Sony Pictures bigwig — and hacked email victim — Amy Pascal will step down from her coveted post, sources said Thursday.
Deadline Hollywood and The Daily Mail both reported that Pascal, 56, is leaving her gig as co-chairman of Sony Pictures and chairwoman of the Motion Pictures Group.
It’s believed she’ll try to start her own production company, The Mail reported.
Pascal was at the center of an embarrassing hacking scandal late last year when her private emails were leaked. The messages showed Pascal’s disdain for Angelina Jolie and off-color humor about President Obama.
The hacking came shortly before the release of “The Interview,” a comedy about the fictional assassination of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un. North Korea has been blamed for the hacking, but the hermit kingdom has denied it.
Pascal said in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter:
I have spent almost my entire professional life at Sony Pictures and I am energized to be starting this new chapter based at the company I call home. I have always wanted to be a producer. [Sony Entertainment CEO] Michael [Lynton] and I have been talking about this transition for quite some time, and I am grateful to him for giving me the opportunity to pursue my long-held dream and for providing unparalleled support. As the slate for the next two years has come together, it felt like the right time to transition into this new role. I am so grateful to my team, some of whom I have worked with for the last 20 years and others who have joined more recently. I am leaving the studio in great hands. I am so proud of what we have all done together and I look forward to a whole lot more.
