Within this work, I worked with my friend Hannah. Doing research on DreamWorks.
HISTORY
DreamWorks Studios was originally founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg, and David Geffen. Their first film feature was “Peacemaker” an action thriller released in September 1997. After this Steven Spielberg released his first film for his studio “Amistad" which earned him four Academy Awards and his eighth Directors Guild of America (DGA) nomination.
In 1998, DreamWorks released the critically acclaimed World War II drama, “Saving Private Ryan,” as well as its first two animated features, “Antz” and “The Prince of Egypt.”
“Saving Private Ryan” which was a co-production with Paramount, was the biggest movie release of the year and was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and out of them won five, including Best Director for Steven Spielberg.
The studios have made a lot of big movies over the years - Academy Award winning American Beauty in 1999, In 2000 Gladiator (which won them a Best Picture Oscar), Almost Famous, The Contender, Castawayand Meet the Parents. These films in 2000 by DreamWorks made $2 Billion worldwide at the box office.
In 2001, DreamWorks and Universal Pictures produced the Academy-Award winning film; A Beautiful Mind. In that same year, Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks partnered to executive produce the landmark HBO miniseries, “Band of Brothers.” Other film releases for 2001 included A.I: Artificial Intelligence and everybody’s favourite ogre Sherk and that film won them their first ever Best Animated Feature Film Oscar.
It wasn’t until 2004 after a lot of good movies did the Studios build a spin-off company – DreamWorks Animation which solely produces animated feature films and television programs. One of the founders Jeffrey Katzenberg became its CEO – the head of the company.
Now that Jeffrey Katzenberg oversees the animation movies the other two founders Steven Spielberg and David Geffen focuses on live-action movies. In January 2006, the company was sold to Paramount Pictures. The movies that they produced and developed together earned them eight Oscar nominations including a win for Dreamgirls (Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Hudson)
A few months after Paramount Picture bought DreamWorks, Stacey Snider joined the team with Steven Spielberg and David Geffen. Stacey Snider had been Chairman of Universal Studios so it wasn’t surprising that after her arrival as CEO and Co-Chairman made notable run for the new company. The first four movies after Stacey Snider’s arrival – Norbit, Blades of Glory, Disturbia and Transformers all went to Number 1 at the Box Office and each earned $100 million worldwide. Transformers alone made $700 million worldwide.It wasn’t until the end of 2008 that David Geffen left the company, while Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider charted a path for their new partnership. With David Geffen’s assistance, they found a financial partner in Anil Ambani, chairman of The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. After a year of deal making, DreamWorks secured $325 million from Reliance, which was matched by a consortium of investment banks.
In 2009 after the studio is secured with more money to make movies, they and Walt Disney made a deal, they will handle distribution and marketing for six live action DreamWorks films a year and with that they began the process of ramping up their slate. Movies since then with Paramount Pictures, Spyglass Entertainment and Walt Disney were Dinner for Schmucks, Real Steel, Cowboys and Aliens, The Help and War Horse.
DreamWorks Studios is currently making these movies – People Like Us and Lincoln. There is also the remake French/Canadian movie Starbuck currently in the pre-production stage with Vince Vaughn as its star.
HOW IS IT FUNDED?
DreamWorks Studios is a motion picture company formed by partners Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider and The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. The studio currently has a worldwide distribution deal with The Walt Disney Studios, who will market and distribute their films. In the past though they have partnered with a lot of famous film companies – Universal Studios, 20th Fox, Paramount Pictures, Sony, Touchstones and so on – the list could go on forever. Partnerships like these are the best to combine forces and together make a lot of money to make more movies.
I say that the amount money they get the most is from The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group as they helped DreamWorks in 2009 and 2011 for money problems.
With Walt Disney they made a distribution deal saying that with DreamWorks they will market their films 6 times a year and since Walt Disney has been famous since the 1920, there is a lot of money behind them to help DreamWorks out. It also helps when Walt Disney needed to replaced the deal with Universal Studios that fell apart in a few weeks when the deal was made. This was due to DreamWorks when they asked for help from The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group for money to financing their movies.
They also partnered up with Fox in the upcoming movie Lincoln which is based on Abraham Lincoln’s life and with Touchstones they have made a 30 distribution deal with DreamWorks.
THE DELEVOPMENT IN TECHNOLOGY
In 2007 both DreamWorks/Paramount and DreamWorks Animation support HD DVD Movies on a worldwide basis, for at least 18 months. Movies like Transformers and Shrek The Third were HD movies only. They then went to Blu-Ray as the sales went sky high.
When it comes to 3D format there are a few movies in 3D (Sweeney Todd, Cowboys and Aliens) so far there isn’t any word that more movies are going to be made in 3d as Cowboys and Aliens is the last film that was released in 2011 however it was released on Blu-Ray and HD when it was came out on DVD.
Most of the 3D movies however are released from DreamWorks Animation and even the CEO is having doubts about the whole 3D thing. He quoted in an interview for The Guardian online "It's really heartbreaking to see what has been the single greatest opportunity that has happened to the film business in over a decade being harmed," Jeffery Katzenberg told the Hollywood Reporter. "The audience has spoken, and they have spoken really loudly.”
IS IT PART OF COMPANIES?
DreamWorks studios are formed by a group of partnerships; Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider and The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. One of the DreamWorks first productions was the long running sitcom “Spin City” in 1994, and then in September 1997 they produced “The Peacemaker” starring George Clooney and Nicole Kidman. Though DreamWorks was originally founded in 1994 by Steven Spielberg, Jeffery Katzenberg and David Geffen, as the years gone by everyone went their separate ways such as Jeffery Katzenberg became the founder of DreamWorks Animation and became CEO of it.
However DreamWorks has produced some well known films such as Saving Private Ryan. Dream Works does a lot of co-produced work with a variety of companies such as Paramount, Universal, and Warner Bro. For Example Saving Private Ryan is co-produced with Paramount Pictures.
IS IT OWN?
It used to be group of partnership, Steven Spielberg, Stacey Snider and The Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group. But in January 2006 DreamWorks Studios was sold to Viacom and Paramount Pictures where they have developed Dreamgirls.
DOES IT OWN OTHER COMPAINES?
It does own other companies, though many people mistake DreamWorks Animation to be part of it but it is not.
References
http://www.dreamworksstudios.com/about/history
http://www.dreamworksstudios.com/about/faq
http://articles.cnn.com/2009-02-09/entertainment/dreamworks.disney_1_dreamworks-with-steven-spielberg-hollywood-studios-walt-disney-studios?_s=PM:SHOWBIZ
http://www.digital-digest.com/news-60630.html
http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2011/jun/10/hollywood-3d-profits-jeffrey-katzenberg
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