Spotlight at Paramount to Shift as Lansing Exits

For the dozen years she ran Paramount Pictures, Sherry Lansing was the undisputed star of the show. Her successor, however, could well be upstaged.

Bound to grab more of the spotlight is Tom Freston, co-president of Viacom Inc., which owns the studio. For months, he has been eager to put his own stamp on Paramount.

That has been a difficult task with Lansing -- one of Hollywood’s most respected executives despite recent box-office struggles -- in charge of the operation.

But now, as the 60-year-old Lansing prepares to step down as Paramount’s chairwoman when her contract expires at the end of 2005, Freston is gearing up to push the studio in some new directions.

He is clearly determined to take “a hands-on approach,” said executive recruiter Bill Simon of Korn/Ferry International, who specializes in the entertainment business. “Whoever goes into the studio will be somebody who will share Tom’s vision.”

On Tuesday, Lansing confirmed a report in The Times that she was leaving Paramount, saying in a statement that the moment had come to begin planning “the next chapter in my life.”

At the same time, Lansing’s departure opens a new chapter for Freston, who is known for managing with a low-key demeanor but sky-high expectations.

Freston was given responsibility over the studio only five months ago as part of a corporate shakeup that has pitted him against Viacom’s other co-president, Leslie Moonves, in the competition to succeed Chief Executive Sumner Redstone.

Freston, 58, isn’t used to presiding over losers. As president of Viacom’s MTV Networks, he was responsible for overseeing what has arguably become television’s most successful group of cable channels, reaching across generations of viewers with Nickelodeon, MTV, VH-1, Spike TV, Comedy Central and TV Land.

While Freston continues to watch over Viacom’s cable properties in his new job, he has been forced to focus especially on Paramount, which has suffered through a three-year string of big-screen disappointments.

At a recent investor conference, he dismissed the specialty film label Paramount Classics as an “also-ran” and singled out the $120-million movie “The Stepford Wives” as an example of Paramount’s costly misfires.

The comments -- a stunning bit of candor in an industry that usually aims to put a positive spin on everything -- caught Lansing by surprise. Sources say she confronted Freston, and he apologized.

His contrition notwithstanding, Freston’s criticism signaled his growing desire to play a larger role in the decisions made at Paramount.

In an interview Tuesday, Freston said he hoped that Paramount “evolves into being a smartly run studio seen as a first-choice place for talent ... where people are comfortable.”

In recent years, as Lansing teamed with her now-departed boss, Viacom entertainment chief Jonathan Dolgen, Paramount earned a reputation as a tightfisted deal maker that discouraged top talent from working with the studio.

“It wasn’t a place where ideas were as valued as deals,” Freston said.

Freston acknowledged that finding the right successor for Lansing -- who is credited with helping bring to the screen such seminal films as “Forrest Gump,” “Braveheart” and “The Accused” -- wouldn’t be easy.

“It’s a very difficult job to fill,” he said, noting how complicated the movie business has become in the face of escalating production and marketing costs, technological uncertainties, digital delivery of movies and piracy.

“How do you create a successful model in the 21st century film business and roll that forward for the next 10 or 20 years?” Freston asked. “You have to find somebody who has a global view ... who can foster an environment that is healthy, fun, inclusive.”

Hollywood was already abuzz Tuesday about Lansing’s possible successor.

Among the names being bandied about were Fox Searchlight chief Peter Rice, former 20th Century Fox movie chief Bill Mechanic, Revolution Studios founder Joe Roth, Universal Pictures Chairwoman Stacey Snider and producer Brian Grazer.

Freston wouldn’t tip his hand. “I have the list everyone has,” he said, adding that he wanted Lansing’s successor to have deep movie experience.

Freston praised Lansing on Tuesday, calling her “a trailblazer and a great leader.”

For his part, Redstone said she was “the heart and soul of Paramount.” Despite her less-than-stellar track record in recent years, the Viacom CEO said he “never lost faith in Sherry Lansing.”

Yet Redstone also made plain that “there will be fairly substantial changes” at Paramount, with Freston bringing in “new and different producers” who can relate to today’s coveted younger moviegoers -- in other words, the script he followed at MTV.