| PARKS CHIEF AND 28-YEAR COMPANY VETERAN TO SUCCEED BOB IGER IN MARCH; WALDEN RISES TO PRESIDENT & CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER |
The long and winding process of picking Bob Iger's successor as CEO of the Walt Disney Co. has led to Josh D'Amaro, chairman of the Experiences division. The 28-year company veteran will take the top post in March.
Along with the CEO pick, the Disney board promoted Dana Walden from co-chairman of Entertainment to President and Chief Creative Officer, a newly created position.
Iger will surrender the CEO title at the company's annual meeting next month, staying on as an advisor until the end of his contract in December.
The press release announcing the moves had minimal information about Walden's new post but said she will report to D'Amaro. The 54-year-old parks exec had been the betting favorite among four internal candidates in the process, which began soon after Iger, 74, returned as CEO in 2022. >>>"The Right Person"
Related:
Disney Reveals Pay Packages For D’Amaro, Walden |
Deadline Exclusives & Originals |
Fox's Second Scripted Order - Fox has kicked off its equivalent of pilot season with a straight-to-series order to The Interrogator, a spy drama series written, executive produced by and starring British actor-comedian Stephen Fry. The project, a co-production between Lionsgate Television and Fox Entertainment Studios, is Fox’s second new scripted series order for the 2026-27 season. >>> 3 Drama Frontrunners
MAGA's Project Netflix - Ted Sarandos' testimony Tuesday in front of a pivotal Senate subcommittee could be countered with landmines from a MAGA think tank that are intended to blow up Netflix's path to buying most of Warner Bros Discovery. >>> Project 2025 Spinoff
Stallone Bets On Hauser - Sylvester Stallone‘s Balboa Productions, Cole Hauser's American Outlaw Entertainment and MGM Television are teaming on a series adaptation of the book 'Blood Aces: The Wild Ride of Benny Binion, the Texas Gangster Who Created Vegas Poker.' Yellowstone's Hauser is set to play Binion. >>>" Incredible Story"
Par+ Unscripted Story Unfolds - One of the most asked questions in the reality business in the last six months has been ‘Who is going to buy unscripted shows for Paramount+?’ That question is slightly closer to being answered: Paramount+ has brought in former Netflix exec Damla Dogan on the unscripted side. Deadline understands that Dogan is consulting for the company. >>> Good News For Producers
'In The Shadow Of Roman Polanski' - A new movie called The Girl will revisit the notorious Roman Polanski sexual assault scandal from the perspective of victim Samantha Geimer. Based on Geimer’s memoir 'The Girl: A Life in the Shadow of Roman Polanski', the film will chart how the 13 year-old was drawn into the director’s orbit.
>>>Going To EFM
Ring The Bell - Milly Bell, InterTalent’s Head of Creators who reps the likes of Nella Rose and Grace Dent, is exiting the London agency. Bell is leaving to set up a new venture, with details still being ironed out. She has been at InterTalent since 2021. She joined as an agent from Gleam Futures and rose up to become Talent Director and Head of Creators in 2024. >>> Departs After Five Years |
Newly elected DGA president Christopher Nolan doesn’t expect that the union will be accepting any five-year contracts with the Hollywood studios.
Throughout a wide-ranging interview with reporters from Deadline, Variety and The Hollywood Reporter last week, Nolan discussed how he does plan to address the health and pension issues that the DGA faces as well as some of the other broad priorities the union leadership hope will bring to their negotiations with the AMPTP.
We recently had 15 minutes guild president Sean Astin to discuss similar topics before the actors union leads the charge into negotiations in early February, and we're chasing an on-the-record talk with WGA leadership, who have so far declined to talk.
Here are snippets from the conversation with Nolan that address some of the issues that are top of mind for members in 2026. >>>The Interview
Related:
Nolan On Who Should Own Warner Bros, Job Cuts: DGA Boss Says “The Loss Of A Major Studio Is A Huge Blow”
Why He Wanted To Run The DGA While Making ‘The Odyssey’ |
Helena Bonham Carter, Caitríona Balfe, Emma Laird and Anthony Hopkins have signed on to star in The Housekeeper. Richard Eyre will direct the film from a screenplay by Rose Tremain, based on her own short story and forthcoming novel.
ExclusiveMichael Smiley, Danny Huston, Camille Cottin and Ulrich Thomsen have joined the cast of The Riders , A24's new film from Academy Award-winner Edward Berger, based on the Tim Winton novel of the same name.
John Cho has been cast in Apple TV series The Off Weeks, starring and executive produced by Ben Stiller and Jessica Chastain, from director Michael Showalter, showrunner Alissa Nutting and Apple Studios.
Exclusive Benedict Cumberbatch has been set to star in thriller Last Flight, in which he will portray a U.S. man who helped persecuted people find safe passage out of Iraq and Afghanistan. Babak Anvari is directing the movie, which is based on a script by one of the inspirations for the film, Kirk Wallace Johnson. |
QUOTABLE "I was still Black that next morning" - Halle Berry on the challenges she faced after winning an Oscar |
MORE NEWS
🏆 Oscar broadcast executive producer and showrunner Raj Kapoor and executive producer Katy Mullan today announced members of their production team for the ceremony. Rob Paine returns as co-executive producer. Hamish Hamilton as director (fresh off directing Sunday night’s Grammy Awards) , and Taryn Hurd and Sarah Levine Hall rejoin the team as producers.
🙏 On the third night since her mother went missing, Savannah Guthrie asked for prayers that 84-year-old Nancy Guthrie be returned home safely. “Please pray,” read the simple graphic card on her Instagram post.
🎬 Nancy Meyers' next feature is officially moving forward at Warner Bros after the studio took it in turnaround from Netflix in 2023. It’s Meyers first time behind the camera in 11 years, since writing and directing Warner Bros’ Anne Hathaway-Robert De Niro comedy The Intern.
🚨 Elon Musk has been summoned for questioning in France following a raid on the platform’s French offices by a police cybercrime unit on Tuesday. The Paris Prosecutor said the raid was carried out by officers of the national cyber unit in conjunction with European crime agency Europol as part of an ongoing investigation.
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| OBITUARIES
🕯️ Chuck Negron, founding member and lead vocalist of late ’60s-founded Los Angeles rock band Three Dog Night, has died at the age of 83 at his Studio City home. 🕯️ David Yarnell, whose long career as a producer stretched from the early days of William F. Buckley, the launch of late-night rock and roll on network TV and to the critically acclaimed 2018 Melissa McCarthy drama Can You Ever Forgive Me? , died Wednesday, January 28, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 96. 🕯️ 2026 Deaths Photo Gallery |
| ON THE RADAR
Tue - Senate hearing on Netflix-WBD deal
Wed - Fox Corp. earnings; Santa Barbara Film Festival kicks off
Thu - Amazon, Lionsgate earnings
Fri - Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony
Sat - DGA Awards
Sun - The Super Bowl |
Don Lemon Speaks - In a visit to Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Don Lemon described for the first time being arrested by 12 Homeland Security agents last weekend. |
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