Disney's Glass Ceiling; Fox CEO Touts Big Fall Premieres; Apple's Film & TV Slate

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View on web New reader? Subscribe SUBSCRIBE. IT'S FREE. DANA WALDEN RISES, BUT DISNEY'S GLASS CEILING REMAINS INTACT THE NEWLY MINTED CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER HAS GOTTEN CLOSER TO BECOMING CEO THAN ANY INTERNAL FEMALE EXEC In March 2014, Disney/ABC TV Group President Anne Sweeney left Disney as the company was nearing a decision on who would replace Bob Iger as CEO. While she was not among the finalists for the job, at the time, Sweeney was the closest a woman had ever gotten to the CEO job at Disney. (Meg Whitman, when she was running eBay, was an outside candidate for the post before Iger got it in 2005.) Twelve years later, Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, came a lot closer as one of the two main contenders to succeed Iger in the top job alongside Disney Parks & Experiences chief Josh D’Amaro. Ultimately, the outcome was the same as before.  In a Solomonic decision allowing Disney to keep two strong executives with different areas of expertise – something very rare in the aftermath of a CEO bakeoff – Walden was named President and Chief Creative Officer.>>>Obstacles Related: Signs Point To Continuity On Disney Movie Studio Side As Josh D’Amaro Moves Into CEO Role Josh D’Amaro On Balancing Legacy And Innovation: “I’m Ready For The Challenge” Disney Chair Says Board Nixed Co-CEO Option Rather Quickly Wall Street Greets Disney CEO News With A Shrug APPLE PRESS DAY 2026 Film & TV Slate On Display At Flashy, Tightly Curated Los Angeles Press Day ‘F1’ Sequel Teased By Racing Sport’s CEO ‘Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed’ Premiere Date Set; Brandon Flynn & Murray Bartlett Join Cast Chris Pratt & Linda Cardellini’s ‘Way Of The Warrior Kid’ Gets Fall Premiere Date Deadline Exclusives & Originals Toy Story - Tracie Laymon, the filmmaker behind recent SXSW prize-winner Bob Trevino Likes It, will write and direct a live-action Tony the Tattooed Man feature for Mattel Studios. Laymon aims to reimagine the cult-favorite action figure as the centerpiece of a character-driven drama that blends surreal fantasy with emotional depth. >>> Rare Vintage Collectable From 'NCIS' To 'Nowhere' - Longtime NCIS: Los Angeles star Daniela Ruah is lining up her movie directing debut with novel adaptation Nowhere Boy. The YA novel charts the story of a teenage refugee escaping conflict whose father dies on their journey to Europe. >>> Projects In Development Doc Talk At Sundance - Before the curtain came down on the final Sundance in Park City, Deadline’s Doc Talk podcast spoke with directors of some of the top films at the festival including Michał Marczak (Closure), Oscar nominee Poh Si Teng (American Doctor) and Oscar winner Alex Gibney (Knife: The Attempted Murder of Salman Rushdie). >>> Listen RENEWALS, CANCELLATIONS & PICKUPS   Exclusive ‘A Man On The Inside’ Renewed For Season 3 By Netflix   exclusive Netflix Snaps Up Action Thriller Spec ‘Kill Switch’; Jake Gyllenhaal To Star   Exclusive Netflix Lands Dramatic Feature Pitch ‘Stradivarius’ From Itamar Moses; Edward Berger To Direct ​​​​​​​‘RHONY’ Stars Reunite On E! For ‘The Golden Life’ ‘Finding Her Edge’ Renewed For Season 2 By Netflix CASTING ABOUT Exclusive Emmy winner Ray Romano has been tapped to star in HBO Max drama pilot How to Survive Without Me, from Greg Berlanti, Bash Doran and Warner Bros TV. Romano will play the patriarch in the family drama.   Exclusive Cast including Chloe East (Heretic), Jimmi Simpson (Westworld), Sutton Foster (Younger), Tom Everett Scott (That Thing You Do!) and Bilal Hasna (Layla) have joined previously announced Thomasin McKenzie (JoJo Rabbit) in the Rule of Three trilogy from Temple Hill. Filming is underway. Clea DuVall and Jorge Lendeborg Jr. (Spider-Man: No Way Home) have joined the cast of HBO's The Last of Us for its upcoming third season. Deadline can reveal exclusively that DuVall will play a seraphite in the adaptation of Naughty Dog’s popular game.  David Zayas (Dexter) has been tapped to replace Timothy Busfield in a pulled episode of Law & Order: SVU. The decision came days after an arrest warrant was issued for the actor-director-producer, who was charged with two counts of criminal sexual contact with a minor and child abuse. QUOTABLE   "Beyond silly" - J.K. Rowling addressing speculation that she had invited Jeffrey Epstein to the Broadway opening party for 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' MORE NEWS 🌟 Fox Corp. CEO Lachlan Murdoch reminded Wall Street that the company is still an entertainment player nearly six years after the Disney acquisition reshaped the company as a news-and-sports focused entity. "The proof is in the pudding," he told analysts on the company's quarterly earnings call, pointing to the best fall premiere showing in 13 years for the Fox broadcast network. 📰 The Washington Post initiated long-rumored massive layoffs this morning, as the Jeff Bezos-owned media company tries to reposition itself in an industry grappling with declining revenue. 🦚 NBC Sports announced that Savannah Guthrie will not be part of its Winter Olympics coverage later this week, as authorities investigate last weekend’s disappearance of her mother, Nancy Guthrie. 📺 Donald Trump will sit down for an interview with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas, with a portion set to air as part of the network’s Super Bowl pregame coverage Sunday. 🎸 American Idol is going to Disney+. The talent competition will air live on the streamer for the first time, in addition to airing on ABC. It comes as the series, which streams next day on Hulu, kicks off Season 24 with stellar ratings. ❌ CBS News has pulled a 60 Minutes segment by physician and longevity researcher Peter Attia after revelations that his name appears in more than 1,700 documents in the latest release of the Epstein files. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Britain's biggest television industry event, the Edinburgh TV Festival, will be chaired this year by one of the most senior Netflix commissioners in the UK. Docs boss Adam Hawkins will oversee happenings "at a time when “consolidation seems to be the word of the moment.”    HIRINGS, PROMOTIONS & EXITS   Exclusive ‘Gladiators’ Exec Dom Bird Exiting Amazon MGM Studios To Launch Indie   Exclusive Jacqueline Sacerio Joins Range Studios As President Of Scripted Television BBC Studios Promotes Eve Frederick To Lead Unscripted Production In LA   Exclusive Paradigm Hires Veteran Agents Dan Baron & Chase Northington QUOTABLE   14.4M - Viewership for Sunday's Grammys telecast on CBS ON THE RADAR   Wed - Santa Barbara Film Festival kicks off Thu - Amazon, Lionsgate earnings Fri - Winter Olympics Opening Ceremony Sat - DGA Awards Sun - The Super Bowl Mon - SAG-AMPTP negotiations begin; Ghislaine Maxwell appears before Congressional committee PHOTO OF THE DAY Starry 'Outcome' - Keanu Reeves, Jonah Hill, Cameron Diaz and Matt Bomer gather at the splashy Apple TV Press Day to promote their new movie. 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