Paramount studios chief Sherry Lansing to step down after 12 years

0 Comments | AFP, November, 2004

LOS ANGELES (AFP) — Paramount Pictures head Sherry Lansing, who paved the way for female executives in Tinseltown, will step down after 12 years at the helm of one of Hollywood's top studios, she announced.

Lansing, 60, under whose tenure the studio produced mega-hits such as "Braveheart" and "Mission Impossible," said she would quit as chairman of Paramount Motion Picture Group when her contract expires at the end of next year.

Lansing said she informed the co-president of Paramount's parent company Viacom, Tom Freston, of her move well in advance so that the group would have time to find a replacement.

"After a great deal of thought, I informed Tom Freston that I do not intend to renew my contract," she said in a statement.

"I'll have been in this...