BBC Studios Names New CFO After Record Results
Following a set of record annual results, BBC Studios has named its next CFO as Lorraine Burgess departs. Amanda Jones, who had been doing the role on an interim basis, is taking the gig on permanently and becomes a Director of BBC Commercial, which incorporates BBC Studios. Starting next month permanently and reporting to CEO Tom Fussell, Jones will oversee budgeting, reporting, business support and financial controls, while working across strategy. She will join BBC Studios Executive Committee and become a member of the BBC’s Commercial Board. She has worked for Sky, ITV and Emap in the past, and joined BBC Studios a year ago to take up the interim CFO role. As commercial income becomes ever more crucial to the BBC purse, BBC Studios which is behind Baby Reindeer, Doctor Who and Conclave, boosted revenue and profit last year by around 14% apiece, with the former hitting £2.2B ($3B) and the latter £228M ($307M). Fussell said: “As BBC Studios seeks to grow its business in a highly challenging market, Amanda will be instrumental in helping us drive the business forward to deliver against our ambitious plans.”
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Archstone Entertainment Snaps Up Horror About Sinister Chatbot
EXCLUSIVE: Chatbot inputs at the ready. L.A.’s Archstone Entertainment has signed on as worldwide sales agent for COGN-AI-TIVE, a horror based around AI that’s premiering at London’s FrightFest next month. The film, from first-time director Tommy Savas, follows a group of co-workers staying late at the office in preparation for the launch of their smarter, faster and more cognitive version of Chat GPT only realize that the AI they’ve created has its own sinister agenda. Piper Curda (May December), Noel Fisher (Shameless), Josh Zuckerman (Oppenheimer) and Natasha Benham (You) star in the pic, which is from specialist genre film and TV studio Reckless Content, the firm behind Tubi’s Game Bros series. Savas, a short-film director for more than 15 years, worked on COGN-AI-TIVE with his wife, Angie Simms, who penned the script. “I wanted to make a fun horror that captures the nostalgia of 90s cinema, while commenting on the ever-growing concern of AI in our industry,” said Savas. COGN-AI-TIVE debuts on August 21 at FrightFest.