Adam Yauch’s Oscilloscope scrapping planned executive changes
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Executive changes at Oscilloscope Laboratories, the boutique film label co-founded by Adam Yauch, will be scrapped in light of the Beastie Boy’s death on Friday.
David Fenkel, the independent-film veteran who founded the company with Yauch, has at least partly rescinded the resignation he announced just a day earlier. After saying Thursday he would step aside as head of the company and serve only as a consultant, Fenkel is returning. The executive will ‘remain intimately involved with the company for the foreseeable future given today’s events,’ a spokeswoman for Oscilloscope said, though added that he will not return to being a full-time employee.
Dan Berger and David Laub, the staffers who had been promoted with the resignation news, will continue with their newly announced roles and work closely with Fenkel at a company that has always had a somewhat informal reporting structure.
Oscilloscope is set to release a documentary about Stanley Kubrick’s 1980 film ‘The Shining,’ ‘28 Hotel Rooms,’ and the LCD Soundsystem doc ‘Shut Up and Play the Hits,’ among others.
Fenkel’s announcement Thursday prompted questions about Yauch’s health, but Fenkel apparently was not expecting the development Friday morning.
The company’s press release Thursday included quotes from both Fenkel and Yauch.
“It’s been over four years since we started and the company continues to get stronger and stronger,” Fenkel said. “And what a great slate for 2012. I couldn’t be more excited for my friends Dan and David to be in positions to take O-Scope to the next level. Adam has been an amazing partner and important mentor for me, both personally and professionally. It’s been an honor to be involved with helping execute his vision for this unique and special company and I look forward to continuing my involvement.”
Yauch had said: “The crew at Oscilloscope are some of my favorite people -- they are smart, hard-working, unpretentious and I love that they are as amped as I am about the films we get to put out,” he said. “This promotion makes a lot of sense. Dan Berger and David Laub have expanded their roles throughout the company over the years and have proven to be integral to our continued growth and success. These guys know their...and they have the utmost respect for filmmakers, which is at the core of O-Scope’s values.”
On Friday, the company issued a new statement: ‘We are deeply, deeply saddened by the passing of Adam Yauch -- an amazing leader, a dear friend and an incredible human being. Today we are heartbroken at Oscilloscope as we take in this awful news and our thoughts are with his family at this difficult time. Adam’s legacy will remain a driving force at Oscilloscope -- his indomitable spirit and his great passion for film, people and hard work -- always with a sense of humor and a lot of heart.’
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