Universal Pulls Out of ‘Tintin’
Universal Logo Nikki Finke writes: I just heard that Universal has declined to exercise an option to co-finance DreamWorks’ Tintin with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson set to begin filming in October. The decision was quietly made a few weeks ago. So now DreamWorks will look only to owner Paramount for the rest of the moolah in the same way the two shared financing on Dreamgirls and Transformers. Unfortunately, Paramount is presently without an overall financing deal to mitigate risk, but is arrang

Paramount Coldy Denies Blank Check to Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson
Photo: Getty ImagesWill the economic apocalypse hurt Hollywood? It's happening already! Steven Spielberg, the popular director behind such blockbusters as Jaws, Schindler's List, and the upcoming Mutt Williams and the Search For Elvis Or Something, has been denied funding by Paramount for his planned two-movie adaptation of The Adventures of Tintin (Peter Jackson was to direct the second one). The original hope, according to Radar, was that Paramount would partner with Universal to share the cost of th

Steven Speilberg/Peter Jackson 'Tintin' Movie Now Looking For More Cash Cash
I just heard that Universal has declined to exercise an option to co-finance DreamWorks' Tintin with Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson set to begin filming in October. The decision was quietly made a few weeks ago. So now DreamWorks will look only to owner Paramount for the rest of the moolah in the same way the two shared financing on Dreamgirls and Tranformers. I say the live action pic sounds like an expensive but safe bet, considering that the beloved Belgian boy is a worldwide phenomenon and two o

Universal Tells Spielberg 'No' on Financing Tintin
Back in August we wrote that there seemed to be some confusion over who would be directing the long-in-the-works Tintin - Steven Spielberg or Peter Jackson. A recent article in the LA Times reinforces what most have thought for a while - that Spielberg would direct the first film of the three films, while Jackson the second - but brings up a much larger concern for the duo and the project. Reportedly, Universal has backed out of co-financing the production with Paramount, rejecting the $130 million budget.

Paramount Rebuffs Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg used to be the most bankable director in Hollywood. But now that that he's locked in combat with Paramount's Brad Grey, he'?s having trouble getting his next big movie made. For more than 25 years, Spielberg has contemplated movie based on Tintin, the classic European comic series about the adventures of a young reporter. Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy have intermittently held the rights to property. Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson is also been a fan of the character.

Universal deems Tintin movie too expensive - report
Universal Pictures has recoiled at the cost of the 3-D animated movie adaptation of the adventures of Tintin by two of Hollywood's top directors, Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday. The two legendary directors submitted to Universal a 130 million dollar budget to produce a trilogy of films based on the beloved Belgian comic-strip boy reporter. But Universal refused to green light the project, and production, scheduled to begin in October, is

Universal Passes On Making Spielberg's and Jackson's Tintin Trilogy
LA Times have an article that states Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s plans for their Tintin trilogy might be in jeopardy, after Universal passed on funding the movies. Some highlights from article below: Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson don't hear "no" very often. But after they submitted a final budget of $130 million for their 3-D animated movie "Tintin," based on the Belgian comic strip, to Universal Pictures, the studio balked. The decision has left the two powerful filmmakers scrambling

Tintin loses studio
Universal studio have declined an option to co-finance Tintin according to reports, leaving the film with DreamWorks and Paramount sitting with the film with Paramount as the sole money provider. It's a strange decision considering how popular Tintin is without a film and that both Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson are making the films. Guaranteed money maker doesn't even begin to describe it. The report came out that Universal withdrew from the film just a little while ag

Steven Spielberg - Spielberg Jackson Cant Get Budget Ok For Tintin
With studios finding it especially difficult during the current financial storm to find funding for their pictures, Universal Pictures has rejected a film submitted to it ...

It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s AIRMAN
Whatever happened to the Rob Zemeckis who made Back to the Future movies, Forrest Gump, and Castaway?? whatever happened to that guy? How come all we have nowadays is the Rob Zemeckis obsessed with making movies with motion/performance capture technology? (The Polar Express, Beowulf, the upcoming A Christmas Carol). You just gotta miss the old Zemeckis. He should make a comeback, really! A couple of years ago, him and Steven Spielberg exec-produced the movie MONSTER HOUSE which became Oscar nominated but i

Steven Spielberg - Spielberg Jackson Cant Get Budget Ok For Tintin
With studios finding it especially difficult during the current financial storm to find funding for their pictures, Universal Pictures has rejected a film submitted to it ...

Steven Spielberg - Spielberg Jackson Cant Get Budget Ok For Tintin
With studios finding it especially difficult during the current financial storm to find funding for their pictures, Universal Pictures has rejected a film submitted to it ...

Anil Ambani group, Spielberg to set up $1.5 billion studio (Second Lead)
New York, Sep 20 (IANS) India’s Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group and celebrated filmmaker Steven Spielberg are setting up a new studio in Los Angeles under a $1.5-billion project that will make films for global audiences, sources familiar with the negotiations said Saturday.The mega deal - which will help Spielberg break away from DreamWorks, now owned by Viacom’s Paramount Pictures - will be funded by a mix of equity and debt, and also involve leading investment banker JP Morgan Chase, the

GE's Immelt Takes Spielberg To Dinner; Zucker & Director Plot Universal Backlot
So one of my fab tipsters was dining at Trattoria Amici in Beverly Hills last night when he spied Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider, Ron Meyer and GE bossman Jeffrey Immelt all sitting at a corner table and having a swell time. OK, I know what you're thinking: where was Jeff Zucker? Elsewhere. But before tongues wag, I'm told by a DreamWorks source that "Jeff [Zucker] had just spent the better part of the afternoon with Steven planning out the [post-fire] rebuild of the backlot with Universal. So Jeff's abse

Disturbia Film Faces Lawsuit - New York Times
E! Online Disturbia Film Faces Lawsuit New York Times - 23 minutes ago A lawsuit claims that Steven Spielberg, DreamWorks and Paramount Pictures copied a short story that was the basis for the Alfred Hitchcock movie “Rear Window” when they made the thriller “Disturbia,” Reuters...Full Article @ google news Comment Share Email Post Your Comment say something interesting

Did Steven Spielberg Rip Off Hitchcock?
A lawsuit filed Monday claims that the 2007 Dreamworks film Disturbia is a rip-off of Hitchcock’s Rear Window - a fact pointed out by pretty much every critic worth their salt when the movie first debuted (yours truly included). According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Sheldon Abend Revocable Trust, which owns the rights to the short story Alfred Hitchcock turned into a big-screen hit in 1953, is suing Dreamworks, claiming that the company did not legally obtain the rights to turn the Cornell Woolric

TOLDJA! Press Suddenly Discovers 'Tintin' Story
I broke this news last Monday. Quick, someone tell the Los Angeles Times and Radar. And Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson have a lot of other places to ask for the money (they've just talked to Walden Media) now that Universal has passed and Paramount is balking. I doubt this is the setback for the directors' careers others think it is.

Economic Downturn Takes Toll on Tintin Men Spielberg, Jackson
Maybe the Fed will step in to help bail out Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson. The Oscar winners are scrambling to find a new backer for their dream franchise Tintin after Universal...

NYT | Paramount Gives DreamWorks Team Early Farewell
"Paramount Pictures executives on Friday publicly congratulated Steven Spielberg, David Geffe and Stacey Snider on having announced the completion of their deal to leave the studio and form a new entertainment company — though no such announcement had yet been made," the New York Times reported.   [permalink]   [ filed under Biz ] September 19, 2008 iW NEWS | Oscilloscope Makes Oct. 31st Date for "Dear Zachary" Documentary cove

DreamWorks Closes Deal With Reliance; Spielberg Having the Best-Worst Day Ever
Photo: Getty ImagesVariety reports that DreamWorks' long-anticipated deal with India-based production company Reliance has, at last, been finalized, liberating the Spielberg shingle from the icy death grip of Paramount, its parent studio since 2006 with which it's always had strained relations. In a hilarious just-released statement, Paramount says it's forgoing its contractual right to retain certain DreamWorks executives in the interest of getting rid of them posthaste: "To facilitate a timely and sm

Spielberg, Paramount Ankle Each Other
So it turns out Steven Spielberg and Paramount don't need each other after all! Variety brings word of a new deal for DreamWorks:DreamWorks has finally closed the deal with India-based Reliance to leave Paramount Pictures and create a stand-alone production company. DreamWorks principals Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Stacey Snider are severing ties with the Melrose studio. Though the deal, valued anywhere between $500 million and $1.2 billion, has been anticipated for some time, what had been unclear

Universal Can’t Make TINTIN
Damn Economy! It’s hurting everybody, including movies, man! It’s not the great depression, but these are tough times to be living in America. It has taken yet another victim, According to Los Angeles Times, Universal backed out of financing Steven Spielberg and Peter Jackson’s proposed trilogy TINTIN and all because the folks at Universal panicked when they saw that the budget to make the whole thing would cost them at least $130 Million. Yikes! Can you blame them?! So the two great dire

Burnett’s Slate Comes Into Focus
“Survivor” creator Mark Burnett, who has already teamed with everyone from Steven Spielberg to Donald Trump, is now in business with Sean “Diddy” Combs. The reality mogul is working with the hip-hop impresario to launch the tentatively titled “Starmaker,” a music competition series for MTV designed to find both a male and a female solo superstar, each of whom will be signed to a deal with Mr. Combs’ Bad Boy label. It’s one of more than a dozen projects—including a reality show about bull

Dreamworks Team and Reliance Finally Complete Deal, at Least According to Paramount
Paramount Pictures executives congratulated Steven Spielberg, David Geffen and Stacey Snider on having announced completion of their deal to leave the studio and form a new entertainment company — though no such announcement had yet been made. The go-round followed a report on The Wall Street Journal’s Web site saying that the three DreamWorks executives had finally finished their long-anticipated deal to start a new company with backing from Reliance Big Entertainment of India. If Paramou