Ousted studio head will transition to a major new production venture based on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City.
Amy Pascal
Amid the fallout of the Sony hacking crisis, Amy Pascal will step down from her post as co-chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment, according to a report by The Wrap.
The move has been widely expected ever since the studio became engulfed in one of the worst cyberattacks in corporate history, resulting in what is certainly the most embarrassing hit ever taken by a major Hollywood institution in the digital age.
Pascal joined Sony in 1988 and was named Chairman of the Motion Pictures Group in 2003. In 2006, she added the title of Co-Chairman of SPE. Pascal will reportedly launch a major new production venture at the studio. The ousted studio head, whose contract was up in March, will transition to the new venture in May.
“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,” Pascal 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.”
Lynton sent an email Thursday morning to staffers announcing that Pascal is exiting.
“I am happy to say that Amy’s decision is not the end of her relationship with the studio but the start of a new and exciting chapter in her extraordinary career that promises to be mutually beneficial,” he wrote. “She can refocus her career on her first great love -- filmmaking -- and SPE can continue its association with an extremely talented and valued associate. Her decision has the full support of [Sony Corp. president and CEO] Kazuo Hirai.”
As part of a four-year agreement, SPE will finance Pascal’s venture and retain all distribution rights worldwide to the films. She will be based on the Sony Pictures lot in Culver City.
Formerly Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network, Jennifer Wolfe has worked in the Media & Entertainment industry as a writer and PR professional since 2003.
