Fox Filmed Entertainment

The low-key Fox movie executive who shepherded the offbeat Oscar winners "Slumdog Millionaire" and "Juno" was put in line Thursday to become Rupert Murdoch's No. 2, spearheading his News Corp. media empire in Hollywood and on Wall Street. Peter Rice, a publicity-averse executive at Fox adept at turning quirky films into mainstream commercial hits, was tapped by Murdoch to run the Fox television network.

William M. Mechanic was elevated on Wednesday to chairman and chief executive of Fox Filmed Entertainment, succeeding the recently promoted Peter Chernin. Mechanic's appointment is somewhat anticlimactic, given that he has been the only candidate for the job since October, when Chernin was named president and chief operating officer of Fox parent News Corp. Mechanic, 46, previously was president and chief operating officer, the No. 2 position at the studio.

In the wake of the studio's biggest year at the box office, Fox Filmed Entertainment co-heads Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos announced several executive promotions. Hutch Parker was named vice chairman, overseeing 20th Century Fox and Fox Animation. Vanessa Morrison was named president of Fox Animation after Chris Meledandri's departure for Universal Studios.

Robert Harper is leaving his position as vice chairman of Fox Filmed Entertainment to head the studio's most important outside supplier of movies and television programming, Regency Filmed Entertainment. As the top executive at Regency, Harper will oversee New Regency Productions, its feature film division, as well as Regency Television. New Regency produced such hits as "Mr. and Mrs. Smith." The TV unit was behind "Malcolm in the Middle." News Corp.

Tom Rothman and Jim Gianopulos, who together run Fox Filmed Entertainment, will share the additional title of chief executive as part of a new five-year contract the executives have signed, the studio said Thursday. Rothman and Gianopulos have been co-chairmen of the News Corp.-owned studio since 2000, overseeing four consecutive years of operating profit. Although they suffered such disappointments last year as "Kingdom of Heaven," the studio also released such hits as "Mr. and Mrs.

Fox Filmed Entertainment struck a deal Tuesday with billionaire Philip Anschutz's movie company to take aim at the biggest name in family entertainment: Walt Disney Co. News Corp., Fox's parent, hopes to capitalize on the lucrative family film business and plug a hole in its own lineup by teaming with Walden Media, the producer of the 2005 blockbuster "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe."

The company that brought TV viewers racy and irreverent programs such as "Nip/Tuck," "Temptation Island" and "The Simpsons" has found religion. In the biggest commitment of its sort by a Hollywood studio, News Corp.'s Fox Filmed Entertainment is expected to unveil plans today to capture the gargantuan Christian audience that made "The Passion of the Christ" a global phenomenon.

Following the lead of rival studios, Fox Filmed Entertainment has formed a new division to produce, acquire and market films aimed at teens and young adults. Peter Rice, who for the last five years has run the studio's successful Fox Searchlight specialty film unit, will take on additional duties overseeing the soon-to-be-named label, the company announced Monday.

Bill Mechanic is something of an anomaly in Hollywood. He's the first to admit blame when movies fail. And, he's the last to boast when they hit. While Mechanic has had a generally strong run as head of Fox Filmed Entertainment and enjoyed an extraordinary 1998 with such mega-hits as "Titanic" and "There's Something About Mary," the last year has found him in the uncomfortable position that studio chiefs inevitably find themselves when the box office slumps.

Fox Filmed Entertainment chief Bill Mechanic is leaving as head of the studio under intense pressure from Rupert Murdoch, chairman of Fox parent News Corp., and the mogul's No. 2 executive, Peter Chernin. Mechanic confirmed in an interview that he is leaving, calling it a resignation. But other sources said Chernin fired Mechanic this week, and informed Murdoch about it. The move comes amid a prolonged box-office slump, culminating in the current animated flop "Titan A.E."