Company Town

* Films: Sony Pictures consolidated the motion picture marketing operations of Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures on Thursday under Columbia Pictures Vice Chairman Sid Ganis, the new president of worldwide marketing. In addition, Jeffrey Blake, president of domestic distribution for Columbia Pictures, was given the additional responsibility of overseeing the distribution operations of Triumph Releasing, which handles low-budget films. As part of the reorganization, Blake will also oversee distribution at Columbia and TriStar, although management said the two companies will continue to operate as stand-alone labels. Ganis will report to Columbia TriStar Chairman Mark Canton and President Fred Bernstein. Duncan Clark has been named executive vice president of worldwide marketing and will report to Ganis and J. Edward Shugrue, president of Columbia TriStar Film Distributors International. As a result of the shuffle, TriStar marketing presidents Buffy Shutt and Kathy Jones, who are being courted by rival studios, are leaving. And Canton, who joined Columbia three years ago, has signed a new three-year deal with Sony.