Top Universal Film Execs Under Scrutiny

The temperature is rising at Universal Pictures, where one of the worst box office runs in the studio’s recent past is turning Hollywood’s reliably close-knit team of executives into rivals working in a pressure cooker.

The message transmitted at a tense board meeting in New York last week -- where top NBC-Universal executives including Jeff Zucker, Ron Meyer, Marc Shmuger and David Linde -- all met with GE’s CEO Jeff Immelt and Vivendi representatives, was that something had better change soon for the studio currently last place in market share among the majors. (See chart below.)

With earnings down drastically from last year for the second quarter in a row, NBC-Uni chief Jeff Zucker was direct with the studio leaders: Improve, or else.

“’Easy-to-digest concepts and wish fulfillment is in vogue,’” he told the executives, according to one person familiar with the conversation. “That’s not our slate. And the choices have been too costly. You’ve got to fix both those things.’”

But it may get worse before it gets better. Next up on the dock is Judd Apatow’s “Funny People,” which Universal executives unsuccesfully lobbied the director to cut by a half-hour. It is currently over two and a half hours long - and thus far tracking has the dramedy opening near $20 million.

In isolation, that might not cause any serious discomfort.

But coming on the heels of the weak domestic performance of “Bruno,” ($57 million domestic) which followed the disastrous results of “Land of the Lost” (on which Universal will lose some $40 million) and a bruising production and release of “Public Enemies,” which performed only moderately well at $113 million worldwide, the situation is contributing to squabbling within the studio, according to Universal executives and those doing business there. (Sidebar: A look at Universal's summer slate -- and how it underperformed.)

Even that might not be enough to cause such strife for a team led for 14 years by President and COO Meyer, who has proved a remarkably stable operator under multiple owners and bosses.

But placed in the context of the weak performance of NBC, which remains in fourth place among broadcast networks, and the bottom-line culture of owner General Electric, the pressure is on to make a change in the executive ranks.

 (Domestic marketshare; Source: boxofficemojo.com)

The names of all the top executives have been bandied about, but after last week’s meeting, attention has focused on the heads of the studio themselves, Marc Shmuger and David Linde.

The co-chairmen are credited with such successes as building Universal’s international business, but they are currently being scrutinized for their leadership skills in a time of difficulty, according to knowledgeable executives.

"We have to have the right people and the right culture in place; our culture is a little askew at the moment," said a senior executive who declined to be named.

 

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