Universal Pictures vicechairmen of worldwide productionMary Parent and Scott Stuber will segue into producer roles at the end of 2005as part of their seven-year deal with the studio.

Under the terms of their contracts Parent and Stuber agreed to serve the firsttwo years as vice chairmen of worldwide production and the balance as producerson the lot.

Effective immediately, executive vice president of production Donna Langleybecomes president of production, reporting to Universal chairman Stacey Snider.

'After eight-years of overseeing the development and production of what arearguably Universal's biggest hits and franchises, we are ecstatic to have Maryand Scott's vast talents transferred to producing films for the studio as oneof its ongoing major suppliers,' Snider said in a statement.

'Our belief in Scott and Mary has always been so great that two years ago whenwe discussed their future with the studio, we happily made this long-termagreement as we wanted to be the beneficiaries of their productivity andtalents in any capacity.

'One of the key ways companies can continue to grow, evolve and embrace thefuture is by working to fulfill the dreams of those that have served it withexceptional results and Mary and Scott have clearly done just that.'

Snider added: 'Donna is a superlative executive with great taste and allof the skills to handle the production chief duties. Additionally, she has agreat team supporting her.'

'We got into this business because we both love movies and it has been adream of ours to become producers,' Parent and Stuber said in a jointstatement.

'We feel incredibly fortunate that when we were given our current positiontwo years ago, Ron and Stacey were generous enough to help us realise our goalwith a home on the Universal lot. Donna is someone we have known for morethan ten years, and couldn't be more deserving of running production.'

Langley was named executive vice president of production in October 2003 andher credits include Bridget Jones: The Edge Of Reason, In Good Company, and upcoming titles like Spike Lee's Inside Man starring Denzel Washington and Clive Owen, You MeAnd Dupree starring Owen Wilson, andPrime, starring Uma Thurman andMeryl Streep.

Prior to Universal she served as senior vice president of production for NewLine Cinema, where she oversaw Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me and The CelI, among others.

Since joining the studio eight years ago as senior vice presidents, Parent andStuber have supervised more than 90 pictures including 21 $100m-plus domestictitles, 20 Oscar nominations and seven Oscars.