Steve Mosko Named CEO of Village Roadshow Entertainment
He previously spent 24 years at Sony Pictures Entertainment
Beatrice Verhoeven | October 25, 2018 @ 11:39 AM
Last Updated: October 25, 2018 @ 12:04 PM
Village Roadshow Entertainment
Former Sony Pictures TV Chairman Steve Mosko has been named the chief executive officer of Village Roadshow Entertainment Group (VREG), the company announced Thursday.
VREG is continuing its development and production of content with a bigger focus on television and streaming to complement the development and co-financing of movies. Village Roadshow Pictures Entertainment chairman and CEO Bruce Berman will remain in his position and will now report to Mosko. Greg Basser, VREG’s current CEO, is stepping down to pursue other opportunities in the media and entertainment space. He will continue as a consultant to VREG.
“Steve’s track record of success combined with his tenure in the industry and breadth of understanding of the current and future television landscape makes him the ideal executive to execute on our strategy and lead the company on a day-to-day basis,” stated Vine CEO and VREG Chairman Jim Moore. “While VREG is committed to existing partners such as Warner Bros, with Steve at the helm we are excited to accelerate the company’s diversification into content creation across platforms to meet the evolving technologies that are changing the way people consume entertainment content. We appreciate the long-standing contributions that Greg has made to VREG and look forward to his counsel as we pursue our strategy in China.”
Mosko added, “It’s a great time to be in the content creation space, and Village Roadshow is the place to be. The company not only possesses the legacy of a great library, original IP and strong distribution relationships with partners such as Warner Bros., but also has the combined backing of Vine and Falcon who understand the commitment it takes to foster an environment where creative talent can thrive. I can’t wait to get started.”
Mosko previously spent 24 years at Sony Pictures Entertainment, including 16 years running global television. During his tenure, Sony produced shows like “Breaking Bad,” “Better Call Saul,” “Damages” and “Rescue Me” for cable, while “The Crown,” “Bloodline” and “Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee” were produced for streaming. Mosko and his team also produced shows for network TV and syndication including “Blacklist,” “The Goldbergs,” “Shark Tank” and “Wheel of Fortune.”
Basser served as VREG’s CEO since 2000. He was instrumental in the public listing in 1988, as well as the establishment of the Golden Village, Warner Village and other Village cinema circuits.
Hollywood's Biggest Brands Haunted by Hackers, From HBO to Disney (Photos)
Since the high-profile hack of Sony Pictures in 2014, cybersecurity has become one of Hollywood's top concerns as more studios and networks continue to become prime targets.
The biggest and most consequential hack to hit Hollywood was the Sony Pictures hack of 2014. Spurred by the studio's then-upcoming comedy "The Interview," about a plot to assassinate Kim Jong-Un, North Korean hackers were able to access employee information, emails, unreleased projects and other damaging information.
Sony
Netflix fell victim to a hack in 2017 when a group called "The Dark Overlord" stole episodes of "Orange Is the New Black" from a post-production house. When the streamer failed to meet ransom demands, the group released 10 episodes of the series weeks ahead of the scheduled premiere.
Netflix
After The Dark Overlord successfully released "Orange Is the New Black," the group took to Twitter promising to target other companies next. The group named ABC its next target in a vague tweet, but did not specify which show or shows it was threatening to release.
ABC
When The Dark Overlord took "Orange Is the New Black" from Larson Studios, it also reportedly made off with other unaired shows, including "NCIS: Los Angeles" and "Portlandia." ABC, NBC, FX, National Geographic, E!, Disney Channel and Lifetime were also contacted by the FBI, who was investigating the incident, to notify them that their work may have been compromised.
CBS
Disney CEO Bob Iger confirmed in a company town hall meeting that the film studio had received a ransom demand from a hacker who claimed to have stolen one of their unreleased films. Reports said the pirated film was "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales," though it was never released. Iger later said in an interview that he believed it to be a hoax.
Getty Images
UTA suffered a "malware incident" in April, in which hackers held the company's computer systems hostage, demanding payment in bitcoin. Meetings were canceled and pushed, with the talent agency effectively shut down as the company raced to respond. Outside investigators concluded that no sensitive information was compromised.
Getty Images
The Sundance Film Festival also suffered a cyberattack in 2017. The box office was forced to go offline for roughly 40 minutes as the festival responded to the situation, but no screenings were affected by the outage. "Our artist's voices will be heard and the show will go on," the festival said in a statement.
Getty Images
In the middle of the seventh season run of its biggest hit "Game of Thrones," HBO suffered a cyber breach in which hackers reportedly obtained a copy of the script for an upcoming episode. Unaired episodes of "Ballers" and "Room 104" were also stolen and released online.
HBO
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Since 2014’s massive Sony hack, Hollywood continues to be compromised
Since the high-profile hack of Sony Pictures in 2014, cybersecurity has become one of Hollywood's top concerns as more studios and networks continue to become prime targets.