Sony Pictures Entertainment Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton announced Friday that he is stepping down from the entertainment conglomerate to focus his attention on his chairmanship of Snapchat, the social media company in which he has a major investment.
Lynton is leaving his post atop the conglomerate’s motion picture and music units but will remain on as Co-CEO for six months to help lead a search for his replacement. The announcement of the departure said Sony Corporation CEO Kazuo Hirai will focus with Lynton on the search for a new leader, with the Japanese businessman taking on a much higher profile in the operation, including the opening of a second office for him on the Culver City lot.
Among those rumored to be in line for Lynton’s post: DreamWorks Animation founder and former CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, Tribune Media president and CEO Peter Liguori and Jim Gianopulos, recently ousted as chairman and CEO of Fox Filmed Entertainment. Two sources close to Gianopulos said, however, that there had been no contact between him and Sony.
«It has been an extraordinary 13 years and an honor to work at Sony with some of the most talented and creative people in the entertainment space,» Lynton said in a statement. Explaining his move to the tech upstart he added: «I have been involved with Evan and Snapchat since its early days, and given its growth since then, decided the time was right to transition and focus on my role as Chairman of the Board of Snap Inc. »
The Harvard-educated Lynton was a respected leader in Hollywood, but his regime suffered multiple blows, particularly the 2014 hack of the studio’s computers that led to a series of embarrassing revelations about internal operations. Motion picture co-chair Amy Pascal lost her job following the scandal and workers from the top to bottom of the organization were unsettled by revelations in the emails.
More recently, Sony’s Motion Picture Group has struggled to find box office winners, with a string of under-perfoming films, including «Ghostbusters,» «Inferno,» and, most recently, «Passengers,» the sci-fi romance, starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence.
The studio’s Motion Picture Group has suffered more turmoil under the leadership of its chairman, Tom Rothman. More than a dozen executives complained about Rothman to either Lynton or the company’s Human Relations department. They said Rothman was a micro-manager and a caustic presence.
The studio’s top financial official, Andrew Gumpert, left Sony and soon took a job at Paramount Pictures. And other executives were said to be unhappy and planning to move, when other positions became available.
Rothman also has his supporters at Sony. They say that he has cracked down on profligate spending and insisted on top performance and quality control — creating high expectations that were much needed. After the complaints arose last year, the motion picture chairman got a vote of confidence from Lynton and from Hirai.
A statement from Hirai praised Lynton’s performance, saying he had made «broad structural and management changes,» while acknowledging that considerable work needs to be done to get the film business back on its feet. He said the film business needs «set the path for restoring profitability and future growth, though we recognize current challenges in motion pictures business and its turnaround will take some time. »
Though there have been rumors for years that the Japanese company might at some point give up its entertainment assets, Hirai gave a vote of confidence for the operations. «As we look ahead,» he said, «we see our entertainment businesses as essential parts of Sony, and I look forward to working with Michael towards a smooth transition. «

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© Source: http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/michael-lynton-sony/2017/01/13/id/768526
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WASHINGTON — A controversial painting depicting law enforcement as pigs hanging in the Capitol will be ordered removed by the Capitol architect, The Daily Caller learned Friday evening.
The Capitol Architect Stephen T. Ayer received a letter from Washington Republican Rep. Dave Reichert Wednesday asking him to review the painting that was a winner of the Congressional Art Competition from the district of Missouri Democratic Rep. Lacy Clay.
Reichert noted the painting violated competition guidelines by showing “subjects of contemporary political controversy or a sensationalistic or gruesome nature,” which is not allowed.
The painting, “Untitled #1” created by St. Louis high school student David Pulphus, shows police as pigs shooting at protesters in a black St. Louis neighborhood.
According to a spokeswoman for Reichert, “The Speaker’s office has informed Congressman Reichert that the Architect of the Capitol has reviewed Congressman Reichert’s letter and made the determination that the painting is in violation of the House Building Commission’s rules and will be removed Tuesday after the federal holiday.”
“The Congressional Art Competition is an opportunity to celebrate the creativity of students in every corner of our country – and visitors from around the world see their talents on display when they walk through the halls of our Capitol,” said Rep. Reichert in a statement. “However, with any competition there are rules, and these rules exist for a reason. This painting hung in clear defiance to those rules and was a slap in the face to the countless men and women who put their lives on the line everyday on behalf of our safety and freedom.”
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© Source: http://dailycaller.com/2017/01/13/anti-cop-painting-in-capitol-to-be-removed-next-week/
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