Disney’s Dana Walden will sit for her most extensive interview since becoming one of the industry’s most powerful television executives when she and director-producer Ben Stiller offer keynote sessions next week at Variety‘s TV Summit.
Variety‘s annual daylong event examining the state of the TV business is set for June 12 at 1 Hotel in West Hollywood. The gathering will feature a conversation with top network executives including NBC’s Paul Telegdy, AMC’s Sarah Barnett, Showtime’s Gary Levine, Amazon’s Albert Cheng, Starz’s Jeff Hirsch and Tubi’s Adam Lewinson, as well as CMOs, actors and showrunners.
Walden, the longtime Fox TV chief who was named chairman of Disney Television Studios and ABC Entertainment in October, will discuss the transition process following the historic Disney-21st Century Fox merger that was completed in March. She’ll also discuss her vision for running the enlarged Disney and Fox studio assets and for turning around ABC.
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Stiller will address the content boom and the elaborate production effort behind his Showtime limited series “Escape at Dannemora.” The project is firmly in the Emmy hunt after picking up Golden Globe, SAG Award and other wins for star Patricia Arquette and a DGA victory for Stiller, who directed all seven episodes of the true-life prison break drama also starring Benicio Del Toro and Paul Dano.
“Variety’s TV Summit provides a platform to stay ahead of the trends, challenges and opportunities of the television industry, which is undergoing tremendous transformation,” said Michelle Sobrino-Stearns, Variety’s Group Publisher and Chief Revenue Officer. “The Summit will identify the right strategies for TV creatives, marketers, programmers and distributors to advance their business.”
Also on the agenda is a documentary producers roundtable that features the driving forces behind recent documentary productions exposing abuse and corruption. Those set to take part include Lance Bass (“The Boy Band Con”), Leah Remini (“Leah Remini: Scientology And The Aftermath”) and Brie Miranda Bryant (“Surviving R. Kelly”).
Crown Media Family Networks is the Premier Partner of the TV Summit and Viacom is a Supporting Partner, with Music Powered by iHeartMedia. More information on the TV Summit can be found on the event website.