Amy Pascal Talks Taking Risks: “You Know Immediately if It’s a Movie” | Producer Roundtable

“The transition from him being a writer to him being a director was seamless,” Amy Pascal said of Oscar-winning screenwriter and debut director Aaron Sorkin. Pascal produced Sorkin’s film Molly’s Game in addition to the Steven Spielberg film The Post.

Pascal turned the discussion to The Post, saying “somebody very enterprising at my company stole [the script] out of somebody’s hands,” as screenwriter Liz Hannah did not have an agent.

“The movie was there,” Pascal told The Producer Roundtable. “Whatever else needed to happen to the movie, the movie was there. You know immediately if it’s a movie.”

Pascal turned the conversation to the studio system versus the new streaming platforms for television. “Studios are afraid to make certain kinds of movies. That stuff ends up on television. Everybody then makes things that are good for television and commercial for movie theaters. I don’t think that we can let that happen.”

“When people get something good and they get something different, I am a believer that they’re going to go. I believe it. I do. I always have.”

Molly’s Game opens Jan. 5 and stars Jessica Chastain and Idris Elba. The Post opens Jan. 12, starring Meryl Streep and Tom Hanks. Tune in to THR.com/roundtables for more roundtables featuring creators from the year’s top films.