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Welcome back to What I’m Hearing. Happy July Fourth from my secret summer lair, and happy 50th Disney employee anniversary to Bob Iger, who, I assume, is now eligible for discounted turkey legs at all Disney parks (while supplies last).
Hollywood is clearing out for the week, so if you’re already in Aspen or on the boat, congrats. If you’re stuck in the office or secretly working on the screenplay you’ll never sell, I’m sorry. What I’m Hearing is dark on Thursday, then back next Monday. WIH+ will arrive as usual tomorrow.
Programming note: On The Town, Lucas Shaw and I offered the most undercovered and overcovered stories of the first half of 2024, Mark Gill explained how much Kevin Costner stands to lose on Horizon, and Ben Smith and I pondered the impact of the Joe Biden situation on CNN. Subscribe here and here.
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Discussed in this issue: Chris Meledandri, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Bob Iger, Mike Cavanagh, Robert Kraft, Daniel Katz, Donna Langley, Jason Blum, Peter Chernin, Dr. Neal ElAttrache, and… Casey Wasserman’s very Nate ’n Al birthday party.
But first…
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| Even by today’s diminished standards, Chris Meledandri isn’t exactly the most dynamic figure in the entertainment industry. Low-key, dressed down, boring. He’s better over lunch—articulate, chatty, even a little gossipy—but if you told a random person that this is the most powerful producer in Hollywood, they’d probably wonder if they were instead looking at that producer’s accountant.
That low profile is probably why the news that Meledandri could soon be a free agent hasn’t... |
