CEO: Last News

Cynthia Littleton Business Editor Warren Buffett disclosed in his annual letter to Berkshire Hathaway shareholders that “it won’t be long” until he is succeeded as CEO by Greg Abel, who runs the company’s energy division. Buffett, 94, the revered investor known as the Oracle of Omaha, was reflective and folksy as usual in his letter, published Saturday, which has come to serve as a gauge of the state of American business. Buffett didn’t name names but seemed to touch on the political and cultural tumult of the moment in several sections of his 13-page letter.

Naman Ramachandran India’s Hindi studio powerhouse Junglee Pictures is making its first foray into Malayalam-language cinema with “Ronth” (“Night Patrol”), a gritty police drama helmed by award-winning filmmaker Shahi Kabir. The film, which has wrapped production and is currently in post, stars acclaimed actors Dileesh Pothan (Berlinale selection “Tiger’s Pond”) and Roshan Mathew (Busan winner “Paradise”) as two cops whose night patrol shift becomes a pressure cooker of professional challenges and personal conflicts. The supporting cast includes Sudhi Koppa, Arun Cherukavil, Lakshmi Menon, Krisha Kurup and Nandanunni.

Carolyn Giardina It was fitting that the acquisition of generative AI tech company Metaphysic by DNEG Group’s Brahma AI arm was announced on Tuesday, as a large part of the annual HPA Tech Retreat – which was held this week in Palm Springs – was largely dedicated to AI and this deal underscored several of the predicted trends, including convergence. “Convergence is one of the main things that we will see in 2025,” I2A2 president and CEO Renard Jenkins forecasted, while showing a slide with a lengthy list of just some of the AI startups that are targeting the media and entertainment space.

Luigi Mangione has returned to court and this time he’s wearing a bulletproof vest for his protection.

Michael Schneider Variety Editor at Large Rob Corddry (“Childrens Hospital,” “Bookie”) is set to join AMC’s Silicon Valley project from “Succession” and “Bad Sisters” writer Jonathan Glatzer, alongside stars Billy Magnussen (“Made for Love”) and Sarah Goldberg (“Barry”). Corddry is a series regular on the show, playing the character Tom Ruffage.

Carolyn Giardina Hanno Basse — chief tecnology officer of AI tech developer Stability AI, whose board members include James Cameron — discussed his company’s work and the evolution of generative AI in filmmaking during this week’s HPA Tech Retreat, saying, “The ultimate goal is to make more movies.” Pointing to the years it can take to make a Hollywood movie such as Cameron’s blockbuster “Avatar” films, he said, “We heard this from a number of other filmmakers as well: ‘We wanted to make more films in the past, and the time it takes for us, that’s the problem.'” During his talk at the annual Palm Springs event, where AI took center stage, Basse weighed in on subjects such as data provenance and budgets, and spoke about progress being made in filmmaking, predicting that in “probably two years, we’re going to have very high performing open source foundation models.” Stability AI develops generative AI models for image, video, 3D, audio and language, including its flagship model, Stable Diffusion. “Our guiding principles, basically, are that generative AI needs to be part of the production process and not replace it,” Basse said, noting that Stability AI supports an “artist centric” approach and also a “task centric” approach, with some of its latest developments being 3D tools and a prototype for aspect ratio conversion.

Naman Ramachandran Titan Content has secured a strategic partnership with Republic Records’ Imperial Music division for its upcoming K-pop girl group AtHeart, while simultaneously revealing the complete lineup and dropping the group’s first teaser video along with official social media channels. The seven-member group, which will make their official debut this summer, consists of Michi, Katelyn, Seohyeon, Aurora, Bome, Arin, and Nahyun. Fans won’t have to wait long for their first taste of AtHeart’s music – a pre-debut introduction song and video is set to drop March 14.

Production has begun at last on the third and likely final season of Max’s Euphoria. Much has changed in regards to who will return in front of the camera in the three years since the second season premiered.

Katcy Stephan Franchise-focused production & brand management company Foundation Media Partners has formed Foundation Books and launched a groundbreaking new partnership with publishing company Macmillan Publishers. Foundation has accelerated its expansion into the book space by forming a multi-year publishing deal with Macmillan. Spearheaded by Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group President and Publisher Jen Besser and Foundation Media Partners Founder and CEO Patrick Hughes, the venture will focus on titles that have strong cinematic roots.

Brian Steinberg Senior TV Editor New England sports outlet NESN thinks it can tackle new viewers with a free, ad-supported outlet that shows more than just clips, archived studio shows and old games. The primary broadcaster of games from the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins, NESN is launching NESN Nation, a FAST channel that CEO David Wisnia believes will lure viewers to its telecasts by providing something other outlets don’t: original programming.

Hispanic media giant TelevisaUnivision posted relatively flat results in the fourth quarter compared with the same period in 2023.

Imax CEO cautioned Wall Street that he does not expect a stream of deals to follow on the heels of a high profile agreement with Netflix for a global two-week Imax exclusive run of Greta Gerwig‘s Narnia starting on Thanksgiving of 2026.

Vince McMahon was known for firing WWE staff for little to no reason according to commentating legend Michael Cole.

Rangers CEO Patrick Stewart has revealed how Philippe Clement’s Europa League run is helping him cling to his job as he broke his silence on the “disastrous” Queen’s Park Scottish Cup exit.

Carolyn Giardina AI tech developer Runway has confirmed it jury for the corporation’s third AI Film Festival, with honored content scheduled to be screened at a June 5 event in New York. A June 12 event in Los Angeles will follow.

Alex Ritman Endemol Shine Australia (ESA), part of French TV giant Banijay Entertainment, has formed a global partnership with Tokyo Broadcasting System Television (TBS), the Japanese broadcaster and producer behind international hit formats such as “Ninja Warrior” and “Takeshi’s Castle.” The co-development deal will give ESA access to TBS’s library of new and existing formats which it can look to innovate and adapt for both Australian and global audiences. As part of the agreement, Banijay Entertainment has a first-look arrangement to produce the co-developed titles locally across its label footprint.

Editors note:Dan Neely is a serial entrepreneur who was recently named to the Time 100 list of the most influential people in AI. He is CEO of Vermillio, a company that uses AI tools to identify and eliminate unauthorized content for clients that include public figures, performers, creators and IP owners. He advocates for greater IP protection and monetization standards around AI.

Brahma, the AI arm of visual effects firm DNEG Group, has acquired Metaphysic, the company whose recent calling card was de-aging Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in the 2024 film Here.

Dan Bernstein NWSL club Angel City FC, the most valuable women’s sports team in the U.S., has hired Carmen Bona as its president of business operations in a newly created role. The club has also promoted co-founder and president Julie Uhrman to CEO ahead of the 2025 season. Bona will take over day-to-day business responsibilities for a club recently purchased at a $250 million valuation by Willow Bay, dean of USC’s journalism school, and her husband Bob Iger, the CEO of Disney.

Nick Vivarelli International Correspondent Surj Sports Investment, the sports investment unit of Saudi Arabia’s sovereign wealth fund (PIF), has acquired a minority stake in billionaire Len Blavatnik’s DAZN sports streaming service in an agreement that could radically change the sports content ecosystem in the Middle East. The long-gestating deal — widely believed to involve PIF paying $1 billion in exchange for 10 per cent of DAZN — gives Saudi Arabia a piece of DAZN, which in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region rivals powerhouse beIN Sports, from neighboring Qatar. Qatar, incidentally, hosted the FIFA soccer World Cup in 2022, while Saudi Arabia will be hosting the 2034 edition of that event.

Carolyn Giardina Metaphysic – the generative AI startup whose toolset was used to age and deage Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in Robert Zemeckis’ “Here” – has been acquired by DNEG Group’s AI company Brahma with an eye toward accelerating its AI tech development. The price of the transaction was not disclosed.