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WERE GRAZER'S CONGRATULATIONS TO REDSTONE REALLY IN ORDER? Friday, August 25 2006 
Producer
Brian
Grazer
is
reportedly
contradicting
statements
by
Viacom
Chairman
Sumner
Redstone
that
he
phoned
Redstone
to
congratulate
him
on
decision
to
break
off
ties
with
Tom
Cruise's
production
company.
L.A.
Weekly
columnist
Nikki
Finke,
citing
a
Grazer
intimate
(Grazer,
she
said,
is
on
vacation
and
could
not
be
reached),
reported
Thursday
that
Grazer
had
merely
phoned
Redstone
"to
ask
what's
going
on."
Finke's
source
added
that
"anyone
would
be
shocked
to
see
a
private
(more)REDSTONE, FRESTON BACK GREY IN PELLICANO PROBE Tuesday, April 4 2006 
Viacom
Chairman
Sumner
Redstone
and
CEO
Tom
Freston
have
given
their
complete
backing
to
Paramount
chief
Brad
Grey,
maintaining
that
they
investigated
Grey's
association
with
indicted
private
detective
Anthony
Pellicano
before
they
named
him
head
of
the
studio
last
year.
In
an
interview
with
today's
(Tuesday)
Los
Angeles
Times,
Sumner
Redstone
expressed
his
"utmost
faith"
in
Grey,
but
acknowledged:
"I'm
going
out
on
a
limb
here.
We
have
investigated
this
to
the
fullest.
But
can
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Viacom Chairman Sumner Redstone, who reportedly severed Viacom's ties with Tom Cruise last month without informing Viacom CEO Tom Freston of his decision, is now parting ways with Freston himself. The company said today (Tuesday) that Freston has quit and that he'll be replaced by longtime industry executive Philippe Dauman. Freston became CEO and president of Viacom last January when Redstone spun off its broadcast television operations into a separate company, CBS Corp. Viacom also named another industry veteran, Thomas E. Dooley, to the newly created position of senior executive vice president and chief administrative officer. There was no indication of how Dauman and Dooley would divide the responsibilities of running Viacom, although Dooley will report to Dauman and Dauman to Redstone. Unlike his harsh criticism of Cruise, Redstone had only praise for Freston in announcing his resignation, noting that he had built MTV, which he co-founded, into "an unmatched force in the entertainment industry." He called Dauman and Dooley "two of the most extraordinary executives I have ever known." In his statement, Freston gave no reason for his departure, simply praising Dauman and Dooley and thanking his colleagues. "I will do all I can to insure a smooth transition," he said.
