Spielberg's studio talks progressing smoothly

By Carl DiOrio

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) - Representatives of Steven Spielberg and the Indian conglomerate Reliance are talking daily about terms of a $1.5 billion proposal that would allow the DreamWorks principal and his partners to produce more than 30 films over the next five years at a new independent studio.

Reliance executives are expected to hold sit-down talks with Spielberg reps soon in New York or Los Angeles, though things are going so well they might hold off flying in until a meeting to close the deal later this summer. The business plan being discussed would see Spielberg and top DreamWorks executives create a new company financed with about $550 million in equity funding by Reliance, a senior debt facility and possible additional equity from whichever studio is chosen as a theatrical distributor.

"Things are going well, and God willing we'll get there," said Schuyler Moore, a Strook & Strook & Lavan attorney representing Reliance in the DreamWorks talks.

Those expressing interest in distributing the new company's films include Universal, Fox, Disney and Paramount.

DreamWorks was acquired by Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures for $1.6 billion in 2006, and promptly became responsible for such hits as "Dreamgirls," "Disturbia" and "Transformers," the latter a co-production with Paramount.

Paramount will distribute all DreamWorks-branded films at least through year's end, when contract provisions allow Spielberg to opt out of his Paramount deal and take DreamWorks chairman David Geffen, DreamWorks president Stacey Snider and the DreamWorks name with him.

The name actually is controlled by the separate public company DreamWorks Animation, but it's assumed Spielberg would be granted the right to use the name at whatever new company he sets up.

Spielberg still could decide simply to strike a new distribution arrangement with one of the suitor studios and forgo setting up a whole new company. But sources suggest that the iconic hyphenate sorely wants to own the movies he produces and is likely to seal a deal with Reliance by summer's end.