What's the strategy at Paramount?

Laura Holson of the NY Times asks that question this morning, and here's what she learns:

[Paramount chairman and CEO Brad] Grey believes he has a plan for reviving Paramount, which in 2004 ranked seventh in domestic box-office receipts. And the plan is similar to the one he had as a talent manager aggressively guiding the careers of A-list actors like Brad Pitt or developing television shows like "The Sopranos": he will buy good scripts, bet heavily on talented executives and filmmakers and, he hopes, watch the money follow.



"Some people would say, 'Come in with a flamethrower,' and others would take a more measured approach," Mr. Grey said in his office on the Paramount lot last week. "I quickly realized I had to have my own style and strategy and find my own way. I don't lack confidence. I don't sweat. I don't want to get too Zen on you, but I have to run my own race."

You can be the judge whether they're on the right track: one of their summer movies is "Nacho Libre," directed by Jared Hess of "Napoleon Dynamite" and starring Jack Black.