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Amy Pascal

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Amy Pascal
Born
Amy Beth Pascal

(1958-03-25) March 25, 1958 (age 66)
EducationUniversity of California, Los Angeles
Occupation(s)Co-Chairman, Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE)
Chairman of SPE's Motion Picture Group
SpouseBernard Weinraub
Children1

Amy Beth Pascal (born March 25, 1958) is an American business executive. She has served as the Chairman of the Motion Pictures Group of Sony Pictures Entertainment (SPE) since 2003 and co-Chairman of SPE, including Sony Pictures Television, since 2006. She has overseen the production and distribution of many movies and television programs. She has controversially been involved in the December 2014 hacking scandal that revealed allegedly racist, sexist and rude remarks of hers against various Hollywood actors and personalities, including Angelina Jolie and President Barack Obama.

Early life and education

Amy Beth Pascal was born on March 25, 1958 in Los Angeles, California.[1] She is Jewish.[2] Her father, Tony Pascal, was an economist at the RAND Corporation and her mother was a librarian and art bookstore owner, Artworks.[1][2][3][4] Pascal attended Crossroads School in Santa Monica.[1][2] She then worked as a bookkeeper while getting her international relations degree at UCLA.[1][2][4][5]

Career

Pascal started her career as a secretary working for producer Tony Garnett at the independent production company Kestrel Films.[3] From 1986 to 1987, she served as Vice President of Production at 20th Century Fox.[6]

Sony

Pascal joined Columbia Pictures in 1988, where she was responsible for the development of films including: Groundhog Day, Little Women, Awakenings, and A League of Their Own.[7] She left Columbia in 1994 and served for two years as the President of Production for Turner Pictures.[8] Pascal rejoined Columbia in 1996 as the studio’s President.[9]

Pascal was named Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment in September 2006.[10][11] She has also served as Chairman of SPE’s Motion Picture Group since December 2003.[12] Pascal and SPE’s Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton lead all of SPE’s lines of business, including: motion picture production, acquisition and distribution; television production, acquisition and distribution; television networks; digital content creation and distribution; operation of studio facilities; and development of new entertainment products, services and technologies.[13]

Pascal has overseen the production and distribution of films including the Spider-Man franchise; the James Bond films Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, the first Bond film to gross over $1 billion at the worldwide box office;[14] The Da Vinci Code and Angels & Demons; Sony Pictures Animation’s The Smurfs, Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs, and Hotel Transylvania; and Best Picture Oscar nominees American Hustle, Captain Phillips, Zero Dark Thirty, Moneyball and The Social Network.[15][16][17]

Pascal, along with Lynton, also oversees Sony Pictures Television (SPT), which produces and distributes television programming for multiple platforms in the U.S. and internationally.[18]

Lynton and Pascal are dedicated to environmental sustainability at Sony Pictures, and worked to make Sony the first studio certified under the standards of ISO 14001 Environmental Management System. The duo led the development of two Green Building Council Leadership in Engineering and Design (LEED) certified buildings on the studio’s Culver City lot. SPE has received numerous honors from the Environmental Media Association for sustainable filmmaking as well as community recognition from TreePeople and Habitat for Humanity for its green practices and volunteerism.[19]

As of 2014, she was ranked as the 28th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes.[20]

Activities and awards

In 2001, Pascal was honored with the Women in Film’s Crystal Award, which recognizes those whose work has helped to expand the role of women in the entertainment industry.[21]

Pascal has been included in The Hollywood Reporter’s annual Women in Entertainment Power 100 list and Forbes’ ranking of the World’s 100 Most Powerful Women.[22][23] As of 2014, she was ranked at #28, up from #36 in 2013.[20]

In 2013, Pascal was elected to the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.[24]

Guardians of Peace hack

Main article: Sony Pictures Entertainment hack

On December 9, 2014, a major illegal breach of Sony's computer systems by "Guardians of Peace" hackers using Shamoon malware led to disclosure of many gigabytes of stolen information, including internal company documents. In subsequent news coverage Pascal and Scott Rudin were noted to have had an email exchange about Pascal's upcoming encounter with President Barack Obama.[25][26][27] The full dialogue:

Pascal: "What should I ask the president at this stupid Jeffrey breakfast?" [hosted by Jeffrey Katzenberg, a major Democratic Party donor].
Rudin: "Would he like to finance some movies.”
Pascal: "I doubt it. Should I ask him if he liked DJANGO?"
Rudin: "12 YEARS."
Pascal: "Or the butler. Or think like a man?"
Rudin: "Ride-along. I bet he likes Kevin Hart."[28][29]

Django Unchained, Twelve Years a Slave and The Butler were selections that focused on slavery in the United States or the pre-civil rights era, while Think like a Man and Ride Along also prominently featured black actors. Several news reports branded the exchange as racially insensitive.[25][26][27]

Pascal later apologized, saying "the content of my emails were insensitive and inappropriate but are not an accurate reflection of who I am," and also "I made a series of remarks that were meant only to be funny, but in the cold light of day, they are in fact thoughtless and insensitive — and not funny at all.”[27][30]

Civil rights leader Al Sharpton suggested the apology was not sufficient, compared her to Donald Sterling, and called for more diversity in Sony's hiring pool.[31]

In Pascal's defense, Aaron Sorkin told The Hollywood Reporter that she had made a sincere apology, stating: “Amy knows more than a lot of people what it’s like to battle stereotypes. She’s a woman at a large corporation who worked her way from assistant to the chairman’s office." Adding: “Amy would rather cut off her own hand than intentionally hurt someone.”[32] Following a December 13 report in which an anonymous source told the New York Daily News that Pascal would be 'getting fired to set an example' due to complaints by Sharpton and others,[33] TMZ reported December 17 that over 50 "show biz big wigs" including Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, John Singleton, Jack Nicholson and Tyler Perry had written to Sony "voicing support for her."[34] An editorial by Aaron Sorkin in the New York Times denounced the media's focus on Pascal's communications and many other emails released by the hack as "Giving Material Aid to Criminals", saying "at least the hackers are doing it for a cause. The press is doing it for a nickel."[35]

Personal life

She married Bernard Weinraub, a former film-business reporter for The New York Times, in 1997.[4] They reside in Los Angeles, and have a son.[5]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Elsa Bertet, Amy Pascal timeline, Variety, September 6, 2007
  2. ^ a b c d Jewish Women's Archive: "Amy Pascal" retrieved December 12, 2014
  3. ^ a b Tim Arango (October 24, 2009). "Sony's Version of Tracy and Hepburn". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b c Amy B. Pascal, Bernard Weinraub, The New York Times, August 10, 1997
  5. ^ a b Miller, Daniel (January 15, 2014). "Sony Pictures' awards season takes pressure off Amy Pascal". Los Angeles Times.
  6. ^ Finke, Nikki (December 7, 2010). "Sony Reups Amy Pascal For 5 More Years". Deadline.com.
  7. ^ "Amy Pascal Extends Long-Term Employment Agreement With Sony Pictures". Sony Pictures. December 7, 2010.
  8. ^ Alan Citron (August 25, 1994). "Pascal Named President of Production at Turner". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ Bertet, Elsa (September 6, 2007). "Amy Pascal timeline". Variety.
  10. ^ Michael White (September 6, 2006). "Sony Names Pascal Co-Chairman of Sony Pictures Unit (Update1)". Bloomberg.
  11. ^ "Amy Pascal". Sony Pictures. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  12. ^ Finke, Nikki (March 4, 2007). "Sony's Amy Pascal To Be Honored at Opening Night Gala". Films News and Views.
  13. ^ James Gilmore (October 7, 2009). "PGA Honors Michael Lynton and Amy Pascal with Milestone Award". Producers Guild of America.
  14. ^ McClintock, Pamela (December 30, 2012). "Box Office Milestone: Daniel Craig's 'Skyfall' Crosses $1 Billion Worldwide". The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ^ Ujala Sehgal (February 26, 2011). "OSCARS 2011: Here Are The Best Picture Nominees!". Business Insider.
  16. ^ "Oscar nominations 2012: Is 'Moneyball' the best sports movie ever?". Los Angeles Times. January 24, 2012.
  17. ^ "Oscars winners and nominees 2013: Complete list". Los Angeles Times. February 25, 2013.
  18. ^ Orr, Bernard (December 7, 2010). "Sony extends contract of studio head Amy Pascal". Reuters.
  19. ^ "A Greener World". Sony Pictures Entertainment. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
  20. ^ a b "The World's 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  21. ^ "Past Recipients Crystal Award". Women in Film. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  22. ^ "THR's Women in Entertainment 2011: Power 100". The Hollywood Reporter. December 7, 2011.
  23. ^ "The 100 Most Powerful Women". Forbes. Retrieved April 27, 2014.
  24. ^ Kilday, Gregg (July 15, 2013). "Film Academy's New Board of Governors Includes Sony's Amy Pascal and Filmmaker Alex Gibney". The Hollywood Reporter.
  25. ^ a b Mike Fleming, Jr., Scott Rudin Apologizes After Leak Of Sony’s Hacked Racially Insensitive E-Mails On Barack Obama, Deadline, December 11, 2014
  26. ^ a b Variety Staff, Sony’s Amy Pascal Apologizes for Obama Emails, Variety, December 11, 2014
  27. ^ a b c Christopher Rosen, Scott Rudin & Amy Pascal Apologize After Racially Insensitive Emails About Obama Leak, The Huffington Post, December 11, 2014
  28. ^ Matthew Zeitlin (2014-12-10). "Scott Rudin On Obama's Favorite Movies: "I Bet He Likes Kevin Hart"". Buzzfeed.
  29. ^ Hayley Tsukayama (2014-12-11). "A Sony exec cracks jokes about Obama's race, and eight more bruising revelations from the Sony leak". Washington Post.
  30. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/12/business/media/scott-rudin-and-amy-pascal-of-sony-apologize-for-racially-tinged-comments-on-obama.html?_r=0
  31. ^ Colin Campbell, Al Sharpton Compares Sony Exec To Racist Ex-NBA Owne,Business Insider, December 11, 2014
  32. ^ http://time.com/3632371/aaron-sorkin-amy-pascal-sony-hack/
  33. ^ Larry McShane (2014-12-13). "Sony's Amy Pascal likely to be fired over leaked emails that exposed cruel and racially tinged comments". New York Daily News.
  34. ^ "Amy Pascal: I'm going nowhere". TMZ.com. 2014-12-17.
  35. ^ Aaron Sorkin (2014-12-14). "The Sony Hack and the Yellow Press". New York Times.

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