It’s been no secret lately that Dreamworks (and specifically Steven Spielberg ) has been unhappy with their arrangement with Paramount, and that things look like at the end of 2008 (when the contract between the 2 runs out) the marriage between them will come to an end.
But now Paramount is making lovey dovey gestures to Dreamworks trying to keep things from going south. IMDB reports the following:
In an apparent effort to smooth ruffled feathers among DreamWorks executives, Paramount has agreed to give DreamWorks enhanced recognition on its future film releases, Daily Variety reported today (Wednesday). For example, it will state publicly that future DreamWorks films are distributed by DreamWorks-Paramount instead of saying that they are distributed by Paramount alone. The designation will first appear in connection with this weekend’s release of The Heartbreak Kid, starring Ben Stiller. “It was important to [DreamWorks principals David Geffen and Steven Spielberg] that things be clear in term[s] of the movies that are theirs,” a Paramount executive told the trade publication, which commented that the “concession indicates that Par[amount] is trying to do what it can to save the DreamWorks marriage and keep Steven Spielberg and David Geffen from bolting at the end of 2008,” when their contract expires.
It’s clearly a good move on the part of Paramount to do this… but like many real marriages that fall apart… is this too little too late? Why wasn’t Paramount bringing flowers home for Dreamworks when things were ok? Why have they waited this long to make these sorts of gestures? Is it too little too late? Or can this team make it?
Hey John,
You do bring up a good point about other studios wanting to have Spielberg under thier wing. With that the analogy is making a lot more sense with that addition. Any idea how much Paramont is willing to do to keep him?
I did feel that Dreamworks was being shafted on the credit they deserved with Transformers, and that Paramount was taking too much.
-Calviin
Hey Brian,
I agree that it CAN be saved… but…. although it’s a business relationship, there are LOTS of other studios out there also courting Spielberg who ALSO have lots of money to flash. What I’m learning is that relationships in Hollywood really do make a big difference.
It can be saved, no offense to your analogy this is a business relationship which means things like this can cool ones head and bring them back to the table. Also giving lots of money doesn’t hurt.