clarker99
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I mean, you are 80. Move on and let the next generation have a chance.
DIS Shareholders and Stock Info ONLY
- Thread starter hhisc16
- Start date
wabbott
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https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230405005782/en/
April 05, 2023 05:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following is a statement by Ike Perlmutter, former Chairman of Marvel Entertainment and the largest individual shareholder of The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) explaining the reason he believes he ended his working relationship with the company on March 29, 2023.
“Anyone who knows me is well aware of my fixation on fiscal discipline to improve efficiency. It is that approach to Disney's operations that has formed my support for Trian, in seeking to restore the dividend, fix the company's inflated cost structure, and ensure a successful CEO succession. Trian CEO Nelson Peltz has a long history of improving shareholder returns at many leading consumer businesses. I believe he could have done the same for Disney as a member of its board. It’s a disappointment for me and I believe many fellow shareholders that he wasn’t welcomed to the board and that it took the threat of a proxy contest for the board and management to begin to act.
“My ties to Disney are deep and extend more than 30 years. The Marvel brand which I brought to the company in 2009 is now one of the strongest and most profitable business units in the company, as well as one of the best-known entertainment franchises in the world.
“I wish only the very best for Disney stakeholders – its employees around the world, its millions of devoted fans and customers, its brilliant creators and contributors, and its many shareholders, like me. I will continue to advocate for actions that secure Disney’s long-term financial health and allow a new generation of management to reverse the trend of falling shareholder equity and return the dividend to its prior level.”
Statement by Walt Disney Co.’s Largest Individual Shareholder Ike Perlmutter on Ending His Working Relationship with Company
April 05, 2023 05:02 PM Eastern Daylight Time
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The following is a statement by Ike Perlmutter, former Chairman of Marvel Entertainment and the largest individual shareholder of The Walt Disney Co. (NYSE: DIS) explaining the reason he believes he ended his working relationship with the company on March 29, 2023.
“I have long expected that my working relationship with Disney would end. That it should come as a result of my trying to help Disney improve its business should sadden many shareholders as it does me, the company’s largest individual shareholder. Despite my employment termination, I will continue to hold my shares of Disney and continue to seek improvements at the company for the benefit of all stakeholders.
“Anyone who knows me is well aware of my fixation on fiscal discipline to improve efficiency. It is that approach to Disney's operations that has formed my support for Trian, in seeking to restore the dividend, fix the company's inflated cost structure, and ensure a successful CEO succession. Trian CEO Nelson Peltz has a long history of improving shareholder returns at many leading consumer businesses. I believe he could have done the same for Disney as a member of its board. It’s a disappointment for me and I believe many fellow shareholders that he wasn’t welcomed to the board and that it took the threat of a proxy contest for the board and management to begin to act.
“My ties to Disney are deep and extend more than 30 years. The Marvel brand which I brought to the company in 2009 is now one of the strongest and most profitable business units in the company, as well as one of the best-known entertainment franchises in the world.
“I wish only the very best for Disney stakeholders – its employees around the world, its millions of devoted fans and customers, its brilliant creators and contributors, and its many shareholders, like me. I will continue to advocate for actions that secure Disney’s long-term financial health and allow a new generation of management to reverse the trend of falling shareholder equity and return the dividend to its prior level.”
wabbott
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https://www.reuters.com/business/me...e-perlmutter-retain-disney-shares-2023-04-05/
Ousted Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter to retain Disney shares
https://www.comicsbeat.com/ike-perl...nt-care-about-making-money-just-saving-money/
Ike Perlmutter: I don’t care about making money, just SAVING money
https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/ike-perlmutter-disney-fired-marvel-not-laid-off
Ike Perlmutter: Disney fired me from Marvel, I wasn’t laid off
https://wdwnt.com/2023/04/ike-perlm...cause-of-fundamental-differences-in-business/
‘I Care About Return on Investment’ — Ike Perlmutter Says Disney Fired Him Due to ‘Fundamental Differences’
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oust...ight-in-fight-with-media-giant-212643030.html
Ousted Disney exec told DeSantis 'you're right' in fight with media giant
Ousted Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter to retain Disney shares
https://www.comicsbeat.com/ike-perl...nt-care-about-making-money-just-saving-money/
Ike Perlmutter: I don’t care about making money, just SAVING money
https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/ike-perlmutter-disney-fired-marvel-not-laid-off
Ike Perlmutter: Disney fired me from Marvel, I wasn’t laid off
https://wdwnt.com/2023/04/ike-perlm...cause-of-fundamental-differences-in-business/
‘I Care About Return on Investment’ — Ike Perlmutter Says Disney Fired Him Due to ‘Fundamental Differences’
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/oust...ight-in-fight-with-media-giant-212643030.html
Ousted Disney exec told DeSantis 'you're right' in fight with media giant
wabbott
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https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/joe-earley-named-president-direct-to-consumer-disney-entertainment/
April 5, 2023
Joe Earley Named President, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment
Joe Earley has been named president, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment, effective immediately, it was announced today by Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, co-chairmen, Disney Entertainment. Earley, who most recently served as president of Hulu, will lead Disney Entertainment’s streaming efforts including Disney+ and Hulu, reporting to Bergman and Walden. Earley succeeds Michael Paull, who is leaving the company after six years.
In his new role, Earley will work closely with content teams around the company to continue to expand the company’s streaming efforts and drive impactful and resonant programming and engagement offerings across Disney+ and Hulu. In addition, he will continue leading Hulu until a successor is identified.
“Joe has proven himself to be an extraordinary asset and is uniquely positioned for this role as we guide Disney’s streaming strategy into the future,” Bergman and Walden said. “His vast industry experience and deep understanding of what sets our prestigious portfolio of brands apart will be essential as we build on our robust direct-to-consumer efforts. Joe is a talented, passionate leader, committed to creative excellence, and we look forward to partnering with him in this next chapter.”
“Helping launch Disney+ was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and Hulu has been inspiring and rewarding,” said Earley. “I’m incredibly grateful to Dana and Alan for their confidence and the opportunity to lead both of these incredible teams during this time of transformation across the streaming landscape.”
Earley joined Disney in January 2019 to oversee Disney+ marketing and operations in the leadup to its hugely successful November launch that year, adding responsibility for content curation in 2021 as the service expanded to dozens of markets worldwide. He was named president of Hulu in January 2022.
Earley previously served as president of The Jackal Group, leading its television, film, commercial theater, and digital divisions, including productions ranging from Tidying Up with Marie Kondo to the MGM animated feature film The Addams Family. He served as a Fox executive for over two decades, including as chief operating officer for Fox Television Group, where he directly oversaw marketing and communications, digital, research, talent relations, scheduling, and audience strategy at Fox Broadcasting Company, and teamed with 20th Century Fox Television’s development, production, business affairs, marketing, and finance leads on strategic initiatives, in addition to overseeing its publicity and talent relations. Having joined Fox in 1994 as a senior publicist, he rose through the ranks at Fox Broadcasting to become president of Marketing & Communications and then its COO. Earley began his entertainment career in production and development with producer Gale Anne Hurd and spent several years in Media Relations at HBO before moving to Fox.
A member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Producers Guild of America, Earley holds a B.A. in mass communications from UCLA.
April 5, 2023
Joe Earley Named President, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment
Joe Earley has been named president, Direct-to-Consumer, Disney Entertainment, effective immediately, it was announced today by Alan Bergman and Dana Walden, co-chairmen, Disney Entertainment. Earley, who most recently served as president of Hulu, will lead Disney Entertainment’s streaming efforts including Disney+ and Hulu, reporting to Bergman and Walden. Earley succeeds Michael Paull, who is leaving the company after six years.
In his new role, Earley will work closely with content teams around the company to continue to expand the company’s streaming efforts and drive impactful and resonant programming and engagement offerings across Disney+ and Hulu. In addition, he will continue leading Hulu until a successor is identified.
“Joe has proven himself to be an extraordinary asset and is uniquely positioned for this role as we guide Disney’s streaming strategy into the future,” Bergman and Walden said. “His vast industry experience and deep understanding of what sets our prestigious portfolio of brands apart will be essential as we build on our robust direct-to-consumer efforts. Joe is a talented, passionate leader, committed to creative excellence, and we look forward to partnering with him in this next chapter.”
“Helping launch Disney+ was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and Hulu has been inspiring and rewarding,” said Earley. “I’m incredibly grateful to Dana and Alan for their confidence and the opportunity to lead both of these incredible teams during this time of transformation across the streaming landscape.”
Earley joined Disney in January 2019 to oversee Disney+ marketing and operations in the leadup to its hugely successful November launch that year, adding responsibility for content curation in 2021 as the service expanded to dozens of markets worldwide. He was named president of Hulu in January 2022.
Earley previously served as president of The Jackal Group, leading its television, film, commercial theater, and digital divisions, including productions ranging from Tidying Up with Marie Kondo to the MGM animated feature film The Addams Family. He served as a Fox executive for over two decades, including as chief operating officer for Fox Television Group, where he directly oversaw marketing and communications, digital, research, talent relations, scheduling, and audience strategy at Fox Broadcasting Company, and teamed with 20th Century Fox Television’s development, production, business affairs, marketing, and finance leads on strategic initiatives, in addition to overseeing its publicity and talent relations. Having joined Fox in 1994 as a senior publicist, he rose through the ranks at Fox Broadcasting to become president of Marketing & Communications and then its COO. Earley began his entertainment career in production and development with producer Gale Anne Hurd and spent several years in Media Relations at HBO before moving to Fox.
A member of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and the Producers Guild of America, Earley holds a B.A. in mass communications from UCLA.
Yea, let those 50 and 60 year olds have a chance already! LOL
andreas272
Earning My Ears
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- Apr 4, 2023
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- 10
From what I read in other outlets Perlmutter seemed to be somebody with a lot of money who wanted to be Stan Lee, and was extremely difficult. At 80 he's kind of superfluous, like you said he sould move on for Marvel's sake.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,300
This looks to be the complete Robbie Whelan WSJ article.
https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/ike-perlmutter-disney-fired-marvel-not-laid-off
https://www.foxbusiness.com/business-leaders/ike-perlmutter-disney-fired-marvel-not-laid-off
wabbott
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,300
https://www.cnbc.com/2023/04/06/disney-names-first-brand-chief.html
Sarah Whitten@sarahwhit10
Key Points
Ayaz’s appointment comes as Iger, newly returned to the House of Mouse, has begun reorganizing the company’s structure to put content production, streaming and marketing in the hands of creators. He is also seeking to cut $5.5 billion in costs. The company also recently rolled out its first wave of layoffs as it seeks to cut 7,000 jobs this year.
Iger has said he plans on paring back Disney’s general entertainment content while maintaining a focus on streaming.
On Wednesday, the company tapped Joe Earley to take over the role of president of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment. He replaces Michael Paull, and leaves his post as president of Hulu.
The new appointment also comes a week after Disney laid off Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter. Perlmutter, however, Told the Wall Street Journal that he was fired for pushing too aggressively to cut costs and for clashing with creative executives.
Ayaz will continue as president of marketing for Walt Disney Studios, where he has overseen marketing and publicity for the studio’s films and TV series, as well as Disney+, since 2018.
“Asad is an exceptional creative leader with a deep understanding of what Disney means to millins of people around the world,” CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “His taking on this role is particularly noteworthy and consequential as we commemorate our historic 100th anniversary, and I am confident that his strategic, operational, and creative prowess, along with his profound passion for Disney, will make him an outstanding steward of our stories, characters, brands, and franchises.”
Ayaz has handled massive marketing projects for Disney before. Over his 18 years with the company he developed and led marketing campaigns for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Black Panther” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.” He is responsible for the marketing of 13 of the top 15 box office debuts of all time, including the biggest worldwide debut ever: “Avengers: Endgame,” which tallied $1.2 billion in its first five days in theaters.
He will oversee the Disney100 campaign, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the company.
Disney names first brand chief as Iger refocuses on core properties
Published Thu, Apr 6 202312:20 PM EDTUpdated An Hour AgoSarah Whitten@sarahwhit10
Key Points
- Disney named Asad Ayaz as its first-ever chief brand officer, as CEO Bob Iger works to refocus the company on its core entertainment properties.
- Iger has said he plans on paring back Disney’s general entertainment content while maintaining a focus on streaming.
Ayaz’s appointment comes as Iger, newly returned to the House of Mouse, has begun reorganizing the company’s structure to put content production, streaming and marketing in the hands of creators. He is also seeking to cut $5.5 billion in costs. The company also recently rolled out its first wave of layoffs as it seeks to cut 7,000 jobs this year.
Iger has said he plans on paring back Disney’s general entertainment content while maintaining a focus on streaming.
On Wednesday, the company tapped Joe Earley to take over the role of president of direct-to-consumer for Disney Entertainment. He replaces Michael Paull, and leaves his post as president of Hulu.
The new appointment also comes a week after Disney laid off Marvel Entertainment Chairman Ike Perlmutter. Perlmutter, however, Told the Wall Street Journal that he was fired for pushing too aggressively to cut costs and for clashing with creative executives.
Ayaz will continue as president of marketing for Walt Disney Studios, where he has overseen marketing and publicity for the studio’s films and TV series, as well as Disney+, since 2018.
“Asad is an exceptional creative leader with a deep understanding of what Disney means to millins of people around the world,” CEO Bob Iger said in a statement. “His taking on this role is particularly noteworthy and consequential as we commemorate our historic 100th anniversary, and I am confident that his strategic, operational, and creative prowess, along with his profound passion for Disney, will make him an outstanding steward of our stories, characters, brands, and franchises.”
Ayaz has handled massive marketing projects for Disney before. Over his 18 years with the company he developed and led marketing campaigns for “Star Wars: The Force Awakens,” “Black Panther” and “Avatar: The Way of Water.” He is responsible for the marketing of 13 of the top 15 box office debuts of all time, including the biggest worldwide debut ever: “Avengers: Endgame,” which tallied $1.2 billion in its first five days in theaters.
He will oversee the Disney100 campaign, which celebrates the 100th anniversary of the company.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
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- Aug 4, 2021
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https://www.fool.com/investing/2023...hoo-host&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=article
Everything will change on April 20. The pricier but more flexible Incredi, Sorcerer, and Pirate passes will go on sale again for new buyers. Members of the luxury timeshare Disney Vacation Club will see their purchase window open for the Sorcerer pass a week earlier on April 13.
Disney World enthusiasts shaking their heads at the wrong end of the turnstiles will want to be quick. The world's largest theme park operator is making it clear that supplies will be limited, and they can be pulled at any time. When Disney World resumed the sale of annual passes two summers ago they didn't last long. This is still welcome news for those who canceled their year-round admissions in the wake of the pandemic as well as new fans of the Florida resort. It's also welcome news for Disney shareholders, assuring that the entertainment giant continues to experience a healthy trickle of guests even during the seasonally sleepy periods for the resort.
One mouse step at a time
Whether it's the return of Bob Iger as CEO in November or these fan-friendly moves were already on the way, Disney World is taking small steps to narrow the divide between the media giant and its biggest theme park fans. Requiring park reservations -- another sticking point for regulars, but a necessary move for the resort to keep attendance levels manageable and optimize revenue per guest -- aren't going away, but Disney announced two months ago that they will be easing. Come April 18, annual passholders will be able to visit nearly every park after 2 p.m. that isn't at full capacity without making an initial reservation as long as it's not a blockout day for that particular pass. The only exception will be the Magic Kingdom on Saturday and Sunday.
The small steps don't always make headlines, but fans are noticing. A seemingly small measure -- allowing annual passholders staying at Disney-owned resorts to park at their hotels for free again earlier this year -- was celebrated by the enthusiast community. You don't want to turn your biggest fans into your most vocal enemies, and Iger knows it.
This doesn't mean that it's just a matter of time before passholders can party like it's 2019. Price hikes will continue, and justifiably so as operating costs continue to rise and Disney recently signed off on a big hike to minimum wages. The premium-priced Genie+ platform for access to expedited queues that replaced the free FastPass system is likely here to stay. It's been so popular that it has sold out a couple of times already this week.
The point here is the media stocks leader is listening. The Pixie Pass is cheap, setting buyers back $399 for year-round access. It's a bargain since single-day tickets start in the triple digits. However, it's limited to weekdays with plenty of blockout days during peak travel periods. Fans have been clamoring for access to new purchases of more flexible annual passes that offer weekend access, and later this month they're going to get it.
Disney World Brings Back All of Its Annual Passes
By Rick Munarriz – Apr 6, 2023 at 9:45AMKey Points
- Disney World will resume annual pass sales for all four of its year-round offerings on April 20.
- The passes being offered are being described as limited, just as they were two years ago when they didn't last long after hitting the market.
- The media giant has been making enthusiast-friendly moves since Bob Iger returned as CEO, but some revenue-enhancing measures will likely remain.
Everything will change on April 20. The pricier but more flexible Incredi, Sorcerer, and Pirate passes will go on sale again for new buyers. Members of the luxury timeshare Disney Vacation Club will see their purchase window open for the Sorcerer pass a week earlier on April 13.
Disney World enthusiasts shaking their heads at the wrong end of the turnstiles will want to be quick. The world's largest theme park operator is making it clear that supplies will be limited, and they can be pulled at any time. When Disney World resumed the sale of annual passes two summers ago they didn't last long. This is still welcome news for those who canceled their year-round admissions in the wake of the pandemic as well as new fans of the Florida resort. It's also welcome news for Disney shareholders, assuring that the entertainment giant continues to experience a healthy trickle of guests even during the seasonally sleepy periods for the resort.
One mouse step at a time
Whether it's the return of Bob Iger as CEO in November or these fan-friendly moves were already on the way, Disney World is taking small steps to narrow the divide between the media giant and its biggest theme park fans. Requiring park reservations -- another sticking point for regulars, but a necessary move for the resort to keep attendance levels manageable and optimize revenue per guest -- aren't going away, but Disney announced two months ago that they will be easing. Come April 18, annual passholders will be able to visit nearly every park after 2 p.m. that isn't at full capacity without making an initial reservation as long as it's not a blockout day for that particular pass. The only exception will be the Magic Kingdom on Saturday and Sunday.
The small steps don't always make headlines, but fans are noticing. A seemingly small measure -- allowing annual passholders staying at Disney-owned resorts to park at their hotels for free again earlier this year -- was celebrated by the enthusiast community. You don't want to turn your biggest fans into your most vocal enemies, and Iger knows it.
This doesn't mean that it's just a matter of time before passholders can party like it's 2019. Price hikes will continue, and justifiably so as operating costs continue to rise and Disney recently signed off on a big hike to minimum wages. The premium-priced Genie+ platform for access to expedited queues that replaced the free FastPass system is likely here to stay. It's been so popular that it has sold out a couple of times already this week.
The point here is the media stocks leader is listening. The Pixie Pass is cheap, setting buyers back $399 for year-round access. It's a bargain since single-day tickets start in the triple digits. However, it's limited to weekdays with plenty of blockout days during peak travel periods. Fans have been clamoring for access to new purchases of more flexible annual passes that offer weekend access, and later this month they're going to get it.
I don't recall hearing about this guy before but that is a pretty impressive line on his resume!
Jrb1979
DIS Veteran
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- Dec 2, 2018
- Messages
- 5,080
It's nice to see them back. My feelings is they were only brought back due to bookings being down this summer. I don't see them being available long.
wabbott
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2021
- Messages
- 6,300
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/...-shows-franchise-future-lucasfilm-1235577137/
Apr 7, 2023 3:05pm PT
By Adam B. Vary
The Future of Star Wars: With Three New Films and a Prequel Series, Lucasfilm Takes Its Biggest Gamble Yet
The past, present and future of Star Wars was on ample display on Friday at the Star Wars Celebration fan convention, as Lucasfilm unveiled the most robust look yet at the company’s plans for the hallowed franchise. As studio chief Kathleen Kennedy revealed three new feature films and first looks at four upcoming TV series, Lucasfilm made clear it aims to test just how far it can stretch the Star Wars galaxy: creatively, logistically and even historically.
Starting with “The Phantom Menace” and concluding with “The Rise of Skywalker,” the previous nine “Star Wars” movies have all taken place within a roughly 70-year timeline, straddling the climactic Battle of Yavin in “A New Hope” that has served as the official fulcrum point for the franchise for six decades. Every live-action and animated spinoff TV series has unfolded within that timeframe, including the shows launched on Disney+: “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Andor,” “The Bad Batch” and the upcoming shows “Ahsoka” and “Skeleton Crew.” (“Visions,” an animated anthology series launched in 2021, exists outside of Star Wars canon.)
Between the hordes of Star Wars tie-in novels, comic books and video games, however, hardcore fans know that the full history of the franchise stretches over tens of thousands of years, and Lucasfilm intends to begin exploiting that vaster narrative landscape in live-action, starting with “The Acolyte.” First announced in 2020, the Disney+ series breaks brand new ground on two fronts: It’s set roughly 100 years before the events of “The Phantom Menace,” and it will track the rise of the Sith during the waning days of the High Republic.
“I really wanted to delve into the Star Wars universe and tell the story of this entire world that I love so much from the perspective of the villains,” creator and showrunner Leslye Headland said during the presentation on Friday. “The first thing that became apparent was that we’re going to have to set this between the High Republic and the beginning of the prequels. Not only because it’s such an exciting part of the timeline, but also because this is when the bad guys are outnumbered. They are the underdogs.”
Later, Kennedy revealed that director James Mangold (“Logan,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”) will be directing a feature film set a whopping 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin, in what amounts to an origin story for the Force, the singular metaphysic thread that binds together the entire franchise. Talking with Variety after the presentation, Mangold evoked the kind of Biblical epics that dominated Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s.
“When I first talked to Kathy Kennedy about it, I said, ‘I just see this opening to make kind of a ‘Ben-Hur’ or ‘Ten Commandments’ about the birth of the Force,’” Mangold said. “The Force has become a kind of religious legend that spans through all these movies. But where did it come from? How was it found? Who found it? Who was the first Jedi? That’s what I’m writing right now.”
Both of these projects push well beyond what audiences have come to think of as Star Wars, not just in terms of when they’re set, but in what they’re about: No Skywalkers, no Empire, focusing on characters who live within darkness and chaos. For the core fandom, it’s enormously exciting, filled with the promise of bringing to life time periods that have only existed on the arcane periphery of the franchise. But Star Wars became a decades-spanning pop-culture phenomenon not because of the dense sprawl of its mythology, but because of the imaginative spark of its storytelling and the lovable verve of its characters.
Already, the tension between those impulses — delighting the core fanbase while engaging much broader casual audience — has exposed some telling cracks in how far Star Wars can stretch itself. For its first two seasons, “The Mandalorian” was a down-the-middle-of-the-plate adventure show, tracking the growing bond between its taciturn titular character and his adorable ward Grogu as they explored galaxy together. Season 3 of “The Mandalorian,” however, has back-burnered that relationship in favor of diving deep into the cultural and religious lore of Mandalore and the diaspora of warriors struggling to survive after the fall of the planet.
Audience response has been muted to outright hostile: Casual fans have bemoaned having to follow increasingly abstruse mythology (Mythosaurs! Darksabers!), while hardcore fans have blasted more populist storytelling choices, like casting Lizzo, Jack Black and Christopher Lloyd in guest star roles that, to some, felt distractingly out of place within the larger story.
Those kinds of reactions will only grow louder and messier as Lucasfilm continues to expand the definition of what a Star Wars project can be. “Skeleton Crew” will be the first Star Wars title with a cast made up almost entirely of children (alongside Jude Law), while “Ahsoka” will pull extensively from the animated “Clone Wars” series that first introduced its title character (played by Rosario Dawson). Both of those shows, along with “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” will then climax in an upcoming feature film directed by Lucasfilm veteran Dave Filoni — a clear attempt to bring the Marvel Studios model of mutli-threaded franchise building to a galaxy far, far away.
That means that each of these shows must seed storylines into the others, which is how “The Book of Boba Fett” wound up spending two episodes focused on resolving the massive Season 2 cliffhanger from “The Mandalorian.” On Friday, Lucasfilm hinted that the seaweed-y pirate Gorian Shard from “Mandalorian’s” third season will show up on “Skeleton Crew,” and it appears the Season 3 finale of “The Mandalorian” will set up the major conflict on “Ahsoka.” Even “Andor” — the show that has, to great acclaim, set itself apart from all the other Star Wars series, narratively and creatively — isn’t exempt: Rebel leader Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) will appear on “Ahsoka,” set roughly a decade after her run on “Andor.”
All of these intertwining storylines leaves the overall feeling that these aren’t individual shows as much as they’re all one big “Star Wars” series with different logos attached. That’s music to the ears of Disney executives who need a constant feed of content to keep Disney+ subscribers on board, but it’s an increasingly daunting prospect for anyone dedicated to keeping up with it all.
Meanwhile, Lucasfilm is also focusing on the literal future of the franchise by bringing Daisy Ridley back to reprise her performance as Rey from the sequel trilogy of films, as she builds back the Jedi while facing down a new threat. The studio is calculating that, despite widespread antipathy for “The Rise of Skywalker,” audiences are keen to follow Rey’s story into uncharted narrative territory.
In director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Lucasfilm is also banking that the Oscar-winning documentarian — who has never directed a live-action narrative feature — is the right filmmaker to forge Star Wars into a new horizon.
“I’ve spent the better part of my life by meeting real heroes who are overcoming oppressive regimes and battling impossible odds,” Obaid-Chinoy said on Friday. “I think that’s the heart of Star Wars. And that’s why I’m attracted to the promise of a new Jedi order and I’m attracted to the idea of immersing myself in a Jedi Academy with a powerful Jedi Master.”
The director then brought Ridley to the stage, to thunderous cheers.
Clearly overwhelmed, Ridley had only a few words to say: “I’m very thrilled to be continuing this journey.”
Lucasfilm hopes audiences will follow.
Amon Warmann contributed to this story.
Apr 7, 2023 3:05pm PT
By Adam B. Vary
The Future of Star Wars: With Three New Films and a Prequel Series, Lucasfilm Takes Its Biggest Gamble Yet
The past, present and future of Star Wars was on ample display on Friday at the Star Wars Celebration fan convention, as Lucasfilm unveiled the most robust look yet at the company’s plans for the hallowed franchise. As studio chief Kathleen Kennedy revealed three new feature films and first looks at four upcoming TV series, Lucasfilm made clear it aims to test just how far it can stretch the Star Wars galaxy: creatively, logistically and even historically.
Starting with “The Phantom Menace” and concluding with “The Rise of Skywalker,” the previous nine “Star Wars” movies have all taken place within a roughly 70-year timeline, straddling the climactic Battle of Yavin in “A New Hope” that has served as the official fulcrum point for the franchise for six decades. Every live-action and animated spinoff TV series has unfolded within that timeframe, including the shows launched on Disney+: “The Mandalorian,” “The Book of Boba Fett,” “Andor,” “The Bad Batch” and the upcoming shows “Ahsoka” and “Skeleton Crew.” (“Visions,” an animated anthology series launched in 2021, exists outside of Star Wars canon.)
Between the hordes of Star Wars tie-in novels, comic books and video games, however, hardcore fans know that the full history of the franchise stretches over tens of thousands of years, and Lucasfilm intends to begin exploiting that vaster narrative landscape in live-action, starting with “The Acolyte.” First announced in 2020, the Disney+ series breaks brand new ground on two fronts: It’s set roughly 100 years before the events of “The Phantom Menace,” and it will track the rise of the Sith during the waning days of the High Republic.
“I really wanted to delve into the Star Wars universe and tell the story of this entire world that I love so much from the perspective of the villains,” creator and showrunner Leslye Headland said during the presentation on Friday. “The first thing that became apparent was that we’re going to have to set this between the High Republic and the beginning of the prequels. Not only because it’s such an exciting part of the timeline, but also because this is when the bad guys are outnumbered. They are the underdogs.”
Later, Kennedy revealed that director James Mangold (“Logan,” “Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny”) will be directing a feature film set a whopping 25,000 years before the Battle of Yavin, in what amounts to an origin story for the Force, the singular metaphysic thread that binds together the entire franchise. Talking with Variety after the presentation, Mangold evoked the kind of Biblical epics that dominated Hollywood in the 1940s and 1950s.
“When I first talked to Kathy Kennedy about it, I said, ‘I just see this opening to make kind of a ‘Ben-Hur’ or ‘Ten Commandments’ about the birth of the Force,’” Mangold said. “The Force has become a kind of religious legend that spans through all these movies. But where did it come from? How was it found? Who found it? Who was the first Jedi? That’s what I’m writing right now.”
Both of these projects push well beyond what audiences have come to think of as Star Wars, not just in terms of when they’re set, but in what they’re about: No Skywalkers, no Empire, focusing on characters who live within darkness and chaos. For the core fandom, it’s enormously exciting, filled with the promise of bringing to life time periods that have only existed on the arcane periphery of the franchise. But Star Wars became a decades-spanning pop-culture phenomenon not because of the dense sprawl of its mythology, but because of the imaginative spark of its storytelling and the lovable verve of its characters.
Already, the tension between those impulses — delighting the core fanbase while engaging much broader casual audience — has exposed some telling cracks in how far Star Wars can stretch itself. For its first two seasons, “The Mandalorian” was a down-the-middle-of-the-plate adventure show, tracking the growing bond between its taciturn titular character and his adorable ward Grogu as they explored galaxy together. Season 3 of “The Mandalorian,” however, has back-burnered that relationship in favor of diving deep into the cultural and religious lore of Mandalore and the diaspora of warriors struggling to survive after the fall of the planet.
Audience response has been muted to outright hostile: Casual fans have bemoaned having to follow increasingly abstruse mythology (Mythosaurs! Darksabers!), while hardcore fans have blasted more populist storytelling choices, like casting Lizzo, Jack Black and Christopher Lloyd in guest star roles that, to some, felt distractingly out of place within the larger story.
Those kinds of reactions will only grow louder and messier as Lucasfilm continues to expand the definition of what a Star Wars project can be. “Skeleton Crew” will be the first Star Wars title with a cast made up almost entirely of children (alongside Jude Law), while “Ahsoka” will pull extensively from the animated “Clone Wars” series that first introduced its title character (played by Rosario Dawson). Both of those shows, along with “The Mandalorian” and “The Book of Boba Fett,” will then climax in an upcoming feature film directed by Lucasfilm veteran Dave Filoni — a clear attempt to bring the Marvel Studios model of mutli-threaded franchise building to a galaxy far, far away.
That means that each of these shows must seed storylines into the others, which is how “The Book of Boba Fett” wound up spending two episodes focused on resolving the massive Season 2 cliffhanger from “The Mandalorian.” On Friday, Lucasfilm hinted that the seaweed-y pirate Gorian Shard from “Mandalorian’s” third season will show up on “Skeleton Crew,” and it appears the Season 3 finale of “The Mandalorian” will set up the major conflict on “Ahsoka.” Even “Andor” — the show that has, to great acclaim, set itself apart from all the other Star Wars series, narratively and creatively — isn’t exempt: Rebel leader Mon Mothma (Genevieve O’Reilly) will appear on “Ahsoka,” set roughly a decade after her run on “Andor.”
All of these intertwining storylines leaves the overall feeling that these aren’t individual shows as much as they’re all one big “Star Wars” series with different logos attached. That’s music to the ears of Disney executives who need a constant feed of content to keep Disney+ subscribers on board, but it’s an increasingly daunting prospect for anyone dedicated to keeping up with it all.
Meanwhile, Lucasfilm is also focusing on the literal future of the franchise by bringing Daisy Ridley back to reprise her performance as Rey from the sequel trilogy of films, as she builds back the Jedi while facing down a new threat. The studio is calculating that, despite widespread antipathy for “The Rise of Skywalker,” audiences are keen to follow Rey’s story into uncharted narrative territory.
In director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, Lucasfilm is also banking that the Oscar-winning documentarian — who has never directed a live-action narrative feature — is the right filmmaker to forge Star Wars into a new horizon.
“I’ve spent the better part of my life by meeting real heroes who are overcoming oppressive regimes and battling impossible odds,” Obaid-Chinoy said on Friday. “I think that’s the heart of Star Wars. And that’s why I’m attracted to the promise of a new Jedi order and I’m attracted to the idea of immersing myself in a Jedi Academy with a powerful Jedi Master.”
The director then brought Ridley to the stage, to thunderous cheers.
Clearly overwhelmed, Ridley had only a few words to say: “I’m very thrilled to be continuing this journey.”
Lucasfilm hopes audiences will follow.
Amon Warmann contributed to this story.
Jrb1979
DIS Veteran
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- Dec 2, 2018
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- 5,080
https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/super-mario-bros-movie-box-office-smash-98460059
Super Mario is a massive hit. It broke Frozen 2's record. Universal is a major IP on their hands with Nintendo.
Super Mario is a massive hit. It broke Frozen 2's record. Universal is a major IP on their hands with Nintendo.
wabbott
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- Aug 4, 2021
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https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/m...s-movie-box-office-record-opening-1235369721/
Box Office: ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Opens to Stupendous $204.6M in U.S., Record $377M Globally
The movie scored the top global launch ever for an animated pic, and the second-best domestically. Ben Affleck's adult-skewing drama 'Air' opens to $20.2 million in a win for Amazon's foray into theatrical.
By Pamela McClintock - April 9, 2023 7:54am PDT
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/super-mario-bros-movie-global-opening-weekend-record-1235577667/
By Rebecca Rubin - Apr 9, 2023 9:18am PDT
‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Powers to Massive $377 Million Globally, Including $173 Million at International Box Office
https://deadline.com/2023/04/the-su...a-global-international-box-office-1235318557/
Bowza!: ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ Makes History With $378M Global Start; Best-Ever WW Debut For An Animated Film & No. 2 Overseas Launch With $173M – International Box Office
By Nancy Tartaglione
International Box Office Editor/Senior Contributor
April 9, 2023 8:02am PDT
https://www.thewrap.com/super-mario-bros-animation-box-office-record/
‘Super Mario Bros.’ Passes ‘Frozen II’ for Highest Animated Global Box Office Opening With $377 Million
by Jeremy Fuster | Aril 9, 2023 @ 7:56 AM PDT
Box Office: ‘Super Mario Bros.’ Opens to Stupendous $204.6M in U.S., Record $377M Globally
The movie scored the top global launch ever for an animated pic, and the second-best domestically. Ben Affleck's adult-skewing drama 'Air' opens to $20.2 million in a win for Amazon's foray into theatrical.
By Pamela McClintock - April 9, 2023 7:54am PDT
https://variety.com/2023/film/news/super-mario-bros-movie-global-opening-weekend-record-1235577667/
By Rebecca Rubin - Apr 9, 2023 9:18am PDT
‘Super Mario Bros. Movie’ Powers to Massive $377 Million Globally, Including $173 Million at International Box Office
https://deadline.com/2023/04/the-su...a-global-international-box-office-1235318557/
Bowza!: ‘The Super Mario Bros Movie’ Makes History With $378M Global Start; Best-Ever WW Debut For An Animated Film & No. 2 Overseas Launch With $173M – International Box Office
By Nancy Tartaglione
International Box Office Editor/Senior Contributor
April 9, 2023 8:02am PDT
https://www.thewrap.com/super-mario-bros-animation-box-office-record/
‘Super Mario Bros.’ Passes ‘Frozen II’ for Highest Animated Global Box Office Opening With $377 Million
by Jeremy Fuster | Aril 9, 2023 @ 7:56 AM PDT
HokieRaven5
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It’s fun. Don’t go in expecting there to be much of a story. It’s a love letter to Mario/Nintendo fans young and old. So many Easter eggs from the history of the franchise and Nintendo.
Hopefully any subsequent sequels will be more plot driven, but this one works for what it is.
wabbott
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https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-video-streaming-numbers-game-is-shifting-5cca8d5?siteid=yhoof2
Warner has scheduled an event for this week to introduce an offering that will combine its HBO Max and Discovery+ services onto a single platform.
By Dan Gallagher
April 10, 2023 7:00 am ET
Once it seemed there was never anything good on TV. Streaming has only solved part of the problem.
Viewers certainly are awash in content: According to Reelgood, which aggregates data from streaming platforms, subscribers can currently choose from a total of 36,674 TV shows and movies among the nine largest subscription-based streaming services, at any time day or night. But quantity doesn’t mean quality; only 46% of those shows and movies are considered quality or high-quality offerings based on their IMDb viewer scores, according to Reelgood’s data
The Video Streaming Numbers Game Is Shifting
Dan GallagherWarner has scheduled an event for this week to introduce an offering that will combine its HBO Max and Discovery+ services onto a single platform.
By Dan Gallagher
April 10, 2023 7:00 am ET
Once it seemed there was never anything good on TV. Streaming has only solved part of the problem.
Viewers certainly are awash in content: According to Reelgood, which aggregates data from streaming platforms, subscribers can currently choose from a total of 36,674 TV shows and movies among the nine largest subscription-based streaming services, at any time day or night. But quantity doesn’t mean quality; only 46% of those shows and movies are considered quality or high-quality offerings based on their IMDb viewer scores, according to Reelgood’s data
I would like to point out that Frozen 2 did open up on a Friday vs Mario's Wednesday opening. Still a huge opening and broke the record but Mario did have a 5 day opening vs Frozen 2's 3 day opening.
Regardless of that, Mario should still end up as a top 5 highest grossing animated movie.
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