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Tag: Alan Bergman

  • Disney restructures EMEA operations; appoints Tony Chambers as region president

    Disney restructures EMEA operations; appoints Tony Chambers as region president

    Mumbai: The Walt Disney Co has announced the appointment of Tony Chambers as president, of its EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) operations, as part of a strategic restructuring of its entertainment businesses in the region. Chambers will report to Disney Entertainment co-chairmen Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, as well as ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro. Chambers will be vacating his current job as head of global theatrical distribution. Current EMEA president Jan Koeppen will step down in February as part of the transition.

    In the new structure, several of the company’s lines of business in the region, including direct-to-consumer, ad sales, platform distribution, networks, local original content, studio marketing, theatrical distribution and sports will now report directly in to the global business leaders of those businesses, who will have P&L oversight for their respective regional businesses in EMEA.

    The regional president – in this case,  Chambers – will continue to be the company’s representative in the region and be responsible for consolidating strategic priorities and financials and coordinating teams at the regional level, leading local initiatives that span across businesses (excluding Disney Experiences), and overseeing shared service functions including human resources, communications, and finance.

    “EMEA is a key region in terms of the success of our business globally, and as we realign our strategy for our entertainment businesses there, we are fortunate to transition between two fantastic leaders,” said Bergman, Walden, and Pitaro in a joint statement. “Tony Chambers is a seasoned senior executive who has a highly collaborative style and stellar reputation in EMEA and across the company. He brings a wealth of experience to this important new role. We look forward to continuing to accelerate our growth in EMEA and around the world, and we are immensely grateful for Jan’s exceptional contributions, which have made a meaningful and enduring difference to this team and the company during his tenure.”

    Expressing his enthusiasm for the new role, Chambers commented, “I’m truly honored to be leading the world-class EMEA team in this new capacity. It’s a dynamic region that has gone through incredible, positive change over the past several years, and I’m very eager now to build on that momentum.”

    Chambers, who is Irish, has been with Disney for over 30 years and  has had a lot of experience in the EMEA having looked after studio sales and distribution, theatrical, home entertainment in various capacities for either Europe or the region. 

    Outgoing president Jan Koeppen reflected on his tenure, saying, “I’m grateful for the incredible six years I have had at Disney, working with some of the most talented and creative people in the industry through a period of profound transformation and growth as we launched and established Disney+ in the region. I leave with a full heart and with great pride in the exceptional Disney EMEA team.”

    As Tony Chambers steps into his new role, Disney is set to announce a new global head of theatrical distribution in the near future, further strengthening its leadership team for continued growth and innovation in the region and beyond.

  • Disney reveals major projects and surprises at the D23 showcase

    Disney reveals major projects and surprises at the D23 showcase

    Mumbai: The world-class storytelling engines of The Walt Disney Company took center stage at the Honda Center during the Disney Entertainment showcase at D23: The Ultimate Disney fan event presented by Visa. Surprise celebrity appearances, new film and series titles, and major musical performances enthralled the audience of Disney fans from around the world, demonstrating the unmatched strength of the company’s creative studios, as well as the unique connection that generations of passionate fans of all ages have forged with its stories and characters over the past century.

    Walt Disney Company chief executive officer Bob Iger kicked off the evening to thank fans for their enduring passion, and to highlight what sets Disney apart as a global leader in creative storytelling and innovation. “Our deep bond with fans, forged over a century of storytelling, is stronger today than ever before,” he said, “driven by the unmatched strength of our creative studios, the wide appeal of our brands and franchises, and the innovative ways that we bring our stories to life in our theme parks and experiences.”

    Hosted by Yvette Nicole Brown, the event featured several of Disney’s outstanding creative leaders, including Disney Entertainment co-chairman Alan Bergman, Pixar Animation Studios’ chief creative officer Pete Docter, Disney Animation’s chief creative officer Jennifer Lee, and Marvel Studios president and producer Kevin Feige were on stage to introduce the stars and storytellers behind new and beloved titles.

    Here are the major highlights from the D23 showcase, where The Walt Disney Studios made several exciting announcements:

    Disney Animation: Three new feature films are on the way. Moana 2 kicked off the event with a performance by Auli‘i Cravalho and introduced new songs, with the film set for release on 29 November 2024. Zootopia 2, featuring Judy Hopps and Nick Wilde on a new adventure, is scheduled for 20 November 2025. Additionally, Frozen 3 was teased for a 2027 release.

    Avatar: James Cameron revealed the title of the third Avatar film, Avatar: Fire and Ash, set for a 19 December 2025 release, with stars Sam Worthington and Zoe Saldaña returning.

    Pixar: Upcoming films include Elio (13 June 2025), Hoppers (2026), Toy Story 5 (19 June 2026), and Incredibles 3, which is currently in development.

    Lucasfilm: Jon Favreau and Dave Filoni gave a sneak peek of the new Mandalorian and Grogu film, slated for 22 May 2026.

    Marvel Studios: Kevin Feige shared updates on Captain America: Brave New World (14 February 2025) and introduced the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which premieres on 25 July 2025.

    Disney live-action: Announcements included Mufasa: The Lion King (20 December 2024), Disney’s Snow White (21 March 2025), a live-action Lilo & Stitch (Summer 2025), TRON: Ares (10 October 2025), and the sequel Freakier Friday (2025).

    New projects: Dwayne Johnson revealed a new movie centered around monster trucks, celebrating the popularity of monster jam truck rallies.

  • Bob Chapek realigns roles at Disney Studios Content

    Bob Chapek realigns roles at Disney Studios Content

    MUMBAI: The shuffling is continuing at the Walt Disney Co as CEO Bob Chapek works on creating an organisation that can prosper going forward. In Disney’s latest announcement, Chapek named Alan Bergman as chairman of Disney Studios Content, with Alan Horn who was earlier co-chairman serving as its chief creative officer from 1 January 2021.

    “Our studios are unmatched in their ability to create incredible cinematic experiences, and with this new structure, we are ensuring a vital continuity of leadership,” said Chapek.

    Bergman’s responsibilities will expand to oversee creative, production, marketing, and operations for Disney Studios Content, which encompasses the world-renowned production studios Disney, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios, Searchlight Pictures, and Blue Sky Studios, as well as Disney Theatrical Productions. Horn, on the other hand, will focus on the creative aspects of the studios’ content pipeline, working in partnership with Bergman on its creative approach. Both will report to Chapek.

    The leads of each production studio will continue to dual report to Bergman and Horn on creative matters, including Twentieth Century Studios president Steve Asbell; Blue Sky Studios co-president Robert Baird; Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Production president Sean Bailey; Pixar Animation Studios chief creative officer Pete Docter; Marvel Studios and Marvel president and chief creative officer Kevin Feige; Searchlight Pictures chairman Stephen Gilula; Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy; Walt Disney Animation Studios chief creative officer  Jennifer Lee;  Searchlight Pictures chairman Nancy Utley and and Disney Theatrical Productions president  Thomas Schumacher.

    Bergman is a 24-year veteran of Disney. Prior to being named co-chairman in 2019, he served as president of The Walt Disney Studios from 2005 to 2019. He played a leading role in the integrations of Pixar Animation Studios, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and the Twenty-First Century Fox film studios. His tenure at Studios has included the release of 25 films that have earned at least $1 billion at the global box office.

    Horn joined Disney in 2012 when he was named chairman of The Walt Disney Studios, becoming co-chairman and chief creative officer in 2019. With a career spanning nearly 50 years, Horn is one of the industry’s most influential and respected executives. He served as president and chief operating officer of Warner Bros. from 1999 to 2011, during which it was the top-performing studio at the global box office seven times and released numerous critically acclaimed films and box office hits including the Harry Potter series, Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, The Departed, Million Dollar Baby, and the Ocean’s Eleven trilogy. He co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, where as chairman from 1987 to 1999 he oversaw a diverse collection of popular, acclaimed film and TV properties including A Few Good Men, The Shawshank Redemption, When Harry Met Sally, and Seinfeld. He also served as president and chief operating officer of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp from 1985 to 1986 after getting his start in the media business in 1973 at Norman Lear and Jerry Perenchio’s Embassy Communications, where he ultimately held the role of chairman & chief executive officer.

    Together, Horn and Bergman have presided over a time of significant growth at The Walt Disney Studios, including the 2012 integration of Lucasfilm and the 2019 integration of the Fox film studios, as well as the studios’ expansion into the production of content for Disney’s streaming services. During their tenure, The Walt Disney Studios set numerous records at the box office, surpassing $7 billion globally in 2016 and 2018 and $11 billion in 2019, the only studio ever to have reached these thresholds.

    Among the Studios’ recent successes are Disney’s live-action Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, and The Lion King; Walt Disney Animation Studios’ Frozen, Zootopia, and Frozen 2;  Pixar’s Coco, Incredibles 2,  and Toy Story 4; Lucasfilm’s  Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker; and Marvel Studios’ Black Panther, Captain Marvel, Avengers: Infinity War, and Avengers: Endgame, the latter of which is the highest grossing global release of all time.

  • Disney to release 4 films in 3D version

    Disney to release 4 films in 3D version

    MUMBAI: Enthused by the runaway success of the 3D version of The Lion King, Disney has announced that it will re-release four of its classic animated films in 3D that will include two Pixar titles like Beauty and the Beast, Finding Nemo, Monsters, Inc. and The Little Mermaid.

    “Great stories and great characters are timeless, and at Disney we‘re fortunate to have a treasure trove of both,” Walt Disney Studios president Alan Bergman has been quoted to have said.

    The first film to released in the context will be Beauty and the Beast which will release on 13 January next year. It will be followed by Beauty and the Beast that releases on 14 September.

    Whilr Pixar‘s Monsters, Inc will debut on 18 January 2013, six months before prequel Monsters University releases on 21 June. The Little Mermaid in 3D goes will release on 13 September the same year.