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Head of Paramount Appears to Be on the Way Out

Feb 17, 2017  •  Post A Comment

The chairman and CEO of Paramount Pictures appears to be getting the boot as part of an overhaul of the struggling studio, The Los Angeles Times reports, citing two unnamed sources who are familiar with the situation.

The story notes that the news about Brad Grey comes after years of struggles at the box office for the studio.

“The studio chief, who has led the storied movie company for 12 years, is in negotiations with parent company Viacom Inc. to leave his job after a long period of financial declines at Paramount Pictures, said the sources, who were not authorized to comment on the situation. The studio could announce his resignation as early as next week,” The Times reports.

The report adds: “The talks come just one week after Viacom Chief Executive Bob Bakish announced a turnaround plan for the beleaguered media giant, with a particular focus on the Paramount film strategy. Paramount lost $180 million, on an adjusted basis, in the quarter that ended Dec. 31.”

The Times also notes: “A management change was telegraphed in the unusually blunt comments Bakish made about Grey and the poor performance of the studio. Bakish said he aims to dramatically alter how Paramount Pictures operates. No longer will the Melrose Avenue studio offer filmmakers a vast, blank canvas. Instead, he said, Paramount will turn over about half of its film slate to movies that have tangible ties to Viacom’s TV channels.”

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