He has worked at three studios, having joined the business in 1974 working for Paramount Pictures in Chicago. Asked if this was part of an organizational change, Lynton said: “There’s been so much change in terms of headcount reduction, and this is not part of that. He exits August 1. All Rights reserved. Sony announced it at 8 AM this morning, saying, “It’s with a heavy heart and great appreciation that we want to share with you news that Jeff Blake has decided to leave SPE to pursue other opportunities … he’s been an important part of the fabric of SPE. We have all loved his legendary role as raffle master at our annual holiday party, enjoyed his gregarious laugh and sense of humor and appreciate his reputation as one of the nicest and most easy-going guys in the business.”. The studio’s biggest franchise is now nearing $4 billion in box office revenue worldwide. The first film, in 2002, was the first movie to reach $100 million in domestic box office in its opening weekend. EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Blake, who has served as vice chairman of Sony Pictures and chairman of worldwide marketing and distribution for Sony Pictures since 2005, is leaving the studio that he has been a part of for the past 22 years. It’s a real loss for us. He is the best partner anyone could ever want. Those expanded responsibilities included working with the marketing and distribution team which also saw changes last year. 9 in 1991. The third film was the first movie to open to more than $150 million domestically. “And we will be looking both internally and externally to replace Jeff.”. Blake is the stalwart pro and has been one of the longest survivors at any studio.
Blake has seen much at the studio – from the allegations of overspending and scandals of Heidi Fleiss that dogged the Guber/Canton regime to the revitalization under CEO Calley (where the James Bond pics Casino Royale and Skyfall came to Columbia thanks to Calley’s business savvy) to the present-day ups and downs and having to endure the wrath of minority shareholder Daniel Loeb, who voiced his dismay at the string of box office flops. The international team should remain the same (they are doing a great job). But do they really need that position? We will miss him and wish him the best in the future.”, Added Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group: “I have worked side-by-side with Jeff for more than two decades. We have a lot of great people working here, and I’m going to miss them.”.
Blake was a member of seven teams during his career, with his longest stint being with the Cincinnati Bengals from 1994 to 1999. I’m really comfortable with my decision, and I wish Michael and Amy all the best. Belgrad already was upped with more duties last week, Sony’s worldwide distribution head Rory Bruer will step up and, of course, marketing chief Dwight Caines will probably take on a more prominent role.
When Calley needed to get back in touch with the business, he turned to a few people behind the scenes to help him – one of those executives was Blake. Sure, Blake was at a competing studio, but Mancuso and Blake had worked together at Paramount for many years. Despite it all, Blake has been steady as a rock, helping to keep things in balance and perspective and with that legendary sense of humor. Added Pascal: “Jeff and I have been partners and collaborators for 22 years. The business is cyclical and every studio in town has gone through these kind of roller coaster rides many times. Alabama's Anthony Madison commits pass interference against Georgia's Fred Gibson in … During all those years, he oversaw the marketing and distribution for so many of the studio’s most successful franchises, including Men In Black, all the Spider-Man movies, the aforementioned Bond films, about 15 Adam Sandler films and more than 10 Will Smith films. Before Sony, Blake worked at Paramount for 17 years in distribution, where he worked for Mancuso, then Jaffe, and finally the wonderfully honest Tartikoff. Studios, a comedy network and online repository of "your mom" jokes. The studio had been under attack by investor Dan Loeb for its performance at the box office. Photo by Columbia, SC, photojournalist Jeff Blake. He joined SPE in 1992 and became president of Sony Pictures Releasing two years later. I’m going to decide what to do next after I take a breath,” Blake said. He has served as vice chairman of SPE since 2002 and as chairman of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution for Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing and Distribution since 2005. 1 films since 2000. Sport: Football (1988-91) Coach: Art Baker, Bill Lewis Jeff Blake orchestrated the greatest season in Pirate football history, leading ECU to an 11-1 overall record and a final national ranking of No. Jeffrey Lee Blake is an actor and writer, known for, Sony Laying Off 216 – That Is Just In Culver City; Distrib Vet John Cacavas Leaving, American Hustle Surpasses $200 Million At Worldwide Box Office, Owen Riley and the Amulet of Destiny Pilot, The Best TV Shows About Being in Your 30s. Jeff Blake Training ECU Pirates, Hall of Fame Inducted 2007 Hometown: Sanford, Fla. And he’s both strategic and tactical,” said Lynton. We want to hear from you! Jeff Blake, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and the studio’s chairman of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, is leaving effective Aug. 1 to pursue other opportunities. Jeffrey Lee Blake is an actor and writer, known for 95ers: Echoes (2013), Sister and The Book of Jer3miah (2009). Jeff Blake, vice chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment and the studio’s chairman of Worldwide Marketing and Distribution, is leaving effective Aug. 1 to pursue other opportunities.
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He came aboard as president of Sony Pictures Releasing (as it was called then) before Calley stepped in in 1997 and began guiding Blake’s career trajectory. “I put it out there prior to our summer if at some point, I needed to step aside that I certainly would but, in the meantime, I wanted to make sure that there were no distractions in releasing our summer slate. Blake joined the studio in 1992, courtesy of former marketing head Sid Ganis who brought his former colleague over from Paramount. That accounted for about 11% of Sony’s sales. “We are going to take stock of everything and decide after that,” said Pascal. During his tenure, he led the marketing campaigns for all five Spider-Man films. EXCLUSIVE: Jeff Blake, who has served as vice chairman of Sony Pictures and chairman of worldwide marketing and distribution for Sony Pictures since 2005, is leaving the studio that he has been a p… He’s one of my best friends. So, out of friendship with Mancuso, Blake helped Calley understand how distribution had changed over the years he had been absent from the business. Prior to joining Sony, he worked at Paramount Pictures and the Walt Disney Company. “He always delivered information with much wisdom and incredible humor.
He also led the campaigns for 15 Adam Sandler films that had total grosses of more than $2.6 billion worldwide, and 11 Will Smith films, which grossed more than $3.8 billion total in worldwide box office. I agree with TheWrap's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy and provide my consent to receive marketing communications from them. Photo by Columbia, SC, photojournalist Jeff Blake. Aquí nos gustaría mostrarte una descripción, pero el sitio web que estás mirando no lo permite. Both Pascal and Lynton were effusive about Blake and his contribution to the studio. Send us a tip using our annonymous form. “Right now we are going to leave the existing structure under Jeff in place,” said Lynton.
Blake’s departure does, in fact, come as the studio is closing its summer box office run – one that includes both hits and misses: 22 Jump Street, Heaven Is For Real, the almost amazing The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (which is in need of a serious reboot) and the duds Mom’s Night Out and Sex Tape. They have also worked to bring in co-financing deals and closed a big one with Lone Star Capital and Citibank, a smaller agreement with Village Roadshow and have also been waiting for former Warner Bros. executive Jeff Robinov to secure financing to start producing movies to distribute. He has also worked with the best known names in the business at Paramount and at Sony (and even a short stint at Disney) – from Charlie Bludhorn and Barry Diller to Michael Eisner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Stanley Jaffe, Frank Mancuso, the wonderful Brandon Tartikoff, the aforementioned executives and so many others. Subscribe to Deadline Breaking News Alerts and keep your inbox happy. Choose an adventure below and discover your next favorite movie or TV show. And what happens at Sony now? Speaking of that kind of camaraderie: Blake also has mentored numerous executives over the years – Josh Goldstine (now head of marketing at Universal) and Marc Weinstock (now head of domestic marketing at Fox), as well as many others. That’s the kind of camaraderie that this business used to run on. Also read: Sony PR Veteran Fritz Friedman Leaving Studio at End of Summer, “I want to thank Jeff for his 22 years of loyal commitment and service to SPE,” said Michael Lynton, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment. To continue reading for free, provide your email below. Blake did not say in his announcement what he plans to do next. Part of the innermost circle of Sony’s senior management team with CEO Michael Lynton and chair of Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group Amy Pascal, the departure is a real shake-up for the studio at the highest level.
Blake was a fixture at the studio and among Hollywood distribution execs.