UPDATE, 9:10 AM: The studio has just confirmed that Amy Pascal is stepping down from her position as co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and chairman of the Motion Picture Group, and that she will launch a new production venture at the studio. Pascal will transition to the new venture in May.
PREVIOUS EXCLUSIVE, 8:56 AM: Sources tell me that a shakeup at the top of Sony Pictures Entertainment will happen this morning. I’m hearing that Amy Pascal will exit as longtime leader of the studio.
I’m hearing that Amy Pascal’s exit will be announced this morning. It’s unclear about who would succeed her. There has been a lot of chatter lately surrounding Doug Belgrad, who now has the title of President, Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group and President, Columbia Pictures. The studio also has a deep bench of proven studio heads including TriStar’s Tom Rothman, production president Mike DeLuca and Jeff Robinov at Studio 8.
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Pascal has a solid track record as a talent- and filmmaker-friendly studio head and she has lasted longer than most do. There had been speculation she might transition, but clearly this all has been hastened by the devastating cyber attack on the studio by North Korea over Sony’s The Interview.
Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures and chairman of the Motion Picture Group, has been at the forefront of the hack attack scandal pretty much from the beginning, after the massive breach of company data was first revealed on November 24. Among the troves of documents made public by the hacking group were racially insensitive emails between Pascal and producer Scott Rudin about President Obama. In the private exchange, the two joked that the President’s favorite films are black-themed movies like Django Unchained and 12 Years A Slave.
After the emails were revealed, Pascal met with the likes of Rev. Al Sharpton to quell anger over what Sharpton “cultural blindness” displayed in the emails.
“I am mostly disappointed in myself,” Pascal told Deadline after she later broke her media silence on the matter. “That is the element of this that has been most painful for me. I don’t want to be defined by these emails, after a 30-year career; I was even willing to let it all happen. But I’m just not going to do that now. Clearly, there are things that you say in a rash moment without thinking them through, and it takes 10 seconds to say something stupid. When it’s blasted and it might become the way you are defined as a human being, I have to say it. It’s just wrong. It’s wrong about me. And it’s wrong to do to anyone.”
In the midst of the email uproar, Pascal and Lynton were faced with what to do post-hack with The Interview, the Sony comedy starring James Franco and Seth Rogen that revolved around two reporters charged with assassinating North Korean leader Kim Jung-un. The hackers claimed the plot was the reason for the cyber attack. Sony’s tough decision to pull the movie from its theatrical release on Christmas Day was met with backlash for giving in to terrorist demands, and the studio was even publicly chided by Obama, who said the decision to stop the film’s release was a mistake.
Sony eventually backtracked on releasing The Interview after a group of indie theaters said they would show it beginning on Christmas Day — the larger exhibs and multiplexes had too much exposure to show the pic, and the new rollout plan included a digital day-and-date release on platforms including YouTube, Google Play, Microsoft’s Xbox Video and Sony’s own dedicated website. That eventually expanded to include services like cable VOD, Sony’s Crackle and Netflix.
As of January 18 the movie had grossed more $40 million in cable, satellite, telecom and online VOD sales, and $6 million to date since its limited theatrical bow.
In retirement I hope her garden gets hacked. Not a nice lady in my opinion.
She’s not retiring. She’s an amazingly talented woman who has been has a very positive influence on Sony’s continued success.
Her emails were hacked. Period. Remember — ‘those in glass houses…’. BTW, she spoke the truth as he knows it to be. Regardless of how YOU may feel, it doesn’t really matter, she’s not asking for anyone else’s approval.
Oh, Marvin, your opinion means nothing.
If I were her I would go directly to the biggest supermarket and buy a container of every single different flavor of ice cream and buy a separate freezer to store it in with an inventory list on the outside.
It was naïve to believe that after the Sony hack that there wouldn’t be casualties and that she would not be the one to go.
Congrats to Amy on an iconic and astonishing studio career. Amazing. looking forward to your continued industry success at your production co.
Exactly, as they say in the Godfather, this is “strictly business.”
Fantastic. Hopefully this will be a lesson to Hollywood to exhibit more professionalism and maturity in their business dealings, whether or not they think the public may find out about it.
That’s cute
Yes, you’re right. It’s hopelessly naive to think that something that damaged the reputation of the industry (like it’s even possible to be lower) may actually make someone think a little bit about how they come across.
Oh puhlease SC, how naive, every industry has got its sharp and bitter tongues behind closed doors. Its the nature of human nature, hello? Those where private emails between business partners. Do you want to read what the financing sector or politicians exchange between each other?
Those were Sony e-mail accounts which means they were not private. What alternate reality do you live in? Only Hollywood would defend such an unprofessional, immature, reckless person.
Never happened. Like they gave a shit, nor give one? More heads won’t roll. Everyone in the end gets in bed together for the sake of all in charge. That goes for the entire industry.
Firing the last female head of studio. Go progress.
While I see your point about there no longer being any female heads of studios, isn’t it also progress that she is being let go regardless of her gender and not because of it? Any executive with her time on the job and recent track record (to say nothing of the hacking scandal) would be gone now (if not sooner).
Donna Langley? Stacey Snider?
Elizabeth Gabler, Emma Watts, Vanessa Jackson
54
She got fired because of the problems she was at the helm for and her unprofessional behavior. To not fire her because she’s happens to be female would be sexism.
She exposed herself as an idiot, which set back the cause of gender equality far more than firing her would.
Yeah they should keep her just for her gender! Screw merit! Yay gender quotas!
If she was a black woman no one would have ever touched her! Black is untouchable. Ask Al Sharpton….Maybe he’ll take her place.
Male or female, her poor choices in business dealings and professional communication give a bad name to any “head of studio.” out she goes, and let that be a lesson to whoever takes her place
What. Lesson haha. They made a brand new studio for her u nut
The lesson being she was publicly shamed for her idiocy and then fired for it. Regardless of how much power she USED to have, it’s been taken from her hands. Having a production shingle is a far, far cry from being a studiohead. If that’s not a lesson, maybe you should go back to school.
While Hollywood certainly needs to deal with the issue of gender in regards to hiring, in this particular instance, Pascal should have been gone a long time ago. While she has done a great job in fostering talent at the studio, she has also led Sony Pictures into a downward spiral of films that perform poorly at the box office and is seen as a joke of an organization. It’s great that she will be getting her own production company at Sony, but it’s obvious that she just wasn’t good at running a film studio. The film hacking at Sony just made her firing even more justifiable.
How is security of the hack her fault. Al
Sharptan is a idiot biggot and always trying to label racism on everything. Amy would not of been let go because let be honest ( she not fired) she pretty much got same job. These politicians/actors/produces/directors are some of the most verbal because it’s cutthroat. Not once did I see her say somehng racist. What I saw was a stupid email leak talking shit about spoiled actors and a joke about Obama liking Djangp unchained. That’s why when real
Racism strikes nothing happens. I’m sure if we read politicians emails it would frighten you. I bet alot of people watch porn here and here is a racist ty
Your illiterate email justifies your ignorant post.
r a c i s t- in pants or a skirt- its spelled the same.
Shame, if so!
Guess the hacking fallout in finally coming to fruition…
I’ll always credit her for fostering really a new age of summer blockbuster popcorn fare what with the ORIGINAL ‘Spider-Man’ series (which also made the first week in May, MARVEL weekend as well as the unofficial kick-off of summer)
They’re replacing her with Sharpton, maybe?
Guess the payoff to Sharpton wasn’t enough.
Buhbye Amy
She had the opportunity to do something right like improving relations with the black community trying to get jobs in the movie industry.
Sorry, idiot. These aren’t government jobs. Learn a craft and put the effort into it. The ‘black community’. Just shut up!
The idiot is the one who does not realize the lack of color in mainstream film is due to Hollywood attempting to make their stories reflect what they believe is the “American Experience”, rather than making more stories about “The Black (or Asian or Latino, etc) Experience in America”. Those stories are just as compelling.
lol
You don’t mess with the Obama.
Her comments caused embarrassment to the sitting President of the United States and became an international news story. Amy Pascal was probably more worried about whether she and Angelina Jolie can still be best pals than the embarrassment she caused to the Commander in Chief.
Really?… She cared more about Angelina Jolie than the leader of the free world?
Jolie puts $$$ in her pocket, not necessarily Obama.
yes. 100 times, yes.
I would tend to think so actually. While it may outwardly seem absurd to care more about your relationship with an actor than your country’s leader, one might remember that while Presidents have the job to be dignified and forgiving of careless mistakes, actors tend to privately hold grudges and sometimes try to ruin aspects of others’ careers, if and when possible.
Yea, well the non-performance of “Annie” and “The Interview” debacle, this is not unexpected.
Hahahahahaa nah nah nah nah .. nah nah nah nah.. hey hey hey.. goodbye
Next time don’t display such open racism.
That’s how Al Sharpton makes his money…
Al Sharpton is part of the story largely because Amy Pascal ran to him to apologize for insulting the President, further demonstrating poor judgment and common sense.
I think we’ve come a long way if you think that A.P. is A) a racist and B) was open about being racist.
Her private emails were hacked, and she was party to an insensitive joke. Hardly open racism.
They weren’t private e-mails. She sent them on her Sony corporate account as a Sony executive. It doesn’t get any more unprofessional than that.
An inevitable pink slip.
Brian Williams next?
God I hope so..liars and racist should not be the public face of communication giants.
No. Brian is the face of NBC News. He must stay on the air as a living reminder of all the lies we’ve been told.
So true.
*like*
ah…Rev. Al gave Pascal absolution. Of course, a premium was paid above his usual fee because her sin was so egregious.
if the seahawks won this wouldnt have happened
a wanna be tough guy, her poor husband, imagine what he puts up with
Yeah, living the wealthy good life. It’s rough on him.
Her contract was up this year anyway, so she’s stepping down in name only.
The only thing the executives at Sony should be fired for is making “The Interview.” Regardless of the controversy, it was still an inexcusably bad movie.
GOOD! the Pascal CEO and SONY,deserves their “shake-up” for the disasterous
and tasteless decisions to produce “THE INTERVIEW”,along with the events that
followed,for being seriously irresponsible in entertaining the idea,of a movie comedy,advocating and gesting in humor, an assassination of the North Korean
dictator,Kim Jong Un-although highly hated and despised in the West,SONY Pictures Studios acted both unwisely,and very foolishly,in allowing this movie to be made,knowing fully well,over the political reprecutions that would follow,which led to the Cyber attacks on their Studio! as i’ve said in past comments,that the Japanese based electronics giant,needs to get out of the Hollywood movie making business,and remove its name,SONY,and reinstate the
Columbia Pictures name back into all its main studio operations! the other actions here,would be to ban actors Seth Rogen and James Franco for life,from ever doing ANY other movies on that studio lot,ever again!
Thanks, Kim.
she would have been fired years ago if she were a man
So what’s the new reorg? Who will take what spot with said experience? Sony isn’t looking appealing anymore..
Bring back Mark Canton!
Why is everyone just accepting that it was North Korea, when droves of experts are skeptical that they could’ve done it?
I read articles that interviewed these supposed skeptics, and while they each had different points to make, some valid, others a stretch, each one at the end admitted that it wasn’t wholly impossible for the leader of North Korea to have commissioned this incident.
Sad day for women in Hollywood. Amy is responsible for Screen Gems (which produces diverse films and urban films that have gone mainstream). She may be culturally insensitive, but I don’t think she is inherently racist. Good luck Amy.
If that is her claim to fame, then, perhaps, it should be a sad day for women in Hollywood.
She’s not being fired for racism. She’s being fired for being at the center of an embarrassing scandal made worse by her poor choice in wording and “humor” in a hyper-sensitive age. Private e-mails or not, she made a dumb move and unfortunately it got magnified. She is the face of Sony embarrassment. And anyone who complains that it isn’t fair has forgotten what business we’re talking about.
Exactly
Certainly not a shocker, but how about a little more honesty with the back-story, guys? We still don’t know whether the hack was actually caused by North Korea and probably never will, so how about just, “allegedly,” “attributed to,” or even “widely believed.”
Sorry to get distracted from the truly important matter here–Ms. Pascal’s career.
Alright, how about we say “as officially named by the United States Government”.
Why aren’t they firing “digital expert” Michael Lynton? He was more responsible for the hack than she was, in terms of being nominally responsible for cybersecurity at the studio. If responsibility starts at the top, how does he still have a job?
He didn’t have embarrassing emails leaked – that’s why.
Can we please put to rest the notion that Pascal is out because of the Hacking scandal? Pascal is out because a Columbia/Sony distributed film hasn’t won a Best Picture Oscar since 1987 (and 1982 if you want to talk films they produced), the Spider-man franchise has gotten so bad the fans are begging to hand it over to someone else to produce and even the Bond people no longer want to work with Amy.
No prestige + No box office franchises = No job
I think the article actually states the hacking scandal was the last straw, not the “only” reason. I’m inclined to believe that had that not happened, she would still be in her post right now – aren’t you?