Paramount Pictures is eliminating the position of president now held by Gail Berman, who resigned Wednesday, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Berman would probably agree with that decision: She discovered there wasn’t as much power behind the title as when she joined the studio 18 months earlier. Her job was cut in half about a year ago after Paramount’s acquisition of DreamWorks SKG’s live-action studio.
Berman’s resignation is yet another setback for Paramount and its chairman and chief executive, Brad Grey, whose nearly two-year run at the Viacom Inc.-owned studio has been punctuated by high drama and turmoil.
Analyst Jessica Reif Cohen, who covers Viacom at Merrill Lynch & Co., put out a report late Wednesday calling Berman’s exit a loss for Paramount and another sign of continued instability at Viacom.
“We view this as an incremental negative for Viacom as it appears management turmoil continues,” Reif Cohen said. “Ms. Berman is an extremely talented creative executive.”
Independent media analyst Harold Vogel agreed that the ground had not stopped shaking at Paramount since Grey succeeded Sherry Lansing nearly two years ago.
