Disney chief Bob Iger. (Photo by Tommaso Boddi/Variety via Getty Images)
When Disney chief Bob Iger kicked off the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday, he wasn’t dialing in from Burbank. “I am joining you from the United Arab Emirates,” he said, “where we just announced an agreement to bring a Disney theme park to Abu Dhabi.” Framing the announcement as a “defining moment” in the company’s 101-year history—on par with the opening of Disneyland in 1955—Iger described the new resort as “authentically Disney and distinctly Emirati,” a futuristic "oasis" for a region he called “the crossroads of the world.”
The news landed with a global bang, drawing headlines around the world. It marks Disney’s first new theme park destination in more than a decade and introduced a major partnership with the Miral Group, the U.A.E.’s state-backed entertainment company. But one detail was notably absent from the announcement. Iger didn’t mention it when speaking to investors, nor did it appear in the company's official press release.
But I've learned, from multiple people familiar with the matter, that…
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Shari Redstone. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Senators Pressure Shari: A group of nine Democratic U.S. senators—including Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Richard Blumenthal—wrote Paramount chair Shari Redstone and urged her not to settle Donald Trump's absurd lawsuit against "60 Minutes." In the letter…
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