Jim Gianopulos Named Head of Viacom's Paramount Pictures
March 27 2017 - 3:46PM
Dow Jones News
By Ben Fritz
Jim Gianopulos, the longtime head of Twentieth Century Fox, has
been tapped to turn around Viacom Inc.'s troubled movie studio.
Mr. Gianopulos will become chairman and chief executive of
Paramount Pictures beginning April 3, Viacom said Monday. He had
been in talks with the struggling media conglomerate for several
weeks and was widely expected in Hollywood to take the job, left
open when Viacom ousted the studio's former CEO, Brad Grey, last
month.
Mr. Gianopulos, 64 years old, ran Fox for 16 years, some of them
side-by-side with a co-chairman, turning out hits including
"Avatar" and the "X-Men" films. He was replaced last year by his
deputy, former Universal Pictures and DreamWorks Studios chief
Stacey Snider.
Fox's parent company, 21st Century Fox Inc., and The Wall Street
Journal's owner, News Corp., share common ownership
At Paramount, Mr. Gianopulos faces a major turnaround job. The
studio lost $445 million in the fiscal year ended Sept. 30,
following several years of declining profits. It has ranked last
among the six major studios at the box office since 2012. Among its
recent flops have been family film "Monster Trucks" and action
sequel "XXX: The Return of Xander Cage."
Many employees of the studio have complained about low morale
after years of underinvestment compared with competitors like
Comcast Corp.'s Universal and Walt Disney Co., whose film
businesses have thrived recently.
Viacom's new CEO, Bob Bakish, has said he wants Paramount to
make more movies in partnership with the company's cable networks
like Nickelodeon and Comedy Central.
Mr. Gianopulos's talks to take over Paramount were slowed in
part by an initial insistence by Mr. Bakish and other top Viacom
executives, including Vice Chairman Shari Redstone, that they be
included in decisions to approve, or "greenlight," films.
Ultimately, Mr. Gianopulos was granted the authority to choose all
but the most expensive films, according to a person with knowledge
of the matter, a power shared by other studio chiefs. In practice,
though, studio CEOs frequently consult with their bosses about
moviemaking decisions.
Since leaving Fox, Mr. Gianopulos also talked to China's Dalian
Wanda Group Co. about running its Legendary Pictures and to Sony
Corp. about the open job atop Sony Pictures Entertainment, said
people with knowledge of the talks.
After initially considering him for the top job at Paramount,
Viacom had been in talks with producer and former New Line Cinema
production chief Michael De Luca about being Mr. Gianopulos's No. 2
at the studio. Mr. De Luca didn't ultimately take the job, however,
and it remains to be seen what if any changes Mr. Gianopulos makes
to Paramount's executive ranks.
Write to Ben Fritz at ben.fritz@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 27, 2017 15:31 ET (19:31 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2017 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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