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☆ Exclusive: Walt Disney's Pixar Animation eliminates 75 positions
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-03 | by ( Dawn Chmielewski | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

June 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. MacLane and Susman could not be reached for comment. The cuts, which took place May 23, are part of Walt Disney Co Chief Executive Bob Iger’s previously announced plan to eliminate 7,000 jobs and slash $5.5 billion in costs. Reporting by Dawn Chmielewski; Editing by Cynthia OstermanOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Walt Disney's, “, Angus MacLane, “ Coco, ” Galyn Susman, Susman, Bob Iger’s, Dawn Chmielewski, Cynthia Osterman Organizations: Pixar Animation Studios, Pixar, Walt Disney Co, Thomson

☆ 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

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger's book hints at how he'll handle company's feud with Ron DeSantis
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +13 min

Insider turned to Disney CEO Bob Iger's 2019 book for insight on how he navigates challenges. As Florida's largest attraction with more than 70,000 jobs, Walt Disney World is crucial to both the company and the state. During his first tenure at Disney, Iger orchestrated the $4 billion acquisition of Marvel without a single leak. Under predecessor Disney CEO Michael Eisner, board members said they worried that Marvel was "too edgy" and "would tarnish the Disney brand." File photo of Disney CEO Bob Iger.

Persons: Ron DeSantis, Bob Iger's, Walt, Robert Iger, Iger's, Bob Chapek, DeSantis, Donald Trump, Disney, Iger, Steve Jobs, Jobs, Bob Iger, Chris duMond, Neilson Barnard, Scott Miller, Miller, that'd, Biden, he's, gunning, Charles Sykes, Paul Hennessy, Michael Eisner, Marvel, Harris, There's, Griffin, George Lucas, Roy Disney, Walt Disney's, he'd, they've, Lucas Organizations: Disney, Florida Gov, Morning, Walt Disney, Republican Gov, Walt Disney Co, Walt Disney Company, ABC, Pixar, Marvel Entertainment, LucasFilm, Century Fox, Marvel, Apple, Getty, Democrat, Bloomberg, Walt Disney World, Board, GOP, Reuters, Republicans, Harvard, Independents, Twitter, Bauer, Jobs, iTunes, Lucasfilm Locations: Florida, Orlando, Shanghai, American, China

☆ Opinion: We’ve reached a turning point with AI, expert says
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-31 | by ( Jessica Chia | Bethany Cianciolo | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +33 min

Will general purpose AI — AI that is as capable as humans — eventually take over the world? CNN/Peg Skorpinski “…even though we may understand how to build perfectly safe general purpose AI, what’s to stop Dr. We don’t know if they reason; we don’t know if they have their own internal goals that they’ve learned or what they might be. It is not general purpose AI, but it’s giving people a taste of what it would be like. And so it turns out that you can actually build AI systems that have those properties, but they’re very different from the kinds of AI systems that we know how to build.

Persons: CNN —, ChatGPT, Bill Gates, —, Stuart Russell, Russell, ” Russell, they’ve, Peg Skorpinski “, ” Stuart Russell Russell, ”, STUART RUSSELL, ” Stuart Russell, we’ll, “, it’s, they’re, That’s, Arthur Samuel, Samuel, Travis Teo, I’ve, Garry Kasparov, Kasparov, Stan Honda, There’s, they’re misaligned, you’ve, It’s, that’s, we’ve Organizations: CNN, University of California, IBM Watson Media, Hyundai, Boston Dynamics, Reuters, Microsoft, Artificial, Intelligence, US National Academies, GPT, IBM's, Getty, Federal Aviation Administration, Nuclear Regulatory, PIXAR Locations: Berkeley, ”, Singapore, New York, AFP, ChatGPT, Luxembourg, Cayman Islands, United States, California, —

☆ I'm a VP at the company behind Advil and Tums. My day starts with double-screening YouTube and Netflix and ends with surfing Amazon ratings.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Robin Madell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Courtesy of Beth Gaeta Beth GaetaI'm an early bird. Next, I touch base with my colleagueCourtesy of Beth Gaeta Beth GaetaWe go over P&L assumptions for new product proposals or budgets to support the high volume of consumer research we do. Courtesy of Beth Gaeta Beth GaetaI get home at around 6:30 p.m. Courtesy of Beth Gaeta Beth GaetaWhen I get home from work, I often get pulled outside to watch my younger daughter practice gymnastics on our trampoline. We also try to take a walk together whenever we canCourtesy of Beth Gaeta Beth GaetaWith the extra hours of sunlight, we have more opportunities to go on walks after work.

☆ ‘Anatomy of a Fall’ wins Palme d’Or at Cannes Film Festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

The 76th Cannes Film Festival - The Palme d'Or Award - Cannes, France, May 16, 2023. A Chopard representative displays the Palme d'Or, the highest prize awarded to competing films, during an interview on the day of the opening ceremony of the festival. Justine Triet's "Anatomy of a Fall" won the Palme d'Or at the 76th Cannes Film Festival in a ceremony Saturday that handed the festival's prestigious top prize to a twisty French Alps courtroom drama. "Anatomy of a Fall," which stars Sandra Hüller as a writer trying to prove her innocence in her husband's death, is only the third film directed by a woman to win the Palme d'Or. Quentin Tarantino, who won Cannes' top award for "Pulp Fiction," attended the ceremony to present a tribute to filmmaker Roger Corman.

☆ 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.

☆ Airbnb CEO shares the best advice he's ever received—it's 'counterintuitive to almost everything everyone says’
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-24 | by ( Megan Sauer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

A single piece of advice from an investor helped Airbnb CEO Brian Chesky grow his company from a struggling startup to an industry giant worth roughly $70 billion. That's according to Chesky himself, who told attendees at a recent Stanford Graduate School of Business event that it was "the best piece of advice I ever got." The advice: "Focus on 100 people that love you, rather than getting a million people to kind of like you," Chesky said. It came courtesy of Paul Graham, the co-founder of tech startup accelerator Y Combinator, who advised Airbnb's co-founders — Chesky, Joe Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk — to focus on a tiny audience of potential customers as they built their company. For early Airbnb, that meant creating experiences for guests that stood out from staying at a hotel or crashing on a couch.

☆ The Cannes Film Festival
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-20 | by ( Melissa Kirsch | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The Cannes Film Festival began this week with Maïwenn’s “Jeanne du Barry,” starring Johnny Depp as Louis XV, and ends on May 27 with a new Pixar film, “Elemental.” In between, there will be many screenings, many awkward standing ovations, many awards bestowed. Wes Anderson also has a new one, “Asteroid City,” about a junior stargazing convention. It features many members of the Andersonian repertory — Jason Schwartzman, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody and others. In “Firebrand,” from the Brazilian director Karim Aïnouz, Alicia Vikander plays Catherine Parr, the sixth and final wife of Henry VIII, who’s played by Jude Law. Hirokazu Kore-eda, whose film “Shoplifters” won the Palme d’Or in 2018, has a new film, “Monster.” It stars Sakura Ando from “Shoplifters,” and the composer Ryuichi Sakamoto, who died last month, did the score.

☆ 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."

☆ Summer movie preview 2023
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Dan Heching | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +12 min

CNN —Most moviegoers can pinpoint one summer movie – or perhaps, a summer of movies – in their formative years that really and truly cemented their love for going to the cinema, whether it be 1975’s “Jaws,” “E.T. And while streaming has clearly siphoned off part of the audience, particularly for more serious films, what we think of as “summer movies” still have the potential to rake in cash just like the old days. (CNN and DC are both part of the same parent company, Warner Bros. Courtesy Warner Bros. PicturesInitially meant for streaming platforms, this vehicle will herald the cinematic arrival of DC Studios’ first Latino superhero, played by Xolo Maridueña of “Cobra Kai” and “Parenthood” fame. If the fast-paced trailer is any indication, the movie looks sure to whisk those dog days of summer doldrums away quite nicely.

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger says his return to company was inspired by Steve Jobs' Apple homecoming, and comebacks need 'unbelievable enthusiasm'
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-14 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Bob Iger returned to the helm of Disney last November, less than a year after he retired. He told Time he's looking to Steve Jobs' Apple homecoming for inspiration. Iger said such comebacks need "incredible resolve, incredible zeal, and incredible energy." Disney CEO Bob Iger said his return to the media giant is inspired by Steve Jobs' 1997 Apple homecoming, in an interview with Time magazine. "And then go at it with incredible resolve, incredible zeal, and incredible energy."

"This reorganization will result in a more cost-effective, coordinated approach to our operations," Iger told analysts on a conference call. Disney earlier reported its first quarterly decrease in subscriptions for its Disney+ streaming media unit, which lost more than $1 billion. Iger also repositioned the company to capitalize on the streaming revolution, acquiring 21st Century Fox's film and television assets in 2019 and launching the Disney+ streaming service that fall. Now, Iger will seek to put Disney's streaming business on a path to growth and profitability. It reorganized its business in 2018 to accelerate the growth of its streaming business, and again in 2020, to further spur streaming's growth.

☆ Disney's Bob Iger says he was 'overconfident' and 'dismissive' in his first stint as CEO, now has more 'self-awareness'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-09 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Bob Iger's first stint as CEO of The Walt Disney Company saw the company acquire Pixar, Marvel and Star Wars as he turned Disney into the biggest name in franchise entertainment. But the success took a toll on his leadership abilities. In an interview with CNBC's "Squawk on the Street", Iger reflected on his time as CEO and identified flaws he believed he developed as he became more and more successful. "I thought it caused me to be a little bit more dismissive of other people's ideas." The 72-year-old Iger, who officially retired on Dec. 31, 2021, was only away from Disney for the first 11 months of 2022 before the company's board decided to replace his successor, Bob Chapek, and asked Iger to take his old job back.

Iger said he would reorganize the company into three segments: an entertainment unit that encompasses film, television and streaming; a sports-focused ESPN unit; and Disney parks, experiences and products. "This reorganization will result in a more cost-effective, coordinated approach to our operations," Iger told analysts on a conference call. Disney earlier reported its first quarterly decrease in subscriptions for its Disney+ streaming media unit which lost more than $1 billion. Now, Iger will seek to put Disney's streaming business on a path to growth and profitability. It reorganized its business in 2018 to accelerate the growth of its streaming business, and again in 2020, to further spur streaming's growth.

☆ Inside the Disney drama as CEO Bob Iger announces massive layoffs and a reorg that dismantles the structure under predecessor Bob Chapek
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Lucia Moses | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Bob Iger returned to Disney as CEO in November, ending Bob Chapek's rocky tenure. In one of the most dramatic reversals in corporate history, the Walt Disney Co. board reinstated Bob Iger as CEO in November, ousting his predecessor Bob Chapek. Disney had just reported a $1.5 billion loss in its streaming business on a November 8 earnings call. Wall Street faulted him for waiting until after the 3Q earnings call to announce that layoffs were planned, for example. Disney, which in December launched its own ad-supported Disney+ offering, has enjoyed strong streaming growth, but Wall Street cares more about profitability now.

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger wastes no time putting turnaround plans in place after a solid quarter
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( Jeff Marks | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Bottom Line The Disney quarter had a lot to offer for the bulls. In the current quarter, management expects operating results to improve by $200 million, pegging losses at around $800 million, which is in line with estimates on Factset. By extension, Disney is reorganizing into three core business segments: Disney Entertainment, an ESPN division, and a Parks, Experiences and Products unit. Iger wants Disney to be more efficient, and he believes this overhaul will make for a more cost-effective and streamlined approach to its operations. Bob Iger, former CEO, The Walt Disney Company Scott Mlyn | CNBC

☆ Disney CEO Bob Iger has 'very little room for maneuver' as he tackles layoffs, budget cuts, a company reorg, and questions over the future of Hulu and ESPN
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Claire Atkinson | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Disney chief Bob Iger will speak Wednesday on his first quarterly earnings call since returning as CEO. Wall Street wants to see how Disney plans to boost profitability this year and whether it will trade ESPN or Hulu. Aside from a quick visit to Disney World in January, Bob Iger has been lying very low. Media investor Ross Gerber told Insider that Iger would get back to focusing on content rather than on the distribution mechanism. Iger tweeted a photo of himself at Disney World, dressed in a relaxed green cardigan and gray slacks as he posed with cast members on January 19.

☆ 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.

☆ Lawsuits over Stability AI's Stable Diffusion could threaten the future of AI-generated art
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-25 | by ( Asia Martin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +7 min

Stability AI, the startup that makes the popular AI art tool Stable Diffusion, faces two lawsuits. The company's most well-known product is the controversial Stable Diffusion (also known as DreamStudio to users). Enter text into a search bar, and Stable Diffusion will, for a lack of a better word, draw an image to match, right on the spot. What's old is new againStability Diffusion released Stability AI in August, a time when the generative-AI market was starting to heat up. Mostaque's tweet added that Stability AI would offer "opt outs" and use alternate datasets and models with content licensed under the more-permissive creative-commons copyright process.

☆ A busier movie calendar will lead to a 15% jump in box office sales, JPMorgan predicts
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-15 | by ( Christina Cheddar Berk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

Slow and steady will win the race at the box office this year, according to JPMorgan analyst David Karnovsky. The first is tied to the depressed state of the box office last year . However, if additional movies are released, here's where there could be upside to his box office forecast. DIS 3M mountain Disney shares have gotten a boost from a proxy battle, but box office gains could be ahead. Paramount's "Top Gun: Maverick" topped the box office charts last year, while NBC Universal had new films in the Jurassic Park and Minions franchises.

☆ A battle between Disney and activist Peltz brews. Here’s how the situation may unfold
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-14 | by ( Kenneth Squire | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Disney offered Peltz, founding partner of Trian Fund Management, a role as a board observer and asked him to sign a standstill agreement, which Peltz declined. Offer of a board observer positionSometimes a board observer position can be beneficial, particularly for investors who do not have a lot of board experience and are less likely to be a regular contributor to board discussions. But offering Peltz a position as a board observer is like saying to Whitney Houston, "You can join the band, but you are not allowed to sing." It is curious as to why Peltz started this proxy fight in the first place and why Disney is resisting it. Peltz acquired his position when Bob Chapek was CEO and likely had a plan to replace him with someone Peltz had already identified.

The tussle with Disney could be Peltz's biggest proxy battle since an acrimonious fight to bag a seat on the board of Tide detergent-maker P&G (PG.N). During his more than three-year tenure on P&G's board, the firm's stock price rose nearly 80%. Peltz's Trian Fund Management on Thursday filed documents with the U.S. securities regulator for his election as a director after Disney denied him a board seat. "Iger is a well-liked CEO, not only within Disney and its employees but also in Hollywood and the stock market. Investors will vote later this year on whether Peltz should sit on the company's board, unless it's settled before.

☆ Disney board exposed itself to activist intervention, but Peltz may be overreaching
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-12 | by ( Alex Sherman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Disney's share price spike in 2021 was caused by the same phenomenon — investors charging into streaming services with significant subscriber growth. Activist investor Nelson Peltz spent about 30 minutes Thursday morning speaking with CNBC's Jim Cramer and David Faber in a wide-ranging interview about why he wants a Disney board seat. Now Iger's back, and the Disney board has tasked him with finding a successor in the next two years. It's a far easier case to be made that Disney's board and Iger have consistently bungled succession planning. As Trian noted in its presentation (on Slide 28), the Disney board extended Iger's retirement date five different times between October 2011 and December 2017.

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