UPDATED: Don't you just love it when, after making $400M in 5 days on a monster hit like Transformers 2, a studio starts firing people? That's the situation at Paramount today as new leader Adam Goodman is wielding the layoff ax. This morning, he gutted New York's literary and development offices. Today he's been meeting with the studio's creative group. Let go are head of Physical Production Georgia Kacandes, SVP of production Ben Cosgrove, EVP of production Dan Levine, SVP of visual effects Kim Locascio, head of casting Gail Levin, Paramount Vantage chief Guy Stodel, NYC literary rep Aimee Shieh, and NYC creative exec Mac Hawkins. This looks like Goodman cleaning house after John Lesher and Brad Weston were ousted: Kacandes, Stodel and Levin were brought in by Lesher, while Cosgrove and Levine were put in place by Weston. Goodman sent this memo around to employees explaining the changes in Paramount's production department:

"As you know, last week we announced that we would be streamlining the leadership of the production organization.  As an extension of that process and with the goal of managing the business for the long term, I wanted to make sure everyone was aware of the changes we’re making.

Today, we are reducing our production workforce by 31 people across some departments.  These cuts represent a mix of job eliminations, layoffs and reorganizations in creative, casting and physical production, as well as the Paramount Vantage label.  People whose positions are being impacted are being notified today, and supervisors are working through a transition plan with these employees.

While this reduction is small relative to the full strength of our organization, its size did not make our decisions any easier.  The great contributions made by these colleagues will be felt at the studio for years to come.  But in order to create an environment that is efficient while at the same time maximizes the considerable talent we are fortunate to have, these moves were essential.  In today’s challenging environment, we need to be a nimble organization, with a sharp focus, promoting a culture where our best work can get even better.  I believe our new structure will allow us to do exactly that."

So just days after dumping a pic with his one-time producing partner Steven Soderbergh, Sony Pictures Entertainment's Amy Pascal has done a deal with George Clooney and his other producing partner Grant Heslov. My question is: why? Pascal swore off making movies just for the masturbatory sake of winning Oscar nominations after Sony went through hell on All The King's Men and came up empty. "You need to look no further than Sony's track record with A-list talent like Adam Sandler and Will Smith to answer your question of why," a Sony exec tells me. "Amy, Michael, Matt and Doug will work closely with George and Grant to develop the kind of material we all believe makes sense for Sony and its multilabel distribution strategy. Sony has Columbia, Screen Gems and Classics allowing for different kinds of films for different audiences." Oh, puh-leeze. Clooney can't open a film as an actor unless he's in an ensemble. And as a writer and director and producer, he's not a moneymaker. (Looking at his films in development, I predict there's not a $20 million opening weekend among them at a time when the average marketing cost of studio fare is $30M-$50M.) Believe me, if he were generating decent grosses, Warner Bros would have wanted to hang onto him. So Warner's gain is Sony's loss.

CULVER CITY, Calif., June 30, 2009 – George Clooney and Grant Heslov’s Smokehouse Pictures are in final negotiations to sign an exclusive two-year theatrical development and production deal with Sony Pictures Entertainment, it was announced today by Amy Pascal, Co-Chairman of Sony Picture Entertainment and Chairman of the studio’s Motion Picture Group.

Commenting on the announcement, Clooney said, "Warner Bros. has been a great place to work and I've felt like part of a family for almost 20 years. So in moving on, I'm leaving a terrific company and a lot of dear friends. They're a class act. In looking ahead, I'm tremendously excited to be working at Sony Pictures, and we all feel like it's a perfect match for Smokehouse. Grant Heslov and I hope to deliver the kind of films that will make them proud."

“We admire and respect George and Grant as filmmakers and producers and we couldn’t be more excited to be in

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