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DreamWorks Pictures

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This article is about the film studio. For the company previously known as DreamWorks Interactive, see EA Los Angeles.
DreamWorks, L.L.C.
Company typeSubsidiary of Paramount Motion Pictures Group (Viacom)
IndustryMotion pictures
FoundedGlendale, California, USA (1994)
Headquarters
Glendale, California
,
USA
Key people
David Geffen, Principal
Jeffrey Katzenberg, Principal
Steven Spielberg, Principal
Productsmotion pictures, television programs
RevenueIncrease$2.8 billion USD (2006)
Number of employees
1,200 (2006)
Websitedreamworks.com

DreamWorks SKG (also known as DreamWorks Pictures) is one of the major American film studios which develops, produces, and distributes films, video games, and television programming. It has produced or distributed more than ten films with box-office grosses totalling more than $100,000,000 and its most successful title is Shrek 2, which DreamWorks merely distributed.

It began as an ambitious attempt by media moguls Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen to create a new Hollywood studio, but in December 2005, the founders agreed to sell the studio to Viacom, the parent company of Paramount Pictures. The sale was completed in February 2006. DreamWorks' animation arm was spun-off in 2004, into DreamWorks Animation SKG, as such it will remain independent of Paramount/Viacom, however its films will be distributed worldwide by Paramount.

Overview

The initials "SKG" stand for the company's co-founders, Spielberg (film director and founder of Amblin Entertainment), Katzenberg (former head of The Walt Disney Company's film studios), and Geffen (founder of Geffen Records).

The company was founded following Katzenberg's forced resignation from The Walt Disney Company in 1994. At the suggestion of Spielberg's friend, the two made an agreement with long-time Katzenberg collaborator Geffen to start their own studio. The studio was officially founded in October of 1994 with financial backing of $33 million from each of the three main partners and $500 million from Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The first feature length DreamWorks film to be released was The Peacemaker, in 1997, although a failed TV pilot called Dear Diary was put into limited theatrical release in 1996. It went on to win an Oscar for Best Short Film.

In 1999, 2000 and 2001, DreamWorks won three consecutive best picture Oscars for American Beauty, Gladiator and A Beautiful Mind (the latter two with Universal).

DreamWorks Records never lived up to expectations, and was sold in October 2003 to Universal Music Group, which operated the label as DreamWorks Nashville. That label was shut down in 2005 when its flagship artist, Toby Keith, departed to form his own label.

File:Dreamworks Animation logo.png
The DreamWorks Animation logo

The studio has had its greatest financial success with movies, specifically animated movies. DreamWorks Animation teamed up with Pacific Data Images (now known as PDI/DreamWorks) in 1996 to create some of the highest grossing animated hits of all time, such as Antz (1998), Shrek (2001), its sequel Shrek 2 (2004), Shark Tale (2004), Madagascar (2005), Over the Hedge (2006), and Flushed Away (2006) (though the latter film was viewed as a commercial disappointment). Based on their success, DreamWorks Animation has spun off as its own publicly traded company. In fact, PDI/DreamWorks has emerged as the main competitor to Pixar in the age of computer-generated animation, and is based in Redwood City, California.

DreamWorks frequently co-financed and co-distributed films with other studios, including Columbia, Fox, Paramount, Universal, and Warner Bros.

With co-financing and co-distribution, one studio will release the film internationally and the other domestically.

Here are some of the products of this deal:

  • Five films with 20th Century Fox: What Lies Beneath, The Legend of Bagger Vance, Cast Away, Minority Report and Road to Perdition were made by DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox and released in 2000 and 2002. For 2000's What Lies Beneath and The Legend of Bagger Vance and 2002's Road to Perdition, DreamWorks released the films in the U.S. and Fox released them internationally. For 2000's Cast Away and 2002's Minority Report, Fox released the films in the U.S. and DreamWorks released them internationally. For the DVD release of Minority Report, Fox and DreamWorks switched regions, with DreamWorks releasing the DVD in the U.S., and Fox releasing it internationally.
  • Ten films with its current sister studio Paramount Pictures: Deep Impact, Saving Private Ryan, Paycheck, The Stepford Wives, Collateral, Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, War of the Worlds and the upcoming Dreamgirls, Transformers and Disturbia were made by DreamWorks and Paramount and released in 1998, and between 2003-2007. For 1998's Deep Impact, 2003's Paycheck, 2004's The Stepford Wives and Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, and 2005's War of the Worlds, Paramount released the films in the U.S. and DreamWorks released them internationally; and for 1998's Saving Private Ryan, 2004's Collateral, 2006's Dreamgirls (set for release in December), and 2007's Transformers (to be released in July 2007) and Disturbia, DreamWorks released the films in the U.S. and Paramount released them internationally. For the DVD release of War of the Worlds, Paramount and DreamWorks switched regions, with DreamWorks releasing the DVD in the U.S., and Paramount releasing it internationally. Killing Pablo is also a Paramount/DreamWorks co-production, but the distribution areas have not been set. More Paramount/DreamWorks co-productions will be expected.
  • Eight films with Universal Studios: Small Soldiers, Gladiator, Meet the Parents, A Beautiful Mind, Seabiscuit, The Cat in the Hat, Meet the Fockers and Munich were made by DreamWorks and Universal and released in 1998 and between 2000-2005. For 1998's Small Soldiers and 2000's Gladiator, DreamWorks released the films in the U.S. and Universal released them internationally. For 2000's Meet the Parents, 2001's A Beautiful Mind, 2003's The Cat in the Hat, 2004's Meet the Fockers and 2005's Munich, Universal released the films in the U.S. and DreamWorks released them internationally. For 2003's Seabiscuit, Universal released the film in the U.S., and international territory was split between DreamWorks and Buena Vista.

The only major studios DreamWorks have not co-released movies with are Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and Walt Disney Pictures. For the latter, this is not surprising, given Disney's hostile relations with DreamWorks co-founder Katzenberg: when Disney’s then-second in command, Frank Wells, died in a helicopter crash, CEO Michael Eisner refused to promote Katzenberg, instead firing him after he pushed the issue. Katzenberg then filed a lawsuit against Disney to recover money he felt he was owed and settled out of court for an estimated $100 - $250 million (the actual amount remains confidential).

In recent years DreamWorks has scaled back. It stopped plans to build a high-tech studio, sold its music division, and only produces one television series, Las Vegas.

In December 2005, Viacom's Paramount Pictures agreed to purchase the live-action studio. The deal is valued at approximately $1.6 billion, an amount that includes about $400 million in debt assumptions. The company completed its acquisition on February 1, 2006. [1].

On March 17, 2006 Paramount agreed to sell the DreamWorks live-action library (through September 17, 2005) to a group lead by George Soros for $900 million. Paramount will retain distribution rights, as well as various auxiliary rights, including music publishing, sequels, and merchandising -- this includes films that had been made by Paramount and DreamWorks, so now Paramount will have worldwide distribution rights to these films. The sale was completed on May 8, 2006. [2]

The theme heard at the beginning of most DreamWorks films was composed by John Williams.

Currently, United International Pictures, a joint venture of Paramount and Universal, has the rights to release DreamWorks' films internationally.

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Unknown date

In production

Announced

TV series

Main article: DreamWorks Television

TV specials

  • The Secret World of "Antz" (1998)
  • When You Believe: Music From "The Prince of Egypt" (1998)
  • The Hatching of "Chicken Run" (2000)
  • Gladiator Games: The Roman Bloodsport (2000)
  • We Stand Alone Together (2001)
  • What Lies Beneath: Constructing the Perfect Thriller (2001)
  • Woody Allen: A Life in Film (2002)

Musical artists

Artists who were signed with DreamWorks Records include:

Sources

External links

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