RTTNews
India's Anil Ambani, Steven Spielberg to set up new studio in Los Angeles 9/21/2008 6:55 AM ET
(RTTNews) - A new studio, aimed at producing films for the global audience, is proposed to be set up in Los Angeles by India's Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group in association with film-maker Steven Spielberg at a cost of $1.5 billion, sources close to the negotiations have revealed on Saturday.
It has been stated that Anil Ambani, the chairman of the ADAG group, and Steven Spielberg, who had won three Academy Awards, have decided to join hands in setting up this mega-deal.
According to reports, the new deal will help Steven Spielberg break-away from DreamWorks, owned by Paramount Pictures of Viacom, and join hands with one of the leading industrial houses in India, which has been making forays in the entertainment industry. Investment banker JP Morgan Chase is also reported to have been involved in the deal, reports reveal.
The new deal also plans to rope in Stacey Snider, the associate of Steven Spielberg and chairperson of the much-acclaimed Universal Studios until 2006, sources reveal.
The successful pair of Steven Spielberg and Stacey Snider, backed by the financial support of the Anil Ambani Group will help the new venture achieve its goal of making films for the global audience.
One of the sources commented, "This strategic pact is being keenly watched as it involves the coming together of an Indian company that has its own grand plans in the media and entertainment space, and one of the most decorated filmmakers in the world."
Reliance ADAG group has been making forays into the entertainment industry in a big way after acquiring Adlabs Films Ltd in 2005. Adlabs Films has interests in film processing, production, exhibition and digital cinema.
In the film festival held at Cannes in May 2008, Reliance Big Entertainment, the entertainment wing of the industrial house, has expressed its intentions to enter into Hollywood and make develop projects involving actors such as Nicolas Cage, Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Tom Hanks.
by RTT Staff Writer
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