Pizzagate (2016+)
(Washington, D.C., United States of America)

Alan Horn
(Former Chairman Walt Disney Studios, 2012-2020)

Alan Frederick Horn (born February 28, 1943) is an American entertainment industry executive. He is currently the chief creative officer of Walt Disney Studios. Horn previously served as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios from 2012 to 2020.

Career

Horn worked at Norman Lear’s television production companies, Tandem Productions and Embassy Communications, the latter of which he was chairman before becoming president of 20th Century Fox in October 1986 soon after it was acquired by Rupert Murdoch. He was one of the founders of Castle Rock Entertainment in 1987. There, he oversaw films including A Few Good Men, The Green Mile, When Harry Met Sally, and the TV sitcom Seinfeld.

Horn became President and COO of Warner Bros. in 1999, where he ran the studio in partnership with Chairman and CEO Barry Meyer for 12 years. Under Horn’s leadership, Warner Bros. had many hits, including the Harry Potter series and Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Trilogy. He was also the executive producer on all three films in The Hobbit Trilogy. At age 68, Horn was forced to retire as President and COO of Warner Bros., at the behest of Time Warner Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Bewkes who wanted to groom younger talent to take over at the studio, with Meyer relinquishing his role as studio CEO in March 2013 to be succeeded by Kevin Tsujihara.

In 2012, at the urging of The Walt Disney Company chairman and CEO Bob Iger, Horn was lured out of retirement to become Chairman of Walt Disney Studios, replacing Rich Ross who was dismissed after conflicts with Pixar executives. Horn established a successful working relationship with Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, and 20th Century Studios which operated with great autonomy under Disney’s overall ownership, while also overseeing strong box office releases from Walt Disney Pictures and Walt Disney Animation Studios.

In 2017, he said of his past professional success:

I have this … theory that whoever is working in a job deserves to stay … unless they prove that they don’t deserve to be in the job.

On May 1, 2019, Alan Horn was given the added title of chief creative officer (CCO) of Walt Disney Studios. In December 2020, it was announced that effective January 1, 2021, Bergman would become Chairman, Disney Studios Content while Horn would remain as the studios’ Chief Creative Officer.

Walt Disney Studios

The Walt Disney Studios is an American film and entertainment studio, and one of the four business segments of The Walt Disney Company. Based in Burbank, California, the studio is best known for its multi-faceted film divisions. Founded in 1923, it is the fourth-oldest and one of the “Big Five” major film studios.

The Walt Disney Studios division has prominent film production companies. These include: Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Animation Studios, Pixar, Marvel Studios, Lucasfilm, 20th Century Studios and Searchlight Pictures. Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution distributes and markets the content produced by these studios for both theatrical exhibition and the company’s streaming services. In 2019, Disney posted an industry record of $13.2 billion at the global box office. The studio has released six of the top ten highest-grossing films of all time worldwide, and the two highest-grossing film franchises of all time.

The Walt Disney Studios is a member of the Motion Picture Association (MPA).

James Gunn Firing from Disney and reinstatement

In July 2018, in reaction to Gunn’s public criticisms of Donald Trump, commentator Mike Cernovich drew attention to tweets that Gunn wrote between 2008 and 2012, joking about topics like rape, 9/11, child abuse, and pedophilia.

James Gunn’s (Pedophilia Related) Deleted Tweets

Amid criticism of the tweets, Disney severed ties with Gunn as the director of the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 film; he was also dismissed from a role to help lead Marvel’s planned “Cosmic Universe”. Gunn responded: “I have regretted [those jokes] for many years since. […] Regardless of how much time has passed, I understand and accept the business decisions taken today. Even these many years later, I take full responsibility for the way I conducted myself then. All I can do now [is offer] my sincere and heartfelt regret […] To everyone inside my industry and beyond, I again offer my deepest apologies.”

In March 2019, Gunn was reinstated by Disney as director of the film after meeting with Alan Horn, chairman of Walt Disney Studios. Gunn will start production on the film once his work on The Suicide Squad has been completed.

Pizzagate Global spread

In 2020, Pizzagate became a pillar of the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory and less U.S.-centric in nature, with videos and posts on the topic in Italy, Brazil, Turkey and other countries worldwide each gaining millions of views.