Sony Pictures Classics Presidents Michael Barker, Tom Bernard Confident in Theatrical But Blast Exhibitors for Not Expanding Internet Business

Carey Mulligan and Zoe Kazan are stepping out for a screening of their new movie at the 2022 New York Film Festival.

Clayton Davis Thirty years ago, former Orion Classics heads Michael Barker, Tom Bernard and Marcie Bloom created the independent arm of Sony Pictures Entertainment with full autonomy to produce, acquire and distribute films from cinema’s notable auteurs. In the decades since, Sony Pictures Classics has picked up 158 Oscar nominations and 37 statuettes (41 in total for films helmed by Barker and Bernard). It has also made history: Ang Lee’s “Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon” (2000) earned 10 Oscar nominations, the most ever for a non-English-language movie, and went on to win four trophies, including foreign language film.

J. Kim Murphy Sydney Sweeney has found another film project to add to her slate, setting plans to star in a new “Barbarella” movie for Sony Pictures, a source close to the project confirmed. The film remains in early development, with no director, producer or writer currently attached. Sweeney seemed to confirm her involvement with the project through an Instagram post late Tuesday afternoon. The actress shared an image of original artwork from the original 1968 space opera, with a caption: “time to save the universe.”A post shared by Sydney Sweeney (@sydney_sweeney) Sweeney has become somewhat of a marquee talent at Sony Pictures, with the actress co-starring alongside Dakota Johnson in the Marvel Comics adaptation “Madame Web.” The studio also landed the rights to “The Registration,” an adaptation of Madison Lawson’s thriller of the same name. Brad Fuller is producing, while Sweeney is attached to star.

The wife of California Gov. Gavin Newsom is among the accusers of Harvey Weinstein in his rape and sexual assault trial that began on Monday. Jennifer Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker, is among the accusers of Harvey Weinstein who will testify, her attorney said.

Jazz Tangcay Artisans Editor Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) today announced the establishment of its first LED virtual production stage, located at Sony Innovation Studios in Culver City. With LED virtual production transforming the way film and television are made, the new stage is the world’s largest using Sony’s high brightness and wide color gamut Crystal LED display panels. The panels were created in collaboration with top engineers at SPE for use in virtual production. The establishment of this LED stage allows Sony Innovation Studios (SIS) to expand its virtual production workflow across various entertainment platforms and seamlessly merge the real and virtual worlds with its Atom View technology and proprietary stage-integration software.

Naman Ramachandran Banijay‘s planned acquisition of Sony Productions Film und Fernseh Produktions GmbH Germany (Sony Pictures Television Germany) from Sony Pictures is now complete. Following customary closing conditions, Banijay Germany has secured 100% stake in the company. The label, founded in 1995, will now operate as Noisy Pictures GmbH, with Astrid Quentell and Mirek Nitsch remaining in leadership positions. Sony Pictures Television Germany’s successful shows include “Die Höhle der Löwen,” which has been on Vox since 2014; drama-comedy “Der Lehrer,” which has played nine seasons on RTL and won numerous awards; and ZDF crime series “Heldt.”

Ed Meza @edmezavar Celebrated actor and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, speaking to an audience at the Zurich Film Festival, shared her experiences filming Celyn Jones and Tom Stern’s “The Almond and the Seahorse,” the valuable instructions received from Lars von Trier, and the challenges of shooting a documentary about mother Jane Birkin. Based on the play of the same name by Kaite O’Reilly, who wrote the screenplay with Jones, “The Almond and the Seahorse,” which screens in Zurich’s Gala Premieres section, revolves around two couples struggling with severe brain injuries. Toni (Gainsbourg) is dealing with her partner Gwen (Trine Dyrholm), who no longer is the same person that she was before. She finds support in Sarah (Rebel Wilson), whose husband Joe (Jones) is suffering from a similar brain injury.

There’s a brand new Tarzan movie on its way!

Andrew Barker Senior Features Writer In September 1963, the first ever New York Film Festival was held in Manhattan’s Lincoln Center, and it counted as something of an experiment, an early test case as to whether the sort of serious, artistically inclined fests that were quickly becoming established in Europe could find real purchase stateside. The inaugural lineup included Luis Buñuel’s “Exterminating Angel,” Roman Polanski’s debut, “Knife in the Water,” and Yasujirō Ozu’s swan song “An Autumn Afternoon.” According to a Film Comment report at the time, the inaugural fest sold more than 20,000 tickets before a single film had unspooled. Not bad for a first time out.

won the Pulitzer Prize in Public Service in 2018 for breaking the story of Harvey Weinstein’s decades of sexual abuse allegations in their explosive reporting with the New York Times.Mulligan will play the role of Twohey in the upcoming “She Said” alongside Zoe Kazan, who will play Kantor. First breaking out in “An Education,” the twice Oscar-nominated Mulligan has starred in “Promising Young Woman” and “Spaceman,” and has been involved in initiatives like the Alzheimer’s Society, the Society’s Dementia Awareness Week and serves as an ambassador for War Child, an organization that aids children affected by conflict.

EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Frost, who recently left his post as President of Sony Pictures Television Studios, has set up a production company, Bristol Circle Entertainment, and has signed a first-look TV production deal with the indie studio. Under the pact, Frost is executive producing the high-profile new series from Breaking Bad creator and Better Call Saul co-creator Vince Gilligan, starring Rhea Seehorn, which just landed at Apple TV+ with a big, two-season straight-to-series order.

Woman In Film, Los Angeles said Thursday that that She Said producer Dede Gardner, star Carey Mulligan and New York Times reporters Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey will be honored next month at the 2022 WIF Honors. They join a recipient list that already includes the bestowing the group’s Crystal Awards to Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson, The Woman King director Gina Prince-Bythewood, and Don’t Worry Darling writer and director Katie Silberman and Olivia Wilde, respectively.

The indie film confab Zurich Summit took place Saturday as the marquee industry event alongside the Zurich Film Festival. More than 100 film pros took part in the all-day session that drilled down into the state of the industry.

Former Lionsgate film chief Patrick Wachsberger, Carol producer Christine Vachon, Neon CEO Tom Quinn and SPC bosses Michael Barker and Tom Bernard will be among industry executives taking part in the Zurich Summit tomorrow [Saturday 24] in Switzerland.

Tom “Tommy” McCarthy, executive vice president of post-production facilities, is retiring from his post at Sony Pictures Entertainment after more than three decades. Jon Hookstratten, EVP of Administration & Operations, confirmed the news in a memo adding that Kimberly Jimenez had been promoted to senior vice president of post-production services.

Tom McCarthy, Sony Pictures Entertainment’s executive vice president of postproduction services, is retiring from his role after a career spanning three decades with the studio. Kimberly Jimenez will now be promoted to fill his shoes in a new role as senior vice president of postproduction services at the studio. The news was shared in a note with staff on Thursday from Jon Hookstratten, EVP of Administration & Operations.

Kate Ward, Vice Studios Global President and the boss of Pulse Films, has joined BBC Studios to oversee factual.

Jennifer Kuo Baxter, an entertainment attorney and executive who worked as SVP Business and Legal Affairs at Sony Pictures and in senior positions at DreamWorks Animation and other studios during her 30-year career, has died. She was 62.

EJ Panaligan editor Jennifer Kuo Baxter, an entertainment lawyer whose career led to holding several senior executive positions at multiple movie studios, died on July 23 of cancer. She was 62. Kuo Baxter’s career in entertainment spanned more than 30 years, working in the business and legal affairs departments at Sony Pictures Entertainment, TriStar Pictures, Sony Pictures Animation, Interscope and DreamWorks Animation Studios. She joined the legal affairs group at Columbia Pictures — which subsequently became Sony Pictures Entertainment — in the fall of 1986, where her responsibilities included supporting the production and distribution of feature films and motion pictures.