Updated on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at 10 am:
Alex Young, co-president of production at Twentieth Century Fox, is being moved out of the top job, a knowledgeable executive said on Tuesday.
A studio spokesman had no comment.
Young may move into a production deal, but the executive said that no deal had been concluded yet.
A protege of studio co-chairman Tom Rothman, Young had been in the position since 2007 with co-president Emma Watts, replacing Hutch Parker who left to New Regency.
He had been credited with overseeing the successful “X-Men,” “Fantastic Four” and “Aliens vs. Predator” franchises for Fox. But while those franchises were successful, the recent installations have not done as well at the box office and in DVD than those that preceded. Some concluded that the quality of the movie was the reason for smaller box office and DVD sales.
"Fanstastic 4" in 2005 took in $330 million at the worldwide box office; while the subsequent "Silver Surfer" in 2007 took in $289 million.
"X-Men: Last Stand" took in $459 million at the worldwide box office in 2006. Meanwhile, "Wolverine" took in $373 million this year.
In addition, according to some insiders Young clashed with co-president Emma Watts, and eventually wore out his welcome — "there’s no love lost," was how one put it — by frustrating executives and producers who found it hard to get decisions made in a timely manner.
Attempts to reach Young for comment were not successful.
Watts will continue as president of production.
Young had been working on major productions including "Unstoppable," "Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps," and "Robert Rodriguez’s Predators," and was negotiating on Tuesday to take those projects with him in an eventual producing deal.
Born in England, Young briefly married "Grey’s Anatomy" star Kate Walsh; they divorced in 2008 after barely a year.
