SONY PICS CUTS JOBS, CANS 450 EMPLOYEES

Sony Pictures Entertainment is slashing its workforce by 6 1/2 percent, the studio said Monday. The studio began notifying the roughly 450 people who will be affected by the layoffs, with most being done by the first week in March.

EMAIL SOURCE: NIKKI FINKE

This email went out to staff today:

From: Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal
Sent: Monday, February 01, 2010 2:58 PM
Subject: Transforming the Studio

Dear Colleagues,
In our article in The SPE Reel in December, we
spoke about the shifting landscape of entertainment and its impact on the
economic model at the heart of this industry. Despite the records our studio set
at the box office, we’re not immune from these forces, and we said then that
costs needed to be controlled as part of a sustained and strategic effort to
remake Sony Pictures for the future.

GABRIELLE UNION TAKES A VOW FOR CABLE TV

The beautiful and talented Gabrielle Union is set to produce and star in "The Vow" for Lifetime. The film is based on the 2005 novel by Denene Millner, Angela Burt-Murray and Mitzi Miller. . Screenwriter, Nzingha Stewart is adapting "The Vow" for television; Tracey Edmonds and Sheila Ducksworth will exec produce along with Gabby.

In this runaway hit novel, three best friends come together for their sorority sister's glitzy wedding in Atlanta and make a vow to get married within one year. As they embark on their search to find their soul mates, they navigate the full-contact sport known as being a SSBFLA (successful, single, black, female in L.A.) and negotiate the shark-infested waters of making a name for themselves professionally in Hollywood.

Can Trista, the hyper-driven celebrity agent, find the time to schedule a meaningful romance? Will Amaya, the sexy starlet, convince the married hip hop-label exec she has been seeing to leave his wife, or will the NBA star steal her heart in the final seconds? After undergoing a complete makeover, will Vivian, the jaded gossip columnist, win back the father of her child?

As seductive as it is empowering, The Vow will keep you cheering for these women as they discover that their desire to find a husband isn't as important as finding themselves.

Source