CHRIS BACKLEY/Daily Bruin About 400 people showed up at
the Anderson School to hear from Sherry Lansing,
CEO of Paramount Pictures’ Motion Picture Group.
By Rachel Makabi
Daily Bruin Reporter
Sherry Lansing, the chief executive officer at Paramount
Pictures’ Motion Picture Group, never liked to conform to the
views of others ““ and she proved it several times in her
career by breaking the gender barrier in the entertainment
business.
Lansing, also a UC regent, shared her strategies for success
with about 400 people at the Anderson School of Business on Tuesday
in “A Conversation with Sherry Lansing,” organized by
the Entertainment Management Association.
Lansing told audience members about her rise from an avid movie
lover in her youth to her appointment as Fox president of
production in 1980 ““ making her the first woman to hold that
position in the movie industry.
“I was blessed to be the first woman to run the studio
because I could devise my own style and my own way of being,”
Lansing said. “Just be yourself and don’t ever try to
copy other people; it’s the best way to be.”
Lansing’s appointment set trends in Hollywood beyond the
traditional realms of fashion and film. In the past two decades,
women have risen to new heights in the entertainment industry and
currently run three of the six major motion picture studios, she
said.
The world has changed for women, and it has really changed for
women in the movie business,” Lansing said. “I think
the business is gender-blind, and I don’t see any prejudice
against women here.”
Lansing emphasized the importance of individualism in any job,
saying that some of the company’s greatest hits, such as
“Fatal Attraction” and “The Accused,” were
films she decided to make even when the majority of studios
rejected them.
John Anderson, the Anderson School’s namesake, said the
event sparks healthy relationships between students and executives
from the community.
“We expose students to people like Sherry so they can see
a real-life success story,” Anderson said. “She has
qualities that are very important in the business world.”
In the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, Lansing helped initiate
communication with White House officials to see what the media
could do to help with the war effort.
“This had nothing to do with content; people haven’t
changed their taste,” Lansing said. “But we are doing
simple things like giving video cassettes to our armed forces,
United Service Organization shows to entertain troops and Public
Service Announcement campaigns.”
Lansing’s achievements inspire and teach students
qualities central to the business field, said Dean Bruce Willison
of the Anderson School.
“One of the most important things we can do is to
introduce students to successful people in the private
sector,” Willison said. “It is a great complement to
learning in the classroom and learning between students.”