Michael De Luca To Exit Sony’s Columbia Pictures For Universal Pictures

Michael De Luca is leaving his job at Sony’s Columbia Pictures to produce for Universal Pictures. Luca has served as Sony’s President of Production since 2013.

About the move, De Luca said,

“There are fantastic things happening at Sony right now.  I am crazy about Tom, Doug, Hannah and the whole team here and there is incredible new energy and optimism about what’s going on, so this was a really hard decision for me.  I literally wish I could be in two places at once, but the opportunity to resume my producing career right now, including the possibility of continuing on the Fifty Shades trilogy, makes this the right choice for me at this unique moment in time.  I look forward to continuing to work with Columbia on my existing productions there.”

The move to Universal makes sense for De Luca, who has remained close to studio chief Donna Langley since the two worked together at New Line Productions. De Luca was New Line’s president of production from 1993 to 2001. Some of his credits include The Social Network, Moneyball, Captain Phillips, American History X, the Rush Hour series, and the Austin Powers series. He most recently produced the R-rated blockbuster Fifty Shades of Grey for Universal and will now be involved in the sequels, which would not have been possible had he remained with Sony.

About De Luca’s exit, Columbia Pictures President Doug Belgrad said,

“Mike will always be family to us.  He is one of those guys who can do it all.   As he transitions back to producing, we’re thrilled that we’ll be continuing to work with him on several Sony projects.”

Clark Allen | Associate Editor