Sony's Gary Martin Retires After 32 Years

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - Gary Martin, the president of Sony Pictures Studios operations and Columbia Pictures' president of production administration, is retiring after working at the studio for 32 years.

In honor of his service, Sony CEO Michael Lynton and co-chairman Amy Pascal announced on Tuesday that the studio lot's Stage 15 - North America's largest soundstage and second-largest in the world - will be named "The Gary Martin Soundstage."

"Gary is Sony Pictures and our studio operations," Pascal said in a statement. "He's not just our colleague, he is our great friend and we're going to miss seeing him every day. In his honor, we are dedicating our most storied sound stage - Stage 15."

Martin began his 51-year-long career in the entertainment industry at 20th Century Fox in 1961 before joining Columbia Pictures as a production manager in 1981. He was promoted to president of production administration in 1988 and took on Sony Pictures Studios operations' responsibilities in 2003. Since then, he has been in charge of day-to-day operations of the entire studio lot, located in Culver City, as well as its post-production facilities.

Over the course of his long career, Martin has overseen production of more than 600 films, including blockbuster franchises like "Spider-Man," "Men in Black" and "Ghostbusters."

"We are so grateful for Gary's years of service here at the studio. From the day I arrived through every day since, he has been a force of great leadership that is full of compassion, humility and humor," Lynton added. "We are confident that the phenomenal team he has in place will continue to maintain the high standards in our productions and our facilities that Gary set during his remarkable tenure."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/sonys-gary-martin-retires-32-years-023716570.html

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