In the old days, Pascal would have been required to go to the Sony car-park, compose a Haiku about the transience of life while ripping out her guts with a corporate letter opener while a PR bunny scatters cherry blossom everywhere.

Now the price of failure is to quit, take a golden handshake and go somewhere hot for a bit before taking up a new job somewhere else in the industry.

Pascal was finished by hackers angry about a movie she championed mocking North Korea's dictator exposed a raft of embarrassing emails between Pascal and other Hollywood figures.

She has been keeping a low profile since her emails were leaked by hackers and widely reported by media,
particularly one in which she made racially insensitive remarks about President Barack Obama's taste in movies.

Sony Pictures said Pascal will step down from her current post in May to launch her own production venture on the studio lot with its financial backing.

Sony Pictures Chief Executive and Chairman Michael Lynton told Reuters the emails leaked late last year played no role in his and Pascal's decision not to renew her contract in March 2015.