October
12
DreamWorks/Universal Union Disruptive?
This New York Times story by Brooks Barnes about how a Universal/DreamWorks deal could disrupt the studio is one of those speculative pieces from afar that doesn't entirely get the picture.
In other words, yes DreamWorks' Stacey Snider used to run Universal. And yes, the DreamWorks people were pissed when Universal waited until the last minute to tell them that they didn't want to make their Tintin deal--and then described the project as uncommercial. Luckily, other studios called in the meantime, and if the Dreamworks/Universal distribution deal goes through, Universal could still be in the Tintin mix---with another partner and a revised deal. But Spielberg was forced to put off the start of his next picture, even losing his Tintin, Thomas Sangster, in the process.
Here's my latest column on the current DreamWorks/Paramount situation.
Certainly, Snider is a respected, experienced exec who has strong ideas about how things should be done. She helped to train the people currently running her former studio. That actually brings a certain comfort level between the two companies. I don't foresee the instability that Barnes describes. First, Universal chief Ron Meyer is a sane and sober manager. Universal can certainly use six high-quality movies a year. This is only a distribution deal; studio execs will not be involved in managing DreamWorks' development and production.
True, Imagine producer Brian Grazer, who is used to being the 500-pound gorilla on the Universal lot, won't be thrilled to have a powerful rival competing for release slots. That could be a key issue. But the two companies co-existed on the Uni lot before. This time it would be DreamWorks at a disadvantage, because Universal wouldn't be invested in all their films, so the studio's own projects would have favored status. But many Dreamworks movies will be made in partnership with Paramount, and some would be handled only internationally by Universal. And that's another reason the studio will likely make this deal---because their international pipeline needs product.
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Posted by: matthew | October 13, 2008 at 04:24 AM