I reported last week that the much anticipated, long awaited DreamWorks-Reliance deal was already done, and likely to be signed any day. But at the time I was also told there were just some other issues surrounding the debt financing that had to be wrapped up (probably because the world has been in a financial crisis). Suddenly, the Wall Street Journal comes out with a story just now saying the deal is "done". I presume what the paper means is that it was signed today. My own sources tell me that DreamWorks informed its owner Paramount within the last 24 hours that it has executed its deal with Reliance. But today Paramount waived certain provisions from the original deal to clear the way for the DreamWorks principals and their employees to join their new company "without delay".The DreamWorks principals will have one of India's largest entertainment conglomerates set up its new $1.2 billion film company. Mumbai-based Reliance ADA Group will invest $500 million equity and provide another $700 million in debt through J.P. Morgan Chase toward the new venture, which will produce a slate of about 6 films a year. The deal now means that David Geffen has engineered his most fervent wish: to give Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks chief exec Stacey Snider enough film financing to produce independently so they can leave an ugly relationship with Paramount behind them.
Next comes a distribution deal, which is why GE's Jeffrey Immelt and Universal's Ron Meyer were dining with Spielberg and Snider last Thursday and why NBC Universal boss Jeff Zucker spent the better part of that afternoon with Steven planning out the rebuild of the fire-ravaged Uni backlot. Given how Spielberg sees Universal as his professional home (he never moved his offices even after Paramount bought DreamWorks), I've always assumed he'd land there. Now, with Immelt and Zucker paying homage, it looks like another done deal no matter how much Geffen would dearly love to play one studio off of the other and mastermind a bidding war for Spielberg/Snider. And David himself? He keeps telling everyone that all he wants is to say goodbye to the movie biz.