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☆ Exclusive: Walt Disney's Pixar targets 'Lightyear' execs among 75 job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] A screen shows the logo and a ticker symbol for The Walt Disney Company on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., December 14, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidJune 3 (Reuters) - Walt Disney's (DIS.N) Pixar Animation Studios has eliminated 75 positions including those of two executives behind box office disappointment “Lightyear,” sources said on Saturday, the first significant job cuts at the studio in a decade. Susman had been at Pixar since the release of the original “Toy Story” movie in 1995. The cuts, which took place May 23, are part of Walt Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger’s previously announced plan to eliminate 7,000 jobs and slash $5.5 billion in costs. Disney acquired Pixar in 2006 to revitalize its struggling Disney Animation.

Persons: Brendan McDermid, Walt Disney's, “, Angus MacLane, “ Coco, ” Galyn Susman, Susman, Michael Agulnek, Bob Iger’s, ”, Bob Peterson, Dawn Chmielewski, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Walt Disney Company, New York Stock Exchange, REUTERS, Pixar Animation Studios, Pixar, Walt Disney, Disney Entertainment, Disney, Disney Animation, Thomson Locations: New York, U.S

☆ Wes Anderson, Ken Loach among contenders for Cannes Film Festival's top prize
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/3] The 76th Cannes Film Festival - Press conference for the film "Asteroid City" in competition - Cannes, France, May 24, 2023. Director Wes Anderson speaks. REUTERS/Yara NardiCANNES, May 27 (Reuters) - Veteran directors Wes Anderson, Ken Loach and Wim Wenders are among those in the running for the Cannes Film Festival's coveted Palme d'Or at Saturday's closing ceremony, with 21 films in competition for the top prize. This year has a record seven female directors in the running for the top prize, which only two women have previously won - Jane Campion in 1993 and Ducournau in 2021. More than 14,000 participants from over 120 countries crowded the film market this year, surpassing 2019's previous peak of 12,500.

☆ When is Cannes Film Festival 2023 and what can we expect?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/6] The 75th Cannes Film Festival - The Palme d'Or Award - Cannes, France, May 17, 2022. Below are some facts about the Cannes Film Festival and this year's contenders. WHAT IS THE CANNES FILM FESTIVAL AND WHY IS IT CELEBRATED? Cannes is the world's biggest film festival, first conceived in 1939 as an alternative to the then-fascist-influenced Venice Film Festival. Other awards include the Grand Prix, jury prize, best director, best actor, best actress, best screenplay and best short film.

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger praises rival Universal's 'Super Mario Bros. Movie'
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-10 | by ( Sarah Whitten | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Chris Pratt and Charlie Day voice Mario and Luigi in Universal and Illumination's "The Super Mario Bros. Disney CEO Bob Iger used part of his opening remarks during an earnings call Wednesday to praise rival Universal Studios' "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" and its success at the global box office. "Allow me to digress for a moment to congratulate Universal for the tremendous success of 'Super Mario Bros.'" Iger said. Others said Disney has done a poor job marketing its animated films to the public. The widespread success of "The Super Mario Bros. Movie" could pave the way for Disney's upcoming releases, which include Pixar's "Elemental" and the Thanksgiving release "Wish."

☆ The director of Oscar-nominated 'Turning Red' shares how she moved up through the ranks at Pixar from intern to VP of creative
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( David Silverberg | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Domee Shi is the VP of creative at Pixar and the director of "Turning Red" and "Bao." A still from "Turning Red." A storyboard progression image from "Turning Red." A still from "Turning Red." PixarToday, as a successful film director, she's ready to give back.

☆ 6 key Disney executives working with Bob Iger to remake former CEO Bob Chapek's business structure
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-18 | by ( Lucia Moses | Alison Brower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Disney CEO Bob Iger has returned to a company facing significant pressures on its linear and streaming businesses. He'll also need to unwind the business structure implemented in 2020 by his short-lived predecessor, Bob Chapek — which separated budgeting and distribution decisions from creative content development. Alan Bergman, chairman, Disney Studios ContentAlan Bergman. Disney Interactive/Reuters/Jonathan AlcornPitaro is close to Iger, has a long tenure at Disney, and has a foot in both creative and business sides. Dana Walden, chairman, Disney General Entertainment ContentDana Walden.

☆ 6 Disney executives Bob Iger will trust to drive his new strategy as he radically remakes the business structure implemented by former CEO Bob Chapek
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-30 | by ( Lucia Moses | Alison Brower | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

The returning CEO will have to unwind the business structure implemented by Bob Chapek while finding a successor. Disney CEO Bob Iger returns to a company facing significant pressures on its linear and streaming businesses. He'll also need to unwind the business structure implemented in 2020 by his short-lived predecessor, Bob Chapek — which separated budgeting and distribution decisions from creative content development. Alan Bergman, chairman, Disney Studios ContentAlan Bergman. Dana Walden, chairman, Disney General Entertainment ContentDana Walden.

☆ Disney is in an animation slump after 'Strange World' and 'Lightyear' flopped. Bob Iger may have the magic touch to turn it around.
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-29 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Disney's "Lightyear" and "Strange World" have flopped at the box office this year. Its latest animated movie, "Strange World," opened over the Thanksgiving weekend with $18 million over the five-day holiday in the US. This year was the first real test of the pandemic era to see if Disney's animated films could attract large swaths of consumers to theaters. In 2020 and 2021, Disney's animated movies either went straight to Disney+ or received a hybrid release on streaming and in theaters. But this year, Disney's movies have typically been released in theaters for 45 days before debuting on the streaming service.

☆ At Pixar, Steve Jobs hired a director who'd 'just made a big flop'—the result was an Oscar-winning success
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Fresh off the career-threatening flop, Bird was hired by Jobs and Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull to write and direct a movie called "The Incredibles." "They were feeling like, 'We're in danger of falling into certain habits because we have the same group that are doing things ... but we want to shake things up.'" Jobs and Catmull told Bird they hired him because "The Iron Giant" showed a determination to find new ways to tell stories, Bird recalled. "I want people who are disgruntled because they have a better way of doing things and they're having trouble finding an avenue," Bird said. If you're doing it right, you are kind of an underdog," Bird said.

☆ Disney+ subscribers now have early access to Disney merchandise, including Marvel and Star Wars products — here's how it works
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-01 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Disney+ subscribers can now get early access to Disney merchandise, for a limited time. It could be a big step towards Disney's Amazon Prime-like membership program. The company announced on Tuesday that Disney+ subscribers in the US now have early access to Disney merchandise available on its online store shopDisney, as part of a limited-time test. The Wall Street Journal reported in August that Disney was exploring a Prime-like membership program that would bundle Disney+ with discounts on merchandise and theme parks. Disney CEO Bob Chapek elaborated on the idea last week during WSJ's Tech Live conference, saying he wants to better integrate Disney's parks and merchandise experiences within the Disney+ app.

☆ Here's what the Day of the Dead means, and why it endures
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Albinson Linares | Noticias Telemundo | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

The "Day of the Dead Parade" in Mexico City on Oct. 29, 2022. Claudio Cruz / AFP - Getty Images"In Mexico, Nov. 1 and 2 are very special days because they celebrate All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, respectively," said Diana Martínez, an academic at the Institute of Anthropological Research at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, or UNAM. By the 13th century, the Roman Catholic Church established Nov. 1 as All Saints’ Day. People take part in the "Day of the Dead Parade" in Mexico City on Oct. 29, 2022. He's worked at the cemetery from a very young age and has witnessed many Día de los Muertos celebrations.

☆ The biggest box-office flops of the year show how the movie business still has a long road to recovery
▼ + stars: | 2022-05-23 | by ( Travis Clark | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

The 2022 box office saw a vast improvement over last year. Comscore is projecting the US box office to end the year with $7.2 billion — a vast improvement from last year's $4.5 billion, but still far below the $11 billion total in 2019. There were surprise successes this year, like the low-budget horror movie "Smile," which made $216 million off of a $17 million budget. Other movies weren't total disasters but underwhelmed, leaving the future of their respective franchises in question. Below are the year's most notable box-office flops and disappointments, in release-date order (numbers are based on data from IMDb Pro):

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