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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 24, 2015 21:09:13 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/dreamworks-nears-rich-financing-deal-791334Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Studios is close to a deal to partner with billionaire e-Bay co-founder Jeff Skoll's Participant Media, providing DreamWorks with a major cash infusion, sources tell The Hollywood Reporter. The pact, which one source believes totals $200 million or more, comes at a crucial time for both companies. India's Reliance Entertainment, which has bankrolled DreamWorks, is unlikely to invest more money in the company, while Stacey Snider vacated her job as DreamWorks co-chairman/CEO for a top post at 20th Century Fox last fall. Michael Wright now is running DreamWorks, which has a film distribution deal with Disney and operates a separate television company. Participant has been looking to reinvent itself lately. Earlier this month, CEO Jim Berk resigned from the company following reports that Skoll wasn't happy with his leadership. Skoll has taken over the chairman's post on an interim basis. The company, launched by Skoll in 2004 with a duel mission of making money and inspiring social change through entertainment, already has partnered with DreamWorks to co-finance a slew of titles, including The Help, The Fifth Estate and Lincoln. And the two companies are currently in post-produciton on the Spielberg-directed Bridge of Spies, starring Tom Hanks, which is set to hit theaters this fall. DreamWorks and Participant declined to comment. In recent weeks, Disney announced it is co-financing Spielberg's next directing gig, The BFG, which will go out under the Disney banner and Spielberg's Amblin label, but it is unclear whether Disney will renew its distribution and marketing deal with DreamWorks after the current pact expires in 2016.
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Post by The Ultimate Nullifier on Apr 29, 2015 8:22:36 GMT -6
www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/steven-spielbergs-dreamworks-finds-a-792036Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks Finds a Savior in Participant This story first appeared in the May 8 issue of The Hollywood Reporter magazine. Socially minded billionaire Jeff Skoll could be just the savior that Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks needs. As first reported by THR on April 24, Skoll's Participant Media is nearing a deal to make a $200 million-plus equity investment in DreamWorks and officially partner on a slate of films. The companies have flirted for years, with Participant co-financing and co-producing a slew of DreamWorks titles, including The Kite Runner, The Help, Lincoln and Bridge of Spies, the Spielberg-directed film starring Tom Hanks that hits theaters Oct. 16. Both companies are at a crossroads, with DreamWorks in particular need of a financial boost. India's Reliance Entertainment isn't likely to invest any more money after helping to bankroll Spielberg's shop since 2008. Participant would become DreamWorks' equity partner just as the latter embarks on the complicated process of forging a new distribution deal with a major studio. Its pact with Disney expires in 2016, and rumors are rampant that Spielberg and his team instead will opt for Universal or Paramount (the latter could offer prime release dates because it especially needs movies, but Spielberg's office remains on the Universal lot). Any studio would want to know that DreamWorks has enough cash before agreeing to distribute and market its films. In return for its investment, Participant would have bragging rights to being in business with Spielberg, at least on the film side. And its own movies could be guaranteed distribution via whatever new deal DreamWorks strikes, according to one source. Several insiders say the DreamWorks-Participant deal will be announced over the summer, once McKinsey & Co. concludes a top-to-bottom review of Participant commissioned by Skoll, who is serving as interim CEO after ousting Jim Berk on April 10. But now that word is out, a reveal could come sooner. Many in Hollywood bless a Participant-DreamWorks union. "They have successfully tested their relationship on a number of films," says one insider. Adds another executive: "It's a good partnership. No matter what, Steven is very intent on keeping the DreamWorks label. As for Participant, they've had a hard time figuring out what they want to be when they grow up." Skoll founded the company in 2004 with the ambitious mission of inspiring social change through entertainment while making a profit at the same time. Participant's initial emphasis was on film, but it later expanded into television, including the troubled Pivot network. Like nearly all film companies, Participant has a mixed track record at the box office but generally is known for making smart choices in both independent productions and movies it co-finances with other studios. Wins include The Help, The Visitor, Lincoln, the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel franchise and A Most Violent Year. Among the big flops are The Fifth Estate (also a DreamWorks title) and Promised Land. Participant has excelled in the documentary arena with Oscar winners Citizenfour, The Cove and An Inconvenient Truth as well as the Oscar-nominated The Square. Both DreamWorks and Participant declined comment.
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