Before I start this Word on the Street story, I want to remind everyone that Thursday, February 27^th, is the last day to cast vote in the third poll of the 2^nd Annual Gold Sally Awards! The forth poll will be posted on the 28th! Here is the link to the poll:

 

The third poll of the 2020 Gold Sally Awards has arrived!

 

Last month, in a Word on the Street story, I talked about Bill Abbott stepping down as CEO of Crown Media. It looks like he’s not the only business leader to make a monumental career choice. This week, Disney CEO, Bob Iger, has stepped down from his position. While this decision was “effective immediately”, according to several news sources, it seems like it was made by Bob Iger himself. Even Jeremy from Geeks + Gamers feels this is the case when he said in his video called “Bob Iger OUT As Disney CEO | Is Kathleen Kennedy Next?”, “it’s clear that Bob Iger was behind this decision 100%”. Frank Pallotta and Brian Stelter, from CNN Business, reports that Bob Iger felt “it was the right time to step down because he needs to spend more time on the “creative side” of the company”. Bob Iger himself said “I could not do that if I had to run the company on a day to day basis” if he continued as Disney’s CEO. Until late 2021, Bob Iger is now the executive chairman of the company. Bob Chapek has quickly taken the role as Disney’s new CEO. Before this decision was made, Bob Chapek was the “Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products since the segment’s creation in 2018, and prior to that he was Chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts since 2015”. It’s also important to point out that Bob Chapek was “president of Distribution for The Walt Disney Studios” and “president of Walt Disney Studios Home Entertainment”, according to The Walt Disney Company’s official website. This means that he oversaw how and where films were distributed, as well as interacting with the movie division of Disney. Even though Bob Chapek just started his new position, there’s already been doubt about his leadership abilities. Geeks + Gamers’ Jeremy shared his feelings in his aforementioned video, saying “I just think it’s going to be more of the same”. Personally, I was not a fan of Bob Iger as a business leader, as he made several decisions that did not sit well with me. But Bob Chapek stepping in as Disney’s CEO makes me feel the same way that The Falcon and the Winter Soldier does: we’ll just have to wait and see what happens.

Sources for this story:

https://www.cnbc.com/2020/02/25/disney-names-bob-chapek-next-ceo.html

https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/25/media/bob-iger-bob-chapek-disney-ceo/index.html

https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/about/#leadership

Type “Bob Iger OUT As Disney CEO | Is Kathleen Kennedy Next?” into Youtube’s search bar (there is some language in this video)

This month, there have been several mystery films from Hallmark Movies & Mysteries that were either announced or listed on production sites. All of these movies are continuations in already established series. Out of all these projects, the only one that has a synopsis and an easily accessible trailer as of late February 2020 is Mystery 101: An Education in Murder. According to Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ official website, this new chapter in the Mystery 101 series is about the following:

“A young writer’s research prompts the police to revisit a famous murder case that convicted Amy’s colleague at Elmstead, so Travis & Amy get a second chance at clearing the professor’s name”.

As a fan of this series, I’m looking forward to this film! Cold cases are rarely featured in movies on this network, so it’ll be interesting to see a different kind of story. Two movies that have trailers shown on Hallmark Movies & Mysteries as well as release dates are Ruby Herring Mysteries: Prediction Murder and Picture Perfect Mysteries: Exit, Stage Death. Featured during the premiere of Picture Perfect Mysteries: Dead Over Diamonds, the third film in this series is set to premiere on May 17^th. Based on the title alone, I’m wondering if the mystery will have anything to do with Allie’s friend, Maya? Anyone who is invested in this series would know that Maya is an actress. In Picture Perfect Mysteries: Dead Over Diamonds, Maya auditions for a local stage production. The third movie in the Ruby Herring Mysteries series, Ruby Herring Mysteries: Prediction Murder will air on April 5^th, with its trailer appearing during the premiere of Riddled with Deceit: A Martha’s Vineyard Mystery. The upcoming mystery films that are only listed on production websites, for now, are Matchmaker Mysteries II – The Poison Pen and Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly. The second film in the Matchmaker Mysteries series is currently in production, with the final day of filming on March 2^nd. The next Aurora Teagarden Mysteries film will start production next month. Similar to Picture Perfect Mysteries: Exit, Stage Death, I’m trying to guess what the movie is about based on the title. I’m wondering if Yannick Bisson’s character, Martin, will return to the series?

Sources for this story:

https://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/mystery-101-an-education-in-murder

https://www.hallmarkmoviesandmysteries.com/videos/preview-mystery-101-an-education-in-murder

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hallmark_Channel_Original_Movies

https://www.creativebc.com/crbc-services/provincial-film-commission-services/in-production (after March 2nd and March 27th, Matchmaker Mysteries II – The Poison Pen and Aurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly will be removed from the “In Production” page)

A Canadian news source called Chek announced on February 25^th that Chesapeake Shores has officially been renewed for a fifth season! No production dates or number of episodes were reported as of late February 2020. Joan Miller, from the Vancouver Island North Film Commission, stated that “we are really excited about season 5 coming back to the island. It’s been a really great economic generator for our region”. An interesting tidbit to point out is how no further information has been provided about the Chesapeake Shores movie that Hallmark announced last February. Right now, it’s unclear if it will premiere before or after the season. Historically, Chesapeake Shores has held production during the Springtime, with the first episode premiering in late summer. With this announcement coming in late Winter, it’s likely this filming pattern will continue.

Sources for this story:

Hallmark’s Chesapeake Shores renewed for 5th season, good news for Island film industry

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Hallmark_Channel_Original_Movies#cite_note-534

What are thoughts on these announcements? Are you looking forward to any of these mystery movies or the next season of Chesapeake Shores? Please let me know in the comment section!

Have fun at the movies!

Sally Silverscreen