Sony Pictures Ideally Placed for Post-Pandemic Profitability, CEO Says

Producer Bibby Dunn has been promoted to President of Mark Gordon Pictures. In the expanded role, Dunn will run production and development for the company, produce scripted film and television content, manage sales across broadcast, cable and streaming, and oversee operations of the company’s three offices in Los Angeles, New York and London.

Manori Ravindran International EditorSony Pictures Television has sold its entire network portfolio in Central and Eastern Europe to Antenna Group, Variety can reveal. The deal covers 22 pay-TV channels and two OTT services in 12 territories.The Greece-headquartered media giant Antenna has operations in North America, Europe and Australia.

SPOILER ALERT: The story includes details about tonight’s Season 18 premiere of Grey’s Anatomy.

Manori Ravindran International EditorDavid Kosse, vice president of international film at Netflix, got something of a raw deal.The London-based executive joined the streaming giant in March 2019, after a three-year stint as president of STX’s global operation, and set out to build the service’s international film offerings in Europe, Middle East and Africa “from ground zero.” But just as he was assembling his first slate — an extensive optioning and greenlighting process that invariably takes

EXCLUSIVE: Sony Pictures Television has begun accepting applications for its 2021 Diverse Directors Program, which is part of SPT’s overall strategy to identify and engage emerging talent from a wide range of backgrounds.

announced Tuesday that an “official documentary” about her life and career is in the works from Sony Music Entertainment. Irene Taylor (“The Final Inch,” “Moonlight Sonata: Deafness in Three Movements”) is directing the untitled feature-length film for SME’s premium content division, in partnership SME Canada and Vermilion Films.

Anna Marie de la Fuente In a move aimed at addressing the paucity of Afro-Latino content, Sony Pictures TV (SPT) Latin America has announced a TV series project in development with Colombian producer-director Diana Bustamante, who most recently produced Thai director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s “Memoria,” starring Tilda Swinton, winner of the Cannes Jury Prize this year.Titled “Sanyu,” the original bilingual and bicultural Afro-Latino thriller marks Bustamante’s first television project, and

Squid Game might soon become streaming service Netflix’s most popular show ever.During an appearance at the Code 2021 conference, Netflix’s co-CEO and chief content officer Ted Sarandos spoke about the popularity and impact Squid Game.

Naman Ramachandran Indian film producers have set release dates for long-delayed Bollywood films that star the cream of the industry and have blockbuster potential.The moves follow and announcement by authorities in the state of Maharashtra, India’s biggest box office territory, that cinemas can re-open on Oct. 22 as the pandemic dies down.From Reliance Entertainment, Rohit Shetty’s cop drama “Sooryavanshi,” starring Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgn, Ranveer Singh and Katrina Kaif, will open Nov.

Before its release, “Venom” seemingly had disaster written all over it; a goofy “Spider-Man” spinoff that didn’t feature Peter Parker and a forgettable/generic villain in Riot. But never underestimate Tom Hardy and Marvel Comics characters getting asses in seats, as the film ended up making Sony Pictures an impressive $856 million at the global box office.

EXCLUSIVE: Former Sony Pictures Animation VP of Creative Strategy, Alison Mann, has partnered with Fourth Wall Management to launch the production company Fourth Wall Animation as Co-President.

Love at First Song is a music/dating hybrid format that hopes to find its own Beyoncé and Jay Z.

EXCLUSIVE: A Soldier’s Play, which is heading into Sunday’s Tony Awards with seven nominations, is getting a TV adaptation as a limited series by Sony Pictures Television. David Alan Grier, a Tony nominee for his role in the play, is set to star and executive produce the limited series, which will be titled A Soldier’s Story.

ViacomCBS CEO Bob Bakish was out beating the Wall Street drum for new Paramount boss Brian Robbins, who, he told investors, will lead “the film studio of the future.”

Sony Pictures Networks India (SPNI) and Zee Entertainment Enterprises are finalizing a merger that would create a giant combined entity in the Indian broadcasting scene.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau ChiefTwo of the largest broadcast groups in India are to merge, it was announced on Wednesday morning local time.Publicly-listed Zee Entertainment Enterprises Limited is to merge with Sony Pictures Networks India.

Naman Ramachandran Nigerian media conglomerate EbonyLife Media and Sony Pictures Television (SPT) have set Alo, an initiative offering a platform for writers of African heritage. The word Alo is from the Yoruba language and translates as “once upon a time.” The initiative will open Sept.

Sony Pictures Films India has set out a calendar of 17 releases for the next 12 months, including local Hindi, regional and international fare.

Naman Ramachandran Audience confidence and increasing audiences are both venues’ deepest concern and greatest priority over the next one to three years, a survey has found.A new survey from the U.K.’s Independent Cinema Office on the continuing impact of COVID-19 across the independent cinema sector has revealed a state of uncertainty, with the deepest concern of 81% of those surveyed being audience confidence, while 87% said that their highest priority would be increasing audiences over the