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Spielberg’s Dreakworks signs 7-year deal with Universal Studios

October 14th, 2008 by Scott Marks

Be sure to check out the anti-Spielberg video at the end of this post. I guarantee satisfaction.

The NBC peacock will soon be to contracting a foliar disease. After Paramount’s Bronson Gate hit Steve Spielberg squarely on his backside, it didn’t take a genius to predict where DreamWorks pictures would make its next home.

Nikkie FInke reports NBC/Universal signed an exclusive 7 year deal to distribute up to six DreamWorks movies a year domestically and overseas, except for India, executives for both companies said Monday. In an alliance with Reliance Big Entertainment of India, DreamWorks has lined up $1.5 billion to finance its future film slate. Reliance is handling distribution of DreamWorks films in India.

Stacey Snider, former chairwoman of Universal Pictures, remains DreamWorks chief executive officer, a position she’s held since 2006.

Why didn’t SKG simply sign on with Universal when it began in 1994? Surely Universal should have snatched it up when DreamWorks went on the auction block in 2006. After Hitchcock died (perhaps even before), Steve lived on as the studio’s star directorial attraction. When Universal discovered Steve back in 1968, he became the youngest director ever to be signed to a long-term deal with a major Hollywood studio. Spielberg’s production company Amblin has called Universal home since 1981.

The “G” in SKG negotiated the deal but is not joining the new incarnation of DreamWorks.

Here’s the official news release:

WARNING: SLOPPY ASS KISSING AHEAD!

Continue reading Spielberg’s Dreakworks signs 7-year deal with Universal Studios

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Filed Under Gossip, News, Rants

Universal City Studios backlot on fire

June 1st, 2008 by Scott Marks

A ghastly fire worthy of Irwin Allen broke out on the backlot of Universal City today, destroying several sound stages and valuable Hollywood memorabilia. Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Daryl Jacobs said the King Kong exhibit was torched and that at least one building had burned and as many as three blocks of movie facades were destroyed. Though the fire was contained, it was still raging. “When there’s a fire of this magnitude, we bring a lot of personnel,” said Jacobs. Depending on your source for news, there are somewhere between 100 and 300 firefighters battling the enormous blaze which started on a sound stage just before dawn. The fire sent a giant column of black smoke into the air that could be seen for miles. The fire was able to spread so quickly through the backlot in part because the studio streetscapes and sound stages (some dating as far back as the 1930s and 1940s) were made of timber. LAmetblogs.com claims that the film vault is “reported lost.” In an on-scene interview with the L. A. Times, Los Angeles City Councilman Tom LaBonge was quoted as saying he witnessed “firefighters…handing out the film cannisters.” (Let’s pray they can’t locate spielberg’s negatives.) Neither the Times nor the Associated Press are confirming a total meltdown in the vaults. Universal Studios spokesman Elliot Sekuler said the theme park would open Sunday, though the studio tour would be affected by the blaze. He said filming was going on when it broke out, but had few other details about the fire. No word yet on whether Schindler’s List: The Ride was damaged. Here’s a link to the official history of backlot blazes at Universal Studios.

***UPDATE***

WGN-Radio just ran an interview with a spokesman for the studio who reported that the video library was partially scorched, but the film archives remain untouched. Thanks for the early morning heart attack LAmetblogs.com!

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Filed Under News, Obituaries