Amy Pascal will be stepping down as co-chairwoman of Sony Pictures after embarrassing leaked emails made the top executive the public face of a company in the throes of a hacking crisis.
Pascal, who had shared the Hollywood studio's top post with co-chairman Michael Lynton for eight and a half years, will be launching her own movie production venture that will be housed in one of the buildings at Sony Pictures' Culver City headquarters. The agreement will see the company providing financial backing to Pascal's new venture while taking all distribution rights to all films produced.
The resignation was not unexpected for many Sony Pictures employees. Last year, Pascal had been pushed to the front and center of the humiliating crisis Sony Pictures had been through after a massive cyberattack that crippled the company's entire computer network and leaked troves of private and sensitive data about its business operations and employees.
The hack has been said by federal investigators to have been masterminded by the North Korean government, which had issued statements about its ire over the then-upcoming Seth Rogen comedy film featuring Kim Jong Un's head exploding. Sony first withdrew the movie The Interview after threats were made against theaters where the film was set to be shown, but after complaints about self-censorship the movie had a limited release at independent theaters in December and was available for sale or rent through online video services. However, private security experts have continuously contended the FBI's conclusions about the hack were incorrect.
In a statement released by Sony Pictures, Pascal says she has been discussing the transition from executive to producer with Lynton "for quite some time now," suggesting it's not likely the exposed email exchanges she had with producer Scott Rudin insulting a host of individuals, from Angelina Jolie to President Barack Obama, led to her stepping down.
"As the slate for the next two years has come together, it felt like the right time to transition into this new role," Pascal says. "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."
Under Pascal's oversight, Sony Pictures has put out a number of critically acclaimed and highly successful movies, including American Hustle, Zero Dark Thirty and The Social Network, but has most recently seen a number of flops, such as White House Down and After Earth.
In 2014, the studio dropped its hold on the industry when it saw its box office position plummet from No. 1 in 2012, with a revenue of $1.79 billion, to No. 4 in 2014, with a revenue of $1.26 billion.
One Hollywood source cited by the New York Post says it is impossible to believe that Pascal may have been pushed out due to the leaked emails alone. If anything, the hacking could have only been the straw that broke the camel's back as Sony Pictures struggled to produce more consistent results at the box office.
"The last time she got renewed, no one could believe it," says the source. "Do I think anyone's getting let go over emails? We all live in a glass house... It's the combination of performance over the last couple of years and the non-slate coming forward."
