Lansing Lands Paramount Job : Entertainment: The producer is named to head studio’s motion picture group after Tartikoff’s departure.

Moving swiftly to replace departing studio chief Brandon Tartikoff, Paramount Communications Inc. announced on Wednesday that it has hired producer Sherry Lansing to head the motion picture group.

In a break with tradition, the studio will no longer have a single executive overseeing motion pictures and television. Lansing and Kerry McLuggage, who is president of the television group, will report to Stanley R. Jaffe, president and chief operating officer of the parent corporation in New York.

Lansing’s appointment as chairwoman was widely anticipated. She and Jaffe were Paramount-based production partners for eight years on films such as “Fatal Attraction” and “The Accused,” until Jaffe accepted his corporate post in 1991.

Lansing also has executive experience, having served as president of production at 20th Century Fox a decade ago. Some sources said she was reluctant to return to management after a successful producing career, though she was the only one considered by Jaffe for the job.

When asked how he persuaded Lansing to take the job, Jaffe said, “I begged.”

The 48-year-old Lansing said she accepted the job in part because she has missed her collaboration with Jaffe. She also cited personal reasons--the studio job will allow her to remain in Los Angeles instead of packing off to distant locations to produce her films. In 1991, Lansing married director William Friedkin (“The French Connection,” “The Exorcist”), and Friedkin’s 10-year-old son spends about half his time in their home.

“I want to be home for dinner. Maybe a late dinner, but home,” Lansing said.

Jaffe, who usually avoids interviews, was ebullient Wednesday about Lansing’s acceptance of the job.

“I just have total trust in her,” Jaffe said, confirming that Lansing will have a five-year contract.

“Five years is what it’s going to take . . . to establish a really strong slate,” he said, expressing the hope that Lansing will spend “the rest of her career” in the post.

Jaffe added: “I’m planning to be here for 20 years.”

Paramount’s stock closed up 25 cents a share at $42.625 on the New York Stock Exchange on news of Lansing’s appointment. Steven Hill, entertainment analyst with Sutro & Co. in San Francisco, said the move adds stability to the studio.

Lansing made headlines in 1980 when she became the first woman named president of a major studio’s movie unit. During her three years at Fox, Lansing earned mixed reviews for her selection of film projects, but during her stint such hits as “9 to 5” and “The Verdict” were made. Her job was complicated by the number of Fox executives who had a say in which movies were produced or distributed and, in those days, she was considered almost too nice for a tough job.

“I think that would have been accurate 12 years ago. She’s grown,” said Jaffe, describing his colleague as an executive who is quite capable of saying “no,” but is popular in Hollywood because “she’s consistent; she’s fair.”

One Hollywood executive said Lansing is one of the few people who can stand up to Jaffe, known for his sharp temper and hands-on management style.

Lansing’s deal was negotiated by Creative Artists Agency Chairman Michael Ovitz and entertainment attorney Bertram Fields.

Jaffe said he talked to Lansing in early 1991 about taking the studio job, but she “just wasn’t interested,” so the offer went to Tartikoff, then chairman of NBC Entertainment.

By most accounts, Tartikoff and Jaffe had a contentious relationship, as Tartikoff worked hard to master the movie-making business while overseeing other aspects of the studio. But when Tartikoff resigned last week, he insisted that his differences with Jaffe had been repaired. Tartikoff said he felt compelled to join his family in New Orleans, where his 9-year-old daughter is recovering from injuries sustained in a 1991 auto accident.

Jaffe and Lansing met in the late 1970s, when Lansing was the Columbia Pictures production vice president assigned to Jaffe’s “Kramer vs. Kramer.”

Lansing recently completed production of the highly anticipated “Indecent Proposal,” starring Robert Redford, Demi Moore and Woody Harrelson.

Lansing also handled the physical production of “School Ties,” which she and Jaffe developed together before he took his corporate job. “School Ties” fared poorly at the box office, grossing less than $13 million in its first 45 days of release.