UPDATE: Paramount Pictures is now announcing what my sources told me: it’s taking its faux indie division Paramount Vantage’s marketing, distribution, and physical production and combining those three into big Paramount. But I’m also assured that Paramount Vantage will still be an ongoing brand that will still be developing and acquiring specialty product with dedicated creative staff. Only now the films will be released by big Paramount. As part of this, the co-president of marketing at Vantage, Megan Colligan, will be joining Paramount Pictures as co-president of domestic marketing alongside Josh Greenstein, upped from EVP of marketing at Paramount Pictures. Both will be reporting to Gerry Rich, who’s president of worldwide marketing. Insiders tell me that Colligan’s colleague, Guy Endore Kaiser, will likely be departing. Paramount later tonight will be officially announcing these management changes. Presumably, the poor peons will suffer consolidation as this reorganization proceeds. Vantage boss Nick Meyer still reports to John Lesher, who now gets to keep an even closer eye on his old stomping ground after his big promotion from Vantage head to president of the Paramount Film group. So will Rob Moore, who was upped the same time as Lesher — from president of Paramount’s worldwide marketing, distribution and home entertainment, to vice chairman of Paramount Pics. Hollywood has already seen Warner Bros shut down its faux indie Warner Independent Pictures. So I gotta ask: in light of today’s news, what’s the future of the other faux indies — Miramax at Disney, Focus Features at Universal, Sony Classics at Sony Pictures, and Fox Searchlight at Fox Filmed Entertainment
Here is the official Paramount news release:
Watch on Deadline
Hollywood, CA (June 3, 2008) – Paramount Pictures and Paramount Vantage today announced the consolidation of its marketing, distribution and physical production departments, which will serve both entities. The merged marketing department will be lead by Gerry Rich (President, Worldwide Motion Picture Marketing). Megan Colligan and Josh Greenstein who were promoted to Co-Presidents of Domestic Marketing, will report to Mr. Rich. The consolidated distribution department will be lead by Jim Tharp (President, Domestic Theatrical Distribution) and the combined physical production department will be headed by Georgia Kacandes, Executive Vice President, Physical Production. Mr. Tharp and Mr. Rich will continue to report to Rob Moore, Vice Chairman, Paramount Pictures. Georgia Kacandes will report to Brad Weston, President, Production, Paramount Films.
“The new consolidated structure allows both Paramount and Paramount Vantage to leverage the strengths and resources of a combined talent base, while minimizing redundancies and optimizing efficiencies,” said Rob Moore, Vice Chairman, Paramount Pictures.
“Today’s change is in line with our strategy to restructure the business for the long term,” added John Lesher, President, Paramount Film Group. “It takes into account the dynamic nature of the marketplace and positions Paramount for the future.”
The combined resources of these departments will service Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, DreamWorks Pictures, MTV Films, Nickelodeon Movies, as well as distribution partners Marvel and DreamWorks Animation.
Gerry Rich, aka former houseboy. Anyone not a card carrying member of the well known “GM” better watch her back. What comes around goes around…
Mikey, just so you and everybody else know, Miramax was under Disney’s control for most of the 1990’s. In 2002, the company was spun-off so that Disney would have extra money lying around. At that time, the company (Disney) was facing a shareholder revolt and possible takeover by Comcast so they had to do something in order fight off that revolt. The thing that remained was a minor working relationship in which Disney would help finance the purchase of Independent feature films, however that relationship ended when Miramax wanted to purchase Michael Moore’s controversial Fahrenheit 9/11 for US distribution, and it is controversial when it wins Cannes and the French people approve of US policy. Disney said, go ahead, but we will not finance any more films including the one you want help in purchasing. Of course, the only reason why it didn’t win an Oscar is because Moore chose the general movie category over Documentary but that is a different story.
Zareh, are you Zared Goldfarb, the Allied Entertainment rep for Paramount Vantage in New Mexico/Vegas?
FD–mostly agree but I would say the 90’s boom (Miramax) was down to the fact they were simply better at it than anyone had ever been. And, if you don’t think they had a “screw everyone” business model as ruthless as anybody on the planet, whoo, guess what. Maybe with the studio indies folding away someone can come along and be the new Miramax. But I doubt it, it was a one-off, a fluke phenomenon I think. But who the f knows. And off topic but rest assured mortgage-backed losses are the tip of the iceberg.
First, I just want to say that Miramax is independent from Disney and have been since 2002 or so.
Second, Furious D is completely right to a point. The Day of reckoning is coming for Hollywood and it will be sooner rather than later even without a actors strike. We are just seeing the start of the “entertainment bust” with the downfall of Time Warner. Everybody else will fall due to “screw you” accounting and that will land the likes of Peter Chernin, Anne Sweeney, Jeff Zucker, Sumner Redstone, Rupert Murdoch, and Leslie Moonves in Prison for a long, long time. The fallout will be so great that it will likely cause the cable companies to lose their “power” as well.
After the cleanup, new companies will be formed and we will see the new golden age of entertainment.