One of the most powerful women in the entertainment industry has resigned.
Amy Pascal has stepped down as Sony Chairman — a move that was widely expected, albeit somewhat unfairly, since her studio was hacked last November. Pascal will stay on until March, then launch a new producing venture in May with Sony that focuses on film, television, and theatre.
Though Pascal and Sony Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton worked side by side — she on the creative side, he on the accounting side — Pascal became the face of the Sony hack. Lynton, it appears for now, will continue in his position.
Along with Universal Chairman Donna Langley and Fox Co-Chairman Stacey Snider, Pascal was one of the three most powerful women in the film industry. She was also one of a very tiny handful of women with greenlighting power in Hollywood.
“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,” said Pascal in a statement. “I have always wanted to be a producer. Michael 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 2 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.”
The statement continued:
Since Pascal has led the studio, SPE has amassed over $46 billion in global theatrical box office, 315 academy award nominations, 212 golden globe nominations and 115 number one openings.
Some of the movies under Pascal’s stewardship include:
Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, Skyfall, The Da Vinci Code, the Spider-man film series, Men in Black, To Die For, Ali, Charlie’s Angels, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, Hancock, Michael Jackson’s This Is it, Awakenings, A League of Their Own, Hitch, Stuart Little, Girl Interrupted, Adaptation, 2012, Bad Teacher, Easy A, Superbad, District 9, Zombieland, Pursuit of Happyness, This is the End, Pineapple Express, Stepbrothers, Talladega Nights, 21 Jump Street, Salt, Closer, Something’s Gotta Give, Eat Pray Love, 50 First Dates, You Don’t Mess with the Zohan, Equalizer, Fury, Big Fish, A Knight’s Tale, Memoirs of a Geisha, The Ides of March, Karate Kid, Big Daddy, The Remains of the Day, Little Women, Sense and Sensibility, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Captain Phillips, Moneyball, American Hustle, Zero Dark Thirty, Groundhog Day, The Social Network, and The Interview.
Ms. Pascal got her first job by answering an ad in the Hollywood Reporter. She worked as a secretary answering phones for the legendary BBC producer Tony Garnett.
Ms. Pascal is the first woman since Mary Pickford to serve as a Governor of the Executive Branch at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
[via TheWrap, Hollywood Reporter]
