Spielberg draws up his A-list

This week DreamWorks and parent Paramount Pictures will begin the thorny task of unwinding their business ties, specifically as it applies to more than 200 movie projects in development at DreamWorks that are owned by Paramount.

Those projects will be of particular interest to Steven Spielberg and his associate Stacey Snider because the new DreamWorks, backed by India's Reliance ADA Group, will essentially open its doors with a bare cupboard. Some of the hoped-for movies have been in the works at DreamWorks for years, and would provide a valuable jump-start for the new venture.

Among the 40 or so on Spielberg's A-list, which he wants to stay involved with either as a director and/or producer, are “Tintin,” a $130-million motion-capture film which Paramount is considering bankrolling; “Lincoln,” adapted from Doris Kearns Goodwin’s biography of the 16th president with Liam Neeson expected to star; “39 Clues,” based on a series of adventure books and games from Scholastic; “St. Agnes Stand,” adapted from Thomas Eidson’s western novel about a reluctant hero in the 1860s; “Atlantis Rising,” a sci-fi thriller based on the comic books series of the same name; and ”Children of The Lamp,” also from a series of Scholastic books, about a family of genies who pass for humans.

It’s unclear which of DreamWorks' projects will remain at Paramount -- with Spielberg's involvement -- or which ones will be co-financed or purchased outright by his new company.

Regardless, it's likely to be some time before Spielberg's venture will begin cranking out films. The reason: All the financing needs to be in place before it can start business. Reliance has already agreed to invest $550 million in equity in the company for half ownership. But JP Morgan Chase still needs to raise between $700 million to $750 million in debt. One person close to the situation says that JP Morgan plans to put up about $150 million of the total and will try to sell the remaining portion to other institutions.

In addition to the projects that are in limbo, some 150 DreamWorks employees are waiting to hear whether they will be able to join Spielberg and Snider. Nor has Paramount decided whether it will keep any of those left behind on the payroll. But things don't appear to be highly encouraging, given that Paramount told the DreamWorks principals on Friday that they could leave immediately and take their employees "without delay."

The one person who could calm nerves, however, is not around to reassure anyone. Spielberg left last weekend for a vacation in London, leaving some of his employees to ask Paramount executives what exactly was going on at their own company. That question was left unanswered.

-- Claudia Eller

Photo: Marsaili McGrath / Getty Images

Comments

[bubba1]

No loyalties. None of these guys care about any of the people that build their companies (Dreamworks or Paramount). So sad to say but it's ALL ABOUT BUSINESS. Speilberg should have cherished his studio and participated in it when he had one. "Hey honey - we got the money for our new production company - Let's go on Vacation!"~ Ahhh! What a glamorous business!