Unpleasant Dreams for Paramount and DreamWorks
Looks like no one's getting any REM sleep at Par and DreamWorks, reports the Los Angeles Times. Spielberg and Geffen have been suffering seller's remorse for months - the deal is less than two years old - but things have come to a boil over matters such as credit, bruised egos, and money.
Geffen apparently has the right to walk starting sometime next year, and if he does, then Spielberg can too - and if he does, then so can his ally Stacey Snider, who runs the studio.
They'd walk out the door with little more than the studio name, reports the LAT. Par would get to keep the projects in development. The DW library's already gone, sold by Par to defray the cost of acquiring the studio.
Ironically, Spielberg would still be directing and producing several movies for Par even if the DW arrangement imploded. And Spielberg and Geffen's third partner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, would also remain tied to Par: Katzenberg's the chief of DreamWorks Animation, a separate, public co. spun off from DW, and DreamWorks Animation has a long-term distribution deal with Par.