D’Amaro–Walden: 5 Must-Reads to Decode Disney’s New Power Map
Plus: ‘Heated Rivalry’ heats up romance market; Murdoch family misery; SAG intel as negotiations start
First, a note from Janice Min –
A quick note: Tomorrow you’ll see the first phase of an Ankler refresh — new logo, new design and a cleaner, more intuitive reading experience across our newsletters. It’s the first visible step in our rethink of how our newsletters, video and audio look, work and show up for our audience (with more to come soon this spring). Huge thanks to our design director, Kelsey Stefanson. We hope you love it!
Now back to Alison:
Just as the Seahawks, Patriots and Olympians start their grueling competitions, another one came to an end this week as Disney’s board named Josh D’Amaro successor to Bob Iger — and offered a sparkling consolation prize to Dana Walden, now the company’s first-ever president and chief creative officer.
Team Ankler delivered all the essential angles on this long-awaited change:
Sean McNulty outlined top priorities for the new chief:
Lesley Goldberg got the inside track of contenders who might succeed Walden to run TV at Disney:
Manori Ravindran reported from London on the real dogfight about to begin: Disney’s fight to catch up with Netflix around the globe:
And yes, Richard Rushfield had five takeaways from the news, and an homage to the Disney talking points that (almost) everyone adhered to:
Meanwhile, our awards guru Katey Rich is escaping the brutal East Coast winter to make the rounds in sun-drenched L.A. this week:
The Academy’s Nominees Luncheon at the Beverly Hilton, Tuesday: Katey will be interviewing top contenders on camera at our Ankler Studio on-site portrait and video studio. Say hi — and cheese!
Crowd Pleaser LIVE screening of Zootopia 2, Wednesday: Katey moderates a panel as part of our partnership with Letterboxd with voice stars Ginnifer Goodwin and Ke Huy Quan, director Byron Howard and producer Yvette Merino at The London West Hollywood (request to attend here).
And… for our subscribers in Europe, we got you too:
The Berlinale, Friday: Manori Ravindran moderates a conversation about AI’s role in gender discrimination at the fest’s annual Power to Transform conference. Gute Reise, Manori!
Now, ICYMI, the rest of our best of the week:
Series Business: Heated Rivalry Impact
The hit keeps rippling across Hollywood as Elaine Low hears from top agents on the surge in the romance market: deal numbers, most-wanted authors and hottest subgenres:
Dana Walden came away from the Disney CEO bake-off with a big new gig, but options are dwindling for other top execs, Lesley writes. Plus: a win for Fox’s The Floor and two losses for daytime talkers:
Lachlan Murdoch & the Price of Power
Andy Lewis interviews Murdoch biographer Gabriel Sherman about his new book that explores the alienated family and the personal price Rupert and his kids have paid:
Like & Subscribe: MeidasTouch Meets the Moment
Natalie Jarvey interviews Ben Meiselas about his booming anti-Trump podcast — now as big as Joe Rogan’s — and the risks facing independent journalists amid a “fascism” mainstream news won’t confront:
Crowd Pleaser: Can You Name 5 Classic Movies From This Decade?
Movies don’t stick with us the way they used to, writes Matthew Frank, who coins the term “cinemanesia” to reflect the impermanence of everything we watch, with the rise of streaming and death of cable as the culprit:
Dealmakers: SAG’s New Sticking Points
Uh-oh. With SAG-AFTRA and the AMPTP set to begin talks tomorrow, Ashley Cullins surveys top agents and attorneys about the key issues that weren’t fixed back in 2023 — and how it could all go sideways (again):
Prestige Junkie: Safdie Scandal Aftermath
Katey Rich digs into the evolution of the Oscar oppo campaign. Plus, she chats with KPop Demon Hunters co-director Maggie Kang and Avatar: Fire and Ash costume designer Deborah L. Scott:
The Wakeup: YouTube vs. Netflix Final Tally
YouTube dished out more data than usual in Q4, and Sean analyzes the company’s ad revenue trends, the all-important comps between YouTube and Netflix, and how the Hollywood studios stack up:
📹 Ankler Shows
Monday Morning QBs: Brett Ratner’s critically reviled Melania scored the biggest opening for a documentary this decade. But Richard and Sean outline why it’s still not even close to being a hit:
Rushfield Lunch: Legendary producer Ted Hope joins Richard for a chat about how, amid faltering traditional studios and a depleted indie space, he’s building outside those walls:
🎧 PODCASTS
ANKLER AGENDA
Elaine, Natalie and Sean on the D’Amaro ascension:
📱 LIKE & SUBSCRIBE BY NATALIE JARVEY
👓 THE OPTIONIST BY ANDY LEWIS
FINAL HOUSEKEEPING!
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