Ambani Meets Spielberg

The Associated Press
Friday, October 3, 2008
MUMBAI, India: Director Steven Spielberg met with Anil Ambani, one of India's top industrialists, to finalize the launch of a new movie studio in Los Angeles in January, two people familiar with negotiations said Friday.

Both people, who requested anonymity because they could not speak publicly till the deal was formally closed, said the US$1.5 billion joint venture will be headed by Stacey Snider, DreamWorks' current chief executive.

Spielberg and Ambani met late Thursday in Los Angeles and would meet again Friday ahead of the agreement being signed next month.

The venture would produce between 30 to 35 movies over the next five years, said one person with knowledge about the talks.

The equity deal from India's Reliance Entertainment will give DreamWorks independence from Viacom Inc. subsidiary Paramount Pictures that bought the production house for US$1.6 billion two years ago.

One of the world's richest men, Ambani heads Indian conglomerates, Reliance ADA Group with interests in the entertainment business, power generation, telecommunication and financial services.

Ambani's venture with Spielberg is part of the group's global ambitions to hold stakes in each segment of the movie business from film production and development to screening of movies in company-owned cinema halls.

Reliance Entertainment, through its theater chain Adlabs, this year bought more than 250 screens in the United States, some 50 in Malaysia and theaters in Mauritius.

Two weeks ago Paramount released a statement wishing the DreamWorks principals well and said it would waive certain provisions of their original deal to allow them and their employees to join the new company without delay.

Some hit movies produced while DreamWorks was housed at Paramount include the Will Ferrell comedy "Blades of Glory," "Transformers" and "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."

Snider along with DreamWorks co-founder and billionaire David Geffen also were present at Thursday's meeting between Ambani and Spielberg.

Snider was chairman of the Universal Pictures before joining DreamWorks in 2006.

Hollywood moguls Spielberg, Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg founded DreamWorks SKG in 1994.

Reliance Entertainment has some 100 films in production and development in India.

Its subsidiary, Reliance Big Entertainment, announced an investment of US$1 billion to develop and co-produce movies with Hollywood stars George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Tom Hanks and Nicholas Cage and filmmaker Chris Columbus' 1492 Pictures during the Cannes Film Festival in May.