Disney on Monday clarified a long-awaited question in the movies section: Alan Bergman, 54, has been appointed chairman, Alan F Horn, 77 years old, respected Hollywood figure who has led Walt Disney Studios since 2012. Mr. Horn will continue to serve as head of creativity.
“It has been an honor to lead Walt Disney Studios for the past eight years or more,” said Mr. Horne in a statement. “It seems the time is right to just shift my focus to our enormous creativity roster.” This month, Disney said its movie division will Significantly increase his production To provide Disney +, the company’s one-year-old live streaming service, whose popularity skyrocketed during the coronavirus pandemic.
Mr. Bergman joined Walt Disney Studios in 1996 and rose through the ranks of business, overseeing finance, technology, legal and human resources. Most recently, he served as the co-chair of the division, which includes Pixar, 20th Century Studios, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Blue Sky Studios, Searchlight Pictures, Walt Disney Animation, Disney Live Movies, and Disney Live Theatrical Shows. Disney said the heads of those units would report jointly to Mr. Bergmann and Mr. Horne. Mr. Bergmann and Mr. Horn will report to Bob Tangle, CEO of Disney.
“With this new structure, we are ensuring a vital continuity of leadership,” Mr. Tashab said in a statement. Mr. Bergman said he was “grateful for taking on this role” and thanked Mr. Tashkeb for his “continued support, especially during this difficult year”.
A spokesman declined to say how long Horn would serve in the post. The structure is reminiscent of the way Disney has recently handled succession at its highest levels, announcing in February that Robert Eiger will step down as CEO to become CEO and focus on the company’s creative endeavors. Mr Egger has said he will be completely out in late 2021, when his contract expires.
Under Mr. Horne’s leadership, Disney has become the dominant film company in Hollywood, by far. In the last year, Disney controlled nearly 40 percent of the domestic box office, and seven of its releases grossed more than $ 1 billion worldwide. Mr. Horne was previously Chief Executive Officer of Film at Warner Bros. Christopher Nolan’s “Dark Knight” supervised the “Harry Potter” series of eight films and trilogy. Prior to that, he co-founded Castle Rock Entertainment, with movies including “When Harry Met Sally” and “A Few Good Men”.
