Alan F. Horn

Alan Frederick Horn (born February 28, 1943) is an American entertainment industry executive. He is the chief creative officer and co-chairman of Walt Disney Studios.[1] Horn has served as the chairman of Walt Disney Studios since 2012.[2]

For those named Alan Horne, see Horne baronets.
Alan F. Horn
Alan Horn (left) with Jason Alexander
Born
Alan Frederick Horn

(1943-02-28) February 28, 1943
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materUnion College
Harvard Business School
Occupationfilm executive
Years active1973–present
EmployerWalt Disney Studios (2012–present)
TitleCo-Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of The Walt Disney Studios
Spouse(s)Cindy Harrell

Personal life

Horn was raised on Long Island, New York in Riverhead.[3][4][5] He graduated from Union College in Schenectady, New York, in 1964. In 1971, he received an MBA from Harvard Business School.[6][7] He was a captain in the United States Air Force.[8]

Horn currently lives in the East Gate Bel Air section of Los Angeles, California,[9] with his wife, Cindy Horn (née Harrell), a former model.[10][11] They have two daughters, actress Cody Horn and Cassidy Horn.

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.[12] He was one of the founders of Castle Rock Entertainment in 1987.[13] There, he oversaw films including A Few Good Men, The Green Mile, When Harry Met Sally, and the TV sitcom Seinfeld.[8]

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.[8] 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 Fox 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.[14]

In 2017, he said of his past professional success:[15]

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.

In 2018, following a Twitter campaign created by alt-right personality Mike Cernovich, Horn fired James Gunn from directing Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 over offensive old tweets and "vocal political posts," causing backlash from fans and franchise actors, especially Dave Bautista.[16] With no plan of how to fill the vacancy, production of the film was delayed to February 2021.[17][18] Horn met with Gunn several times after his firing, and, as announced in March 2019, rehired him.[19]

On May 1, 2019, Alan Horn was given the added title of chief creative officer (CCO) of Walt Disney Studios. He continues to oversee the studio as co-chairman, alongside Alan Bergman. [1]

References
  1. D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 1, 2019). "Alan Bergman Promoted To Disney Studio Co-Chairman; Alan Horn Expands Role As Disney Chief Creative Officer". Deadline. Retrieved May 1, 2019.
  2. Friedman, Roger (April 18, 2012). "Alan Horn, Former Warner Bros. Chief, To Run Disney". Forbes. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  3. "Hillary Clinton Raises Record $2.1 Million at Event Hosted by Jewish Hollywood Moguls". Algemeiner Journal. October 21, 2014. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  4. Brook, Vincent (December 15, 2016). From Shtetl to Stardom: Jews and Hollywood: Chapter 1: Still an Empire of Their Own: How Jews Remain Atop a Reinvented Hollywood. Purdue University Press. p. 15. ISBN 9781557537638.
  5. "Alan Horn Archives". Riverhead News Review. August 31, 2012. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  6. "Students in Schenectady spellbound by Harry Potter's wand". Union.edu. November 20, 2010. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  7. "Alan Horn (MBA 1971) - Alumni". Harvard Business School. February 5, 2017. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  8. "Alan F. Horn". The Walt Disney Company. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  9. The Huffington Post FundRace 2008 Contributions map Archived November 17, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  10. Fiamma Sanò (April 27, 2010). "Cody Horn". Vogue.it. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  11. Vilanova, John (May 23, 2013). "#Hamptons35 Flashback: Cindy Harrell Horn, Circa 1982". Hamptons Magazine.
  12. Galbraith, Jane (May 21, 1986). "New Fox Focus On In-House Pix, Planning $100-Mil Public Offering". Variety. p. 4.
  13. "Warner Bros. studio chief Alan Horn to deliver 2010 Commencement address". Union College. February 23, 2010. Archived from the original on March 20, 2012. Retrieved May 31, 2012.
  14. Rainey, James (April 11, 2016). "Alan Horn: Disney Chairman Guides Studio to Hits of the Future". Variety. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  15. Galloway, Stephen (August 1, 2017). "Alan Horn". The Hollywood Masters. Season 1. Episode 7. Event occurs at 35 minutes. Netflix.
  16. Nyren, Erin (August 5, 2018). "'Guardians of the Galaxy' Actor Dave Bautista Calls James Gunn Firing 'Nauseating'". Variety. Retrieved October 31, 2018.
  17. Kit, Borys (August 24, 2018). "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3' Production Put on Hold (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  18. Prasad, R.A. Karthik (October 18, 2018). "Guardians Of The Galaxy Vol. 3 Production Pushed To 2021, Working Title Revealed". Pursue News. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  19. Fleming Jr., Mike (March 15, 2019). "Disney Reinstates Director James Gunn For 'Guardians Of The Galaxy 3'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 15, 2019.
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