Paramount Pictures is eliminating the position of president now held by Gail Berman, who resigned Wednesday.
Berman would probably agree with that decision: She discovered there wasn't as much power behind the title as when she joined the studio 18 months earlier. Her job was cut in half about a year ago after Paramount's acquisition of DreamWorks SKG's live-action studio.
Berman's resignation is yet another setback for Paramount and its chairman and chief executive, Brad Grey, whose nearly two-year run at the Viacom Inc.-owned studio has been punctuated by high drama and turmoil.
Analyst Jessica Reif Cohen, who covers Viacom at Merrill Lynch & Co., put out a report late Wednesday calling Berman's exit a loss for Paramount and another sign of continued instability at Viacom.
"We view this as an incremental negative for Viacom as it appears management turmoil continues," Reif Cohen said. "Ms. Berman is an extremely talented creative executive."
Independent media analyst Harold Vogel agreed that the ground had not stopped shaking at Paramount since Grey succeeded Sherry Lansing nearly two years ago.
"It's still an unstable equilibrium," Vogel said.
"It's been a rocky road with lots of bumps," he added, citing such headline-grabbing incidents as the surprise firing in the summer of Grey's boss, Tom Freston, the studio's severing of ties with actor Tom Cruise and Grey's link to indicted private investigator Anthony Pellicano.
However, Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone said he fully supported Grey's decision to sever ties with Berman.
"If Brad decided she was not for Paramount, then Brad was right," he said in an interview. "Brad's the boss, and I have total confidence in his decisions."
Redstone declined to comment when asked what Berman's exit settlement would cost Viacom.
"I have no idea what arrangements will be made between Gail, Brad and Paramount," he said.
Redstone added that he was feeling "very, very bullish" on Paramount these days: "Paramount is on a real roll. I believe in the first six months of this year, we'll go from the bottom to No. 1."
Paramount was suffering from a prolonged box-office slump when Grey gave up his position as one of Hollywood's most powerful talent managers to take the helm. The choice came as a surprise to Hollywood because most of his experience had been in television.
