who oversees ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals for Disney, is one of three TV executives receiving expanded leadership roles at Disney General Entertainment. The changes include the promotions of Erwich to president, ABC Entertainment, Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals; Shannon Ryan to president, Marketing, Disney General Entertainment; and Eric Schrier to the role of president, Disney Television Studios & Business Operations, Disney General Entertainment. All three will report to chairman of Disney General Entertainment Dana Walden.

Joe Otterson TV Reporter FX Entertainment president Eric Schrier has been promoted to the newly created role of president of Disney Television Studios and Business Operations for Disney General Entertainment. With the promotion, it was also announced that Bryan Noon would be exiting his role as president of entertainment for Walt Disney Television, but will stay onboard through a transition period. Noon came over to Disney from Netflix in November 2021. Schrier’s promotion was one of three announced by Dana Walden, the chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content. It was also announced that Craig Erwich, president of ABC Entertainment and Hulu, has added Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals to his purview. In addition, Shannon Ryan has been named president of marketing for Disney General Entertainment. All three will report to Walden.

Jennifer Maas TV Business Writer Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich and president of content marketing for Hulu and Disney General Entertainment Shannon Ryan have both been promoted to expanded roles. Erwich has been upped to president of ABC Entertainment, Hulu & Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals. With this new title, Erwich will continue to oversee ABC Entertainment and Hulu Originals, while adding unscripted and alternative entertainment to his purview, as well as Disney Branded Television Streaming Originals. Erwich, who has overseen the Hulu Originals brand since 2014, is expected to “help bolster DBT’s content strategy for fueling Disney+ with broad, family-appealing original programming.”

The relationship between Dana Walden and John Landgraf has long been subject of corporate intrigue. The superstar TV executives had run on parallel tracks at Fox and continued to do so after they both made the transition to Disney following the 2019 acquisition until this past June. The shocking dismissal of Peter Rice, which was followed by Walden’s elevation to his post as Chairman of Disney General Entertainment, changed the dynamic between the two veteran executives, with one of them (Landgraf) reporting to the other (Walden) for the first time since Landgraf joined FX in 2004.

Sofia Behzadi Stephanie Levinson has been promoted to executive vice president of casting for Disney’s 20th Television.Levinson joined the studio fresh out of college in 2006.“Stephanie is extremely talented with impeccable taste, strategic thinking and creative insight in the ever evolving world of casting,” said Sharon Klein, executive vice president of casting for Walt Disney Television, to whom Levinson will report. “Her relationships in both the acting and agent communities are unrivaled, and she is beloved by our showrunners and executives who rely on her enormously, as do I.

Hitting the dance floor — on a different platform. Season 31 of Dancing With the Stars will premiere in fall 2022 on Disney+ after more than a decade on ABC.

Clayton Davis Anya Taylor-Joy, Billie Eilish, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Caitríona Balfe, Jamie Dornan and Disney exec Dana Walden are among the 397 artists and executives invited to join the membership of the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences. If all of this year’s invitees accept membership, it will bring the total number of Academy members to 10,665, with 9,665 eligible to vote for the 95th Oscars set to take place on March 12, 2023.The 2022 class is 44% women, 37% belong to underrepresented ethnic/racial communities, and 50% are from 53 countries and territories outside the United States.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences said Tuesday that it is inviting 397 artists and executives to join the Oscar organizer’s membership ranks. The prospective 2022 class includes 71 Oscar nominees and 15 winners, with 44% of the invitees women, and 37% of the group belongs to underrepresented communities.

In her first public comments since she was elevated to Chairman of Disney General Entertainment, Dana Walden sent a memo to staff Monday morning. In it, she expressed her “immense appreciation to Bob Chapek for giving me this opportunity of a lifetime,” noting that “is enormously proud of what we do.” She also praised Peter Rice, “a gifted executive,” for his mentorship and friendship and highlighted the achievements of each division in the content group’s portfolio.

William Earl Dana Walden, newly promoted to Disney’s top TV post, addressed the shocking management shakeup that saw her elevation and the ouster of her longtime boss, Peter Rice.Walden sent a note to Disney General Entertainment staffers detailing the vast unit’s many recent success stories across ABC, FX, Hulu, Freeform, National Geographic and the production units that Walden now oversees. She noted the surprising transition that was unveiled June 9.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at LargeWarren Littlefield is looking to make more Must-See TV with Disney’s 20th Television and ABC Signature. The network president-turned-producer, whose prolific output in recent years has included “Fargo,” “The Handmaid’s Tale” and “Dopesick,” has sealed a multi-year overall deal with 20th and ABC Signature that will keep him exclusive with those studios through 2026.Littlefield was most recently in a joint deal with 20th Television and Fox 21.

In 2004, Disney’s cable networks executive Anne Sweeney was named co-chair, Disney Media Networks, and president, Disney/ABC Television Group. The promotion, announced by then-Disney CEO Bob Iger, to whom Sweeney reported, set off a decade-long reign of Sweeney as one of the most powerful women in entertainment, with a vast TV portfolio encompassing a broadcast network and cable networks, Disney’s TV studio and news.

Selome Hailu After being ousted from his post as Disney’s head of TV content, Peter Rice sent a final memo to staffers.The news came Thursday morning as a shock to the industry, including many at Disney. Rice is being replaced by his top lieutenant, Dana Walden.View the memo in full below.Hi everyone:I am incredibly sad that this will be the last “weekend read” that I will be sending you.

Peter Rice was known for turning down opportunities to take a public victory lap.The soft-spoken British executive, who was ousted on Wednesday from the top TV job at Disney, has a reputation for quietly cultivating relationships with producers and directors such as Baz Luhrmann and Danny Boyle. In the 2000s, he leveraged those ties to boost the performance of Fox Searchlight Pictures with hits such as “Moulin Rouge!” and “Slumdog Millionaire.” More often than not, Rice let the directors, producers and actors take the bows.That low-maintenance demeanor would serve Rice well in Murdoch’s empire as he became close to the family and rose in 2009 to oversee all of Fox’s entertainment networks.

William Earl After the shocking news that Peter Rice has been ousted as the head of TV content for Disney, and will be replaced by his top lieutenant, Dana Walden, media insiders are left scratching their heads and speculating about the behind-the-scenes dealmaking taking place. For the uninitiated, Variety has put together a primer on the incoming and outgoing heads of Disney television.*Bio:Born and raised in the U.K., Rice’s family was close to Rupert Murdoch’s family, which lead to a Fox film internship in 1987.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek and his leadership team have the “support and confidence” of the company’s board of directors, according to a statement by Chairman Susan Arnold.

The New York Times, his departure is not due to any behavioral issues. In a statement that pointedly does not acknowledge Rice’s years of service, Disney announced that Walden will become chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content, effective immediately.

shakeup of its TV division.“The strength of The Walt Disney Company’s businesses coming out of the pandemic is a testament to Bob’s leadership and vision for the company’s future,” the board said in a written statement.

UPDATED: Disney has confirmed the exit of Peter Rice and the ascension of Dana Walden. Release is below.

Cynthia Littleton Business EditorIn a shocking turn of events, Peter Rice has been ousted as head of TV content for Disney, to be replaced by his top lieutenant, Dana Walden.Rice, who served as chairman of general entertainment content, came to Disney with the acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019, as did Walden.

When voters go to the polls Tuesday for Los Angeles’ primary election, they are likely to advance two mayoral candidates to the general election: Rep. Karen Bass (D-CA) and developer Rick Caruso.

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.

Wilson Chapman editorAfter almost 20 years of medical emergencies and juicy drama, “Grey’s Anatomy” is gearing up for its landmark 400th episode this May.Set to air on May 26, the 400th episode of the series will air as a two-part Season 18 finale. The episode’s plot remains unknown, but will feature the return appearance of cast members Jesse Williams and Sarah Drew, as the super couple Jackson and April (aka “Japril”).

UPDATED, 12:02 PM: Vice President Kamala Harris’ office said today that she has tested negative for Covid, six days after a positive test.

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.

Vice President Kamala Harris has tested positive for Covid, the White House said on Tuesday.