Tanen Resigns Top Paramount Film Post; Duo Will Share Job

Paramount Pictures’ top film production executive, Ned Tanen, has stepped aside, making way for two senior officials--Sidney Ganis and Barry London--to run the studio’s movie operations jointly.

Ganis and London both will hold the title of president of the Motion Picture Group, reporting to Frank G. Mancuso, Paramount’s chairman and chief executive.

The new team will divide Tanen’s former duties, with Ganis responsible for “all phases of motion picture production” and London overseeing all marketing and distribution activities, according to a prepared statement released by the studio Monday.

Tanen, according to the studio, had wanted to relinquish his duties as president of the Motion Picture Group, which he took over in 1984. Former colleagues noted that Tanen, who spent nearly 30 years with MCA and its Universal Pictures studio before coming to Paramount, had been anxious to scale back his workload for quite some time.

Tanen will stay on at the studio, overseeing some projects and advising the new team.

Through a Paramount spokeswoman, Ganis, London and Tanen declined to comment on their new roles.

Neither Ganis nor London has experience developing scripts and producing movies. Until this week’s promotion, London served as president of marketing and domestic distribution, and Ganis reported to him as president of worldwide marketing. “Neither one has experience picking pictures,” said one source close to Paramount.

Both London and Ganis were rising stars at Paramount who had fixed their sights on the top film spot, sources said. Mancuso’s decision to appoint the two men as a team, these sources said, was an effort to stave off any ill will or a departure by the loser.

“They were on a collision trajectory,” one source said of the two executives.

Ganis moved to Hollywood to join Paramount three years ago from Lucasfilm in Marin County, north of San Francisco. At that company, Ganis helped Paramount distribute such Steven Spielberg/George Lucas hits as “Raiders of the Lost Ark” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”

A Good Distributor

One former Lucasfilm executive recalled that Ganis dealt with a broad range of production issues at Lucasfilm. “He’s quite knowledgeable about production and has good relations with film makers,” the executive said.

During his 14-year tenure at Paramount, London developed a strong reputation as a distributor under the tutelage of Mancuso, who had taken the same route up Paramount’s ranks.

London’s career was enhanced when one of his vice presidents discovered “ ‘Crocodile’ Dundee,” a low-budget Australian production. London, with Mancuso’s blessing, decided to buy distribution rights to the film for $8 million. The film grossed nearly $175 million in the United States when it was released in 1986, placing it among the top 15 blockbusters of the past two decades.

A sequel to “ ‘Crocodile’ Dundee,” released last summer, brought in more than $109 million at the box office.

Under the corporate reorganization, Gary Lucchesi, as president of the production division, will report to Ganis. Wayne Lewellen, the studio’s president of domestic distribution, will be named president of marketing, reporting to London.