Who is Redstone's target?

What surprised people the most about Redstone's attack on Cruise was that it severely undercut the authority of his studio lieutenants. They had presumably been working out an amicable "we wish Tom well" send-off after 14 years at the studio that would have still signaled Paramount's tough stance on talent expenditures without insulting Cruise or his agency, CAA, which represents a huge percentage of the top talent in Hollywood. Furious with Redstone, CAA has gone on the attack, with the agency's rarely-heard-from President Richard Lovett saying that Paramount has "no credibility," telling the New York Times "it is not clear who is running the studio and who is making the decisions."

In what felt like a bold gamble by Freston, who made his name as a shrewd youth-culture maven at MTV, Paramount has been restructured from top to bottom. Instead of hiring proven film executives, Freston brought in Brad Grey, best known as a consummate talent manager, to serve as studio chief. Grey in turn hired Gail Berman, a successful Fox TV executive, to oversee film production. Grey also brought in Rob Moore, who'd run the business end of Joe Roth's Revolution Pictures, to oversee most of the studio's other areas, including marketing and distribution.

While the studio hasn't had a blockbuster hit, its pictures have largely performed well. But the reviews of its executives' performance have not been good. Even the town's most plugged-in agents and managers say they have no idea what is going on at the studio. They complain bitterly about deals that go undone or decisions that are mysteriously reversed. One producer who saw a deal fall apart recently was so enraged that he threatened to sue the studio. The consensus is that there is no discernible chain of command. People complain that Grey is distant and aloof, communicating with a very small circle of powerful friends. They say Berman is indecisive and lacks passion for movies, often unable to make decisions without seeing which way the wind is blowing. Instead of having established a clear identity, the studio feels befogged. with too many executives engaged in turf battles instead of forging ahead with movie projects.

Grey says too much attention has focused on style over content. "My feeling is -- look at the movies, look at the decisions we're making," he told me Thursday. "We should be defined by our pictures, not by our process. There hasn't been a picture that we've put out that hasn't been profitable." As for criticism from CAA, he said, "Tom's representatives are entitled to be emotional, but we're doing business with CAA today and tomorrow and expect to for many years to come."