Hollywood Week: Peltz Gains in Disney Fight, Tonys, Louis Gossett Jr.
- Details
- Category: Entertainment News
- Published on Saturday, 30 March 2024 12:08
- Written by Janet Walker
The fight by Activist Nelson Peltz to control two seats on the Disney Board of Directors has gained momentum in the final days before the shareholders vote to determine if the current twelve-member board will remain.
Disney Fights Gets Ugly
Activist Nelson Peltz has gained the confidence of another large investor firm in his fight to gain two seats on the Disney Board of Directors as California Public Employees Retirement Fund announced Friday it had cast votes to remove two longstanding board members.
Hollywood Week: Disney Proxy Fight, UTA/Medialink, Kate Middleton
"CalPERS believes Walt Disney Co will benefit from fresh eyes on its board of directors and voted its company shares in favor of candidates Nelson Peltz and Jay Rasulo," CalPERS, which owned 6.65 million shares in the media giant at the end of December, told the outlet," reported The Hollywood Reporter.
Four additional investment firms, TRIAN Partners, of which Peltz is a founding partner, Egan-Jones, and Institutional Shareholders Services and Blackwell, are recommending their clients vote for the removal of Maria Elena Lagomasino, 74, and Michael B.G. Forman, 61, President of the Council on Foreign Affairs claiming the two, while very accomplished, have attained the success in businesses largely unrelated to DISNEY or any of its entities, which fail to add to the direction.
Current CEO Bob Iger, whose contract is set to expire in 2026, passed the torch in 2020, just as the height of the pandemic forced nationwide closures of public venues, resulting in a revenue freefall. He returned to lead the company in 2022, with finding a successor the priority of his tenure.
Hollywood Week: AMC Revenue, Oscar Presenters Named, Pro Ball Rapist Sentenced, Richard Lewis, Iris Apfel
The determined Peltz has been a contentious thorn, over the past two years, as he has continued his efforts to gain two seats on the Disney Board using the potential loss of Iger as leader as the fear point for investors.
"What remains missing is tangible progress towards succession to give investors sufficient confidence that the company will not run aground after Iger departs, and in doing so, avoid future mutinies," ISS wrote in its pro-Peltz recommendation earlier this month," Yahoo!Finance reported.
Ariana DeBose Named Tonys Host
Academy Award winning actress Ariana DeBose has been named to host the 2024 Tony Awards. This is the third time DeBose has hosted the live theater awards ceremony. The 77th annual awards show is et to air live June 16, 2024.
'"I couldn't pass up the chance to host the Tonys one more time at Lincoln Center. I'm excited to collaborate with the team to create an incredible celebration of this season's achievements on Broadway for our community and for everyone at home," DeBose said," reported The Hollywood Reporter.
Janet Walker, Award-Winning Screenwriter, Director, Producer, and Publisher, Unveils Slate at EFM
Louis Gossett Jr., Dead at 87
Louis Gossett Jr., the first African American to win a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award, died this week in Santa Monica. He was 87.
Gossett, who had a seven-decade career that spanned stage, screen, and film, has been remembered for his award-winning performance in An Officer and A Gentleman, embodying the role of Marine Drill Sargent Emil Foley opposite Richard Gere.
"Reviewing the movie in The New York Times, Vincent Canby described Sergeant Foley as a cruel taskmaster "recycled as a man of recognizable cunning, dedication and humor" revealed in "the kind of performance that wins awards,"' reported The New York Times. The classic and timeless performance has aged well, and still resonates with audiences.
Hollywood Week: Berlin Film Festival, Superbowl Breakfast 2024, Bart Starr Award, European Film Market
With the Academy Award win in 1983, Gossett became the first person of color to win the Best Supporting Academy Award role, and only one of three others, Sidney Poitier in 1964, who received a Best Actor in a Leading role, and Hattie McDaniels, who won Best Supporting Actress for her role, in 1940, as "Mammy," in the classic drama Gone With The Wind.
Before the 1982 performance, Gossett, played "Fiddler," in the groundbreaking television series "Roots," from author Alex Haley, which made him one of a group of standout Black actors, who could be counted on to embrace and elevate any role.
Beginning his career in a time in American History when African Americans were still segregated and subjugated to inhumane treatment, the entertainment community slowly became to embrace the talents of the black community. His performance as George Murchison, 1961, opposite Sidney Poitier, and Ruby Dee in "A Raisin in the Sun," earned him critical notice which became the beginning of a long and illustrious career.
