It was a warm day on the studio lot in Burbank, California, and the CEO’s top lieutenants joined him to help with the judging. A George Lucas look-alike paraded by, which made Iger smile, then a merry Mary Poppins. But it had been a painful year at the Magic Kingdom, and the group representing Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion tilted a little dark. One of them hoisted a sign with a hatchet, dripping blood, a picture of Iger altered so he was smiling like Jack Nicholson in The Shining and the words, “I’m back!! 4 DAYS A WEEK BABY!!” The hatchet was presumably a symbol for cuts and layoffs, the creepy prose a reference to Iger’s unpopular return-to-work policy. “The vibe has been tough,” one Disney employee told us earlier this year. “They really put us through the ringer.”
In November 2022, Iger made a surprise return to Disney following a much-heralded (and very brief ) retirement to clean up the messes created by his handpicked successor, Bob Chapek, and deal with a radically altered entertainment landscape. Within a year, he eliminated 8,000 positions as part of a $7.5 billion cost-cutting plan. Several of the company’s recent sequels, live-action remakes, and IP efforts had disappointed at the box office.
Wall Street was pressuring him to make Disney+ profitable. The debilitating actors and writers strikes were underway. And billionaire activist investor Nelson Peltz was threatening an assault on the Magic Kingdom. The CEO’s latest contract is set to expire at the end of 2026, after he turns 75, and some of the lieutenants who helped him judge the costume contest are now in the running to be America’s next topIger.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Vanity Fair US.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Vanity Fair US.
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SETTING THE STAGE
Before they conquered Hollywood, George Segal, Peter Falk, Roy Scheider, and Wayne Rogers were some of the finest-though perhaps not the finest-stage actors in New York. WAYNE LAWSON, who knew them when, revisits a golden era that revolutionized American theater
HOPE AND CHANGE?
As the threat of another Trump presidency looms, AMERICA TURNS ITS EYES TO THE OBAMAS, who remain two of the most important politicians in the world-whether they like it or not
The Natural
Comedy, singing, scandal, attempted murder: Meghann Fahy, the breakout star of The White Lotus and now The Perfect Couple, can do it all
FULL-COURT PRESS
Microsoft made him one of the richest men alive. Now STEVE BALLMER is chasing one of the few prizes money (alone) can't buy: an NBA championship for his team, the Los Angeles Clippers, whose staggeringly expensive state-of-the-art arena opens this summer
THE TWISTED LOVE STORY OF JOSE AND LADDY BETTY
A 95-year-old diamond heiress and her much younger genderfluid spouse became social media stars. Was theirs a feelgood romance for the agesor something far darker?
CONSIDER
NO ONE KNOWS CANDIDATE ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.'S PROBLEMATIC HISTORY BETTER THAN HIS FAMILY. JOE HAGAN TALKS TO THAT RELUCTANT INNER CIRCLE ABOUT KENNEDY'S PAST AND THE STAKES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE
Paris When It Sizzled
IN 1973, FIVE AMERICAN DESIGNERS AND 36 MODELS DESCENDED ON THE CITY OF LIGHT FOR WHAT WOULD BECOME AN ERA-DEFINING FASHION SHOW-AND WITH THEM WAS PHOTOGRAPHER BILL CUNNINGHAM. HERE, AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT HIS TREASURE TROVE OF LARGELY UNSEEN PHOTOS, PUBLISHED TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
JENNA ORTEGA'S YEAR OF WONDER
THE BREAKOUT STAR OF WEDNESDAY SETTLES INTO FAME AND WITH A BEETLEJUICE SEQUEL ON THE HORIZON GETS READY FOR MORE OF IT
Playing It STRAIGHT
Dynamic young stars have broken out in queer roles. Should their own sexuality matter?
Another COUNTRY
Searching for James Baldwin in the South of France
