BUSINESS
February 9, 2012 | By Ben Fritz, Los Angeles Times
A Los Angeles film company that invested in a $500-million fund to co-finance Sony Pictures movies filed a lawsuit alleging that the fund's manager and a later investor cheated it out of at least $44 million. Aramid Entertainment Fund alleged in a lawsuit Wednesday that the Sony fund, which co-financed 18 movies since 2008, was shut down late last year in a manner that benefited both fund manager Relativity Media in West Hollywood and the investor, New York money management firm Fortress Investment Group, at Aramid's expense.
BUSINESS
February 2, 2012 | By Alex Pham and Ben Fritz, Los Angeles Times
Kazuo Hirai, whose 28 years at Sony Corp. steeped him in the gaming and music businesses as well as the consumer electronics side, has been appointed the struggling company's next president and chief executive. Hirai's promotion is effective April 1, the beginning of Sony's next fiscal year. The 51-year-old executive will succeed CEO and President Howard Stringer, who will remain as chairman. Hirai joined Sony in 1984, fresh out of college. His first job was as a junior marketing executive at a joint music venture owned by CBS and Sony in Japan.
BUSINESS
January 15, 2012 | By Ben Fritz, Los Angeles Times
The gig: Doug Belgrad is president of Columbia Pictures, the primary film label for Culver City-based entertainment giant Sony Pictures and the home of such movies as "Spider-Man," "Grown Ups" and "Moneyball. " The 22-year studio veteran's job is a mix of creative and business — giving notes on scripts, helping run big productions such as this summer's "Men in Black 3" and setting movie budgets and stars' salaries. Reputation for numbers: Belgrad joined Columbia's executive training program in 1989 after two years following media stocks as a Wall Street analyst.
BUSINESS
October 27, 2011 | By Ben Fritz and Amy Kaufman, Los Angeles Times
It has already had star-studded, red-carpet premieres in three major cities. It's being promoted everywhere from Gap stores to McDonald's to the side of trains. And, early ticket sales indicate it could enjoy a big opening. Yet, American audiences won't see Steven Spielberg's much-hyped family movie until Christmas. The director's big-budget 3-D animated movie "The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn," produced by Peter Jackson, is opening this weekend in Europe — nearly two months before it opens in this country.
BUSINESS
September 30, 2011 | By Ben Fritz, Los Angeles Times
After a short and largely unsuccessful run, Amy Baer is exiting her post as head of media giant CBS Corp.'s film unit. The departure has been in the works for at least several months and was timed to the end of Baer's contract in October, according to knowledgeable people not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. CBS Films will now be left without a single leader. Instead, a trio of senior executives, including Chief Operating Officer Wolfgang Hammer; Terry Press, a former head of marketing at DreamWorks who is consulting for CBS Films; and a third person not yet identified, are expected to run the company and report directly to CBS Corp.
BUSINESS
September 29, 2011 | By Ben Fritz and Rebecca Keegan, Los Angeles Times
Consumers frustrated at paying an extra $3 for 3-D movies may have to shell out even more money next year — just to see them. A rift between Hollywood studios and theater chains over who should foot the bill for 3-D glasses erupted publicly Wednesday after exhibitors lashed out at Sony Pictures' plan to stop covering those costs starting in May. The nation's largest cinema operator, Regal Entertainment Group, threatened to not play certain movies...