SECOND EXEC SET TO LEAVE STUDIO PARAMOUNT COO FRIEDMAN IS LATEST.

Byline: Greg Hernandez Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES - A changing of the guard at Paramount Pictures' continued Tuesday with the departure of Chief Operating Officer and Vice Chairman Robert G. Friedman, who said he is leaving to pursue other interests.

Friedman, who joined Paramount in 1997, is the highest-ranking executive to leave since former Chairman Sherry Lansing left in February and was replaced by current studio chief Brad Grey.

``Normally when a new regime comes in, they want their own people,'' observed media analyst Harold Vogel of Vogel Capital Management. ``It's what happens on Wall Street and in Hollywood.''

In March, Grey brought in former Fox Broadcasting Co. president of entertainment Gail Berman as his chief lieutenant.

Friedman said in a statement that the decision to leave was his.

``I have had a great experience here at Paramount, but I told Brad a few months ago that it was time for me to find new challenges,'' he said.

Friedman had served as vice chairman of the Paramount Motion Picture Group since joining the studio eight years ago and added the duties of chief operating officer in 2002.

His responsibilities at Viacom-owned Paramount included oversight of all domestic and international marketing, publicity and distribution operations as well as Paramount Home Entertainment and its specialty division Paramount Classics.

Friedman was involved in the domestic marketing and distribution of the all-time top grosser ``Titanic,'' as well as such major hits as ``Lara Croft: Tomb Raider,'' ``What Women Want,'' ``Mission Impossible: 2,'' and ``Save the Last Dance.''

``It has been gratifying to be a part of some of the studio's greatest successes and I am proud of the team I have built here,'' Friedman said. ``I am confident that I am leaving the company in very good hands.''

Ironically, the summer slate of films developed by Lansing and her team, ``War of the Worlds'' and ``The Longest Yard,'' are the two biggest hits Paramount has had in several years. ``Worlds'' had grossed $168.2 million as of Monday while ``Yard'' had taken in $152.6 million. The studio had suffered through several years without any blockbuster hits and many flops before things began to turn around late last year with such hits as ``Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events'' and ``The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie.'' The action-adventure ``Sahara'' was a midlevel hit this spring.

``It always seems to happen that way,'' Vogel said. ``As soon as the housecleaning is finished, all the things they were doing turn out to be quite good.''

Friedman will stay on at Paramount through the release of the upcoming films ``The Bad News Bears'' and ``Hustle & Flow,'' then serve as a consultant for the rest of the 2005 slate.

``Rob has made many valuable contributions to Paramount's history,'' Grey said in a statement. ``When he told me several months ago that he wanted to move on, I asked him to stay on and open 'War of the Worlds.' He agreed, created a fantastic campaign and the movie was Paramount's best opening ever.''

Before coming to Paramount, Friedman spent 25 years at Warner Bros., where he began in the mailroom then worked his way up through the marketing ranks, leaving in 1997 as president of worldwide marketing.

Greg Hernandez, [phone]

greg.hernandez(at)dailynews.com

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