CULVER CITY, CA – After 51 years in the entertainment industry and 32 years at Columbia Pictures, Gary Martin is retiring from his joint role as president, production administration of the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group and president of Sony Pictures Studios Operations. To honor Martin’s 32-year tenure, Sony Pictures Studios will dedicate Stage 15 “The Gary Martin Soundstage” in his honor.
Martin began his career in 1961 at 20th Century Fox and joined Columbia Pictures in 1981 as a production manager. In 1988, he was named Columbia Pictures’ president of production administration, overseeing all aspects of physical and postproduction on Columbia’s slate of films. Martin was additionally named president of Sony Pictures Studios operations in 2003, assuming responsibility for the day-to-day operations of the entire studio lot and postproduction facilities, employing over 260 people.
Commenting on the announcement, Amy Pascal, co-chairman of Sony Pictures Entertainment, said, “Gary is Sony Pictures and our studio operations. His leadership, grace, and skill are unparalleled in our business. There is no one who comes close. We are fortunate that Gary spent the better part of his 51 years here with us. 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.”
Michael Lynton, CEO, added, “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. As Gary looks towards time to enjoy more of his life away from this lot later this year, 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.”
In his career at Columbia Pictures, Martin has overseen the production of more than 600 films, including the blockbuster Spider-Man,
Men In Black, and
Ghostbusters franchises, as well as many of the studio’s most celebrated modern classics like
The Smurfs, The Social Network, Superbad,
Casino Royale,
Bram Stoker’s Dracula,
The Prince of Tides, and
Tootsie. Among his many achievements, Martin was responsible for opening the lot’s Barbara Streisand Scoring Stage and developing Sony Pictures Studios’ Sound Department into a world-leading facility boasting a stable of Oscar-winning sound mixers and sound supervisors. Martin also implemented Sony Pictures Studios’ sustainability effort, turning the 30-acre facility into the first zero-waste studio lot in 2011. Martin will remain in the role, working with SPE’s senior leadership team to determine plans for a successor in the coming months.
Sony Pictures Studios’ Stage 15, to be re-named “The Gary Martin Soundstage,” is the largest soundstage in North America and the second largest in the world. Originally built in 1927, it boasts 40-foot ceilings and a capacity of more than 42,000 square feet. The stage has been used for many memorable films, most famously MGM’s The Wizard of Oz, as well as other Columbia Pictures hits that Martin worked on, such as the
Spider-Man and
Men In Black films.