October 31, 2006

IS BRAD GREY ON HIS WAY OUT? (VAR, THR, WSJ, NYT, DHD)

By Tom Tapp

After surprise comes speculation, and today the speculation is about the future of Paramount chief executive Brad Grey after the surprise ouster of Viacom boss Tom Freston. Most are guessing Grey is not in the best of positions, given the fact that has was Freston's pick to run the studio and rumors have swirled for months about his efficacy there.

Var:

"After today, there is going to be the inevitable assumption that because (Brad Grey) is Freston's guy, he is not the permanent head of Paramount Pictures," said one filmmaker with ties to the studio. "And that assumption will be very widespread and logical."

Viacom chairman Sumner Redstone told the New York Times, �He will continue to run the studio. I think the studio is in the beginning stage of a major turnaround.� But then Redstone was making similar noises about Freston only a few weeks ago.

And Hollywood doesn't believe it, according to The New York Times.

NYT:

There was palpable concern at the studio and among the studio�s business partners on Tuesday that the latest shift was one more bit of turbulence, and probably not the last one at that. Mr. Grey ruffled feathers with a series of high-profile firings of longtime executives, some of whom were replaced by the team from DreamWorks.

�There is no scenario that has all of this settling itself in a short period of time,� said one producer who asked not to be identified because he worked frequently with the studio.

The rumor mill has already been offering up possible successors, including the long-gestating "reverse acquisition" scenario whereby DreamWorks Stacey Snider steps in to take Grey's job. Hollywood WireTap detailed the scenario months ago. The Hollywood Reporter's Anne Thompson says it's gaining credence around town. In fact, report Thompson and Deadline Hollywood Daily's Nikki Finke, the idea has gone beyond just moving Snider over to now pulling DreamWorks Animation chief Jeffrey Katzenberg over to run Viacom.

Thompson:

On Tuesday, Redstone publicly stated that he was not looking to bring DreamWorks over to the studio. But with his two acquisitions-savvy lieutenants running Viacom, speculation swirls around the possible purchase of the publicly traded DreamWorks Animation. That would bring Katzenberg back to the studio that he ran with Barry Diller and Michael Eisner in the late 1970s and early '80s. Redstone has denied that suggestion.

But The Wall Street Journal points out "Mr. Redstone has become close friends with Messrs. Geffen, Spielberg and Katzenberg, often inviting them for dinner with his wife Paula at their house in a gated community called Beverly Park, high in the Hollywood Hills."

Whatever the case, Thompson reports "nothing will happen along those lines anyway, Wall Street experts say, until DreamWorks' 'Shrek the Third' opens in May."

The Wall Street Journal says there may be another mitigating factor, namely that Snider "may be restricted for some period of time from taking a studio chief job as a condition of being released from her Universal contract earlier this year."

As for Viacom and Katzenberg, Finke suggests that, in the end, Redstone may insert his own Trojan Horse.

DHD:

Sumner wants to turn back control of Viacom under Freston back to Viacom under the Redstone Family. In his conference call today, Redstone noted that his daughter Shari, who's Vice Chairman, has expanded duties, most of which are board-related. "She is designated to succeed me at that far distant future, 20 or 30 years from now."

Related Links

Moves leave Par chief in Grey area (VAR, sub)
Many in Hollywood Expect Ouster of Studio Chief, Too (NYT, sub)
Par's Grey loses patron as shakeup unsettles studio regime (THR)
Will Brad Gery Fade To Black at Paramount? (WSJ, sub)
Geffen To Redstone: Hire Jeffrey. Redstone to Geffen: No. (DHD)

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