MUMBAI: The Sony Corporation of America has appointed Michael Lynton, the chief executive of AOL Europe, as to lead its entertainment arm in Hollywood.
As chairman and chief executive of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Lynton, will be responsible for overseeing television, technology and the studio’s budget and business affairs and watch over all divisions in Los Angeles.
He will also have joint responsibility to approve all films made by the studio with vice chairwoman, Amy Pascal, who is promoted to chairwoman of the motion picture group. Both will report to Sir Howard Stringer, the chief executive of the New York-based Sony Corporation of America, a unit of the Sony Corporation.
Despite a blockbuster year at the box office with films like Bad Boys II, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle and S.W.A.T in 2002, Sony is trying to become more cost-efficient in making movies and curtail illegal downloading, which has harmed the music industry and now threatens the movie industry as well.
With his past experience in turning around ailing media divisions, Lynton also brings with him Internet as well as media experience. In the 1990s¸ he was president of the Walt Disney Company’s Hollywood Pictures and, later, chief executive of publisher Penguin Group. He will move to Los Angeles to take up his job in January.
Tag: Bad Boys II
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Sony hires Lynton to lead entertainment in LA
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Japanese channel Wowow gets rights to Sony blockbusters
MUMBAI: Japanese broadcaster Wowow Inc’s president Toshio Hirose yesterday announced a major multi-year feature film output license agreement with Sony Pictures Television International (SPTI).
With the rights to several SPTI’s blockbuster releases like Spider-Man, Men In Black II, Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle, Bad Boys II and S.W.A.T , this agreement will help Wowow get a competitive edge in the Japanese satellite broadcasting market, a company release states.
Another important factor of this deal is that the channel will also be able to broadcast films in high definition (HD) format.
Wowow is one of Japan’s first private satellite and pay TV broadcasters and has a subscriber base of approximately 2.5 million.