Was it the best year for Hollywood? Not exactly. But the women at the top of their fields kept this industry going. From executives managing $17 billion content spends and creatives behind the biggest box office hits of the year to the growing number of actor-producers shrewdly navigating the evolving marketplace to, well, Taylor Swift and Beyoncé … these are the women who set records and the standard for success in a marketplace where that is no easy task. In THR’s annual survey of the most powerful women in entertainment, this year’s honorees reveal their predictions for 2025, Hollywood lessons from the election, the phone calls they’re still waiting on and much, much more.
Editors consider portfolio sizes, series loads, TV ratings, box office returns, awards, deals, employees overseen, revenue generated, platform subscriber counts, spending power and leadership.
List entries written by Mikey O’Connell, with contributions from Kirsten Chuba, Nicole Fell, Mia Galuppo, Rebecca Keegan, Katie Kilkenny, Borys Kit, Pamela McClintock and Alex Weprin.
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Pamela Abdy
Image Credit: Josh Telles CO-CHAIR & CEO, WARNER BROS. MOTION PICTURE GROUP
The first film that Abdy and her co-chair, Michael De Luca, can take full credit for since their move to WBD, September’s Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, exceeded all expectations with a $451 million global gross and, more shockingly, a warm critical reception to a sequel nobody thought they wanted. Elsewhere, Abdy successfully revived one dormant franchise, Wonka ($634 million), while another is heading for hibernation. Todd Phillips’ mirthless musical, Joker: Folie à Deux, hit all the wrong notes — though it already was in the works by Abdy’s 2022 arrival.
My most played song of 2024 “Anything by Sabrina Carpenter. My daughter controls the car music.”
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Tess McGill (from Working Girl)”
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Lauren Anderson
Image Credit: Rick Kern/Getty Images HEAD OF BRAND AND CONTENT INNOVATION, AMAZON MGM STUDIOS
Freevee may not be joining us in the new year, but commercial breaks are as big a priority at Amazon as ever (Prime subscriptions defaulted to ad-supported in 2024), and Anderson now runs creative ad operations across the portfolio. She was integral to the brand’s first upfront presentation in May, which trotted out Reese Witherspoon and Will Ferrell, while her unscripted team has been on a tear of high-profile bookings, most notably placing hosts Travis Kelce on Are You Smarter Than a Celebrity? and Colin Jost on Pop Culture Jeopardy!
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “The continued decline of browsing. Customers’ first stop for entertainment may soon become their only stop.”
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Lucia Aniello & Jen Statsky
Image Credit: Robin L Marshall/Getty Images WRITER-PRODUCERS, HACKS
Two-thirds of the showrunning trio behind Hacks — the third, Paul W. Downs, is a man, but he’s married to Aniello, so we’ll let it slide — these scribes scored the biggest coup at the 2024 Emmys, topping odds-on favorite The Bear for best comedy. Fast-tracking season four of their Jean Smart series for a 2025 return, Statsky also scored one of those increasingly elusive overall deals in her move to Warner Bros. TV Group, where she, Aniello and Downs just sold hot package Kansas City Star to HBO.
Fictional character I most identify with these days
Statsky: “Eeyore.”Still waiting on a call from …
Aniello: “Julia Louis-Dreyfus.”My trick to staying calm right now
Statsky: “Only giving myself 9 hours of daily screen time.”My professional crush
Aniello: “Julia Louis-Dreyfus.”“”
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Jennifer Aniston
Image Credit: Steve Granitz/Getty Images ACTOR & PRODUCER, ECHO FILMS
The perennial Emmy nominee just wrapped filming on the fourth season of the Apple TV+ hit The Morning Show, where she also is an executive producer. Her Echo Films banner raised eyebrows in the spring with news of development on a 9 to 5 reboot from writer Diablo Cody. Off camera, the woman behind “The Rachel” continues to expand the brand footprint of hair-care line LolaVie and published the children’s book Clydeo Takes a Bite Out of Life.
My trick to staying calm right now “Turning off social media and the news has been extremely helpful.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “Anora wins an Oscar.”
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Sarah Aubrey, Amy Gravitt, Francesca Orsi & Nina Rosenstein
Image Credit: Courtesy of HBO (4) HEAD OF ORIGINAL CONTENT, MAX; EXEC VP AND HEAD OF COMEDY, HBO; EXEC VP AND HEAD OF DRAMA, HBO; EXEC VP PROGRAMMING, HBO
Boss Casey Bloys may be keen to focus on 2025 after the strikes delayed much of HBO’s slate, but the past calendar year presented no shortage of impactful efforts. Orsi reinvigorated True Detective with the Jodie Foster-starring Night Country (while prepping the returns of The White Lotus and The Last of Us); Gravitt launched the final season of Curb Your Enthusiasm; and Rosenstein delivered three of the year’s buzziest comedy specials (Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die, Ramy Youssef: More Feelings and Alex Edelman: Just for Us) and Conan O’Brien’s Conan Must Go. At Max, Aubrey has that aforementioned Hacks win to brag about on top of the launch of The Penguin.
Hollywood’s takeaway from Trump’s re-election should be …
Gravitt: “Our audience might not share our political beliefs, and focusing on where we disagree has landed us here.”Fictional character I most identify with these days
Orsi: “Lady Bird’s mom. Raising a teenage girl is hard!”My professional crush
Rosenstein: “Conan, because who doesn’t?”“”
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Bela Bajaria
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER, NETFLIX
Overseeing all film and TV output at the country’s (and the planet’s) dominant streamer, she manages an annual content spend of $17 billion, leads teams in 27 countries and has seen her programming drive a 16 percent growth in households (600-plus million) since last year. This year saw series like Bridgerton season three and Fool Me Once dominate all streaming originals, while the breakout Baby Reindeer swept the limited race at the Emmys, and the platform’s most watched original of all time, Squid Game, finally returns Dec. 26. Next, the deal for WWE programming she brokered in January starts to bear fruit in 2025.
My trick to staying calm right now “Going outside, with my coffee, early in the morning — nature and morning sun.”
My most played song of 2024 “Hanumankind’s ‘Big Dawgs.’”
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Betsy Beers & Shonda Rhimes
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images PRODUCERS, SHONDALAND
Now delivering at least one gargantuan launch a year for Netflix, Rhimes’ company (featuring her creative partner, Beers) saw season three of Bridgerton quickly crack the streamer’s top 10 all-time most watched originals list — with 786.1 million hours watched, for a series total of 2 billion. Next up is White House murder mystery The Residence, starring Uzo Aduba, as the ABC drama Grey’s Anatomy (now in its 21st season) keeps going. And going.
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Frances Berwick
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images CHAIR, NBCUNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT
She may be down a few cable nets thanks to her company’s recent SpinCo for USA, Syfy and E!, but Berwick retains a dominion that includes programming and strategy for the No. 1 network across TV (NBC), Peacock (which streams the ascendant Traitors) and her old stomping ground, Bravo. The cable network of messy yacht staffers and messier housewives remains too lucrative for NBCU to set free with its former siblings.
My most played song of 2024 ” ‘Please Please Please,’ by Sabrina Carpenter.”
Still waiting on a call from … “Coqodaq.” (Coqodaq is an exclusive Resy booking in New York’s Flatiron district.)
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Beyoncé
Image Credit: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images SINGER & FILMMAKER
Following her Renaissance World Tour with a genre-breaking country album (Cowboy Carter), Beyoncé added another 11 mentions to her tally as the most nominated artist in Grammy history. She next rings in the holidays with a coup of a halftime show during Netflix’s first-ever NFL game this Christmas, the biggest test yet for the streamer’s live strategy. Nobody wants a buffering Beyoncé.
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Michelle Bohan, Stephanie Ritz & Sarah Self
Image Credit: Courtesy of WME (3) SENIOR PARTNERS, WME
Bohan saw deals for Jesse Eisenberg (A Real Pain) and Amy Adams (Nightbitch) come to fruition after Emma Stone, a client she shares with Self, won her second Oscar and released more film (I Saw the TV Glow) and TV (Fantasmas) under her Fruit Tree banner. Self also saw Selena Gomez score her first Emmy nomination for acting in Only Murders in the Building and get Oscar buzz for Emilia Pérez. Ritz client Robert Pattinson just signed on to reunite with Christopher Nolan, while she’s making Brett Goldstein a bona fide leading man with a role opposite Jennifer Lopez in the rom-com Office Romance.
My trick to staying calm right now
Bohan: “Therapy.” Self: “Hot yoga.”Fictional character I most identify with these days
Ritz: “Sisyphus.”“”
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Robbie Brenner
Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images PRESIDENT, MATTEL FILMS
Since Barbie proved the toy-to-theatrical pipeline is a viable model, the Mattel Films head has been able to capitalize on years of development. The long-gestating Masters of the Universe is finally in preproduction at Amazon with a 2026 theatrical release, and Matchbox is a go at Apple, with John Cena set to star. And while a Barbie sequel is still some way off (if a possibility at all), everything in Mattel’s deep toy chest is in play. Even Uno!
Still waiting on a call from … “My future self.”
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Barbara Broccoli
Image Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images CO-OWNER, EON PRODUCTIONS
If Broccoli and her sibling Michael Wilson — who together hold the keys to the James Bond kingdom — have settled on who will play the next 007, the world has yet to find out. In the meantime, she’s using her producing acumen to bring the John Carney musical Sing Street from off-Broadway to London and hoping to duplicate the success she had with Carney’s Once.
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Nicole Brown
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images PRESIDENT, TRISTAR PICTURES
Brown has the freedom to take on both big-budget event pics and smaller fare — such as this year’s Here, a quiet drama reuniting Robert Zemeckis with his Forrest Gump stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright. Upcoming films include the Issa Rae-produced buddy comedy One of Them Days, starring Keke Palmer and SZA, a reimagining of Clue, and a high-pressure adaptation of Guys and Dolls that stage-to-screen king Rob Marshall is set to direct.
Fictional character I most identify with these days “All of the feelings from Inside Out 2.”
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Quinta Brunson
Image Credit: Photographed by Beau Grealy ACTOR, WRITER & PRODUCER
With Abbott Elementary in a solid groove of robust ratings, rare cultural relevance for a broadcast sitcom and continued Emmy love, the comic force is finally ready to broaden her horizons. She just set the feature Par for the Course at Universal. A comedy, naturally, it finds her starring alongside Stephanie Hsu in addition to writing and producing the project with her Abbott colleague Justin Tan.
My most played song of 2024 ” ‘Let Her Cook,’ by GloRilla.”
My professional crush “Ryan Coogler”
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Karey Burke, Gina Balian, Ayo Davis, Tara Duncan , Courteney Monroe & Simran Sethi
Image Credit: Getty Images (6) PRESIDENT, 20TH TELEVISION; PRESIDENT, FX ENTERTAINMENT; PRESIDENT, DISNEY BRANDED TELEVISION; PRESIDENT, ONYX COLLECTIVE; PRESIDENT, NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC CONTENT; PRESIDENT OF SCRIPTED, HULU & ABC ENTERTAINMENT
It takes a village at Disney TV, and that village is dominated by women. These six (six!) execs help populate the sprawling TV portfolio that fills its parent company’s programming coffers: from Balian’s epic run at FX (Shogun, The Bear, Say Nothing, The English Teacher) and Monroe’s latest Oscar-nominated Nat Geo effort (Bobi Wine: The People’s President), to Duncan’s buzzy Natasha Rothwell project (How to Die Alone) for Hulu and Davis’ YA smash Percy Jackson and the Olympians at Disney+. Burke’s 20th TV was responsible for 24 returning series and 20 new ones since THR‘s last list, including fall’s onslaught of Ryan Murphy content (Grotesquerie, Doctor Odyssey, American Sports Story), while Sethi gained oversight of scripted programming of Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment.
Fictional character I most identify with these days
Burke: “Leslie Knope (Parks and Recreation), season two specifically!”
Sethi: “Murphy Brown every day.”
Duncan: “Jane Craig (Broadcast News).”If I were a man with this job …
Balian: “I’d be Nick Grad.”My trick to staying calm right now
Davis: “Channeling my energy into meaningful action and connection.”Still waiting on a call from …
Monroe: “Good Morning America, with an offer to join as a host.”“”
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Kathryn Busby
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/Getty Images HEAD OF PROGRAMMING, STARZ
As her platform looks to formally separate from parent company Lionsgate, Busby continues to build on franchises like Power, Outlander (back after a lengthy break) and even some of the network’s older titles. A sequel series to Spartacus, which ended back in 2013, just began production in New Zealand.
My professional crush “Cord Jefferson.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “Television shows and films that break through because of authenticity, not because of budget.”
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Kelly Campbell
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images PRESIDENT, PEACOCK
Her streamer may still be operating at a loss, but with increasing revenue (thanks, Olympics!) and a subscriber jump to 36 million, Peacock is seemingly on the right track. It also is, as evidenced by the parent company’s cable divorce, still a top NBCU priority. Recent highlights include that NFL Wild Card playoff game (27 million viewers, then a record for livestreaming), an Emmy win for The Traitors (sorry, RuPaul!) and the promise of an upcoming reboot of The Office — which no one is allowed to call a reboot of The Office.
Still waiting on a call from … “Oprah. A girl can dream.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “More bundling, more blending and blurring of the lines — and more of the Kelce family.”
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Daria Cercek
Image Credit: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images CO-PRESIDENT, PARAMOUNT MOTION PICTURE GROUP
For all the talk of a moviegoing apocalypse, Cercek and Paramount fared nicely this year: The January sleeper hit Mean Girls (the film musical based on the stage musical based on the movie based on a self-help book) may have originally been intended for streaming, but it ended up grossing more than $100 million globally; Bob Marley: One Love hit $181 million; and A Quiet Place: Day One scored a franchise-best domestic opening ($52 million that ultimately turned into $262 million worldwide) despite being a spinoff. The year ends on another high note: an auspicious launch for Gladiator II.
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Sonic the Hedgehog’s frenetic pacing is speaking to me recently (plug!).”
My trick to staying calm right now People are calm right now?
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Margie Cohn
Image Credit: Araya Doheny/Getty Images PRESIDENT, DREAMWORKS ANIMATION
Now that Jennifer Lee has departed Walt Disney Animation, Cohn is one of the few women at the top of an animation studio. And that’s clearly where she belongs. DreamWorks had one of its best years in recent memory, with the original animation The Wild Robot a critical and commercial success ($300 million worldwide) and the latest Kung Fu Panda film landing $550 million. She’ll next revisit Shrek, with the fifth film in the franchise dated for 2026.
My most played song of 2024 “Chappell Roan’s ‘Hot to Go!’ Incredible earworm.”
Hollywood’s takeaway from Trump’s re- election should be … “Get to know the audience. They’re sending clear messages.”
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Alex Cooper
Image Credit: Photographed by Molly Cranna PODCASTER & CO-FOUNDER, TRENDING MEDIA CO.
Since her Barstool beginnings, Cooper has transcended the label of mere podcaster — though Call Her Daddy did just earn her a $125 million, three-year agreement with SiriusXM. She’s easily the most powerful woman in the medium, one reason why she was enlisted by NBCUniversal to bring in young viewers to the Olympics with Peacock watch parties. As she turns more attention to Hollywood, she and her husband, producer Matt Kaplan, are building out and staffing up their Gen Z-targeted Trending Media Co.
My trick to staying calm right now “If it’s not edibles, it’s sinking into any bed with my Kindle and a lot of snacks.”
Hollywood’s takeaway from Trump’s re- election should be … “We shouldn’t stop the conversation surrounding women’s rights.”
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Maha Dakhil, Tiffany Ward & Ida Ziniti
Image Credit: Courtesy of CAA AGENTS, CAA
Dakhil kept her list of heavy-hitters (Tom Cruise, Reese Witherspoon and Mindy Kaling among them) busy this year, though Denis Villeneuve’s $711 million-grossing Dune: Part Two was a high point. Ward, who helped put together Only Murders in the Building and The Penguin, signed Lisa Joy and her Kilter Films. As for Ziniti, after client Cord Jefferson took the Oscar for adapted screenplay, she brokered moves for Barbie stars Ryan Gosling, who launched his production company General Admission, and Margot Robbie and her LuckyChap productions (My Old Ass and the upcoming Emerald Fennell-directed Wuthering Heights). Both Dakhil and Ward were named managing directors at CAA, while Ziniti joined the agency board.
My trick to staying calm right now
Dakhil: “Listening to the elders.”
Ward: “Strength training.”
Ziniti: “Tea, sauna, yoga and a good ole fashioned work grind.”My most played song of 2024
Dakhil: “It’s a Chappell Roan year.”
Ward: ” ‘Things Behind Things Behind’ Things by Bon Iver.”
Ziniti: ” ‘Baby Beluga,’ the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles theme song and other preschool bangers.”“”
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Marissa Devins, Blair Kohan & Rena Ronson
Image Credit: Alex J. Berliner/AB Images (2); Courtesy of Subject AGENTS, UTA
Devins added Baby Reindeer breakout Richard Gadd this year (ahead of his Netflix deal), joining a roster that includes Phoebe Waller-Bridge (Tomb Raider) and Ashley Lyle and Bart Nickerson (Yellowjackets). Kohan’s deals were too numbered to get into, but the eight-figure pact for Paul Rudd to star in the Anaconda reboot and selling the Colleen Hoover novel Reminders of Him to Universal weren’t too shabby. As for Ronson, the independent film head sold the breakout Sundance doc Will & Harper to Netflix and helped structure the financing for the Chris Pratt Cannes pitch Way of the Warrior Kid before it sold to Skydance and Apple for a cool $85 million.
Hollywood’s takeaway from Trump’s re-election should be …
Devins: “Looks like we’re gonna need a lot more comedies!”
Ronson: “Hopefully the streamers and studios don’t shy away from our truth-to-power stories, as we know these films can shape culture.”My professional crush
Kohan: “Always Sherry Lansing.”If I were a man with this job …
Devins: “I’d be taller … with a more sensible shoe collection.”Fictional character I most identify with these days
Kohan: “Lady Danbury from Bridgerton“
Ronson: “Pamela Adlon’s Sam Fox in Better Things.”“”
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Nina Diaz
Image Credit: Elyse Jankowski/Golden Globes 2024/Getty Images CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, SHOWTIME/ MTV STUDIOS, PARAMOUNT NETWORKS
Since adding scripted to her slate at the pre-merger Paramount, Diaz has launched political thriller The Agency and the Dexter prequel Original Sin at Showtime (or Paramount with Showtime … who really knows at this point?) after raising eyebrows with Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder’s experimental The Curse. Key to her portfolio, Yellowjackets is expected to make its long-awaited return in early 2025.
My most played song of 2024 ” ‘Not Like Us,’ by Kendrick Lamar.”
My professional crush “Bela Bajaria, chief content officer at Netflix. All day, every day. She is the G.O.A.T.!”
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Kristin Dolan
Image Credit: Courtesy of AMC Networks CEO, AMC NETWORKS
Taking charge of the storied cable (now streaming) portfolio in 2023, Dolan has leaned into what works: making new iterations of The Walking Dead and placing them at Netflix for lucrative second windows. Content licensing recently jumped 31 percent, helping the company best earnings expectations as it also finally bought out the Brits to gain full control of BBC America.
Fictional character I most identify with these days … “Kate Wyler, from The Diplomat.”
My trick to staying calm right now “Spending the weekends cooking.”
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Fran Drescher
Image Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images ACTOR & PRESIDENT, SAG-AFTRA
One year after SAG-AFTRA’s historic actors strike ended, its president isn’t letting up on labor activism. Drescher’s union recently mounted a work stoppage against major video game companies (at issue, once more, is the use of AI in entertainment), unionized intimacy coordinators and successfully advocated for enshrining AI protections for performers into California state law. Meanwhile, Drescher is set to return to the silver screen soon with roles in Josh Safdie’s A24 film Marty Supreme and Rob Reiner’s Spinal Tap II.
My trick to staying calm right now “Arranging flowers. Buddhist wisdom always helps. A holy basil supplement if all else fails.”
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Wonder Woman.”
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Channing Dungey
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images CHAIR, WARNER BROS. TELEVISION GROUP
As if she weren’t already one of the most powerful TV execs, Dungey adds oversight of more than 12 channels in Warner Bros. Discovery’s substantial cable portfolio to her remit in 2025. That’s in addition to managing a massive studio output (nearly 90 current series) that’s a pipeline to both corporate siblings (Max’s The Penguin and the upcoming HBO effort Lanterns) and off-site. Ted Lasso season four seems to be a go at Apple TV+, where WBTV recently planted summer breakouts Presumed Innocent and Bad Monkey.
Still waiting on a call from … “My childhood crush.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “Any prediction made today has a 50-50 shot at accuracy.”
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Ava DuVernay
Image Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images FILMMAKER & FOUNDER, ARRAY
While DuVernay has yet to announce her next directorial effort (her last film was 2023’s Origin), her creative collective Array continues to cover industry blindspots. Array Crew connects underrepresented below-the-line talent with jobs, and Array Releasing helps connect works from unrepresented filmmakers to audiences — especially important as indie films are having a harder (read: nearly impossible) time landing distribution out of film festivals.
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Ayo Edebiri
Image Credit: Photographed by Lou Escobar ACTOR, WRITER & DIRECTOR
The breakout star of The Bear has spent the past few years atop casting wish lists, and she appears to be picking and choosing wisely. She recently filmed features from directors Luca Guadagnino (After the Hunt) and James L. Brooks (Ella McCay). When she’s not donning chef’s whites in Chicago, she can be found in the recording studio lending her voice to Big Mouth, Inside Out 2 and Clone High or bringing the house down in one of the best Saturday Night Live sketches of the year. (“School Hypnotist,” google it.)“”
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Jessica Elbaum
Image Credit: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images PRODUCER, GLORIA SANCHEZ PRODUCTIONS
With Will & Harper proving to be the doc darling of 2024, Elbaum puts her producing partner Will Ferrell in front of the camera again come January. That’s when his Reese Witherspoon rom-com You’re Cordially Invited finally RSVPs on Prime Video. But first, there’s Liz Feldman’s follow-up to Dead to Me: The Netflix comedy series No Good Deed drops Dec. 12 in that choice pre-holiday corridor.
My professional crush “Dolly Parton.” [Editor’s note: Elbaum references Parton in some respect every year. Dolly, please reach out.]
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Amy Entelis
Image Credit: Jai Lennard/Cable News Network. A WarnerMedia Company EXEC VP, TALENT & CNN ORIGINALS & CREATIVE DEVELOPMENT
At a CNN that is undergoing a wave of tumult, Entelis has a relative island of stability — and remains her outlet’s tether to Hollywood. After former CEO Chris Licht sought to slash CNN’s original programming ambitions, new boss Mark Thompson seeks to reinvigorate them. Entelis has helped launch a U.S. version of the BBC comedy panel series Have I Got News for You, and series like Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain. And CNN has been producing and acquiring documentaries, like Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story and Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid.
My trick to staying calm right now “Playing the New York Times‘ Spelling Bee.”
Still waiting on a call from … “Dolly Parton, so we can finally give her the authorized documentary treatment!”
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Emerald Fennell
Image Credit: Eamonn M. McCormack/Getty Images FILMMAKER
Fennell is one of the town’s most in-demand directors. After her Oscar win for Promising Young Woman and the sensation of Saltburn — the film put 2000s song “Murder on the Dance Floor” on the 2024 Billboard charts while sullying the reputation of bathtub drains — the filmmaker set off a seismic bidding war for her latest. Reteaming with Margot Robbie and her LuckyChap, Fennell will write and direct a Wuthering Heights adaptation starring Euphoria favorite Jacob Elordi.
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Elaine Frontain Bryant
Image Credit: Courtesy of AE Networks EXEC VP & HEAD OF PROGRAMMING, A&E, LIFETIME & LMN
The ever-dependable true-crime genre continues to slay across Frontain Bryant’s portfolio. Sordidly titled (but highly watched!) projects like Casey Anthony’s Parents: The Lie Detector Test at A&E, The Prison Confessions of Gypsy Rose Blanchard at Lifetime and the latter’s follow-up, Gypsy Rose: Life After Lockup, all proved to be pay dirt for her cable networks in 2024.
My most played song of 2024 ” ‘Tennessee Orange,’ by Megan Moroney. Actually, her whole album, [Lucky].”
Still waiting on a call from … “Diana Ross, saying she wants Lifetime to do her biography.”
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Liz Garbus
Image Credit: Todd France FILMMAKER & FOUNDER, STORY SYNDICATE
She may be keeping her directorial efforts increasingly focused on Hollywood fare — Hulu’s upcoming Good American Family, starring Ellen Pompeo and Mark Duplass, gives the wild Natalia Grace story a scripted spin — but she’s still quite busy on the documentary front thanks to her Story Syndicate shingle. Recent producorial efforts include Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara.
My trick to staying calm right now “Thinking about history. Nothing is permanent; we have to keep fighting for the values we hold dear.”
If I were a man with this job … “I’d be richer.”
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Dany Garcia
Image Credit: Mikkel Aranas PRESIDENT, SEVEN BUCKS PRODUCTIONS
A 360-degree businesswoman, Garcia heads Seven Bucks, which she co-founded with former husband Dwayne Johnson. This year they had Amazon’s much-discussed (if poorly attended) Christmas movie Red One, and a live-action Moana is on the runway with much more in development. Garcia’s extensive portfolio includes energy drink Zoa, tequila Teremana, an Under Armour line and the relaunch of football league UFL.
Still waiting on a call from … “Whoopi Goldberg to discuss her new All-Women Sports Network.”
My most played song of 2024 “Cowboy Carter, the whole album.”
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Dede Gardner
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images PARTNER, PLAN B ENTERTAINMENT
The production company Gardner co-runs with Brad Pitt and Jeremy Kleiner delivered a wide range of projects in 2024, including Paramount’s biopic box office hit, Bob Marley: One Love, Netflix’s sci-fi streaming win 3 Body Problem, Warner Bros.’ $451 million-grossing Beetlejuice sequel and the Amazon critical darling Nickel Boys. Next year sees her delivering Bong Joon Ho’s much-anticipated Parasite follow (Mickey 17), Pitt’s F1 and Nia DaCosta’s Hedda Gabler adaptation.
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Greta Gerwig
Image Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images ACTOR & FILMMAKER
After saving Hollywood from a subdued 2023 with Barbie, Gerwig’s $1.45 billion-grossing technicolor ode to the theatrical experience that earned eight Oscar nominations, the auteur retreated to her creative bunker, where she’s hatching a presumably pricey Chronicles of Narnia film for Netflix. She did briefly reemerge in 2024 to film husband Noah Baumbach’s untitled, cloaked-in-secrecy feature — also at Netflix.
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Nikki Glaser
Image Credit: Photographed by Yasara Gunawardena ACTOR, COMIC, HOST & WRITER
Tom Brady may have proved too sensitive to be on the receiving end of a roast, but Netflix’s high-profile sendup of the quarterback turned trying-really-hard commentator was nothing to regret for this comic. Glaser, long a successful touring comedian with a slew of specials and TV gigs, seemed to coast just outside the zeitgeist until her scene-stealing appearance on the May special. She’s been on a roll ever since. Six days later, she dropped Nikki Glaser: Someday You’ll Die on Max, now the most watched original stand-up special in the streamer’s history. In August, the Golden Globes announced she’ll host the 2025 telecast — a move that will hopefully erase Jo Koy’s 2024 gig from our collective memory.
Fictional character I most identify with these days “I haven’t seen it yet, but based on what I’ve heard, I think I’m like Demi Moore’s character in The Substance right before she takes it.”
Still waiting on a call from … “My boyfriend. He’s out of town. I told him via text last night that I was depressed. He asked if I wanted to talk on the phone, but I said ‘no’ so he didn’t call me. What I really wanted him to do was call anyway. How dare he respect my boundaries! Can’t he read the truth behind my defensive lies?!”
My professional crush “Everyone involved with English Teacher on FX. I haven’t been this excited about a TV comedy since Veep.”
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Dana Goldberg
Image Credit: John Russo/Paramount Pictures/Skydance Media CHIEF CREATIVE OFFICER, SKYDANCE MEDIA
The M&A tea leaves have yet to reveal what’s in store for creatives on either side of 2025’s Skydance-Paramount marriage, but Goldberg’s track record of taste at the David Ellison outfit bodes well. She helped Skydance become the only independent studio to occupy the No. 1 slot on two streamers over the same weekend with film The Family Plan (Apple TV+) and Reacher (Prime Video). Highlights on her crowded runway, many already mentioned in other entries, include an action-comedy series starring Octavia Spencer and Hannah Waddingham (for Prime, which won a bidding war) and the feature Mayday, starring Ryan Reynolds and Kenneth Branagh, for Apple.
Hollywood’s takeaway from Trump’s re- election should be … “Polling, schmolling.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “We stop talking about the death of theatrical.”
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Kira Goldberg & Hannah Minghella
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix (2) VP FILM, NETFLIX; HEAD OF FEATURE ANIMATION AND LIVE-ACTION FAMILY FILM, NETFLIX
The two highest-ranking women behind Netflix’s moneyed movie slate, Minghella and Goldberg hold outsize influence as studio execs. Upcoming features from Minghella, who heads feature animation and family films, and Goldberg, who is handling thrillers and dramas, include the Charlize Theron survival movie Apex, the Remarkably Bright Creatures adaptation — you know, “That Octopus Book” — and Greta Gerwig’s Chronicles of Narnia film. Goldberg also was behind 2024 global hits like Kevin Hart’s Lift and the Laura Dern starrer Lonely Planet.
My 2025 Hollywood prediction
Goldberg: “A renewed emphasis on original stories and also hopefully Titanic 2.”
Minghella: “It will be unpredictable!”Still waiting on a call from …
Goldberg: “Lin Manuel Miranda to schedule the Rainbow Room dinner he owes me for losing a bet. Pay your debts, LMM!”Fictional character I most identify with these days
Minghella: “I’ll resist the urge to name a protagonist from a dystopian novel and instead pick Joy from Inside Out 2.”“”
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Selena Gomez
Image Credit: Photographed by Guy Aroch ACTOR, SINGER & PRODUCER
Is there any arena in which Gomez can’t thrive? Kicking off the year with an underrated banger (justice for “Love On!”), the newly minted Rare Beauty billionaire earned Emmy nominations for starring in and producing Only Murders in the Building, delivered a star-packed fourth season and appeared in the toast of Cannes, Emilia Pérez, alongside Karla Sofía Gascón and Zoe Saldaña. This year’s THR Equity in Entertainment Award honoree, her Rare Impact Fund mobilizes $100 million for increased access to youth mental health services and education around the world.
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Salma Hayek Pinault
Image Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images ACTOR & PRODUCER
Currently in production on Sacrifice, an action adventure comedy in which she stars alongside Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Evans, Hayek continues to build an already impressive résumé as a producer. Her serialized adaptation of Like Water for Chocolate for HBO is presently intoxicating critics. It’s also been a year since husband François-Henri Pinault’s investment firm, Artémis, purchased a majority stake in CAA — a power play for the actress, as well, already one of the agency’s top clients.
If I were a man with this job … “I’d be myself, just with a penis and making more money.”
My professional crush “Anthony Hopkins.”
Still waiting on a call from … “Christopher Nolan.” [Editor’s note: Chris, pick up the phone.]
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Cindy Holland
Image Credit: Getty Images ADVISER, SKYDANCE
It’s still not completely clear what Holland’s role will be as she helps David Ellison navigate the Paramount deal — or what role there might be for her when the merger dust settles — but in tapping the woman largely credited with making Netflix a prestige outlet (before her sudden 2020 exit), the scion is certainly sending a signal to the creative community.
My professional crush “I cannot, and will not, choose between Natasha Lyonne and Brit Marling.”
My most played song of 2024 “Whatever happens to be on the ‘Chill’ station.”
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Colleen Hoover
Image Credit: Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images AUTHOR & PRODUCER
After the Hoover adaptation It Ends With Us became one of the biggest box office successes of 2024 — with $148 million domestically and another $200 million internationally — the author’s works became a hot commodity in Hollywood. Nearly every studio wanted a piece, with Amazon backing Verity, starring Anne Hathaway, and a confident Universal setting Reminders of Him for a 2026 release date despite it not yet having a cast. Hoover is heading into Gillian Flynn and Liane Moriarty territory.
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Jinny Howe & Tracey Pakosta
Image Credit: Courtesy of Netflix VP DRAMA SERIES, NETFLIX; VP COMEDY SERIES, NETFLIX
Overseeing the streamer’s most impactful overall deals (Shondaland and the Duffer brothers), Howe dropped Bridgerton season three, Ryan Murphy’s Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, bonkers Nicole Kidman vehicle The Perfect Couple and Emmy darling Ripley all in the past nine months. Pakosta, who launched watercooler favorite Nobody Wants This, remains instrumental in Netflix’s offscreen comedy push with Netflix Is a Joke: The Festival (242 shows, including John Mulaney’s blissful Everybody’s in L.A., over 12 wild days). Her team remains the biggest buyer of specials, with Ali Wong, Hannah Gadsby, Ellen DeGeneres, Dave Chappelle and Joe Rogan (a man who has no place in this issue) all dropping new hours.
My trick to staying calm right now
Howe: “Planning family vacations and daydreaming about exotic getaways with friends.”
Pakosta: “Häagen-Dazs Vanilla Swiss Almond ice cream.”Still waiting on a call from …
Howe: “Sofia Coppola.”
Pakosta: “The high school attendance office.”“”
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Pearlena Igbokwe
Image Credit: JC Olivera/Getty Images CHAIR, UNIVERSAL STUDIO GROUP
Overseeing NBCU’s four TV-focused studios (Universal Television, UCP, Universal Television Alternative Studio and Universal International Studios), Igbokwe has spent her four years atop the group growing revenue, series output (100-plus airing globally) and is responsible for five of the top 10 scripted series on broadcast — most of them from TV’s biggest cop enthusiast who isn’t on the Fox News payroll, Dick Wolf. But Mr. Wolf is an outlier when you look at Igbokwe’s female-dominant talent stable, which has deals with Tina Fey, Amy Poehler, Debra Martin Chase, Nahnatchka Khan, Jenna Bush Hager and Mariska Hargitay.
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Lucy Ricardo, trying to wrap all the pieces of chocolate before they go by on the conveyor belt and being forced to stuff some in my mouth and purse so I don’t slow anything down. Is that a clear enough picture?”
My trick to staying calm right now “Focusing on the task in front of me and tuning out all the other noise. It works both professionally and personally.”
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Nina Jacobson
Image Credit: Getty Images PRODUCER, COLOR FORCE
Jacobson’s production company with longtime partner Brad Simpson did not slack these past 12 months, launching new series Clipped for FX on Hulu, franchise potential American Sports Story with Ryan Murphy at FX and the adaptation of Patrick Radden Keefe’s Say Nothing at Hulu. On the film front, a new feature in author Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games franchise was announced in June and there are rumblings that the long-delayed Crazy Rich Asians sequel may soon start moving forward.
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Mindy Kaling
Image Credit: Ari Michelson ACTOR, WRITER & PRODUCER
Kaling is very much in writing mode at the moment — most recently penning the return of The Sex Lives of College Girls and putting the finishing touches on the Kate Hudson NBA comedy Running Point for Netflix. It should also be noted that, in an era when selling comedies is nearly impossible, the Warner Bros.-set producer had multiple bidders for her single-camera ensemble piece Murray Hill. Hulu won with a script-to-series commitment. (She also just boarded the live-action short Anuja as a producer, a boon to the Oscar hopeful.)
My trick to staying calm right now “Online shopping. I memorize credit card numbers faster than lines.”
My professional crush “Greta Gerwig, and it’s not professional.”
If I were a man with this job … “I’d be doing what I’m doing now but also finding time to complain about fantasy football.”
Fictional character I most identify with these days “I’m Baron Harkonen. I’m cruel but also just want to take a hot bath.”
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Theresa Kang
Image Credit: Marion Curtris/Starpix for Apple TV+ CEO, BLUE MARBLE PICTURES
In the four years since Kang left her life as an agent to launch her own production company and management firm, she’s found success with a string of prestige projects — notably the adaptation of the Min Jin Lee novel Pachinko, which recently aired its second season at Apple TV+, and the upcoming HBO effort Dark Places. She maintains a client list that includes Lena Waithe, Gillian Flynn and Alfonso Cuarón, who just dropped his first series, Cate Blanchett’s Disclaimer, at Apple TV+.
My trick to staying calm right now “Learning something new. Right now taking Spanish lessons.”
My professional crush “Steve Golin, to this day.”
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Kim Kardashian
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images ACTOR & PRODUCER
After conquering reality TV, fashion and shapewear over the past 15 years — while dabbling in criminal justice work — Kardashian now has her sights set on a more traditional Hollywood pastime: acting. The star will follow up her onscreen work in American Horror Story: Delicate with a second Ryan Murphy series, the legal drama All’s Fair, that Kardashian is executive producing; she also is set to star in the Netflix comedy The Fifth Wheel, from Paula Pell and Janine Brito.
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Lisa Katz
Image Credit: Randy Shropshire/Getty Images PRESIDENT, SCRIPTED CONTENT, NBCUNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT
The buyer for both NBC and Peacock, this former drama head has placed Poker Face, Fight Night, Ted and the recently renewed The Day of the Jackal at the streamer while giving her broadcast network some rare non-Dick Wolf fare in Found, Irrational and, a company priority, the comedy St. Denis Medical. She also gave the greenlight to Greg Daniels’ upcoming sitcom “set in the world of The Office” — which you really cannot call a reboot, all right?
My trick to staying calm right now “Yoga and Duolingo”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “Fewer networks but more episodes (with commercials).”
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Kathleen Kennedy
Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images PRESIDENT, LUCASFILM
Despite stop-and-starts on features and uneven success on streaming series, Kennedy, who sits at the creative helm of Hollywood’s biggest non-Marvel IP, is forging forward into that galaxy far, far away. Jon Favreau is working the first Star Wars feature in several years, The Mandalorian & Grogu, and a second season of Andor (considered the best of the episodic offerings) will return in 2025. It also was recently announced that Simon Kinberg will write and produce a new trilogy — but we’ve heard that line before.
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Paula Kerger
Image Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images CEO, PBS
PBS remains one of the most vital programmers in America, even if it doesn’t scream sexy — well, at least not since Downton Abbey — and it may not be the biggest buyer. But, as a public media-averse Trump administration soon returns to the White House, the longest-serving leader in its history will again have to fight to ensure that PBS’ educational and kids programming stays on 300-plus independent stations, many servicing rural homes without broadband internet.
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “Accelerating change and disruption.”
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Jo March. From the time I was a girl I have always loved that she is smart, relentless, and outspoken, always pushing against what is usually expected of women.”
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Aleen Keshishian
Image Credit: Getty Images CEO, LIGHTHOUSE MANAGEMENT + MEDIA
One of the most successful manager-producers in Hollywood, Keshishian put client Selena Gomez in Emilia Pérez, got Gwyneth Paltrow to return to acting opposite Timothée Chalamet in Josh Safdie’s Marty, produced Olivia Rodrigo: GUTS World Tour for Netflix and helped set up Black Rabbit at Netflix for Jason Bateman to star in, direct and produce. She’s also got Jennifer Aniston, Paul Rudd and Mark Ruffalo, but who’s counting?
My trick to staying calm right now “Astro Burger drive-through.”
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Nicole Kidman
Image Credit: Photographed by Alique ACTOR & PRODUCER, BLOSSOM FILMS
If haven’t yet read Kidman’s feature interview, go directly to this page. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200.
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Nicole King & Stacy O’Neil
Image Credit: Getty Images (2) CO-FOUNDERS, LINDEN ENTERTAINMENT
Alongside third partner JoAnne Colonna, King and O’Neil have grown their management and production business in spades, with King notably leading Jennifer Garner’s lucrative entrepreneurial efforts and O’Neil, repping Vin Diesel and producing Marielle Heller’s Nightbitch with Bond Group Entertainment, which she co-founded with client Amy Adams. In June, Linden Productions’ venture Stereophonic took five Tony Awards, including best play.
Still waiting on a call from …
King: “Ina Garten.”
O’Neil: “Bruce Springsteen.”Fictional character I most identify with these days
King: “My daughters say a cross between Buzz Light Year and Road Runner, with a sprinkle of Maleficent.”
O’Neil:”Nancy Drew — I have teenage twins so I am always trying to solve the mystery of what’s really going on.”“”
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Deborah Klein, Tara Kole, Gretchen Rush & Nina Shaw
Image Credit: Getty Images (4) ATTORNEYS
Klein negotiated one of the only things we know about Avengers 5, that Paul Rudd will be on board, after seeing Vince Vaughn star in Bad Monkey and placing Samuel L. Jackson in Fight Night and The Piano Lesson. Kole got Josh O’Connor to star in Kelly Reichardt’s next film The Mastermind and set Charles Melton’s deal to appear in the next installment of Beef. Major deals for Rush include Jennifer Lawrence starring in and producing the Lynne Ramsay thriller Die, My Love, and renewing Ellen Pompeo’s eternally lucrative Grey’s Anatomy gig, while Shaw saw success for Lupita Nyong’o (A Quiet Place: Day One and The Wild Robot).
My 2025 Hollywood prediction
Kole: “FAST TV will continue to explode.”My most played song of 2024
Rush: ” ‘One of Your Girls,’ by Troye Sivan.”“”
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Veronika Kwan Vandenberg
Image Credit: Universal Pictures International PRESIDENT OF DISTRIBUTION, UNIVERSAL PICTURES INTERNATIONAL
The town’s only female distribution exec on a greenlight committee helped the studio usurp Disney and become No. 1 in global market share in 2023 — thanks in large part to the performance of Oppenheimer. Not unlike the reigning best picture Oscar winner, this Thanksgiving’s Wicked isn’t an obvious sell overseas — yet the latter is off to a strong start internationally ($97 million through Dec. 1).
My trick to staying calm right now “An ice bath.”
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Donna Langley
Image Credit: Getty Images CHAIR, NBCUNIVERSAL ENTERTAINMENT AND STUDIOS
Each year, Hollywood’s top female film executive coalesces more sway at her media conglomerate — which, in the wake of spinning off its cable business, promoted Langley to lead greenlight decisions, company-wide, across TV, streaming and film. As for her film output, her group retains a 21 percent share of the domestic market, pulled $5 billion at the global box office in the past year, earned a 2024 best picture Oscar (and six others) for Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer and kicked off the holiday movie rush with $359.9 million (and counting) globally for Wicked.
My trick to staying calm right now “Focusing on the things I can control and the ways I can show up for those around me.”
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Jennifer Lawrence
Image Credit: Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images ACTOR & PRODUCER, EXCELLENT CADAVER
One of the few minted movie stars of her generation, Lawrence is redoubling her producing efforts via Excellent Cadaver, throwing her weight behind abortion doc Zurawski v Texas and Bread and Roses, about women in Afghanistan under the rule of the Taliban. Next up is producing and starring in Die, My Love. Then the well-documented Real Housewives obsessive is mixing business and pleasure, producing an A24 murder mystery inspired by the Bravo franchise.
My trick to staying calm right now “Avoiding cable news.”
My professional crush “Saoirse Ronan. She’s extremely talented and makes bold choices.”
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Miky Lee
Image Credit: Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images VICE CHAIR, CJ GROUP
The deep-pocked tastemaker continues to make more and more English-language content as the stateside face of her South Korean conglomerate. As a producer, Lee delivered new seasons of Snowpiercer and The Big Door Prize in 2024 and has Yorgos Lanthimos’ directorial effort Bugonia, starring — who else? — Emma Stone, on deck for 2025, just in time for awards season.
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Meg LeFauve
Image Credit: Monica Schipper/GA/Getty Images WRITER
With a story-by screenplay credit, LeFauve was a key driver (and only prominent woman) on the team that executed Inside Out 2. Having collected a joyful bounty of almost $1.7 billion, the movie set records by becoming not just the highest-grossing movie of the year, but also the highest-grossing animated movie of all time and the eighth-highest-grossing movie in history. When it hit Disney+, it generated 30.5 million views in its first five days, making it the top film performer on the streaming service. That’s a lot of superlatives.
My trick to staying calm right now “If I look calm, I am pretending. Right now, Anxiety is fully on the controls, but Joy is right there beside her — I just have to breathe and look for the beauty in my life.”
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Blake Lively
Image Credit: Guy Aroch ACTOR & PRODUCER
Lively vehicle It Ends With Us filled the proverbial watercooler on multiple fronts, most notably luring female audiences in droves and scoring nearly $350 million at the global box office this summer. It’s a best-case scenario for her producorial debut, as she used the expansive press tour to push her budding businesses (sparkling soda company Betty Buzz, alcohol operation Betty Booze, hair-care line Blake Brown). Next up on the acting front: The sequel to A Simple Favor.
My most played song of 2024 “Baby Shark, Dance Remix. I have a 1-year-old. It’s heaven — and also musical hell.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “More films by women, for women, about women, being greenlit and made. Women show up to the theaters for female genres, even though Hollywood seemingly forgot that for a while. Women are quite literally kicking ass in male genres — but when we give women roles exploring the female experience in female genres, we will come in droves to see it. And not alone. They bring friends, other genders and show up and reward a studio with repeated viewings. Make it great. Make it human. Make it emotional. And people will come.”
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Eva Longoria
Image Credit: Photographed by Jai Lennard ACTOR & FILMMAKER
She may be living between Spain and Mexico these days, but Longoria is no less a Hollywood force, appearing in Land of Women and then Only Murders in the Building (as herself playing Selena Gomez’s character, Mabel). The producer has a slew of Spanish-language content in production and development, and, a year out from co-founding Hyphenate Media Group alongside longtime friend Cris Abrego, the chief creative officer brought powerhouse writer-director-producer Gloria Calderón Kellett in house.
If I were a man with this job … “I probably wouldn’t multitask as well.”
My professional crush “Ricky Martin.”
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Jennifer Lopez
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images ACTOR, SINGER & PRODUCER
Listen, nobody’s saying Lopez had a marquee year. Quite the opposite. Concept album and companion film This Is Me … Now was a gamble that just didn’t pay off, she canceled a summer tour, and her personal life occupied an oversized amount of tabloid attention. But Netflix movie Atlas pulled in 77 million viewers, prompting the streamer to buy her rom-com with Brett Goldstein. Her performance in TIFF sports drama Unstoppable earned positive reviews. And she’s been pretty candid about the bumps along the way. Real ones recover quick.
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Kristie Macosko Krieger
Image Credit: Courtesy of Subject PRODUCER, AMBLIN PARTNERS
Prepping Steven Spielberg’s next directorial venture, an untitled event pic for Universal, Macosko Krieger and all involved are staying mum about the storyline, but most signs point to it being his first tentpole production since 2018’s Ready Player One. Krieger has been Spielberg’s go-to producer for years, and this next collaboration has already assembled quite the cast, including Josh O’Connor, Emily Blunt, Colman Domingo, Colin Firth and Eve Hewson.
My most played song of 2024 ” ‘Not My Fault,’ by Reneé Rapp and Megan Thee Stallion.”
My professional crush “Donna Langley. Her ability to manage talent, along with executives and a wide portfolio is like watching a masterclass in leadership.”
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Alana Mayo & Julie Rapaport
Image Credit: Eric Charbonneau/Getty Images HEAD, ORION PICTURES; HEAD OF FILM, DEVELOPMENT &PRODUCTION, AMAZON MGM STUDIOS
Between action movie Road House and Anne Hathaway rom-dram The Idea of You, there is no denying Amazon film slate’s stellar year (minus the Red One box office, of course). Rapaport shepherded the remake starring Jake Gyllenhaal, with it becoming the streamer’s most watched original feature film ever. As for Mayo, her Orion studio label followed the Oscar-winning American Fiction with this year’s Nickel Boys and has Nia DaCosta’s Hedda Gabler movie in the can.
My 2025 Hollywood prediction
Mayo: “All of the scary trends will likely continue, but artists will continue to create unique and surprising films and shows.”
Rapaport: “We lean into the truth that Hollywood thrives on surprises. Even when we think we’ve cracked the code, it’s the unexpected that often captures hearts and defines the year. Those moments remind us why this business is still magic and why taking risks is great for audiences and great for this business.“”
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Ramsey Naito
Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images PRESIDENT OF ANIMATION, PARAMOUNT AND NICKELODEON
Naito’s division builds new studio franchises (see: PAW Patrol movies) and revives other IP that has long been dead weight. The latter was the case with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, when 2023 breakout feature Mutant Mayhem begat both a sequel movie and Paramount+ series. Elsewhere, Paramount’s popular Avatar: The Last Airbender animated series is getting the movie treatment, with a spinoff feature set for 2026.
My most played song of 2024 ” ‘To You,’ by Willow Smith — and composed by my son, Antonio Mollura!”
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Lauren Neustadter & Reese Witherspoon
Image Credit: Michael Buckner/Getty Images PRESIDENT OF FILM AND TV, HELLO SUNSHINE; ACTOR, PRODUCER & FOUNDER, HELLO SUNSHINE
It was a busy year of filming and dealing for Witherspoon’s prolific shingle. While shooting the latest season of The Morning Show, whose third installment saw her Emmy-nominated for acting and producing, she set a Legally Blonde prequel series at Amazon and dropped a few unscripted projects on various streamers (The Pasta Queen finally got her own show!). With Neustadter guiding creative, the duo will kick off 2025 with feature comedy You’re Cordially Invited.
Still waiting on a call from …
Witherspoon: “Greta Gerwig. I’m available for anything and everything that she wants to create.”Fictional character I most identify with these days
Neustadter: “Bluey’s mom, Chilli.”
Witherspoon: “Right now I’m channeling Elle Woods — she has a pretty undefeatable spirit.”My professional crush
Neustadter: “Celeste Ng. Her writing moves me beyond words.”“”
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Michelle Obama
Image Credit: NBC/Getty Images CO-FOUNDER, HIGHER GROUND
There’s been some executive roulette at the former first lady’s production company, but the output hasn’t flagged — or been remotely predictable. Higher Ground followed thriller Leave the World Behind with a quiet dark comedy about true-crime podcasts (Bodkin) and a sports doc series featuring LeBron James (Starting 5). Last year’s acclaimed documentary feature American Symphony was just nominated for two Grammys.
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Jenna Ortega
Image Credit: Stuart C. Wilson/Getty Images ACTOR & PRODUCER
For those who thought Ortega was maybe just a fad after the reasonable success of the Scream reboot and phenomenon that was Wednesday, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice likely silenced any remaining skeptics. Not only did she bring the successful sequel into the 21st century, her A-list co-stars spent the press tour singing her praises. Wednesday season two, which sees her earn a producer credit, is on deck for 2025 — as is Taika Waititi’s adaptation of Kazuo Ishiguro’s Klara and the Sun, in which she’ll star.
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Mary Parent
Image Credit: Jeff Spicer/Getty Images CHAIR, WORLDWIDE PRODUCTION, LEGENDARY
The steward of Hollywood’s biggest monster movies (Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire) and sci-fi franchises (Dune), Parent’s 2024 box office haul is well over $1 billion. After the first Dune film was thrown a curveball with a day-and-date release under Warners’ then-streaming strategy, the producer helped guide Dune: Part Two to $714 million in global ticket sales earlier this year, with the film a massive awards contender. The first film about the deeply popular game Minecraft, starring Jason Momoa, Jack Black and Danielle Brooks, is next on the calendar.
If I were a man with this job … “I’d never have to check a bag.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “Fear will probably still be too prevalent, unfortunately.”
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Amy Pascal
Image Credit: Joe Maher/Getty Images PRODUCER, PASCAL PICTURES
Pascal is the woman behind Spider-Man and, even with box office disappointments like Venom: The Last Dance, she keeps churning out hits like the animated Spider-Verse films and Tom Holland’s live-action series. The producer, who also dropped Challengers and Goodrich earlier this year, soon partners with Christopher Lord and Phil Miller and Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig on their respective next projects.
My professional crush “Martha Stewart.”
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Margo Channing.”
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Cynthia Pett
Image Credit: Getty Images CO-CEO, BRILLSTEIN ENTERTAINMENT PARTNERS
Among Pett’s many clients and their new projects — Brad Pitt (Wolfs), Bond hopeful Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Kraven the Hunter), Charlie Hunnam (Ryan Murphy’s Monsters), Elizabeth Olsen (His Three Daughters), Kyle Chandler (Lanterns) — one of the most exciting might be Eve Hewson and the strategic moves keeping the actress busy. Bono’s daughter is becoming a bona fide star — sparring with Nicole Kidman in Netflix’s The Perfect Couple, starring in a second season of Sharon Horgan’s Bad Sisters and booking that upcoming Spielberg flick.
Still waiting on a call from … “Robert Plant.”
My most played song of 2024 “Teddy Swims’ ‘Lose Control’”
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Katherine Pope
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/GA/Getty Images PRESIDENT, SONY PICTURES TELEVISION STUDIOS
In her second year at Sony, Pope now oversees more than 40 productions for the platform-agnostic studio — the most impressive of the year probably being The Boys. The fourth run of Eric Kripke’s satire outpaced the previous three to rank as Amazon’s fourth-most-watched season of all time. When not signing new talent deals with Ron Moore, Kumail Nanjiani, Gail Berman and more, she and her studio were wrapping up production on the highly anticipated return of HBO’s The Last of Us.
Still waiting on a call from … “Doesn’t everyone just text now?”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “Consolidation of platforms, continued pressure on windowing, fewer large-scale disruptions, stronger hits through fewer series overall.”
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Issa Rae
Image Credit: Emma McIntyre/Getty Images ACTOR, WRITER & PRODUCER
She may be without a TV series for the first time in over eight years, but she is nothing if not busy speaking truth to power in the wake of Hollywood’s flagging DEI efforts. Her Hoorae Media is behind Keke Palmer and SZA’s upcoming movie One of Them Days, in addition to this past year’s short Grief Retreat, while President Barbie returns in front of the camera in the next batch of Black Mirror episodes.
If I were a man with this job … “I’d be doing romantic comedies.”
Hollywood’s takeaway from Trump’s re- election should be … “Your public endorsements don’t help.”
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Shari Redstone
Image Credit: Noam Galai/Getty Images CHAIR, PARAMOUNT GLOBAL
For the controlling shareholder of Paramount Global, via National Amusements, 2024 was about legacy. She cut a deal to sell her family’s entertainment company to another family-owned business, David Ellison’s Skydance, in a bet that the new ownership would keep the company founded by her father alive and well. Redstone herself has been spending more of her time as a vocal opponent to the rise in hate speech and antisemitism, something deeply personal to her.
Hollywood’s takeaway from Trump’s re-election should be … “The need for media organizations to take responsibility to create content that educates and informs audiences and to report the news with objectivity, focusing on the facts, giving the context and modeling civil discourse and accountability.”
My trick to staying calm right now “Taking longs walks and baking lots of decadent snacks and deserts for my family and friends.”
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Amy Reisenbach
Image Credit: Kevin Winter/GA/Getty Images PRESIDENT, CBS ENTERTAINMENT
Talk about a comeback story. It’s been years since a broadcast channel had a genuine hit on its hands, but that’s exactly what Reisenbach delivered in the second TV season of her making. The Matlock reboot (with a twist!) starring Kathy Bates pulled 16 million viewers in its first month of airing, 23 million if you count encore airings. It’s earned a second season and could very well see Bates in the Emmy conversation.
My trick to staying calm right now “Watching The Great British Baking Show.”
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Lucy, Charlie Brown or Snoopy … really depends on the day.”
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Rihanna
Image Credit: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images SINGER & ENTREPRENEUR
We are going to put Rihanna on this list until she releases that ninth album — or Los Angeles slides into the ocean, whatever comes first. At least music’s slumbering titan and beauty magnate still has skin in the entertainment game. Her deal to voice Smurfette in the upcoming Smurfs Movie comes with a co-producer credit. Pay her what you owe her.
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Margot Robbie
Image Credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images ACTOR & PRODUCER, LUCKYCHAP
A year after the Barbie moment, Robbie’s sought-after LuckyChap production banner — which has an impressive track record of finding and cultivating female directors — released Megan Park’s critically adored My Old Ass (90 percent fresh on Rotten Tomatoes) via Amazon. She is producing and starring as Catherine in Emerald Fennell’s Wuthering Heights adaptation, which caused a bidding frenzy between studios earlier this year. Warners Bros. landed the feature after committing to a global theatrical release. Oh, and she just had her first child. Mazel tov, Margot.
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Zoe Saldaña
Image Credit: Ruven Afanador ACTOR & PRODUCER, CINESTAR
No longer confined by green or blue makeup and CGI, at least for the moment, Saldaña has been on one ever since she shared that best actress win at Cannes with her Emilia Pérez co-stars. She’s considered a frontrunner in the supporting actress race this Oscar season, and there may be Emmy campaigning on its heels. Saldaña stars in and produces (under the banner she runs with her sisters) Taylor Sheridan drama Lioness with — let’s just mention her again for fun — Nicole Kidman.
My trick to staying calm right now “Spending time with family, doing a lot of meditational breathing, and tackling my to-do list.”
My most played song of 2024 ” ‘Birds of a Feather,’ by Billie Eilish.”
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Jennifer Salke
Image Credit: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images HEAD OF AMAZON MGM STUDIOS
Amazon’s top creative executive enjoyed a particularly strong start to the year — launching her studio’s second-most-watched series to date in Fallout, also a critical darling and surprise Emmy force with 17 nominations. She followed that with the studio’s most watched feature ever in Jake Gyllenhaal’s raucous Road House reboot, which reached 80 million viewers worldwide during its first eight weeks on Prime Video. Other powerhouse titles include the second installment of the pricey Rings of Power and the Anne Hathaway hit rom-dram The Idea of You.
My trick to staying calm right now “Making as much time as possible for laughter and connection with those I love — children, family and cherished friends. These bonds will outlast and outweigh all our professional endeavors.“
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “I hope to see even more embracing of original ideas. This inherently increases the risks but the rewards can be the sweetest.”
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Jen Sargent
Image Credit: Dave Kotinsky/Getty Images CEO, WONDERY
As the lead on Amazon’s premier podcast studio and network, Sargent has not been shy about shelling out big money for big talent — buying New Heights With Jason and Travis Kelce and Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert in recent months for a respective $100 and $80 million. Podcasting is not for the faint of heart.
My trick to staying calm right now “Finding solace in my ability to avoid holiday music, at least for one more week … right?”
My most played song of 2024 “‘Panic Switch’ by the Silversun Pickups, which is driving my husband crazy having to hear it a thousand times.”
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Leslie Siebert
Image Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images CO-PRESIDENT, GERSH
The first lady of Gersh saw Angela Bassett earn an honorary Oscar and win her first Emmy while signing an unprecedented deal for the 9-1-1 star and EP to stay on as one of the highest-paid actresses in television history. Longtime client Kyle Chandler returns to TV as the lead of HBO’s Lanterns and White Lotus season two breakout Sabrina Impacciatore scored a coup in booking the co-lead in Greg Daniels’ reboot of The Office. Let’s just call it what it is.
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Gerri Kellman in Succession.”
Still waiting on a call from … “Mary Vernieu.”
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Sandra Stern
Image Credit: Michael Kovac/Getty Images VICE CHAIR, LIONSGATE TV GROUP
This dealmaker extraordinaire continues to help lead her studio’s TV business in maintaining its status as one of foremost independent suppliers of premium scripted series to broadcast, cable, SVOD, AVOD and FAST channels. (You can’t argue with that many acronyms.) Output remains competitive, bolstered by the CBS comedy flagship Ghosts, among over 100 shows spanning more than 50 platforms.
Still waiting on a call from … “The French embassy.”
My professional crush “Bill Maher.”
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Emma Stone
Image Credit: Photographed by Austin Hargrave ACTOR & PRODUCER, FRUIT TREE
Stone kicked off the year with another best actress Oscar for her work in Yorgos Lanthimos’ Poor Things, which she also executive produced. Her banner with husband Dave McCary, Fruit Tree, is quickly cementing a reputation for adventurous taste and strong talent relationships (see: HBO’s Fantasmas and Showtime’s The Curse). The company recently inked a first-look film deal with Universal after a year of critically acclaimed features including horror film I Saw the TV Glow and Oscar hopeful A Real Pain.
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Meryl Streep
Image Credit: John Nacion/Getty Images ACTOR
The most lauded actor of her generation, Streep can do whatever she wants in this town. And right now, she wants to appear on Only Murders in the Building with her pal Martin Short and tease us with all this talk about a Devil Wears Prada sequel.
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Anjali Sud
Image Credit: John Nacion/Getty Images CEO, TUBI
Assuming leadership in 2023, Sud has taken the most watched free TV and movie streaming service in America and increased its market share in ways some luddites may not have noticed. In August, Tubi accounted for 1.8 percent of total TV viewing in the U.S. The clout of reaching 81 million active monthly users has allowed her to court talent for higher-profile original content — nabbing Lauren Graham for its first in-house scripted series, comedy The Z-Suite.
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “Niche will be the new core. Less monoculture, more diverse fandoms and personalized viewing.”
My most played song of 2024 “Chappell Roan’s ‘Hot to Go!’ It’s my work hype song.”
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Sydney Sweeney
Image Credit: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images ACTOR & PRODUCER
Ever since that double Emmy nomination year for Euphoria and The White Lotus, Sweeney has been deeply in demand — following box office hit (and everybody’s favorite airplane watch) Anyone but You with starring roles in Immaculate and Ron Howard’s Eden. No need to mention Madame Web. The producer and master marketer — she sure can slay a press tour — is expected to return to the Euphoria set in January before filming Paul Feig’s The Housemaid opposite Amanda Seyfried, and Sweeney has also already wrapped her biopic of Christy Martin.
My professional crush “Jennifer Coolidge.”
If I were a man with this job … “I’d be a trillionaire and probably run my own studio.”
Still waiting on a call from … “The Oregon Duck.”
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Taylor Swift
Image Credit: Jamie Squire/Getty Images SINGER, SONGWRITER & FILMMAKER
The Eras Tour, the highest-grossing concert endeavor of all time, wraps its globe-dominating, two-year run in Vancouver a mere four days after these words appear in print — and it’s not clear how the world might look in the post-Eras era. This billionaire consistently has dominated the cultural conversation during this period, notably earning her fourth album of the year Grammy in February (for Midnights) and becoming the artist with the most wins in that category in the process. She shoots for No. 5 at the Recording Academy’s next fete with The Tortured Poets Department.
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Charlize Theron
Image Credit: Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images ACTOR & PRODUCER
Bet she’s not so sour about not being able to reprise Furiosa now. Theron didn’t appear onscreen this year, occupied with some non-Hollywood ventures like the philanthropic Charlize Theron Africa Outreach Project and her new The Six Compound children’s dance studio in Los Angeles, but she’s booked and busy. The Old Guard 2 is in the can, heist flick Two for the Money (alongside Daniel Craig) and Netflix thriller Apex (with Taron Egerton) are both in the works, and she just joined Christopher Nolan’s latest.
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Taylor Tomlinson
Image Credit: Neilson Barnard/Getty Images COMIC & TV HOST
She’s not just one of the highest-grossing touring comics working today or the only woman in late night — Tomlinson is playing around with that most stagnant of formats in the dreariest daypart. CBS’ After Midnight, which premiered in January, is neither a standard chat show nor a retread of the old Comedy Central show it borrowed its name and general premise from. Tomlinson has made the panel show her own, brought in new viewers and earned a no-brainer renewal.
My trick to staying calm right now “Sleeping, staying informed and keeping good people around me.”
My most played song of 2024 “Whoever doesn’t say ‘Espresso’ is lying.”
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Christine Vachon
Image Credit: Photographed by Austin Hargrave PRODUCER, KILLER FILMS
The doyenne of indie filmmaking recently had the guts to stand up to Joaquin Phoenix when the actor dropped out of Todd Haynes’ gay romance movie five days before shooting was to begin. In going off, Vachon drew attention to the fact that the whims of certain power players in Hollywood can leave hundreds out of work on little notice. It wasn’t all Norma Rae, though. Her Killer Films’ put out Sebastian Stan’s Sundance darling A Different Man with A24 in September.
My trick to staying calm right now “A lot of Rose and the occasional martini.”
If I were a man with this job … “I’d be explaining film producing to a woman way more experienced than me.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “In the wake of the pandemic and the strikes, it will be a banner year for quantity and quality in films and will signal a further resurgence in theatrical film going. Or the opposite.”
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Courtenay Valenti
Image Credit: Rodin Eckenroth/GA/Getty Images HEAD OF THEATRICAL AND STREAMING FILM, AMAZON MGM STUDIOS
In the two years since Amazon courted the Warner Bros. veteran to be Jen Salke’s top film exec, Valenti’s energy and ability to build a studio-level slate is on full display — overseeing projects including Nickel Boys, Challengers, Saltburn, The Beekeeper, My Old Ass, I Am: Celine Dion and Zoë Kravitz’s directorial debut Blink Twice. Up next: boxing drama The Fire Inside and You’re Cordially Invited, a movie a lot of this year’s honorees have their fingers on.
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “It harkens back to the brilliant William Goldman, who said, ‘Not one person in the entire motion picture field knows for a certainty what’s going to work. Every time out it’s a guess and, if you’re lucky, an educated one.’ “
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Dana Walden
Image Credit: Tommaso Boddi/Getty Images CO-CHAIR, DISNEY ENTERTAINMENT
Still a top contender in the ceaseless Bob Iger succession debate, Walden certainly added some feathers to her cap this year — 183 of them, to be exact. That was Disney TV’s record Emmy nominations haul, made more impressive by the 60 wins that blew everyone else out of the water (HBwhO?) on the backs of FX’s Shogun and The Bear. Awards or no, Walden’s fiefdom produces more than 4,500 hours of original programming annually — bucking the narrative of industry-wide contraction with sheer volume.
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Kerry Washington
Image Credit: JSquared Photography ACTOR & PRODUCER, SIMPSON STREET
Washington recently wrapped filming on Rian Johnson’s latest Knives Out mystery, Wake Up Dead Man, but you won’t have to wait another year to see her on Netflix. Her World War II drama The Six Triple Eight hits the streamer Dec. 20 after a brief theatrical run that kicks off Dec. 6. Washington has been producing more under her Simpson Street banner, including documentary Daughters, Hulu procedural Reasonable Doubt and her own late comedy vehicle UnPrisoned.
If I were a man with this job … “[I’d be] looking for ways to use my privilege to benefit those who need it most.”
Still waiting on a call from … “I choose to make calls rather than wait for them.”
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Erin Westerman
Image Credit: Amy Sussman/Getty Images CO-PRESIDENT, LIONSGATE MOTION PICTURE GROUP
The exec oversees a slate filled with original swings, a rarity in the current studio system. And while not all are home runs (see: Borderlands), the Lionsgate calendar runs the gamut from faith-based (The Best Christmas Pageant Ever) to Guy Ritchie-directed action flicks (Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare). Of course, Westerman does command control of several lucrative franchises like John Wick, Hunger Games and Now You See Me, all with new installments on their way to theaters.
My trick to staying calm right now “Seeing the Eras Tour. Eight times.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “We’ll relearn that young people lead culture and we should make more theatrical movies for them.”
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Oprah Winfrey
Image Credit: Monica Schipper/GA/Getty Images CEO, OWN & HARPO PRODUCTIONS
The media mogul remains in a league of her own as one of the few individuals TV networks trust to explain big topics, evidenced by primetime specials this year on the surging use of weight-loss drugs and the sometimes confusing issue of artificial intelligence. She also has her cable channel, now a supplier to streamer Max, a film shingle (2023’s The Color Purple) and her acting career. She plays Mary McLeod Bethune in Tyler Perry’s historical drama The Six Triple Eight (out Dec. 6).
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Alexis Martin Woodall
Image Credit: Getty Images PRESIDENT, RYAN MURPHY PRODUCTIONS
The top-ranking woman in the Ryan Murphy machine — a literal machine, they launched six new shows in 10 days this fall — has long been an executive producer over his sprawling roster. Most recently, she’s joined the repertory’s stable of directors. After testing the waters with an American Horror Story one-off in 2023, Woodall helmed three episodes of Grotesquerie for FX.
My professional crush “Halina Reijn. Bodies Bodies Bodies was so surprising to me. It’s kind of a perfect film. I’m waiting with bated breath for Babygirl … She tells my kind of tales.”
Fictional character I most identify with these days “Miss Piggy. Bold, beautiful, adventurous, a lil’ unbalanced with some light rage issues but really great clothes.”
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Janet Yang
Image Credit: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images PRESIDENT, ACADEMY OF MOTION PICTURE ARTS AND SCIENCES
Re-elected to her third term atop the film organization in August, the producer can now devote her attention to the 97th Academy Awards telecast. And it finally has a host! ABC and the Academy tapped Conan O’Brien in November after a protracted search that ultimately led to the beloved comic making his first trip to the Oscar stage.
If I were a man with this job … “I’d be working fewer hours.”
My 2025 Hollywood prediction “A lot of soul-searching.”
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Zendaya
Image Credit: Arnold Jerocki/Getty Images ACTOR
The 28-year-old saw her long-wrapped projects Dune: Part Two and Challengers finally get their post-strike bows earlier in 2024. By her own admission, she’d been cooling her heels for a while, but she just boarded Christopher Nolan’s next project, joining Matt Damon and Anne Hathaway as well as boyfriend and Spider-Man co-star Tom Holland. Currently filming The Drama with Robert Pattinson, she’ll then head back to Euphoria — a gig that’s already won Hollywood’s most ascendant A-lister two Emmys.
This story appeared in the Dec. 4 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Click here to subscribe.
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Source: Hollywoodreporter
