Tom Rothman, Chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, is not too popular with the top execs at the company. Their have been rumblings about his leadership.
According to an exclusive report in Variety, more than a dozen complaints from Sony executives were filed with Sony Entertainment CEO Michael Lynton and the company’s human resources department. Apparently the people at Sony do not respond well to what they describe as Rothman’s micromanagement. And his style has also been cited as a reason why so many actors, producers and directors avoid bringing their prospective projects to the studio.
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https://twitter.com/Variety/status/793294748236808193
But Lynton has officially given Tom Rothman his support. He issued a statement saying, “Tom Rothman has done an outstanding job in his efforts to restructure and turn around the Motion Picture Group. He has my full and complete support, and the support of SPE’s senior management and Tokyo.”
https://twitter.com/infernothemovie/status/792803268078428160
The bigger problem for Rothman, who was brought in to clean up the mess left after last year’s great hack of Sony Pictures’ e mails, is that the studio has had so many stinkers lately. Even the combination of Tom Hanks and Ron Howard has not helped.
The two just reunited on the latest Robert Langdon film “Inferno.” The third installment based on the books by Dan Brown got all of a 20% rating from the movie review site Rotten Tomatoes. It also brought in under $15 million in its first week at the box office. That was against an estimated budget of $75 million.
The studio hopes to bounce back this Christmas with the release of “Passengers, ” a sci-fi romance starring Chris Pratt and Jennifer Lawrence. It will also have a new Spider Man film next year.
But Tom Rothman has a at least a few people in his corner. He is all set to receive The Producers Guild of America’s 2017 Milestone Award. It will be presented to Rothman at the Guild’s ceremonies on January 28.
PGA chairs Donald De Line and former Sony chief Amy Pascal (Rotman replaced her after the e mail scandal) released a statement saying, “Our industry has benefited immensely from Tom’s instincts, tenacity and vision. From his championing of independent storytellers early in his career to his nurturing of studio films on an epic scale, Tom’s passion for movies has been one of the unstoppable creative engines of our business.”
Rothman said, “This is the highest honor of my professional life and I am humbled and grateful to be included among such august company. Coming from the outstanding organization that is the PGA, it is indeed praise from high quarters. My enormous thanks to Donald, Amy, the Board and the entire membership. I have no current plans to do so, but I could now die happy.”
It should be remembered, though, that Tom Rothman is to be honored for his lifetime work as a producer. and not for his management of Sony Entertainment.
