Sean Bailey

As a co-founder and executive of LivePlanet,{{Cite web|url=https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/the-walt-disney-studios-names-sean-bailey-president-of-production/|title=The Walt Disney Studios Names Sean Bailey President of Production|date=January 14, 2010}} Bailey served as executive producer for The Emperor's Club, the Emmy Award-nominated Project Greenlight, Push, Nevada (which he also co-wrote with Ben Affleck), and as producer of Best Laid Plans, Matchstick Men, and Gone Baby Gone.{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/exec/sean-bailey/|title = Sean Bailey|date = September 26, 2017}}

From 2004 to 2008, Bailey continued as chairman and board member of LivePlanet while under a writing-producing deal at ABC Studios.{{cite web|last=Barnes|first=Brooks|title=Disney Names Sean Bailey Its New Production President|url=http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/01/14/disney-names-sean-bailey-its-new-production-president/?_r=0|website=New York Times|date=January 14, 2010|access-date=May 10, 2016|ref=1}} In 2008, the film wing of LivePlanet was dissolved and Bailey teamed with Disney to form the production banner Ideology Inc, which produced Tron: Legacy, the sequel to the 1982 film Tron.{{cite web|url=http://www.heatvisionblog.com/2009/11/black-hole-remake-by-tron-team.html |title=The Hollywood Reporter | Heat Vision: 'Tron: Legacy' team mount a 'Black Hole' remake |publisher=Heatvisionblog.com |access-date=December 1, 2009}}

In November 2009, it was announced that Bailey would produce a remake of the 1979 film The Black Hole, which never materialized. He co-wrote (with Ted Griffin) the original screenplay for the 2016 film Solace, starring Anthony Hopkins and Colin Farrell.{{cite web|last=Lang|first=Brent|title=Anthony Hopkins Serial Killer Thriller 'Solace' Gets Release Date (Exclusive)|url=https://variety.com/2016/film/news/anthony-hopkins-solace-release-date-1201675148/|website=Variety|date=January 8, 2016|access-date=May 10, 2016|ref=3}}

In January 2010, Bailey was named president of production at Walt Disney Studios, overseeing live-action films produced by Walt Disney Pictures and Touchstone Pictures. Under Bailey, Disney has pursued a tentpole film strategy, which included an expanded slate of large-budget films, including franchise sequels, original films, and live-action adaptations of their animated films. The studio found particular success with the latter type of films, which began with the commercial success of Alice in Wonderland (2010), and continued with Maleficent (2014), Cinderella (2015), The Jungle Book (2016), Pete's Dragon (2016), Beauty and the Beast (2017), Aladdin (2019), The Lion King (2019), and The Little Mermaid (2023). Bailey has overseen the release of five films that have surpassed $1 billion in global box office: Alice in Wonderland, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin, as well as The Lion King, which earned nearly $1.7 billion worldwide.{{cite web |title='The Lion King' Crosses $1 Billion at the Worldwide Box Office |url=https://collider.com/the-lion-king-box-office-update-1-billion/ |website=Collider |date=July 30, 2019 |access-date=7 January 2022}}{{cite web |title=The Lion King (2019) |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6105098/ |website=Box Office Mojo |access-date=7 January 2022}} The division has also produced reimaginings of other fairy-tale and classic stories such as Oz The Great and Powerful (2013), Into the Woods (2014), and Cruella.{{cite web|last=McClintock|first=Pamela|title=Disney Rules Hollywood's Fairy-Tale War as Other Studios Bite the Poisoned Apple|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/features/disney-rules-hollywoods-fairy-tale-888663|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 29, 2016|access-date=May 10, 2016|ref=5}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/disneys-film-production-chief-is-placing-big-bets-lion-king-1169170|title=Disney's Film Production Chief Talks 'Mary Poppins' and His Big Bet on 'The Lion King': "It's a New Form of Filmmaking"|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=December 20, 2018}}

Other tentpole films including The Lone Ranger (2013), Tomorrowland (2015) and literary adaptations of John Carter (2012), The BFG (2016), and A Wrinkle in Time (2018), became box-office disappointments. Despite the renewed focus on tentpole films, the studio continued to produce smaller, "brand-deposit" films, such as The Muppets (2011) and Saving Mr. Banks (2013), a period drama which was the first time the studio had depicted its namesake co-founder onscreen.{{cite news|last=Barnes|first=Brooks|title=Forget the Spoonful of Sugar: It's Uncle Walt, Uncensored|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/17/movies/saving-mr-banks-depicts-a-walt-disney-with-faults.html|website=New York Times|date=October 16, 2013|ref=6}}

With the launch of Disney's streaming service Disney+ in November 2019, Bailey expanded the studio's output with a mix of projects from reimaginings of titles such as Lady and the Tramp and Pinocchio, featuring Tom Hanks as Geppetto; character-driven films such as Togo; inspirational sports dramas such as Rise, about NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo; and sequels to popular originals as Hocus Pocus 2, Enchanted follow-up Disenchanted, and Peter Pan & Wendy.{{cite web |title=Disney Investor Day 2019 |url=https://thewaltdisneycompany.com/the-walt-disney-companys-2019-investor-day-webcast/ |website=The Walt Disney Company |date=March 11, 2019 |access-date=7 January 2022}}{{cite web |title='Rise,' the movie about Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo and his family, will premiere on Disney+ in 2022 |url=https://www.jsonline.com/story/entertainment/television-radio/2021/10/20/giannis-antetokounmpo-movie-rise-debut-disney-2022/6106758001/ |website=Milwaukee Journal Sentinel |access-date=7 January 2022}}{{cite web |title=First Look at Hocus Pocus 2; Disenchanted and Pinocchio Set 2022 Release; More Reveals From Disney+ Day |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/first-look-at-hocus-pocus-2-disenchanted-and-pinocchio-set-2022-release-more-reveals-from-disney-day |website=Playbill |access-date=7 January 2022}} The studio also produces adaptations of children's and young adult books such as Timmy Failure: Mistakes Were Made, Flora & Ulysses, Stargirl, and Better Nate Than Ever for Disney+.

Bailey is noted for transforming Disney's live-action film slate with female-led tentpoles featuring empowered, contemporary heroines and expanding representation in these roles. Notable examples include Halle Bailey as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, Yara Shahidi as Tinker Bell in Peter Pan & Wendy, Storm Reid in A Wrinkle in Time, and Rachel Zegler as Snow White in the studio's 2025 live-action reimagining of the Disney film. Throughout his tenure, he has also championed female directors for major projects, including Ava DuVernay, Mira Nair, and Julia Hart.{{cite news |last=Barnes |first=Brooks |title=The Man Reimagining Disney Classics for Today's World |work=The New York Times |date=June 4, 2023 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/04/business/media/disney-sean-bailey-live-action.html |access-date=22 September 2023}}

In 2012, Bailey was named to the board of Sundance Institute, where he serves as vice chair.{{cite web|title=Sundance adds Disney's Sean Bailey to board|url=https://variety.com/2012/film/news/sundance-adds-disney-s-sean-bailey-to-board-1118054616/|website=Variety|date=May 24, 2012|access-date=May 10, 2016|ref=7}}{{cite web |title=Sundance Institute Board Of Trustees Elects Ebs Burnough As Chair; Sean Bailey & Gigi Pritzker As Vice Chairs |url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/sundance-institute-board-of-trustees-elects-ebs-burnough-as-chair-sean-bailey-gigi-pritzker-as-vice-chairs-1234806742/ |website=Deadline|date=July 30, 2021}} In 2015, he joined the Board of Trustees at Caltech, serving on its JPL Committee.{{cite web|last=Stoller-Conrad|first=Jessica|title=Sean Bailey Elected as Caltech Trustee|url=https://www.caltech.edu/news/sean-bailey-elected-caltech-trustee-45972|website=Caltech.edu|date=March 19, 2015|access-date=May 10, 2016|ref=8}}{{cite web |title=Caltech Board of Trustees |url=https://bot.caltech.edu/committees |website=Caltech |access-date=7 January 2022}}

On February 26, 2024, Bailey stepped down as president and was replaced by David Greenbaum, who formerly co-led Searchlight Pictures. Bailey remains a producer for Tron: Ares.{{Cite web |last1=Rubin |first1=Rebecca |date=February 26, 2024 |title=Disney Shakeup: Sean Bailey Out as Production President, David Greenbaum to Lead Newly Combined Live-Action Division and 20th Century Studios |url=https://variety.com/2024/film/news/disney-sean-bailey-exits-movie-studio-1235923336/ |access-date=February 26, 2024 |website=Variety}}{{Cite web|last=D'Alessandro|first=Anthony|date=February 26, 2024|title=Disney Shakeup: Sean Bailey Exits As President Of Walt Disney Motion Picture Studios, Searchlight's David Greenbaum Takes Over & Also Will Run 20th|website=Deadline|url=https://deadline.com/2024/02/disney-sean-bailey-exits-david-greenbaum-searchlight-1235838865/|access-date=February 26, 2024}}

Bailey is a founding investor of Teremana Tequila, founded by Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson.{{cite web |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/CeXisPwrV4P/?igshid=ZjhmMmE0MjU%3D |title=Dwayne Johnson on Instagram: "Two of my favorite human beings to build business with 🥃 @michaelseanbailey President of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures and founding @teremana investor 🥃 @mayalasry Chief Marketing Officer for Seven Bucks Companies and founding @teremana investor 🥃 aka #bossmama They are the definition of "hardest workers in the room" and above all else, the audience always comes first. #WaltDisneyCompany #SevenBucksCompanies #build 🫱🏾🫲🏻"}}

Bailey is the son of Jay Bailey, who was a biochemical engineer and professor at California Institute of Technology.{{cite book |last=Balnch |first=Harvey |year=2016 |title=Memorial Tributes Vol 20 |url=https://www.nap.edu/read/23394/chapter/6#27 |publisher=National Academies Press |pages=26–29 |isbn=978-0-309-43729-5}} His former step-mother, Frances Arnold is a chemical engineer and Nobel Laureate. Bailey is married to Charmaine Bailey and they have two children.

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Category:Disney executives

Category:Living people

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)

Category:Film producers from California

Category:American film studio executives

Category:Walt Disney Pictures