Fox co-chairman Tom Rothman stepping down at the end of the year - Entertainment Weekly

Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman and CEO Tom Rothman will step down from his posts at the end of this year, announced Fox on Friday.

Current co-chairman and CEO Jim Gianopulos, who has shared the roles with Rothman since 2000, will take full reign of the positions.

“I have been at Fox for over 18 years, the bulk of my adult working life,” Rothman said in a press release from Fox. “In that time we have accomplished more than I ever imagined, from the founding and nurturing of Fox Searchlight, to overseeing the two biggest films in box office history, to keeping us consistently at the highest levels of industry profits, including this most recent strong fiscal year, and, most of all, making dozens of films that I believe will stand the test of time.”

Before becoming chairman, Rothman served as president of Twentieth Century Fox Film Group, president of production for Twentieth Century Fox and, the founder and president of Fox Searchlight in 1994. Some of the films under his long watch include Black Swan, Juno, The Devil Wears Prada, Borat, Boys Don’t Cry, and box office juggernauts Avatar and Titanic.

Rothman continued that he was “eternally grateful to have had the honor and opportunity to work with the marvelous people here at Fox,” adding, “I will miss them hugely. Still, I have done the same job, at the same place, for a very long time, and it is time for me to write a new chapter. I love 20th Century Fox and take great comfort knowing that we have an amazing slate of pictures in place for the next several years. I know that Jim and all my terrific colleagues at Fox, will continue our long tradition of winning ways, and I will help in the transition in any ways I can.”

Fox owner News Corporation also announced Friday a reorganization of its studio operations. The film unit will now be referred to as the overarching Twentieth Century Fox Film, to include Twentieth Century Fox Film, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox 2000, Fox Animation/Blue Sky Studios, Fox International Productions, and Fox Home Entertainment. The television side of Fox, Twentieth Century Fox Television, which includes Fox Television Studios and Fox 21, will now be considered an autonomous business unit within News Corp, according to the release, and will not be a part of the company’s film side.

“Tom has played a critical role in building our film business into one of the industry’s leading studios. He has spearheaded a legacy that includes many of the business’ biggest grossing films, consistently outstanding profits, and enduring quality. I know great success will continue to follow him,” said Rupert Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp.

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