Amy Pascal, Co-chairman of Sony Pictures Steps Down But Not For the Reasons You Think

As you’re likely more than aware, Sony Pictures was brutally hacked in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Perpetrated by North Korea, the attack is believed to be a response to The Interview, the Sony Pictures comedy starring Seth Rogan and James Franco in which the two try to assassinate the North Korean leader. In addition to bringing down the studio’s internal networks and computers, which made emailing and other work-related tasks at the Culver City campus nearly impossible, many films from SP were also leaked to torrent sites, including films that had not yet been released. Devastating on its own, the hackers smartly calculated that anything juicy from them would circulate and be regurgitated by the media who were more than happy to release private email exchanges and other business negotiations for a few extra clicks. While some private exchanges like the one by Channing Tatum were simply funny, others were less flattering, like the ones by Amy Pascal, c0-chairman of Sony Pictures.

Now the chips have finally fallen and Amy has announced her departure from Sony Pictures but it’s not for the reasons you may think and in fact, she’s not actually leaving Sony. More details after the jump, including a statement from Sony CEO, Kaz Hirai.

Whenever such a large ‘scandal’ or incident happens, heads are expected to roll. The public loves one person to be responsible for it all and in this case, Amy seems to have been that person. While the incident was certainly not of her doing, her exchanges were some of the more damning reveals and many expected that Sony would cut ties with her as a reaction. Now nearly three months later, Amy Pascal is indeed leaving Sony Pictures but it might not be directly related to the hacking incident. Three years ago, Amy signed on with Sony for exactly a three year term as co-president. During that time, she’s been responsible for some great hits for the studio, including Spider-Man and Men in Black 3 which brought in $624 million.

2014 however proved to be less than stellar year for her. Why Sony did blockbuster numbers with The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and 22 Jump Street, other titles performed less than expected like Sex Tape and RoboCop. With her three year contract coming to an end, Sony and Amy insist that her departure was part of a plan that went into motion before the hacking scandal. So is Sony’s claims to be believed or is she the one that needed to be sacrificed in order for Sony Pictures to send out a message that their serious about their values?

The answer is likely somewhere in between. With a poor 2014, Amy’s position was likely in jeopardy in some shape or form. After all, why would Sony want to keep an executive is not performing? On the other hand, chances are that had the hacking incident not happened, the two sides would have more likely been able to put together a deal that kept her in charge for at least another year to see if 2015 proved to be any different. If 2015 underperformed as well, you can bet that Amy would have moved on from SP, hacking incident or not. In this case, the cyberattack and the revealed information only sped up the process.

As for Amy, she’s actually not moving far from Sony where she’s forming a new production company, right at their Culver City campus. As part of a four-year agreement, Sony will finance Amy’s venture and retain all distribution rights worldwide to films financed. Kaz Hirai, Sony CEO

Amy has had a truly extraordinary career. In her years at Sony Pictures, Amy worked with some of the best talent in the film industry to create many of our studio’s most beloved and successful films. I want to thank her for her years of dedication and I am pleased that she will continue to work closely with SPE in her new venture.