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Following the November hacking scandal that made private emails of executives at Sony viewable to the public, the company has announced that Amy Pascal the co-chair would step down.
Pascal, one of Hollywood’s most powerful women, and a force behind such commercial and critical hits like American Hustle and The Social Network will launch a new production venture at Sony focused on television, movies and theater, said Sony Pictures on Thursday. Her career at Sony has spanned close to 20 years.
Pascal, during the hack, came under fire due to racist remarks about the presumed choice of President Obama in movies that surfaced in the emails that were leaked.
She made an apology for inappropriate and insensitive comments in the emails that she insisted the emails were not an accurate reflection of who she is.
Pascal faced criticism as well for green lighting the film that might have inspired the hacking in the first place: The Interview, starring James Franco and Seth Rogen as a pair of journalists given the task of assassinating Kim Jong Un the leader of North Korea.
Pascal will make her transition in May to her new venture. Sony Pictures is to finance Pascal under a contract of four years and retain distribution rights worldwide for the funded films.
The new venture will be at Sony Pictures in Culver City, California.
Michael Lynton, the CEO at Sony Entertainment said he was delighted that Amy would be continuing an association with SPE via the new venture, which will capitalize on the extraordinary talents she possesses.
Since Pascal started leading the studio, Sony has amassed more than $46 billion in box office revenue worldwide and more than 315 academy awards nominations. Some films that Pascal has shepherded include The Da Vinci Code, Eat Pray Love, Moneyball, Zero Dark Thirty and three James Bond movies.
Pascal said she was proud of what she has been able to accomplish with Michael Lynton and looked forward to doing a great deal more.
