What's news: Bob Chapek takes over as Disney CEO from Bob Iger, inside Disney's $200 million bet on Mulan, the Harvey Weinstein fallout is just beginning, Kelly Campbell promoted to president at Hulu, could the IOC cancel the Tokyo Olympics? Bernie and Bloomberg take heat at another Democratic debate. Plus: Why Wade Davis bought Univision, and big news in preschool circles as HBO Max inks a deal with Mo Willems. --Alex Weprin

 Disney Succession

►The Walt Disney Company has a new CEO. In a seismic move, the conglomerate said on Tuesday that it is naming Bob Chapek as its next CEO, succeeding Bob Iger immediately. Iger is assuming the role of executive chairman and will lead the board through his contract's end on Dec. 31, 2021. Iger will also also lead all creative development at Disney.

--On a call with Wall Street analysts Tuesday, Iger said that the Disney board had identified Chapek as his potential successor "quite some time ago." “The company has gotten larger and more complex in the recent 12 months,” Iger added. “With the asset base in place, and our strategy essentially deployed, I felt that I should spend as much time as possible with the creative side as our businesses... because that becomes our biggest priority in 2021.” The full story.

--Chapek signed his contract to become CEO on Monday, and it runs through the end of February 2023. Iger signed a revision to his contract the same day, assigning him his new title and specifying that he "will continue to direct the Company’s content creation" through the remainder of his deal.

+More background: Iger told The New York Times that the succession moves were "only abrupt in other people’s eyes because we haven’t been talking about it publicly.” The company considered whether to name Chapek COO, but “I did not believe that would bestow on him the kind of autonomy that I wanted him to have during this transition,” Iger said.

►And that wasn't the only executive shakeup at Disney Tuesday: Kelly Campbell was promoted to president of Hulu. Campbell, a Google veteran who had been Hulu's CMO, will lead the streamer's on-demand and live streaming businesses as the company is further integrated into parent company Disney's direct-to-consumer group. In her new role, Campbell will work with Disney's film and TV studios on original programming for Hulu. She will report to Disney direct-to-consumer and international chairman Kevin Mayer. The story.

And speaking of Disney...



On the cover: Inside Disney's bold $200 million gamble on 'Mulan'. The high-profile remake, with an all-Asian cast, a PG-13 rating and a politically-charged star, was always going to pose major risks, Rebecca Ford writes. Then the coronavirus upended its entire release plan.

--The coronavirus wrench: The virus has shuttered China's movie theaters, with no clear end in sight. In order for Mulan to succeed financially, it needs to have a successful release in the country. "They will eventually release it in China," says Comscore analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "It's just a matter of when and what effect that might have." 

Star Liu Yifei is also from Wuhan, the city at the epicenter of the coronavirus. "Liu pauses when asked about the outbreak. 'It's really heavy for me to even think about it,' she says. 'People are doing the right thing. They are being careful for themselves and others. I'm so touched actually to see how they haven't been out for weeks. I'm really hoping for a miracle and that this will just be over soon.'"

--Balancing the animated original with Chinese mythology: "The film needs to satisfy Chinese audiences raised on the legend while not disappointing a generation of fans in Asia (and elsewhere) for whom the animated film is foundational. 'People would come in to audition and would say, 'Sorry, I know this is really unprofessional, but before I start, I just want you to know, the animated movie was the first time I saw someone that looked like me speak English in a movie theater,' ' says producer Jason Reed. 'The stakes couldn't be higher.'"

"I certainly wasn't aware of how deeply important it is to Mainland Chinese — all children are taught it," says director Niki Caro. "She is so meaningful that many places I went, people would say, 'Well, she comes from my village.' It was wonderful to feel that profound connection — but also terrifying."

--Disney approached Ang Lee and Jiang Wen before deciding to hire Caro, who "showcased a knack for representing cultures outside of her own with her 2002 debut Whale Rider, which follows a young Maori girl who wants to become chief, a role traditionally reserved for men."

"To those still upset that an Asian filmmaker didn't get the job, Caro responds: 'Although it's a critically important Chinese story and it's set in Chinese culture and history, there is another culture at play here, which is the culture of Disney, and that the director, whoever they were, needed to be able to handle both — and here I am.'" The cover story.

+Video: Caro and Yifei go "Fishing For Answers" in a video for THR. Watch.

 Weinstein Fallout

The Harvey Weinstein verdict continues to reverberate across the entertainment industry...

►Weinstein's guilty, but Hollywood's reckoning isn't over. Several accusers tell Tatiana Siegel they hope the guilty verdict alters perceptions about consent and what is criminal: "It is essential that those with power in our industry stop supporting this idea that silence breakers are 'troublemakers' or 'unhireable.'"

Quote:  "Harvey Weinstein is the one going to jail, but the entire film business — all of us who have sustained and benefited from the hierarchies of power that allowed his crimes to continue and his victims to multiply — it is we who were found guilty today," said producer James Schamus, who worked opposite Weinstein in the New York indie film scene for decades. The story.

+Mark Geragos expects "stealth juror" argument in Harvey Weinstein's appeal. The Hollywood defense attorney tells Ashley Cullins that jury instructions, the LA prosecution and prior bad acts witness testimony create "an appellate lawyer's Petri dish." The interview.

+Rose McGowan, one of the first "silence breakers" to share her story, claiming that the mogul sexually assaulted her in a Park City hotel room in 1997, tells Chris Gardner: "Hopefully now this will be the first day of the rest of my life."

+Lauren Sivan, who spoke out about her claim that the disgraced mogul masturbated in front of her, tells Chris Gardner: "The culture has shifted and now, I believe, the legal system is shifted."

+Miriam Haley, whose testimony helped lead to Harvey Weinstein being found guilty Monday, is calling the verdict a "huge relief" one day later.

+Weinstein accusers respond to Harvey's hospitalization: "He's a very good actor." Rosanna Arquette, Lauren Sivan and more of the women who've spoken out against the former movie mogul, convicted of rape in New York on Monday, spoke at the L.A. City Hall on Tuesday morning.

+Weinstein trial reporter's notebook: 33 days of waiting, watching and shivering. Jeremy Barr writes about covering the trial, from false alarms, to reporters trying to get jurors to talk.The notebook.

Elsewhere in film...

--Eric Bana will write, co-direct and star in a feature film based on Mike 'The Bike' Hailwood, regarded to be one of the greatest motorcycle racers of all time.

--Universal has picked up the rights to E.L. James' new novel The Mister, which follows a wealthy British aristocrat who falls in love with his Albanian housekeeper, unaware that she is on the run from vicious human traffickers.

--Kevin Hart and Malcolm D. Lee are reteaming for a Universal comedy from Broad City writers Lucia Aniello and Paul W. Downs.

--The next Jurassic World film has a title: Jurassic World: Dominion.

--A new writer is getting in the ring for the third Creed film. Zach Baylin, the scripter behind the upcoming Will Smith movie King Richard, has been tapped to pen the third installment of the boxing film franchise for MGM... Also:Paramount has tapped Charles Murray to pen the studio's biopic of famed performer Sammy Davis Jr.

--Berlin: Neon is moving from Parasite to pigs, taking North American rights to Gunda, a documentary about farm animals from Aquarela director Viktor Kossakovsky.



^Could the IOC cancel this summer's Olympics? A senior member of the International Olympic Committee said Tuesday that if it proves too dangerous to hold the Olympics in Tokyo this summer because of the coronavirus outbreak, organizers are more likely to cancel it altogether than to postpone or move it. Dick Pound, a former Canadian swimming champion who has been on the IOC since 1978, estimated there is a three-month window — perhaps a two-month one — to decide the fate of the Tokyo Olympics, meaning a decision could be put off until late May. The story.

+Context: If the IOC cancels the games, it would hit Comcast and Discovery Inc. particularly hard. NBCUniversal, which has U.S. rights, has already sold more than $1 billion in ads tied to the games, while Discovery, which holds some European rights, plans to use the games to bolster its European OTT offerings.

And speaking of NBCUniversal and advertising...

►NBCU touts union of linear and digital sales ahead of upfront. The company, which announced its new One Platform initiative at CES, discussed Tuesday morning how it will work as the 2020 upfront approaches. “It’s not just our new business model,” said NBCU ad sales chief Linda Yaccarino. “It's a model for what the advertising business can be when we free ourselves from legacy." The story.

►HBO Max inks author Mo Willems to multiyear deal. The streamer won out in a competitive negotiation and will make Willems the first artist in residence at HBO Max — meaning that in addition to his work as a producer, he'll put his talents as a writer, illustrator and personality to use for the company. More.

►Comcast buys Xumo. The cable giant has acquired ad-supported streaming technology company, the company announced Tuesday morning. The deal, terms of which were not disclosed, will see Irvine, California-based Xumo continue to operate as an independent business within the Comcast Cable division. More.

►Why Wade Davis bought Univision. The Former Viacom CFO and soon-to-be CEO of Univision spoke with THR's Etan Vlessing about why his investor group was interested in the Spanish-language media giant.

Quote: "They're the number one news platform, the number one sports platform, the number one music platform across TV, radio and live events, and they have a really powerful and differentiated content supply arrangement with Televisa... if you look at the competitive landscape, there is no high quality differentiated OTT offering at scale. And if you go back to the asset base that I just described, it's an incredible set up to be able to take advantage of what is a very wide open competitive landscape and a huge market opportunity." The interview.

►AMC Networks U.S. ad revenue drops 7.8 percent amid lower ratings. The company swung to a loss as expenses at its streaming services rose and higher ad prices only partially offset "lower delivery" in the fourth quarter, which included the start of season 10 of The Walking Dead. The story.

+Related: AMC Networks and satellite TV provider Dish Network have signed a new long-term carriage agreement. The deal also covers Sling TV, Dish’s over-the-top streaming video service.

Elsewhere in TV...

--Critic's notebook: Inkoo Kang writes about "Awkwafina Is Nora From Queens and the freshness of angst-free Asian Americans"... Reviews: Daniel Fienberg reviews Netflix's I Am Not Okay With This.... Fienberg also reviews TruTV's It's Personal With Amy Hoggart...

--Judy Blume's beloved Summer Sisters is coming to television. Following a multiple-outlet bidding war, Disney-owned Hulu has landed rights to what will be a limited scripted series based on the beloved author's 1998 novel.

--The ATX Television Festival and Alamo Drafthouse theater chain are teaming up to provide TV screenings and panels at Alamo locations across the country.

--Mindy Kaling on tackling YA for Netflix and the "evolution of the nerd."

 Another Debate

►Bernie and Bloomberg are top targets in CBS News primary debate. Democrats unleashed a roaring assault against Bernie Sanders and seized on Mike Bloomberg's past with women in the workplace during a contentious debate Tuesday night that tested the strength of the two men at the center of the party's presidential nomination fight. The story.

+Coronavirus came up, with the candidates explaining what they would do to stymie the spread of the virus. More.

+In late night: Trevor Noah and Stephen Colbert went live with their respective shows and gave commentary on Amy Klobuchar's "Uncle Dick" comment, Joe Biden's "misconception" about his hair, and Michael Bloomberg's workshopping of "comedy" material. The roundup.

+As Joe Biden hopes to keep his campaign afloat, he's enlisting the help of a few Hollywood friends. A day after 14 states vote in Super Tuesday primaries, the former vice president is set to head to California for a fundraiser held at the house of former Paramount chief Sherry Lansing in Los Angeles. More.

+Chris Wallace says he's "horrified" by Jim Acosta's press conference behavior. "It's not our job to get in fights with presidents," the Fox News anchor said Tuesday night of the CNN reporter. "It's not our job to one-up the president." More.

►Facebook acquires another VR game studio. Sanzaru Games, developer of the role-playing adventure Asgard's Wrath, is the latest acquisition by the tech giant. More.

Revolving door: Kyle Killen has signed a broadcast-only overall deal with Fox Entertainment... WME's digital department has promoted digital agent Ben Davis to partner and hired Bennett Sherman as an agent from ICM... APA has promoted four agents and one executive to partner... Amy Winter, formerly of UPtv, has been tapped as executive vp, head of programming at Lifetime and sibling LMN...

Casting roundup: Molly Shannon has been tapped to star opposite Vanessa Bayer in Showtime's comedy pilot Big Deal... Kelly Clarkson is returning as the host of the Billboard Music Awards for the third year in a row... Mekai Curtis will play the younger version of Curtis "50 Cent" Jackson's Kanan Stark in Power Book III: Raising Kanan... Greg Kinnear will make his Broadway debut as Atticus Finch in the smash hit production of To Kill a Mockingbird... Michael Rooker has joined the cast of Showtime's thriller The President Is Missing...

What else we're reading...

--"Harvey Weinstein is going to prison. But that's just a starting point" [NY Times]

--"NBCUniversal opens new local ads business for streaming TV" [WSJ]

--"ABC News suspends correspondent David Wright after Project Veritas sting" [Washington Post]

--"Back to the future: Why is EVERYONE rushing to get back into free TV?" [Lightshed Partners]

--"Minute Media raises $40 million at valuation exceeding $500 million" [Axios]

Today's birthdays: Erykah Badu, 49, Michael Bolton, 67, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 66, Li Na, 38, Bill Duke, 77.