Jace said:
A top CEO at paramount has stepped down dunno her name but responsible for much of their glory days with forrest gump etc.She seems very cosy with Jude Law though shes x2 his age can anyone elaborate
Thanks, Jace--I hadn't heard about this, but found the following article.
Studio Boss Sherry Lansing to Retire
E! Online News
by Sarah Hall
Nov 2, 2004
Paramount Pictures chairwoman Sherry Lansing is ready to relinquish her status as the most powerful woman in Hollywood.
Lansing announced Tuesday that she plans to step down from her position at the end of next year, when her contract expires.
Lansing, 60, has held the Paramount post since 1992 and has spent more than three decades in the entertainment industry since she broke into the movie business as an actor and model in the late 1960s.
She said she would not seek another entertainment-related job. Sources close to Lansing told the Los Angeles Times that she had grown weary of elaborate red-carpet rituals and battling over film budgets.
"I'll have been in this job for 12 years and have had the opportunity and the privilege to work with the very best the entertainment industry has to offer," Lansing said in a statement.
"With the greatest team of filmmakers imaginable and the most supportive colleagues at Viacom, I have been able to accomplish more than I could have hoped for in the motion picture business. I move on with great memories, many friendships and few regrets. But now it is time for new challenges. I am extremely excited about the months ahead and planning the next chapter in my life."
A former model and actress of minor note, Lansing landed her first executive position in the mid-1970s, when she was made a story editor at MGM. In 1980, she became the first woman to head production at a major studio at 20th Century Fox.
At Paramount, Lansing has been involved with several of the best-received films of her generation, including Forrest Gump and The Accused. She also produced huge hits for the studio like Fatal Attraction and Indecent Proposal.
She earned the appreciation of younger audiences with recent hits Mean Girls and last year's School of Rock.
However, she's also been criticized for her apparent penchant for remakes, including the big budget The Stepford Wives and the upcoming Alfie, starring Jude Law, which is widely expected to tank at the box office. Her detractors have claimed that such choices have made the studio seem old-fashioned.
Still, Lansing's supporters say Paramount is about to see an end to its box-office blues with the upcoming releases of The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie and Lemony Snicket's a Series of Unfortunate Events.
Lansing will continue in her current role until her contract expires, helping to find a successor to her position.
Her colleagues expressed sadness at her departure and respect for her skills on the job over the years.
Tom Freston, copresident and co-COO of Viacom, who has served as Lansing's boss since his promotion in June, spoke highly of her work. A source close to her decision told the Los Angeles Times that Freston asked Lansing to reconsider, but could not sway her from her choice.
"Few have had as long and as successful a career in running a movie studio as Sherry Lansing," Freston said in a statement. "She has led Paramount on a remarkable ride with an impressive string of successes. She has been a trailblazer and a great leader and I understand and respect her decision."
Viacom Chairman and CEO Sumner Redstone is said to want an experienced film executive to fill the void Lansing's departure will create.
"I have the deepest professional admiration and personal affection for Sherry, who I have known for more than a decade," Redstone said in a statement.
"Sherry has been the heart and soul of Paramount Pictures for 12 years and a major contributor to the motion-picture industry for more than three decades. She leaves behind a legacy of great filmmaking, including three Oscar-winning films and some of the most popular and profitable movies in history."
As far as what comes next for Lansing, some have speculated that she will start a nonprofit company or devote herself to politics.
Currently, she sits on a number of boards, including the American Red Cross, and is an active fundraiser for Friends of Cancer Research and for the Carter Center, former President Carter's human-rights organization.
"She cares about things other than the movie business--she sees a bigger world," Columbia Pictures chief Amy Pascal recently told the Los Angeles Times about Lansing.