Top Level Shakeup At Paramount

Paramount movie chief Gail Berman steps down — Viacom-owned film company says it will reorganize its production structure

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) — Gail Berman, the former Fox television chief named Paramount Pictures president less than two years ago, resigned on Wednesday, effective immediately, as the film studio made way for an executive overhaul.

A statement issued by the Viacom Inc.-owned film company said a “reorganization of the studio’s production structure will be announced shortly,” but no specific reason for Berman’s departure was given.

Berman, 49, has been the focus of scrutiny almost from the day she was named to the Paramount job in March 2005. In the past year, several reports have surfaced around Hollywood that the former TV executive had a difficult time working with movie agents, talent managers and others.

As president of Paramount, Berman was one of the few women in Hollywood with the power to put motion pictures into production, overseeing development, budgeting and casting of films.

A former talent manager herself who oversaw the rise of hit TV shows such as “American Idol” while head of entertainment for Fox, Berman was the first female executive to hold top posts at both a major network and a major movie studio.

The Los Angeles Times, citing four unnamed sources, said on Wednesday that Berman began making plans late last month to leave Paramount and form her own production company.

The Hollywood Reporter, also citing unnamed sources, said she was already negotiating to terminate her contract. That contract had two years left, according to reports.

A spokeswoman for Paramount, which is a unit of Viacom Inc., was not immediately available for comment.

Berman was handpicked by Paramount studio chairman Brad Grey to run the movie operations for reasons that included her track record as entertainment president at the Fox Broadcasting Co. with shows like “American Idol” attracting young viewers.

Fox is a unit of News Corp.

At Paramount, her tenure met with some success. She oversaw the relatively low-budget “Nacho Libre,” starring Jack Black, which posted $80 million in domestic ticket sales.

And Paramount credited her with shepherding such films as “Failure to Launch,” “World Trade Center” and the acclaimed musical “Dreamgirls” through production.

The studio also released the Tom Cruise action sequel “Mission: Impossible III,” which was only a modest performer in the United States and Canada with $133 million, but was a big hit internationally with a $264 million box office.

Yet this past August, Cruise and Paramount severed ties, and Paramount’s acquisition of the DreamWorks movie studio brought in some major executive talent, including former Universal Pictures chief Stacey Snider.

The Los Angeles Times said it was unclear who might be in line to take Berman’s job, but it mentioned two top Paramount executives, Rob Moore and Brad Weston, as possible candidates.

Berman was an advocate for the return of Star Trek as a major element within the Paramount studios. One is naturally curious to know what effect, if any, her resignation will have on the current development of Star Trek XI and the franchise as a whole.