Fox Shock: Tony Sella Exiting As Marketing Chief
20th Century Fox domestic marketing topper Tony Sella is leaving the studio, according to sources.
Sella’s decision to leave comes in the aftermath of a profound shake-up at Fox’s executive suite.
Oren Aviv was fired Wednesday as marketing officer and international execs Paul Hanneman and Tomas Jegeus were promoted to head worldwide marketing and distribution in a restructuring unveiled Thursday by Fox CEO-cairman Jim Gianopulos (pictured above with Sella).
Sella has been with Fox for two decades. He’s been president of theatrical marketing — a title shared with Aviv – and chief creative officer.
Sella has not left Fox yet and it’s unclear how soon he will officially depart.
In Thursday’s studio announcement unveiling the restructuring, Hanneman and Jegeus said, “Tony Sella is one of the most talented creative marketers in our industry and we are fortunate to have his exceptional mind onboard to help realize our vision for the future.”
Fox has seen mixed results at the box office this year with successes from “The Wolverine,” “The Croods” and “The Heat” while underperfomers included “The Internship,” “Turbo” and Regency’s “Runner Runner.”
The departures of Sella and Aviv come a year after Tom Rothman announced his exit as co-chair of 20th Century Fox, leaving the studio’s film division under the solo leadership of Gianopulos.
Hanneman and Jegeus had served as co-heads of Fox International since 2005, overseeing massive international hits “Avatar” — which grossed over $2 billion outside the U.S. — and the four “Ice Age” titles.
The Fox exits underline an ongoing churn among studio marketing toppers. Marc Weinstock, prexy of worldwide marketing at Sony Pictures, was ousted last month and replaced by Dwight Caines; Relativity Media replaced marketing head Terry Curtin in August with New Line vet Russell Schwartz and former Marvel exec Dana Precious.
The THR.com site first reported that Sella was exiting.
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