Reliance Big in talks with Spielberg's DreamWorks for JV: FT

London, Jun 18, 2008 (Asia Pulse Data Source via COMTEX) -- VIA.B | Quote | Chart | News | PowerRating -- Anil Ambani Group firm Reliance Big Entertainment is in talks with Steven Spielberg-led DreamWorks Movie Studios to form a joint venture for movies, media reports said here.

According to UK daily Financial Times, DreamWorks and India's Reliance Big Entertainment are in talks to create a new movie joint venture, a deal which would provide the Hollywood director with an important source of funds for his planned move out of Viacom Inc's Paramount Pictures.

However, when contacted by PTI, Reliance Big Entertainment spokesperson in Mumbai declined to comment on the reports.

DreamWorks, which would likely have funds of up to 1.5 billion dollars, including debt and equity, would be part of moves by Spielberg and DreamWorks co-founder David Geffen to exit Viacoms Paramount Pictures as soon as their contracts permit it this year, the report stated.

The FT report quoted a person familiar to the talks saying, "Spielberg, as you know, has announced his intention to separate from Paramount. It [the contact with Reliance] is at a very preliminary stage." A separate report on the online edition of Wall Street Journal stated that Mumbai-based Reliance ADA Group would provide Spielberg and company with 500-600 million dollar in equity, moving them one step closer to ending one of Hollywood's most contentious and closely watched battles.

"In Reliance, the DreamWorks team also would have an unusual and ambitious partner in the film business: an Indian firm with interests in telecommunications, financial services and entertainment that wants to build a media empire by financing Hollywood pictures," the WSJ report stated.

However, the Financial Times said that DreamWorks was unavailable for comment. Viacom had bought DreamWorks in 2005. But after tension developed between DreamWorks and the media group's Paramount unit, Spielbergs team signaled they might depart the group this year, taking the DreamWorks name with them.

DreamWorks had produced some of Paramount's biggest hits, such as Transformers and has operated within Paramount as a quasi-autonomous unit.

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