Roman CEO tooned out
Pritchard exit a surprise
Pritchard will leave the company to pursue other interests. He was recruited by the animation shop in August 1997 with a mandate to broaden the company's base and develop original projects beyond its long-running success "The Simpsons."
Company founder Phil Roman left the company last year after allegedly clashing with Pritchard over the direction of Film Roman. Roman still maintains a stake in the business but has now formed his own production company in order to return to a more "hands-on, bare-bones approach" to the animation biz.
Company employees were surprised by the departure, particularly with Pritchard lining up a bidding war for syndie rights to its most recent hit, "King of the Hill," closing a deal with Howard Stern for a UPN toon series entitled "Doomsday" and greenlighting two live-action series for kids.
Sources close to the situation say that with the influx of new execs to the company since Roman's departure, including exec producer Eric Radomski, Marc Lieber as prexy of domestic television and distribution, and William Shpall as chief operating officer, Pritchard slowly lost control over key decisions. He was also rumored to have clashed with exec veep John Vein, who is expected to run the company in the interim.
A company spokesman indicated that the board of directors will immediately take steps to find a successor to Pritchard, and that no further changes are likely among the top exec officer ranks. One insider close to the situation said that Film Roman would look outside the company for a permanent replacement.
Film Roman stock closed Thursday up 6¢ at $2.06.
