ESPN’s Destiny As Streaming Stand-Alone Gets Nod From Disney CEO Bob Chapek: “It Will Be The Ultimate Fan Offering”

Oscar-nominated cinematographer Rachel Morrison’s feature directorial debut Flint Strong has moved from Universal to MGM, with Brian Tyree Henry (Atlanta) coming aboard to star, Deadline can confirm. Henry joins an ensemble that also includes Ryan Destiny and Oluniké Adeliyi, as previously announced.

Hulu is offering new and select returning subscribers its basic, ad-supported tier for $1 a month for their first three months.

trailer traces the origins of the Joint Economic Area, a fictionalized mint located where present-day North and South Korea are divided. While the aim of reunification is to benefit all citizens and establish a common currency, “in reality, only the rich got richer,” the trailer’s narrator says. “Welcome to capitalism,” Tokyo (Jeon Jong-seo) grimly adds.Like the original, a group of ragtag individuals assemble under the Professor’s (Yoo Ji-tae) tutelage, where they learn the inner machinations of a history-making heist.

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.

Ava DuVernay’s Wings of Fire, an animated series adaptation of the family fantasy books which had been in development at Netflix since 2021, is the latest victim of animation cuts at the streamer, sources close to the project confirm to Deadline. We hear several other projects are not moving forward as well.

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.

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.

Kelly Rowland seriously reminisce! In honor of the special holiday, the star delighted fans with stunning pictures from her two pregnancies.MORE: Kelly Rowland reveals major milestone for latest project in candid new videoThe Destiny's Child alum shares two sons with her husband, Tim Weatherspoon: Titan Jewell, seven, and Noah Jon, one.