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Rich Ross

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Rich Ross is an entertainment executive. He is the former chairman of the Walt Disney Studios.

Personal life

Ross is originally from Eastchester, New York. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 1983 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and English. In 1986, he earned his J.D. degree from Fordham University.

Career

Ross’s first job in the entertainment industry was as a talent booker at Nickelodeon. He built the Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite talent relations department and oversaw casting and talent booking for the network's shows including Clarissa Explains It All and Hey Dude. He served as executive producer of Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards. As vice president of program enterprises at Nickelodeon, Ross was involved in all original-programming deals and launched Nick News with Linda Ellerbee into syndication. He was a part of the launch team for Nickelodeon’s first international network, Nickelodeon UK. He joined FX Networks in 1993 and was a member of the executive team that launched the cable network.

In 1996, Ross joined Disney Channel in programming and production as a senior vice president, becoming general manager and executive vice president in 1999. In 2002 he became president of entertainment for Disney Channel, before being named president of Disney Channels Worldwide in 2004, where he oversaw the Disney Channel, Disney XD, Playhouse Disney, Disney Cinemagic, Hungama, GXT, Jetix, and Radio Disney brands. He is credited with establishing Disney's global kids' TV business as the prime entertainment source for the tween market with shows like Hannah Montana, Lizzie McGuire[1], Wizards of Waverly Place, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody and The Suite Life on Deck, That's So Raven and Phineas and Ferb. He launched the highly successful Disney Channel Original Movie franchise that produced the worldwide hit High School Musical series, as well as the Camp Rock and The Cheetah Girls series. Popular Playhouse Disney shows developed during his tenure include Handy Manny and Mickey Mouse Clubhouse.[2]

Ross was named Chairman of The Walt Disney Studios in October 2009, overseeing Disney’s film, music, and theatrical groups. Films released during Ross’ tenure include the billion-dollar hits Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Disney’s Academy Award-winning Alice in Wonderland and Disney-Pixar’s Academy Award-winning Toy Story 3, which are three of the top 11 highest-grossing films of all time[3] ; Disney’s Academy Award-winning film The Muppets; DreamWorks Studios’ Academy Award-winning film The Help; and Disney-Pixar’s Cars 2.[4]

Ross' tenure as Chairman was marred by two box-office flops. The 2011 animated movie Mars Needs Moms had a production budget of $150 million[5] and made $42.8 million in box office and DVD sales.[6] The March 2012 opening of John Carter was another high-profile flop; John Carter had a production budget of $250 million and earned just over $69 million at the box office in North America. [7] Due to the film's weak North American performance compared to its high production and marketing costs, Disney expected the film would generate a loss of about $200 million during its second fiscal quarter[8], although its box office strength outside North America led some analysts to speculate that the write-down would be significantly less than expected.[9]

Ross resigned as Chairman on April 20, 2012, with John Carter and Mars Needs Moms cited as reasons for his departure.[10] It was reported that Ross sought to blame Pixar for John Carter, which prompted key Pixar executives to turn against Ross who already had alienated many within the studio.[11]

References

  1. ^ Woodruff, Jay (August 10, 2011). "Rich Ross Makes Moves (And Movies) At Disney". Fast Company (magazine). {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  2. ^ "Walt Disney Investor Relations" (PDF). Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  3. ^ "All-Time Box Office". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 2 June 2012.
  4. ^ "Rich Ross, Chairman, The Walt Disney Studios". The Walt Disney Studios. Retrieved 12 March 2012.
  5. ^ Kaufman, Amy (March 10, 2011). "Movie Projector: 'Battle: Los Angeles' will rule, 'Mars Needs Moms' will bomb". Los Angeles. Tribune Company. Retrieved March 13, 2011.
  6. ^ http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/2011/MNMOM.php
  7. ^ "John Carter". boxofficemojo.com. April 22, 2012. Retrieved April 23, 2012.
  8. ^ Ben Child (March 20, 2012). "John Carter set to lose Disney $200m". The Guardian. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
  9. ^ Georg Szalai (March 14, 2012). "Analyst: Disney's 'John Carter' Write-Down 'May Not Be as Bad as Feared'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2012-04-09. Retrieved April 2, 2012. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Disney film boss Rich Ross resigns after John Carter flop, BBC News, 20 April 2012. Retrieved 2012-04-20.
  11. ^ Chmielewski, Dawn (21 April 2012). "Rich Ross' departure sends aftershocks at Disney". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 22 April 2012.

External website

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