Embattled Disney CEO Bob Chapek Gets Contract Extension

Better Call Saul actor Bob Odenkirk has confirmed that his heart attack in 2021 happened while filming next week’s episode of the hit show.On July 28, 2021, the 58-year-old star of the Breaking Bad prequel series collapsed in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His son, Nate Odenkirk, reassured fans the following day that the actor was “going to be okay”.Two days after the incident, Odenkirk, speaking for the first time since the incident, told fans on Twitter that he had suffered “a small heart attack” and would “be back soon”.Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter, Odenkirk revealed the episode he was filming when the attack happened and reflected on his health since the incident.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterPat McAfee is staying in business with WWE.The sports entertainment giant has announced that McAfee has signed a multi-year extension of his contract. He will continue to serve as a member of the commentary team on “SmackDown Live” alongside Michael Cole. Specific terms of the deal were not disclosed.“Very few can transition from professional athletics to entertainment the way [Pat McAfee] has,” Paul “Triple H” Levesque wrote on Twitter.

Jennifer Maas TV Business WriterSUN VALLEY, Idaho — The moguls have arrived.On Tuesday, dozens of titans of the business, media and tech worlds came out to play at the Sun Valley Lodge in Idaho for the start of Allen & Co.’s annual meeting of movers and shakers.The invitation-only conference will include three days of seminars and meetings that are held away from the prying eyes of the public, which kick off Wednesday morning. So today was all about meeting and greeting each other at the posh retreat in Idaho’s picturesque Sawtooth Mountains.Arrivals began at the Sun Valley Lodge around 11 a.m.

Hot off the back of his impressive Glastonbury performance a few weeks ago, singer-songwriter Sam Fender will be taking to the stage at Castlefield Bowl this week, in what is expected to be an electric and captivating performance.

Walt Disney CEO Bob Chapek won praise in many corners in 2020 for ably steering the company through the devastation of Covid after taking the baton from Bob Iger early in that fateful year.

Disney’s public spat with Scarlett Johansson last summer over compensation tied to Marvel’s “Black Window,” which opened day-and-date in theaters and on Disney+ Premier Access for a $30 fee. This was followed by Chapek’s uneven handling of Florida’s “Parental Rights in Education Bill.” Chapek initially aimed to avoid taking a public stance on the controversial bill, dubbed “Don’t Say Gay,” which elicited a backlash from staffers.

Former Walt Disney CEO Bob Iger is at work on a new book about decision-making in business, entertainment and politics, with a tentative 2024 publication date by Random House.

Joe Otterson TV ReporterTaylor Sheridan is stepping in as showrunner on his Paramount+ series “Lioness,” Variety has learned exclusively.Thomas Brady (“NOS4A2,” “Hell on Wheels”) was originally attached as showrunner and was present throughout the show’s writers’ room. But once the writers’ room wrapped, sources say creative differences led to the producers and Brady agreeing to part ways. Production on the show is slated to begin in September.Sheridan created “Lioness” under his expansive overall deal with Paramount.

Disney CEO Bob Chapek has gotten a new long term contract as the the board meets this week. Directors voted unanimously to replace his current deal, which expires in Feb. of 2023, with a new three-year agreement starting July 1.

Jem Aswad Senior Music EditorLegendary rocker Alice Cooper, who should need no introduction, has signed with CAA to represent his touring in North America.He has sold more than 50 million albums over the years and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2011. His nightly radio show, “Nights With Alice Cooper,” continues to air in nearly 100 cities in the U.S., Canada, Australia, and the U.K.

Filmmaker Joss Whedon (“Avengers”) has had a bad couple of years. Starting in the summer of 2020, after “Zack Snyder’s Justice League” was announced, a wave of accusations about the director’s reportedly appalling behavior on the set of 2016’s “Justice League,” started to surface.

Elsa Keslassy International CorrespondentStudiocanal CEO Anna Marsh has been named International Distributor of the Year at CineEurope, the exhibition conference which is taking place this week in Barcelona. Andrew Sunshine, president of CineEurope organizer Film Expo Group, said Marsh “defines what an executive is and is well respected throughout our industry.”“Anna is a natural leader who has helped take Studiocanal — the European leader in the production and distribution of features films and TV series — to the next level and could not be more deserving of this award,” continued Sunshine.Laura Houlgatte, CEO of UNIC, the international guild of exhibitors, pointed that Studiocanal “remains a crucial partner of European cinema exhibition and has shown itself to be fully committed to bring the best of European films to the big screen.” Marsh, a New Zealand-born executive who graduated from the prestigious French business school HEC and began her career working in sales at Tele Images Productions and TF1 International, joined Studiocanal in 2008 as VP of international sales.

Brent Lang Executive Editor of Film and MediaRupert Murdoch and Jerry Hall are divorcing after six years of marriage.The 91-year-old media mogul and the 65-year-old model tied the knot in 2016. It was Murdoch’s fourth marriage. He was previously married to Wendi Deng from 1999 to 2013; Anna Maria Torv from 1967 to 1999; and Patricia Booker, from 1956 to 1967.

The stars are celebrating the legendary Beach Boys songwriter’s birthday.

Claudia Eller Co-Editor-in-ChiefThe abruptness and timing of Peter Rice’s firing last week by Disney CEO Bob Chapek remains a complete mystery to many, including Rice, I’m told. The move came as a total shock to the industry and to the well-respected media executive, who is unusual in having spent his entire industry career at one studio, 20th Century Fox, and then its successor company, Disney.As everyone now knows, Rice had absolutely no idea what was about to happen when his boss called him into a meeting on June 8, and I hear he was told that Chapek wanted to discuss the Disney board meeting taking place in Orlando later this month, at which Rice was scheduled to make a presentation.Instead, in a conversation that lasted all of seven minutes, Chapek informed Rice that he was letting him go because he wasn’t a good fit for him or the “new culture” at Disney.

EXCLUSIVE: Yankerville’s beloved Crank Yankers are coming back for a new season. Comedy Central has set a July premiere date for a now officially-announced Season 7 of Crank Yankers, its Emmy-nominated series from Jimmy Kimmel, Adam Carolla and Daniel Kellison. The series will return with new back-to-back episodes on Wednesday, July 7 at 8 PM on Comedy Central. You can watch a teaser below.