Earnings calls, those ritualized quarterly opportunities for public companies to convey the state of their financial affairs to Wall Street analysts and investors at large, are two-handed affairs for the Walt Disney Co.
03.06.2023 - 21:22 / thewrap.com
Reuters reported Saturday.Angus MacLane, director of the unsuccessful “Toy Story” spinoff and a 26-year animation veteran who was part of the creative team behind hits like “Toy Story 4” and “Coco,” was included in the cuts. Gayln Susman, a producer on the film who had been at Pixar since 1995, was also removed from her role.TheWrap has reached out to Pixar for further comment.“Lightyear” grossed just over $226 million worldwide at the box office when it was released last June, but cost $200 million to produce.
The cuts took place on May 23, according to Reuters, and are part of Disney CEO Bob Iger’s “strategic realignment” that he announced in February. The layoffs will cut 7,000 employees at the company as part of a cost-cutting effort across Disney’s key divisions.
The company aims to cut $5.5 billion in costs. Disney employed roughly 223,000 people as of October, with Pixar making up about 1,200 of those jobs, according to Reuters.
Iger said in a memo to the company regarding the layoffs that the “final round” of cuts would begin before the beginning of the summer. “The difficult reality of many colleagues and friends leaving Disney is not something we take lightly,” Iger said in the memo.
Earnings calls, those ritualized quarterly opportunities for public companies to convey the state of their financial affairs to Wall Street analysts and investors at large, are two-handed affairs for the Walt Disney Co.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday.While McCarthy’s husband has been in a healthcare facility since early this year, a person familiar with her situation told the Journal there have been no dramatic changes recently that would drive her to step down. But there were signs of strife coming from the CFO’s office before the House of Mouse announced Thursday that she’d be leaving that were perhaps buried in the glowing comments that accompanied the announcement of her depature.“Christine McCarthy is one of the most admired financial executives in America, and her impact on The Walt Disney Company during 23 years of dedicated service cannot be overstated,” CEO Bob Iger said in a statement Thursday.Yet the Journal reported that McCarthy has butted heads with Iger since he returned as CEO in November and other top execs over the media and entertainment giant’s restructuring strategy.
Christine McCarthy, a significant figure in Disney’s senior management team in recent years, is stepping down and taking a medical leave of absence from the company.
Cynthia Littleton Business Editor In another shocker for the Walt Disney Co., Christine McCarthy is stepping down from her role as executive VP and chief financial officer and will take a family medical leave, Disney said Thursday. Kevin Lansberry has been named interim CFO for the media giant as of July 1. “Christine McCarthy is one of the most admired financial executives in America, and her impact on The Walt Disney Company during 23 years of dedicated service cannot be overstated,” Disney CEO Bob Iger said. “Christine has served as a key strategic anchor during a period of great transformation, and she and I have discussed her desire to ensure an orderly and successful CFO succession in advance of the company’s transition to its next chief executive officer. She is stepping down from her CFO role as she takes family medical leave, but has graciously offered to move into an advisory position to assist her successor in assuming the duties she has so expertly handled these many years.”
The story of Walt Disney’s successful career in Los Angeles began in the Los Feliz area of the city, with his first studio nestled on a side street.
It’s succession season at the UK’s National Theatre with Rufus Norris, the institution’s Artistic Director, announcing that he will step down in 2025 after a decade in the post.
Pixar’s latest feature, “Elemental,” hits theaters the studio has released the first trailer for their next film, “Elio.” As the official synopsis lays out, the film follows “Elio, an underdog with an active imagination who finds himself inadvertently beamed up to the Communiverse, an interplanetary organization with representatives from galaxies far and wide. Mistakenly identified as Earth’s ambassador to the rest of the universe, and completely unprepared for that kind of pressure, Elio must form new bonds with eccentric alien lifeforms, survive a series of formidable trials and somehow discover who he is truly meant to be.”“Elio” is directed by Adrian Molian, who wrote and co-directed the 2017 film “Coco” and, much like that film, the Communiverse in this trailer is utterly beautiful.
The winners of this year’s recipients of the Walter Cronkite Awards had a common theme: Combating misinformation.
Jenelle Riley Deputy Awards and Features Editor Paul Walter Hauser has made hamburgers the latest red carpet accessory.The actor has found himself making the rounds lately thanks to his stunning turn as serial killer Larry Hall in Apple TV Plus’ limited series “Black Bird,” a role that has already netted him a SAG Award nomination and wins from the Golden Globes and the Critics Choice Awards. After Jamie Lee Curtis asked him to bring her a burger to the next event, Hauser showed up at the Critics Choice Awards with a patty – only to learn Curtis couldn’t attend due to COVID. He later proposed to her with a smashburger at the AARP Movies for Grownups Awards and brought 20 burgers to the SAG Awards, where he handed them out to the likes of Adam Sandler. When Hauser’s name was called amongst the nominees in his category, he perfectly timed a blissful bite on camera.So when Hauser joined us as a guest on this week’s episode of the Variety Awards Circuit podcast, we wanted to get his opinion on one of our favorite hamburgers in town, from the Corner Deli – which is located inside a gas station next to our offices. Listen below for his full review.
Whitney Friedlander Turns out, playing the one who knocks is a great way to notch up some Emmy votes. “Breaking Bad” star Bryan Cranston made Emmy history when he became the first actor from a cable series to receive three consecutive lead actor in a drama trophies for his work playing Walter White on the AMC series. He’d eventually clock in at four total wins in that category, plus two more for best drama series due to his producer credit. The iconic character has also twice made guest appearances in the “Bad” universe — 2019’s “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” and now, alongside Aaron Paul, appearing in the final season of “Better Call Saul,” as that was when the Bob Odenkirk-led prequel finally caught up to the events in “Bad.” Adding to and re-creating moments from “Bad,” these now-guest parts filled in details of this notoriously scrupulous world.
Among the layoffs that took place at the Walt Disney Company were job cuts at Pixar that included the director and producer of Lightyear, Deadline has confirmed.
Disney CEO Bob Iger appeared at Apple’s WWDC 2023 event Monday to bolster the reveal of Apple’s $3,500 Vision Pro augmented reality headset that is due for release in 2024. There, it was revealed that Disney+ will be coming to the headset’s roster of launch-window apps.“We’re so proud to yet again be partnering the greatest storytelling company in the world with the most innovative technology company in the world to bring you real life magic,” Iger said, alongside a sizzle reel for Disney+ on Vision Pro that hinted at a three-dimensional, more immersive experience for viewers than those viewing the streamer on a standard screen.
Todd Spangler NY Digital Editor Disney, after removing dozens of shows and movies from Disney+ and Hulu last week, said it will incur a $1.5 billion impairment charge for the June quarter. In an SEC filing Friday, the company said that on May 26, 2023, it removed “certain produced content” from its direct-to-consumer streaming services. As a result, Disney will record a $1.5 billion impairment charge in its fiscal third quarter financial statements “to adjust the carrying value of these content assets to fair value.” Disney said it’s continuing to review content on streaming platforms and “currently anticipates additional produced content will be removed from its DTC and other platforms, largely during the remainder of its third fiscal quarter.” As a result, Disney currently estimates it may incur further impairment charges of up to about $400 million related to produced content.
2ND UPDATE, 5:20 PM: Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis today won a victory in his legal skirmishes with the Walt Disney Company — but not for the reasons he wanted to.
This year’s Gay Days, the annual LGBTQ+ pride event that draws tens of thousands to Walt Disney World and other attractions around Orlando, is taking place amid concerns over the ultimate impact of a series of new laws championed by Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis.
Having seen his 2024 White House bid embarrassingly misfire on the launch pad last week, Ron DeSantis is once again being mocked by both the Walt Disney Company and Donald Trump for his luckless battle with the Mouse House.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the two media and entertainment giants want to reach a deal to resolve the ownership of Hulu, but the disagreement over how much the nation’s fifth-largest streaming service is worth is stalling progress. Neither Disney nor Comcast responded to requests for comment.Disney owns two-thirds of Hulu, while Comcast owns one-third, acquired when it took control of one of the streamer’s founding backers, NBCUniversal, in 2011.
EXCLUSIVE: The layoffs impacting thousands of Disney staff in the U.S. have spread to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
EXCLUSIVE: The third wave of layoffs at Disney got under way today, sources tell Deadline.
If the feud between Disney and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was going to be escalated yet again, parks chief Josh D’Amaro didn’t seem like he would be the one to do it.