Réorganisation MAJEURE et HISTORIQUE de The Walt Disney Company

La réorganisation continue avec la suppression au cours du premier trimestre 2021 des stations de radio Radio Disney et Radio Disney Country aux Etats-Unis.

Radio Disney a été lancée en 1996 et Radio Disney Country en 2015. Elles ont contribué à la promotion d'artistes tels que les Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus, Selena Gomez, Demi Lovato, Hilary Duff, Aaron Carter et autres.

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Radio Disney and Radio Disney Country will cease operations in the first quarter of 2021. The announcement was made today by Gary Marsh, president and chief creative officer, Disney Branded Television, who today addressed the 36 full- and part-time employees who will be impacted by the closure early next year.

Radio Disney in Latin America is a separate operation and is not impacted by the announcement today.

The difficult decision to close these two radio networks coincided with Disney’s recently announced structural changes that call for Disney Branded Television to sharpen its focus on increasing production of kids’ and family content for Disney+ and Disney Channels. Division leaders also took into account the fast evolving media environment that provides more personalized music choices than ever to a generation of young consumers, and the ongoing public health crisis that continues to affect in-person music events.

Sans oublier la réorganisation de Disney Television Studios annoncée il y a quelques jours avec la suppression de Touchstone Television (qui intègre 20th Television) et le renommage de 20th Television Animation en 20th Animation qui ne dépend plus de la télévision dorénavant mais pourra produire des séries également pour le streaming.

Pour rappel, le Disney Investor Day aura lieu jeudi de 22h30 à 2h30, heure française.
Il sera possible de le suivre en direct ici :
https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-investor-day-2020/

C'est à ne pas manquer !

Je tiens à faire remarquer ici l'une des conséquences de cette réorganisation majeure (entre autres) :
le cours de l'action DIS (TWDC) en bourse a dépassé, 1ère moitié de novembre, la valeur pré-crise de mars 2020 : celle-ci était de 140,27$ le 19 février 2020, juste avant le début de la chute de la valeur. Elle a atteint 85,76$ au 22 mars 2020, au plus bas. Le 15 novembre 2020, l'action était à 144,67$ et elle est aujourd'hui à 173,73$ (27 décembre 2020).

On constate donc une augmentation de 102,6% entre mars et décembre 2020.
On constate également une augmentation de 23,9% entre février et décembre 2020.

Cette remise à niveau est en très grande partie due à cette réorganisation majeure.
Très certainement en partie du aussi à la nouvelle gouvernance de Bob Chapek?

Il ne faut pas oublier les conséquences : quasi-abandon des exploitants privés de sorties en salles, des centaines de CM renvoyés des parcs, etc...

Non mais faut pas regarder la bourse. Celle-ci est totalement déconnectée de l'économie réelle depuis déjà quelques années (avant la crise sanitaire donc). Et quasiment toutes les bourses ont effacé leurs pertes dû aux confinements de mars. Cela fait d'ailleurs craindre à beaucoup un crash post-épidémie, quand la finance virtuelle se fera rattraper par l'économie réelle.
C'est plus les très bons résultats de Disney+ (qui a quand même réalisé en moins d'un 1 an son objectif prévu à 5 ans et même bien au delà), et le fait que le groupe n'ait pas hésité à licencier, qui ont tiré le cours de bourse de Disney vers le haut, que la réorganisation en soit du groupe.

Le Dow Jones bat des records contre vents et marées. On verra d'ici quelques mois si le virtuel a tenu la route...

Nouveau rôle pour Reena Singh qui supervisera les séries télévisées en prises de vues réelles à l'attention des enfants, des adolescents et des familles pour Disney+, Disney Channel et Disney XD :

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Reena Singh to Head Development for Disney's Branded TV Division

The former 20th TV executive will oversee live-action series for the kids and family focused group.

The Disney group overseeing kids and family programming has added 20th Television veteran Reena Singh to its executive ranks.

Singh is joining Disney Branded Television in the newly created role of senior vp development and current series. She'll have oversight of live-action scripted series for Disney+ and the company's linear outlets, including Disney Channel and Disney XD. She reports to Ayo Davis, executive vp creative strategy and development.

Disney Branded Television, headed by Gary Marsh, produces all of Disney's non-theatrical content aimed at kids, teens and families. Davis, formerly head of casting at ABC and Disney+, is in charge of a unit that encompasses development, current programming, original movies, unscripted content, casting and talent relations, integrated content strategy and the educational resource group.

Singh's direct reports include vp development Jonas Agin and vp current series Kory Lunsford.

The new post is a return to the kids and family side of Disney for Singh, who worked as director, development for Disney Channels from 2005-10. During that time she worked on the smash hit High School Musical 2 and Disney Channel movies Jump In! and Camp Rock, among other projects.

She was most recently senior vp current programming at 20th Television, which came under the Disney umbrella in the 21st Century Fox sale. She has also worked at USA Network, Universal Cable Productions and ABC News and serves on Disney's Creative Inclusion Council, which creates new content practices to promote inclusive storytelling.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/live-feed/reena-singh-to-head-development-for-disneys-branded-tv-division

Lucasfilm accueille Momita SenGupta qui devient vice-présidente exécutive en charge de toutes de les productions originales incluant The Mandalorian, Andor, The Bad Batch, Willow, Rogue Squadron, The Book of Boba Fett (et plusieurs autres).  

Momita SenGupta arrive en droite ligne de Netflix où elle assurait le poste de vice-présidente de la production, elle y a supervisé toute la production physique des séries originales aux États-Unis et au Royaume-Uni.

Momita SenGupta rendra compte directement à la présidente de Lucasfilm Kathleen Kennedy et dirigera tous les aspects des productions, y compris la production physique, la post-production, les effets visuels et le financement de la production.

https://www.lucasfilm.com/news/momita-sengupta-joins-lucasfilms-executive-team/

Un départ et deux arrivées confirmés :

Ricky Strauss quitte The Walt Disney Company après neuf années passées au sein de l'entreprise, dernièrement il était responsable des programmes pour Disney+ et Hulu. Joe Earley reprend son activité pour Disney+ et Brian Henderson pour Hulu.

Elizabeth Newman et Jordan Moblo prennent la tête d'un nouveau département, le Creative Acquisitions Department, respectivement en tant que vice-présidente et directeur des acquisitions.

Le département a été créé pour identifier et sécuriser les droits sur les livres, podcasts et autres propriétés intellectuelles à venir qui pourraient être développées par les talentueux showrunners, scénaristes et réalisateurs des studios pour ABC et les plateformes de streaming (Disney+, Hulu, Freeform, FX, National Geographic...).

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Ricky Strauss Departs Disney After 9 Years; Served As Disney+’s President of Content & Marketing At Launch

Disney veteran Ricky Strauss, one of the key executives that launched Disney+ and former head of marketing for Walt Disney Studios, is leaving the company after nine years.

Rebecca Campbell, Disney’s Chairman of Direct-to-Consumer & International, made the announcement internally, with Strauss also sharing the news with his staff.

Strauss’ decision comes a couple of months after the big restructuring at Disney, which saw him take on a new role as President of Programming & Content Curation for Disney+ and Hulu.

In light of his departure, Disney+’s EVP marketing and operations Joe Earley, who has programming experience from his tenure at Fox, will add Content Curation for Disney+ to his purview and continue to report into Michael Paull, President, Disney+ and ESPN+. Hulu’s VP content partnerships Brian Henderson, who oversees Hulu Content Curation, will report into Hulu President Kelly Campbell.

Previously, Strauss served as President of Content & Marketing for Disney+, where he was responsible for developing the strategic content vision for the service, overseeing development of the service’s original programming slate, production partnerships and content acquisitions. He was named to the position in 2018, ahead of the successful 2019 launch of the streaming platform. Strauss’ role changed after content development was shifted to the Disney-owned studios over the past year.

Prior to that, Strauss served as President of marketing for The Walt Disney Studios, overseeing the Studios’ global marketing strategy encompassing creative, media, digital, promotions, publicity, research and synergy across all distribution channels for motion pictures released under the Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios and Lucasfilm banners.

Blockbuster films that Disney delivered under Strauss’ tenure include Star Wars: The Force Awakens, for which Strauss was named Marketer of the Year by Advertising Age; Rogue One: A Star Wars Story; Marvel’s The Avengers, Captain America: Civil War, and Guardians of the Galaxy; Disney’s The Jungle Book, Cinderella, Maleficent, and Beauty and the Beast; Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen,Zootopia, and Moana; and Disney•Pixar’s Incredibles 2, Finding Dory and Inside Out.

https://deadline.com/2021/01/ricky-strauss-departs-disney-president-of-content-marketing-at-launch-1234665922/

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Disney TV Studios Steps Up Hunt For New IP With Creative Acquisitions Unit Run By Elizabeth Newman & Jordan Moblo

Disney Television Studios is looking to ramp up its search for book and podcast IP that it can develop for the small-screen with a new division led by Elizabeth Newman and Jordan Moblo.

The studio has set up a Creative Acquisitions Department to identify and secure the rights to upcoming and bestselling books, podcasts, news stories and other IP that can be developed by ABC Signature and 20th Television’s roster of showrunners, writers, directors and talent for ABC, Hulu, Freeform, FX, Disney+, NatGeo and other platforms.

Newman will serve as Vice President, Creative Acquisitions, while Moblo will serve as Director of Creative Acquisitions.

Former CAA TV lit agent Newman joined Fox 21 Television Studios at the end of 2019 and was most recently Vice President, Development at Touchstone Television, where she worked with the likes of Gina Prince-Bythewood & Reggie Bythewood, Danny Strong, Tom McCarthy, Marta Kauffman, Sarah Treem and Jenni Konner on projects including Hulu’s Dopesick and was responsible for acquiring the rights to Curtis Sittenfeld’s book Rodham, which is in development at the streamer.

Moblo was previously at 20th Television where he secured rights to and helped develop fiction, non-fiction, podcasts, theatre, journalism, foreign formats, and life rights for series adaptation. He worked with creators including Issac Aptaker & Elizabeth Berger, Dan Fogelman, Liz Meriwether and Anthony Hemingway and set up projects including Action Park and Out There at Hulu and Growing Season at ABC. He started his career at CAA and also runs an influential book Instragram account.

“Now more than ever, securing compelling I.P. which captures the imagination of showrunners and consumers alike can be the start of a hit television series,” said Walt Disney Television President of Entertainment Craig Hunegs. “Elizabeth and Jordan are talented executives with impeccable creative taste and deep relationships with agents, publishers, authors and producers. Together, they will strategically serve up source material to our studios and platforms which will redound to the benefit of all of Walt Disney Television.”

https://deadline.com/2021/02/disney-tv-studios-ip-creative-acquisitions-unit-elizabeth-newman-jordan-moblo-1234688313/

Franck Patterson (Disney Theatrical Distribution VP & Industry) quitte à son tour The Walt Disney Company.

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Disney Theatrical Distribution VP & Industry Vet Frank Patterson Departs Studioa

Frank Patterson, who served as the Disney Vice President of Sales Eastern Division, has exited the studio after 17 years, Deadline has learned.

Patterson is a second generation theatrical distribution vet; his father Frank Patterson Sr. was the longtime EVP and Head Film Buyer at Loews Theaters. When you speak to any major studio distribution executive, everyone has always known and highly respected the Pattersons.

Patterson’s departure comes at a time when Disney’s theatrical business is impaired by Covid, and the studio currently devoting more attention to its streaming service Disney+. While Disney CEO Bob Chapek is committed to a theatrical release for Marvel’s Black Widow, it won’t be a shocker if that movie’s current release date of May 7 is postponed due to the pandemic. I understand that a bulk of the studio’s theatrical distribution ops will be anchored in Burbank, CA; this even with the recent promotion of London-based Tony Chambers as EVP of Theatrical Distribution, who replaced Global Film Distribution Head Cathleen Taff in January.

During Patterson’s run at Disney, he was part of the team who worked on the execution of the studio’s distribution strategy for all titles including Marvel, Lucasfilm, Pixar, etc. It was that overall strategy that led Disney to an industry domestic record of $3.7 billion in 2019, propelled by Avengers: Endgame ($858.3M), The Lion King ($543.6M), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker ($515.2M) among many other franchise titles, as well as setting previous $3 billion annual domestic B.O. records two previous times including 2018.

Patterson’s theatrical distribution career at Disney also includes six years at Miramax where he was involved in booking such Oscar-winning movies as Chicago, No Country For Old Men, The Queen, as well as Sin City and Kill Bill 2. Patterson also worked at Artisan, where he worked on the $140.5M-domestic grossing hit The Blair Witch Project, as well as Savoy Pictures and Paramount Pictures.

Deadline - 14 février 2021.

https://deadline.com/2021/02/walt-disney-distribution-avengers-end-game-frank-patterson-vice-president-distribution-exits-1234693723/

Interrogé au cours de l'assemblée annuelle des actionnaires sur le possible licenciement ou la démission de Kathleen Kennedy à la tête de Lucasfilm, Bob Chapek a répondu qu'il espère voir Kathleen Kennedy diriger Lucasfilm pendant encore de nombreuses années.

Le simple fait que cette question ait été posée était vraiment pathétique... surtout après le succès démentiel de The Mandalorian.

Sauf que c'est pas à cette grosse nulle de Kennedy qu'on doit le succès du Mandalorien, mais à la persévérance de Filoni et à Favreau. Puis à son âge, il serait tant qu'elle prenne sa retraite (surtout après les coups de couteau qu'elle a mis dans le dos de Lucas après la vente de Lucasfilm, et alors qu'il l'avait nommée présidente avant de vendre, pour s'assurer de la conservation de son scénario pour la postlogie).

Jake Sully a écrit:

Sauf que c'est pas à cette grosse nulle de Kennedy qu'on doit le succès du Mandalorien, mais à la persévérance de Filoni et à Favreau. Puis à son âge, il serait tant qu'elle prenne sa retraite (surtout après les coups de couteau qu'elle a mis dans le dos de Lucas après la vente de Lucasfilm, et alors qu'il l'avait nommée présidente avant de vendre, pour s'assurer de la conservation de son scénario pour la postlogie).

Un peu de respect quand même. Ce n'est pas parce que tu n'aimes pas ses choix créatifs et marketing que tu peux l'insulter...

La plateforme a atteint les 100 millions d’abonnés !

 https://www.igen.fr/services/2021/03/100-millions-dabonnes-pour-disney-121103

Jake Sully a écrit:

Sauf que c'est pas à cette grosse nulle de Kennedy qu'on doit le succès du Mandalorien, mais à la persévérance de Filoni et à Favreau. Puis à son âge, il serait tant qu'elle prenne sa retraite (surtout après les coups de couteau qu'elle a mis dans le dos de Lucas après la vente de Lucasfilm, et alors qu'il l'avait nommée présidente avant de vendre, pour s'assurer de la conservation de son scénario pour la postlogie).

Bien sûr, et d'ailleurs Jon Favreau s'est embauché tout seul et Dave Filoni n'a jamais eu de comptes à rendre à sa boss qui est accessoirement la productrice exécutive de la série.
Du coup, je suppose qu'elle n'y est également pour rien dans le succès colossal de Star Wars : Le Réveil de la Force et du succès auprès des fans de Rogue One - A Star Wars Story mais que c'est sa faute si Solo - A Star Wars Story n'a pas marché et que Star Wars : L'Ascension de Skywalker n'a pas été bien reçu par les critiques.

J'ai saisi, tout ce qui ne plaît pas, c'est à cause d'elle, mais tout ce qui plaît, c'est grâce aux autres.
J'imagine que ça doit être le revers de la médaille d'être l'une des plus grandes productrices hollywoodiennes.
Je suis sûr qu'elle n'est pour rien dans le succès de Jurassic Park mais que c'est sa faute si Le Monde Perdu est moins bien.
À se demander ce qu'elle fout là en effet...

Je pense que Kathleen Kennedy a une très belle carrière, avec beaucoup de succès anciens ou plus récents à son actif, mais moi je lui reproche un point important : ne pas avoir mis en place l'organisation permettant d'assurer la cohérence d'écriture entre les 3 films de la postlogie.

Chaque réalisateur a fait les choses dans son coin, c'est une faute majeure qu'elle doit assumer en sa qualité de boss de Lucasfilm.

martin0705 a écrit:

Je pense que Kathleen Kennedy a une très belle carrière, avec beaucoup de succès anciens ou plus récents à son actif, mais moi je lui reproche un point important : ne pas avoir mis en place l'organisation permettant d'assurer  la cohérence d'écriture entre les 3 films de la postlogie.

Chaque réalisateur a fait les choses dans son coin, c'est une faute majeure qu'elle doit assumer en sa qualité de boss de Lucasfilm.

Tout à fait d'accord, cependant, je retiens que c'est aussi une des seules erreurs qu'on puisse lui reprocher, la postlogie même si, on est d'accord, c'était la plus grosse partie

Lauren Kisilevsky est nommée vice-présidente principale Original Movies et supervise maintenant les productions de films originaux pour Disney Channel et Disney+ :

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Disney Branded TV’s Lauren Kisilevsky Upped to Senior VP of Original Movies

Lauren Kisilevsky, most recently vice president of original movies at Disney Channel, has been promoted to senior vice president of original movies at Disney Branded Television, where she will develop and oversee production of Disney Channel and Disney Plus’ growing slate of films.

The exec has already overseen a wide range of Disney Channel and Disney Plus originals, including “Upside-Down Magic,” “Descendants 3,” “Zombies 2” and the upcoming “Spin,” as well as “Secret Society of Second Born Royals” and the upcoming “Sneakerella.” The “Descendants” and “Zombies” franchises have proven to be big audience draws for Disney.

“Lauren is an exceptional creative executive whose deep understanding of our brand and tremendous contributions continue to yield must-experience movies for kids and families,” said Disney Branded TV exec VP of creative development and strategy Ayo Davis. “As Disney Branded Television continues to augment its efforts in attracting and building the very best and most inclusive home for creative talent, I am confident that Lauren will continue to play a crucial role in delivering high-quality, magical and heartfelt stories for years to come.”

Before her time at Disney Channel, Kisilevsky developed feature films, serving as vice president of production and acquisitions for Overture Films, overseeing Sundance selection “Paper Heart” in addition to “Nothing Like the Holidays” and “Pandorum.” She also managed over 20 projects in various stages of development. She has also held executive positions for Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher and for Beacon Pictures and Blue Star Pictures, contributing to Witherspoon’s “Penelope,” as well as “Little Black Book,” “The Messengers,” “The Burrowers” and “Darkness Falls.”

Variety - 5 avril 2021.

Craig Hunegs, responsable des programmes de divertissement chez Walt Disney Television, quitte The Walt Disney Company :

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Craig Hunegs To Depart Disney Following Restructure

Craig Hunegs is leaving Disney. The President of Entertainment at Walt Disney Television has decided to step down six months after a major restructure at the company.

The Warner Bros. veteran joined Disney in 2019 following the Mouse House’s acquisition of key 21st Century Fox assets, and he was to serve as a layer between Dana Walden and the heads of the various Disney-owned TV studios.

However, the company undertook a major restructure in December 2020 to consolidate its content creation across streaming and linear. The move saw Disney Television Studios’ ABC Signature and 20th TV, which previously had reported to Hunegs, move under Walden with him leading the centralized Business Affairs, Production, Casting and Creative Talent Development & Inclusion teams.

Through restructure, much of the business side of his role moved over to the Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution Group, run by Kareem Daniel.

Walden, who now is Chairman of Entertainment, Walt Disney Television, acknowledged in a note to staff (read it below) that Hunegs decided to leave after his responsibilities changed and the new role is “no longer the one he joined The Walt Disney Company to pursue.”

She thanked him, calling him a “gifted” executive who has “played a strong leadership role in our growth and evolution,” particularly during the pandemic. He will stay on through the end of the month, and a search for his successor is underway.

Hunegs is the second high-profile business figure to leave the company in the past six months. Ravi Ahuja, who was president of business operations and chief financial officer at Walt Disney Television, stepped down in November and joined Sony Pictures Entertainment as Chairman of Global Television Studios in March.

Here is Walden’s note to staff:

Dear colleagues,

I am writing to you today to share the news that Craig Hunegs has decided to step down as President, Entertainment, Walt Disney Television. With the reorganization at our company, his responsibilities have changed and his new role is no longer the one he joined The Walt Disney Company to pursue.  

We’ve achieved so much over the last two years as we’ve reinvented our segment, pivoting from a traditional media brand to a content-first entertainment company built for the future and Craig has played a strong leadership role in our growth and evolution. He’s a gifted executive, who has also done an excellent job of thoughtfully leading our teams during two years of significant change at our company and in our industry, especially in successfully guiding our productions safely through the COVID crisis. Additionally, he’s been a champion of the important work being done across DGE to create a more inclusive culture.

I am grateful for Craig’s contributions to our success and he is leaving at a time of great strength for our organization. He has been a trusted and valued colleague to me and to so many of us, and he will be missed.

Craig will be with us until the end of May to ensure a smooth transition and we’ll identify a successor in the coming months. In the meantime, please join me in wishing Craig the very best as he embarks on his next adventure.

Warmly,

Dana

Deadline - 5 mai 2021.

https://deadline.com/2021/05/craig-hunegs-exits-disney-following-restructure-1234750463/

Ca sent la fin de Walt Disney Television.

Si tu parles de Walt Disney Television, le studio de production, il n'existe plus depuis 2003.

Le Walt Disney Television d'aujourd'hui n'est pas prêt de disparaître puisque c'est la filiale qui contient ABC, FX, National Geographic, ABC News, ABC Entertainment, Freeform, Disney Television Studios (ABC Signature, 20th Television, 20th Television Animation), Hulu Originals, Disney Branded Television (Disney Channel, Disney XD, Disney Junior, Disney Television Animation, It's a Laugh Productions)...

Alan Horn, Président de Walt Disney Studios Entertainment, prendrait sa retraite dans la foulée de celle de Bob Iger en fin d'année. En interne, Alan Bergman, Président de Disney Studios Contents, est pressenti pour le remplacer.

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Disney’s New World Order Leads to Confusion and Bruised Egos

The Walt Disney Company is in the throes of a major leadership shift, with newly minted CEO Bob Chapek asserting more authority as the longtime leader he replaced, Bob Iger, prepares to surrender his executive chairman role for emeritus status at year-end.

The two men’s once-warm relationship has grown strained, according to four insiders. This comes as Chapek has overseen a 2020 reorganization that centralized the media company’s content distribution and ad sales.

At the corporate level, Iger has moved “much more into the background than he was a few months ago, even on the creative side,” insiders say. In a sign of the leadership transfer taking place, Chapek has not only joined Iger in creative meetings but actually convened some this spring with top creative teams in television under Peter Rice and Dana Walden.

“Everyone is becoming more and more deferential to Chapek,” according to one Disney executive who asked not to be identified. “Things are radically different than they were six months ago.” The insider noted that the senior leaders have tried to “insulate” the creative teams from all the upheaval.

Others say that Chapek was initially hesitant to assert himself more on the creative side because after he assumed the CEO job in February 2020 his attention was focused largely on dealing with keeping Disney afloat at the height of the pandemic after the company’s theme parks were forced to shut down, production halted and movie theaters closed. For the most part, Chapek’s style has gotten positive reviews. He lacks Iger’s flash and charisma, but as an insider notes, “He’s coming into his own. He lets you know what he wants without imposing it.” Iger loved to discuss and debate different initiatives, while Chapek prefers to delegate more tasks and makes decisions. Disney sources point out that the two have very different personalities and approaches, which some can find disconcerting at times.

To some inside the media company, Disney’s move last October to restructure its operations elevated the executives who distribute Disney movies and shows over the ones who actually oversee their production. The shakeup also granted a great deal of influence to a top Chapek ally Kareem Daniel, who was elevated to chairman of Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution from his previous role overseeing consumer products.

“It’s a very different place and a very different organization,” a Disney insider said. “Kareem has huge authority and power.”

Disney’s reorganization of its media and entertainment business into three distinct content creation groups — studios, general entertainment and sports — has caused consternation for some senior managers as well as those doing business with the company. The reorganization was aimed at better positioning Disney for a future that would be determined by its success in streaming. The goal, at least on paper, was to have people work more harmoniously across mediums, from television to film to Disney Plus. The result has left people deeply confused about how to navigate the new order.

Hollywood dealmakers noted that the new structure at Disney is byzantine and more convoluted than necessary, adding an extra managerial layer into the process of getting projects made.

In the restructuring, top division heads have lost oversight of P&L, which has been a tough pill to swallow for the likes of FX chief John Landgraf and Peter Rice, the chairman of Disney General Entertainment Content, who has grown frustrated that some of his responsibilities have been taken away. That control was an integral part of running their respective business units, given that those who deliver the best profit/loss numbers to their corporate chief often had the most authority and swagger on the lot. Now, the creative side doesn’t have those bragging rights, which means that they spend money on content while the distribution side rakes in the revenue and with it the glory.

When Iger departs in December, it is expected that Walt Disney Studios Chief Creative Officer Alan Horn will also leave. Horn’s departure could be destabilizing as he has been the creative guiding force at the studio for the past nine years. When he joined the studio in 2012 after a long and successful tenure at Warner Bros., Horn was tasked with reinvigorating a film division that had suffered from a string of high-profile flops such as “The Lone Ranger” and “John Carter,” as well as the turbulent leadership of Rich Ross, a former Disney Channel chief who had conflicts with some other managers, including the heads of Pixar.. When he joined Disney, Horn, an avuncular and deeply respected executive, promised that there would be harmony in the Magic Kingdom, again. “I fully expect to be a stabilizing force,” Horn vowed. “All I want to do is be helpful and keep the waters as calm as they can be.”

Insiders at Disney say Alan Bergman, the former co-chairman of Walt Disney Studios with Horn, who was recently elevated to chairman of Disney Studios Content, will be taking the reins solo. There’s no plan for the company to bring in another creative head once Horn retires. Over the last year, while Disney has forged ahead during the pandemic, it is Bergman who has led the charge on the studio side, while Horn has dialed down his responsibilities.

While Bergman has been involved in all creative meetings at the studio, many within Disney and in the creative community at large, however, view him as having more business acumen than artistic sensibilities. He previously held a number of operations and finance roles. And people also wonder if the job, which now includes developing projects for streaming outlets, is too big for one person to handle given the increasing complexities of the business.

Bergman and his team will have to manage competing fiefdoms of power to ensure that the studio’s various brands play nicely together. These include Pixar, under the leadership of president Jim Morris and chief creative officer Pete Docter, as well as LucasFilm, overseen by Kathleen Kennedy, and Marvel, ruled by Kevin Feige. Of these heads, Feige is seen as the most essential executive, having proved his mettle with the massive success of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and streaming shows like “WandaVision.” After it was announced in 2019 that Feige would produce a “Star Wars” movie, there were rumors that he might assume more control of Lucasfilm. However, insiders say that Feige is fully committed with his Marvel duties and has no ambition to lead Lucasfilm or take more of a role. Few details have emerged about the “Star Wars” film he wants to make, and no production timeline has been set.

Bergman keeps a lower profile than other Disney executives like Feige or Kennedy, but insiders say he has earned their trust over the years. He’s credited with understanding how to sustain franchises, and his allies say he has more creative chops than he is given credit for, routinely giving notes to filmmakers. Several Disney insiders expressed doubts that Feige, Kennedy, Morris and Doctor would willingly report to anyone other than Bergman. They also argue that the heads of the Marvel, Pixar, and Lucasfilm brands have their own artistic chops, making it unnecessary to find one studio executive to serve as creative ringmaster.

One source took a philosophical view of the film studio’s structure post-Horn, saying it would “define the ambition of Disney going forward.” If the unit’s longterm plan is to maximize its existing content engines, Bergman will rule the kingdom, they said. If the studio wants to use the security of their top-earning intellectual property to invest in originals and create wholly original franchises, they will need a creative successor in the vein of Horn. They noted that many of the company’s highest-grossing franchises such as “Star Wars” and “The Avengers” have been around for years, while others, such as “Pirates of the Caribbean,” need to be rebooted. In order to stay viable, a studio needs to produce new franchises in order to replace the ones that grow long in the tooth.

“You need that project that will inspire the next roller coaster,” the source said. Or, vice versa, as was the case with Disney’s “Pirates of the Caribbean” franchise and the upcoming “Jungle Cruise.”

The changing power dynamics and issues that Chapek face are similar to the ones confronting other media companies. Streaming has upended the old ways of doing business, with consumers spending more money on subscription services like Netflix and less on cable and big-screen movies. That’s led to an onslaught of new challengers to Netflix such as Comcast’s Peacock, WarnerMedia’s HBOMax, and the Disney-owned Hulu, ESPN Plus, and Disney Plus. It’s also prompting media companies to reshape their operations (Like Disney, Universal and WarnerMedia have also recently undergone reorganizations), and that’s led to a sense of displacement for movie and television business veterans.

“Studios don’t look like studios anymore,” sighed one producer.

Variety - 12 mai 2021.

https://variety.com/2021/film/news/disney-bob-chapek-bob-iger-reorganization-1234971562/?fbclid=IwAR1qHTJAVKLYbEO0-VvvApLZ45GmtrOjniXuXmhNGdu-YC_otf3owNUH6C0

Des annonces notables dans la dernière interview de Bob ! (lien sous photo)

N'étant pas du tout passionné par les parcs, qu'est-ce qu'on entend par synergie Parcs/Disney+ ? On entend par là du sorte de transmédia, genre tu scannes le QR code de l'attraction et t'as son histoire sur ton phone ? Les films inspirés des attractions ? Des documentaires inédits ? Encore que, ça n'irait que dans le sens de Disney+. Mais dans l'autre sens ? On aura un coin ciné-Disney+ diffusé sur le Parc ? Ça paraitrait bizarre. Bref, ma vision est limitée, pour moi Parc et Disney+, ça n'offre absolument rien en commun, ce sont deux expériences radicalement opposées. J'ai du mal à voir la relation.