Thursday, July 03, 2008

Reliance-Spielberg discussions "going well"

I have just returned to Mumbai - which is looking particularly lush and green after several weeks of rain - now that I have secured a permanent work visa. Lots of things have been going on while I attended SAWA and Cinema Expo, but over in the States the discussions to enable Spielberg to set up DreamWorks as a stand-alone studio with Reliance ADAG's support are apparently going well. From THR.com, which leads both the international and domestic daily with the news:
Representatives of Steven Spielberg and the Indian conglomerate Reliance continue to talk daily about terms of a $1.5 billion proposal to fund a privately owned DreamWorks that would produce more than 30 films over the next five years.

Reliance executives are expected to hold sit-down talks with Spielberg reps soon in New York or Los Angeles, though things are going so well they might hold off flying in until a meeting to close the deal later this summer. The business plan being discussed would see Spielberg and top DreamWorks execs create a new company financed with about $550 million in equity funding by Reliance, a senior debt facility and possible additional equity from whichever studio is chosen as a theatrical distributor.

"Things are going well, and God willing we'll get there," said Schuyler Moore, a Strook & Strook & Lavan attorney representing Reliance in the DreamWorks talks.
God willing, indeed. Who knows, perhaps Mr Spielberg will even be persuaded to come out to India at some point, though as you can see from the article above the deal would be signed in Hollywood.

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