Bob Osher Named Chief Operating Officer Columbia Pictures Motion Picture Group

Bob Osher has been named Chief Operating Officer of the Columbia Pictures Motion Picture Group, it was announced today by Amy Pascal, Chairman of the Sony Pictures Entertainment Motion Picture Group.

Osher, who began working at the studio's Culver City-based lot today, most recently served as Co-President of Production for Miramax Films. Among his other duties, he will oversee business affairs and physical production for the studio.

"I have had the opportunity to observe Bob over the years from two distinct vantage points," said Pascal. "We worked together at Turner Pictures and more recently, I watched while he was driving home deals on behalf of Miramax. I decided I'd much rather work with him than negotiate against him. Anyone who knows Bob knows he is one of the best dealmakers in the industry. He is as tenacious as he is meticulous, and he will be a tremendous asset to all of our businesses."

"I'm truly delighted that Bob has decided to join our team," commented Michael Lynton, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment. "There are very few people in this town with his breadth and depth of experience and knowledge. Once he has had time to get the lay of the land, I expect him to be an enormous resource for the entire company."

Osher will report to Pascal and will work along side Co-Presidents of Production Doug Belgrad and Matt Tolmach, who will continue to supervise Columbia's feature film slate. Tolmach and Belgrad report to Pascal.

"Adding Bob Osher to our executive suite will only make Columbia Pictures more formidable. To me, Doug Matt and Bob are an industry dream team, and I couldn't ask for a better group to help me guide the studio into the future," Pascal added.

"I look forward to working with Amy, Michael, Doug and Matt, Gary Martin and the entire team at Sony. The slate that has been assembled for 2005 and 2006 is one of the most exciting in the industry, and I am proud to be coming to Columbia at a time when the studio is experiencing such unprecedented success."

Osher joins Columbia after serving as Co-President of Production for Miramax Films, where he was co-head of the production department, and ran the legal, business affairs and physical production divisions. In 2002, he was also placed in charge of Miramax Television and was also co-head of the company's DVD, home video and domestic television sales divisions.

Most recently, he oversaw the production of Shall We Dance, starring Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez, Underclassmen, starring Nick Cannon, and he served as executive producer of Anthony Minghella's acclaimed civil war drama Cold Mountain, starring Nicole Kidman and Jude Law.

Osher was a co-founder and Executive Vice President of the Turner Pictures Group, responsible for overseeing and managing all business activities and financial operations for Turner Pictures, TNT, Original Films (including creative oversight) and the Turner Entertainment Company.

Osher graduated with honors from USC School of Cinema/Television and Georgetown University Law School. After practicing transactional entertainment law at several Los Angeles firms, he joined the Walt Disney Studios in 1989 and rose to Senior Vice President in charge of Business and Legal Affairs for Walt Disney and Touchstone Pictures prior to his departure in 1995.

For further information, contact Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President, Media Relations of Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group, +1-310-244-7142, steve_elzer@spe.sony.com.

SOURCE: Columbia Pictures Motion Picture Group

CONTACT: Steve Elzer, Senior Vice President, Media Relations of Columbia
TriStar Motion Picture Group, +1-310-244-7142, steve_elzer@spe.sony.com