Spielberg seeking DreamWorks cash boost?

(FROM THE WALL STREET JOURNAL) — Steven Spielberg, David Geffen, and other executives at DreamWorks may be looking to make a deal with the Indian conglomerate Reliance Big Entertainment. The agreement could add $500 million to $600 million in cash to DreamWorks and finance the company’s break from its parent, Paramount. A DreamWorks spokesman declined to comment.

News of the possibly pending deal is the latest development in the contentious relationship between DreamWorks execs and those at Paramount, which purchased DreamWorks in 2006. Since then, public squabbling on both sides has been common, even while films like Transformers, Blades of Glory, and Dreamgirls became box office hits. For several months, industry conversation has centered on whether Spielberg and Geffen would stay with the company when their contracts expire this year — and if they’d take the DreamWorks name with them.

Reliance Big Entertainment, meanwhile, has emerged as a major player in the motion picture business. At last month’s Cannes film festival, the company announced plans to invest in several Hollywood projects, including funding the individual production firms of A-list stars like Jim Carrey, George Clooney, Tom Hanks, and Brad Pitt. (The Wall Street Journal)