Everyone in Hollywood saw this coming, and were waiting for Sony to drop the boom on Amy Pascal who’s been with the studio since 1996. Naturally, the story is that Sony didn’t ask or push her to leave, but what studio head leaves a job they love so willingly? Plus she got a nice little golden parachute as all the ousted studio heads d
Sony Pictures co-chairman, Amy Pascal has announced that she’ll be leaving her position in May, the Hollywood Reporter reported today.
This came as no surprise after the Sony cyberhacking crisis which resulted in the studio getting scandalized after private correspondence were made public. Subjects such as President Obama’s presumed preference for black-themed movies along with issues regarding Angelina Jolie caused a rather large black eye on both Pascal and the studio. She was also responsible for greenlighting Seth Rogen and James Franco‘s “The Interview” which seemed to be a catalyst for the cyberattack along with sparking the wrath of North Korea. After President Obama pointed at the North Korean government as being behind the hack, many in Hollywood knew the boom would be falling soon for Pascal.
Since Ms. Pascal had been in contract renewal talks for months with Sony, this sudden controversy showed that she be the sole executive to take the fall for it.
As is always the case with studio heads walked to the exit door, Pascal will be launching a new production company at Sony. Her deal was set to end in March so her transition will be very smooth, and she’ll get a producer credit on the new “Ghostbusters” movie along with any future “Amazing Spider-Man” sequels. Sony will finance the production company while holding all distribution rights to films made under the shingle.
“I have spent almost my entire professional life at Sony Pictures and I am energized to be starting this new chapter based at the company I call home,” she said in a statement. “I have always wanted to be a producer. [Sony Entertainment CEO] Michael [Lynton] and I have been talking about this transition for quite some time, and I am grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to pursue my long-held dream and for providing unparalleled support. As the slate for the next two years has come together, it felt like the right time to transition into this new role. I am so grateful to my team, some of whom I have worked with for the last 20 years and others who have joined more recently. I am leaving the studio in great hands. I am so proud of what we have all done together and I look forward to a whole lot more.”
Now that she’s got a production shingle, everyone in Hollywood will still be rushing at her pretending they don’t know what really happened, and then chatting about it with their friends behind her back. But if everything she produces hits it out of the ballpark, everyone will say it was the best thing that ever happened to her getting cyberattacked.