THR's Women in Entertainment 2011: Power 100

After taking a bit of a beating in the media last year for the poor performance of The Sorcerer's Apprentice and Prince of Persia, Carney had a better go of it in 2011 thanks to the billion-dollar success of Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Cars 2, The Help and The Lion King 3D. Now a year and a half into her job, Carney says, "It's starting to feel at home. It takes a bit of time when you transition into something new to make it work in the way you want it to."

PHOTOS: THR's 2011 Women in Entertainment Power 100

And she is quick to point out that just because it's the fourth Pirates movie and Cars has a 2 after it, in this day and age there are no guarantees. "Yes, we have a fabulous name, but we have people out there who feel like they can't see a fourth movie if they didn't see the first three," Carney says. "Or if they have seen the first three, they don't need to see the fourth. There are no movies that you can stick a name on and open."

Carney is a single mother of two who sees her two kids, 11 and 13, on weekends in New York, where her ex-husband looks after them during the week. It's a decidedly modern arrangement that has the two parents vacationing and spending holidays together for the benefit of the kids, whom Carney takes to museums and movies, introducing them to an eclectic slate ranging from The Omen to All About Eve. "My son would rather go to the skate park," she says. "But I feel my role as a mother is to force them to do things they don't want to do occasionally, and then buy them skateboards afterward."