SONY-PASCAL / ANALYST Pascal to step down as Sony studio head after hacking upheaval

Record ID: 451772

  • Title: SONY-PASCAL / ANALYST Pascal to step down as Sony studio head after hacking upheaval
  • Date: 6th February 2015
  • Summary: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES (FILE) (UNRESTRICTED POOL) ***WARNING CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** ACTOR WILL SMITH
  • Embargoed: 21st February 2015 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVAAWE136FMTRJNGLEV078B1RJ60
  • Story Text: Amy Pascal will step down as co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment after hackers angry about a movie she championed mocking North Korea's dictator exposed a raft of embarrassing emails between Pascal and other Hollywood figures.
    One of the most powerful women executives in Hollywood, Pascal had kept a low profile since her emails were leaked by hackers and widely reported by media, particularly one in which she made racially insensitive remarks about President Barack Obama's taste in films.
    Sony Pictures said Pascal will step down from her current post in May to launch her own production venture on the studio lot with its financial backing.
    The news of Pascal leaving didn't leave many heads scratching in tinseltown, said Matthew Belloni, the executive editor of The Hollywood Reporter.
    "This is not that unexpected, I don't think people were wondering if this was going to happen, I think people were wondering when," said Belloni, adding that it was expected for Sony to ride out the storm first. "It makes sense that Sony would wait until the scandal had died down a little bit, there was a little bit more modicum of stability at the studio, and then now they make the change."
    The entertainment arm of Sony Corp was victim of the most destructive cyber attack on a private company on U.S. soil.
    The U.S. government has blamed the hack on North Korea after the reclusive nation was angered by a Sony comedy "The Interview," depicting the fictional assassination of leader Kim Jong Un.
    Pascal had greenlighted the movie, which opened in limited release after the studio reversed a decision, condemned by Obama, to cancel its theatrical release.
    Having her emails laid out for all of Hollywood to see appeared to be a big blow to the 56-year-old studio boss known for her good relationships with actors and her backing of edgy films like "Zero Dark Thirty" and "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo."
    In an email exchange between Pascal and producer Scott Rudin that was reported by website Gawker, Rudin called famed actress Angelina Jolie a "minimally talented spoiled brat" because of her demands during a remake of "Cleopatra." Jolie has not responded publicly to the remarks since the email exchange was disclosed.
    In another email, Pascal joked about President Obama's race and his taste in movies. Pascal subsequently issued a public apology for "insensitive and inappropriate" emails, and met with civil rights activist Reverend Al Sharpton, who did not call for her to step down.
    Belloni believes that Sony will weather the storm. Pascal, however, is a different story.
    "I think Sony will definitely survive this scandal," said Belloni. "If you look in the Hollywood community, there are only a few studios, so you have to do business with them if you want to work in this town. I do think it really damaged Amy Pascal, and the release of those emails and the talent relationships that were frayed because of that, I think that did hurt her, and even though her deal was up and it's a natural time for the transition, I do believe that the scandal played a big role in her exiting."
    He also believes that the end of her tenure has come about because Pascal's leadership style lagged behind the success of other studios that own intellectual property and big blockbuster franchises.
    "Sony has been hampered by the fact that other than the Spider-Man franchise, they don't own a lot of intellectual property, like Warner Brothers owns the DC comics universe, and Disney owns the Marvel universe, and the Star Wars universe, so Sony has had problems because they don't have that many big franchises," said Belloni, who added that Pascal's vision of film producing was to tie the studio to particular stars, regardless of whether or not their movies were successful. "She's preferred to do more artistic driven films, more star driven films, Will Smith, Adam Sandler, those types of films, and I think that did hurt her in the end, because Sony has really had to work harder than the other studios to make money, because it's harder to have a success when you don't have a built-in franchise."
    Sony did not immediately disclose who would be taking over her post. But Sony employees have said one possible successor could be Michael De Luca, producer of "The Social Network" and the upcoming "Fifty Shades of Grey," who was hired in 2013 as president of production at Sony's Columbia Pictures unit.
    Pascal's new production venture will focus on film, television and theater, the studio said. As part of a four-year agreement, Sony Pictures will finance Pascal's venture and retain distribution rights to the films.
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