THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER 65 OCTOBER 16, 2019
when Bergman, 53, was upped
to co-chairman. They’ve had a
dizzying year, absorbing 20th
Century Fox and breaking records
at the box office, where their films
have collected $8 billion-plus,
with Frozen II and Star Wars: The
Rise of Skywalker still to come.
Another first: Five 2019 releases
have earned $1 billion or more
worldwide, led by the top-grossing
pic of all time, Marvel’s Avengers:
Endgame. Fox has endured a rough
year, but upcoming titles Ford v
Ferrari and Searchlight’s JoJo
Rabbit put Disney — which now
commands more than 40 percent
of theatrical market share — back
in the awards race. “No one could
have contemplated the idea that we
would acquire ... one of the original
majors,” says Horn, 76. “This is a
game-changer.”
THE IP YOU’D LOVE TO CONTROL
Horn: “All DC comics. It would be
really fun to have DC.”
YOU FIND BOB IGER’S PHONE.
WHICH CONTACT DO YOU CALL?
Bergman: Paul McCartney.11 JEFF SHELLChairman, NBCUniversal
Film and Entertainment
RON MEYER
Vice chairmanCOMCAST/NBCUNIVERSALShell, 54, had much to celebrate
as 2019 rang in: The former Filmed
Entertainment Group chair’s
duties were expanded to include
dominion over NBC Entertainment,
Telemundo and NBC’s interna-
tional operations. His promotion
cemented his favored-nation status
with NBCU CEO Steve Burke (Shell
arrived at Universal from Comcast)
and set him up as a potential suc-
cessor. Revenue is down slightly
year-over-year at the film studio,
but profitability is another matter.
Us earned $255 million globally
against a $21 million budget. On the
franchise side, Fast & Furious spi-
noff Hobbs & Shaw ($758 million)
exceeded expectations. Meyer, 75,
serves as key consigliere to Shell
and Donna Langley, who reigns
over Shell’s former domain.
THE LAST APP SOMEONE UNDER
13 HAD TO EXPLAIN TO YOU
Shell: Peloton. Meyer: “Any app a
13-year-old can understand is over
my head.”Holland: Guilty Feminist.
Stuber: “With three kids under 10,
a long drive with a podcast is not in
my immediate future.”
8 PETER RICE Chairman Walt Disney TV
THE WALT DISNEY CO.
Since Disney swallowed up most
of 21st Century Fox’s assets, the
52-year-old former Fox exec’s
portfolio has ballooned to include
four studios (20th TV, ABC Studios,
Fox 21, FX Productions) and 11 net-
works (including ABC, FX, National
Geographic and Disney Channel),
plus eight owned stations and ABC
News. Rice, a Murdoch confidant
and possible successor to Disney
CEO Bob Iger, has a clear mandate
in the streaming arms race: to seed
Disney+ with “high-quality, impact-
ful” content, he says.
A TOP TALENT (NOT ON YOUR
PLATFORM) WHOM YOU ADMIRE
Leslye Headland.
9 KEVIN MAYER
Chairman Direct-to-consumer
and international
THE WALT DISNEY CO.
With a Nov. 12 Disney+ launch
looming (see story, page 58), it’s
up to strategy chief Mayer, 57, to
ensure that the service reaches
profitability (and its 60 million to
90 million subscriber goal) by 2024.
Mayer also oversees ESPN+ and
Hulu and plans to bundle the three
services for $13 a month in a bid
to hit as many as 160 million total
subscribers worldwide within the
next five years. Of rumors that he’s
a candidate to succeed Bob Iger, he
says, “I’m doing my job, and that’s
all I’m focused on doing.”
1 0 ALAN HORN
Chief content officer
and co-chairman
The Walt Disney Studios
ALAN BERGMAN
Co-chairman
The Walt Disney Studios
THE WALT DISNEY CO.
Meet Hollywood’s billion-dollar
work buddies: Horn, the creative
brain, and Bergman, the guy who
makes sure the trains run. Their
partnership was cemented in May
1 2 BOB BAKISH
President and CEO ViacomCBS
JOE IANNIELLO
Chairman and CEO CBS
VIACOMCBSBakish, 55, and Ianniello, 51, are
tasked with unifying disparate
cultures at the merged entity that
spans from Paramount (home of
Mission: Impossible) to 60 Minutes.
For Bakish, that also means
making good on his promise to
generate synergy value and bring
forth $500 million in postmerger
cost savings. Ianniello took on
the CEO job at CBS after Leslie
Moonves resigned in September
2018 following sexual misconduct
allegations — but the interim CEOwas poised to leave postmerger
(the board and ViacomCBS chair-
man Shari Redstone persuaded
him to stay). Now overseeing
CBS Entertainment, News and
Sports and all of the branded
assets including CBS All Access,
which he championed when it
launched five years ago, he has
shuffled executives all through-
out the company — elevating
Showtime head David Nevins to
CBS chief creative officer and
Susan Zirinsky to the top of the
news division.
LAST BIG SPLURGE Bakish: “Gibson
1959 60th Anniversary Les Paul
guitar.” Ianniello: “I personally
commissioned artwork that depicts
the CBS eye using nearly 1,000 jel-
lybeans made up of 17 flavors.”Kevin Feige