Amid the fallout of the Sony Pictures hacking crisis, studio head co-chair Amy Pascal is stepping down from her post.
The departure was widely expected, ever since the entertainment studio became caught in one of the worst cyberattacks in corporate digital history. Pascal has already announced her plans to launch a new production venture at the Culver City, Calif. lot in May. She aims to help produce the new “Ghostbusters” film, as well as future “Amazing Spider Man” outings and other movies for theater and television.
“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.”
She announced her collaboration with Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton, saying the two have been “talking about this transition for quite some time.”
“I am grateful to [Lynton] 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,” Pascal continued. “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.”
Pascal’s leaked emails from the cyber-hack last December revealed some of Hollywood’s dirty laundry, including private emails to a mega-producer, Scott Rudin, making fun of big stars like Angelina Jolie and Adam Sandler.
Sony, reeling from its major cyber breaching incident associated with the release of its comedy “The Interview,” lost at least $15 million from the hack. But it regained the same amount from over 2 million digital rentals and purchases of the film in its first days of online release.
Still, the studio watched helplessly as a major leak by the anonymous hacker group—which calls themselves the Guardians of Peace—revealed sensitive documents, employee information, and even unreleased scripts and studio budget plans. Among them were series of nasty email exchanges sent to and from Pascal, which criticized everything from a failed Steve Jobs biopic, to mocking black movies and even President Barack Obama.
“The content of my emails were insensitive and inappropriate, but are not an accurate reflection of who I am,” Pascal said December in a statement. “Although this was a private communication that was stolen, I accept full responsibility for what I wrote and apologize to everyone who was offended.”
Pascal started at Columbia Pictures in 1988, assisting top producers and eventually rising to the top as co-chair with Lynton. Together, the pair oversaw the studio’s lines of business, including film and TV production, acquisition and distribution, digital content creation, operation of studio facilities, and developing new products and services.
Under Pascal’s leadership, Sony movies and television shows have enjoyed box-office and commercial success. The studio had 95 movies hit No. 1 at the domestic box office, more than any other company. Pascal’s major achievement was spearheading the nearly $4 billion “Spider-Man” franchise, which remains the highest-grossing superhero franchise in Hollywood.
Lynton wrote in an email to staffers, “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.”
As part of a four-year agreement, Sony will finance Pascal’s venture and retain distribution rights to the films worldwide.
“In recent months, SPE faced some unprecedented challenges, and I am grateful for Amy’s resilience and grace during this period,” Lynton said of the departure. “Amy has been a great partner to me in heading the studio and I am looking forward to a continued close working relationship with her in her new role on the lot.”
(With reports from ABCNews, The Hollywood Reporter, Variety.)
