The Energon Pub

In what seems to be an ongoing breakdown of relations between movie producing companies Universal Studios and Dreamworks SKG, talks have ended regarding the distribution rights for Dreamworks films by Universal.

Seibertron.com previously reported on the distribution agreements with both Universal and Reliance films looking to retain Dreamworks here.. But as this most recent report shows, the original deal thought to be made between Universal Studios and Dreamworks was never finalized and Reliance films apparently did not have the financial backing sought by Dreamworks owner, Steven Speilberg.

In a recent article posted at Reuters.com it is reported that Universal had "broken off" weeks of distribution discussion when Spielberg's company "demanded material changes to previously agreed upon terms."

Dreamworks is reported to be in talks with Walt Disney Studios in search of a distribution deal, according to a insider.

What this could mean for future film releases such as the Transformers sequels remains to be seen. Walt Disney Studios has featured much success in the movie distribution field showing its ability with multiple cartoon feature releases such as Aladdin and Atlantis: The Lost City.

To read the source article on this, just click here.

Out of all the films Disney has distributed, you chose "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" as a success story?

Huh?

Thanos wrote:Out of all the films Disney has distributed, you chose "Atlantis: The Lost Empire" as a success story?

Huh?

Sorry, I know you would have preferred Cinderella, but that wasn't actually distributed by Disney.

Oh I hope they don't go with Disney. They own Saban, and look what happened with R.I.D., they still refuse to let Hasbro release it on boxset in the states . Don't know where else they could go, but anywhere but Disney.

The biggest questions to be asked are 1)Does this mean that contracts entered into before the talks of splitting are now disolved? and 2)Was Transformers established as a one-at-a-time negotiable deal or was the distrubition deal done as a trilogy package?
If #1 is no longer valid then #2 doesn't matter but if it still pertains than how was the deal set up from the beginning, 1-shot or is Universal holding the whole enchilada.
The only reason I bring up either points or question the whole procees involved (which I genuinely know very little if anything about) is that at the start of it all, Spileberg did not seem to come across as very concerned. With Transformers being such a major holding I would imagine there would be a measurable amount of concern unless some contigency plan was already in place. With that big of a property on the line if there was any risk at all that talks would fail, Spielberg should have pulled the plug on the whole project immediately until such time as the issue could be straightened out. You cant screw up a distribution deadline if it no longer exsists and I fear that is exactly what will happen with TF3. If this all goes south we may not see a 3rd one for another 5 years if at all or we will see one on time that is a complete piece of crap with the wrong crew behind the wheel just to fulfill contractual obligations and distribution timetables.
If TFA gets scrapped and TFTM-3 gets waylayed, the boys at IDW get to be crowned the new TF Kings of the Hill and comics will once again reign supreme. So, which TF medium doesn't deserve it's new figure now, hmmm?

D-340 wrote:Oh I hope they don't go with Disney. They own Saban, and look what happened with R.I.D., they still refuse to let Hasbro release it on boxset in the states .

Trust me RID sucks and should never be released again.

D-340 wrote:Oh I hope they don't go with Disney. They own Saban, and look what happened with R.I.D., they still refuse to let Hasbro release it on boxset in the states . Don't know where else they could go, but anywhere but Disney.

Disney can't stop Hasbro do anything when it comes to Transformers. Hasbro owns the intellectual property on EVERYTHING Transformers copywritten since 1974. Hasbro isn't a distributor or a (multi) media company. So media rights are given with permission from Hasbro to third parties. In the case of Robots In Disguise, Disney was able to acquire the media rights to RID and have sole rights to them with permission from Hasbro. So unless Disney decides to release them themselves or a company is willing to buy them from Disney (which is as likely to happen as Michael Bay directing My Little Pony: the live action movie) or Hasbro appeals to reclaim the rights (what happened with Rhino who were forced to relinquish their media rights to Sony), a USA release isn't in the stars any time soon.

T-Macksimus wrote:The biggest questions to be asked are 1)Does this mean that contracts entered into before the talks of splitting are now disolved? and 2)Was Transformers established as a one-at-a-time negotiable deal or was the distrubition deal done as a trilogy package?
If #1 is no longer valid then #2 doesn't matter but if it still pertains than how was the deal set up from the beginning, 1-shot or is Universal holding the whole enchilada.
The only reason I bring up either points or question the whole procees involved (which I genuinely know very little if anything about) is that at the start of it all, Spileberg did not seem to come across as very concerned. With Transformers being such a major holding I would imagine there would be a measurable amount of concern unless some contigency plan was already in place. With that big of a property on the line if there was any risk at all that talks would fail, Spielberg should have pulled the plug on the whole project immediately until such time as the issue could be straightened out. You cant screw up a distribution deadline if it no longer exsists and I fear that is exactly what will happen with TF3. If this all goes south we may not see a 3rd one for another 5 years if at all or we will see one on time that is a complete piece of crap with the wrong crew behind the wheel just to fulfill contractual obligations and distribution timetables.
If TFA gets scrapped and TFTM-3 gets waylayed, the boys at IDW get to be crowned the new TF Kings of the Hill and comics will once again reign supreme. So, which TF medium doesn't deserve it's new figure now, hmmm?

This story is a follow up to earlier reports about the co-operation between Dreamworks and Reliance films. Steven Spielberg is trying to re-establish Dreamworks as a self sufficient company again and not as part of Universal. Dreamworks have already split from Universal last year, but are still working together on projects that were started before 2009. These talks were for for future projects. Although Dreamworks would be a company on their own to produce movies, they were still in talks to continue working together with Universal to distribute their movies.

However the crash of the market put a strain on their plans. Dreamworks and Reliance had hoped to have companies back them to come up with a 5 year 1.5 billion dollar (if my memory serves me correctly) deal to produce movies, after which Dreamworks hoped to be on their own two feet again. However, financial backers from both parties did not lay down a high enough collective financial security that Spielberg hoped for and are now forces to seek other means to get Dreamworks back on top. Because of this, Dreamworks probably decided to change the deal they had with Universal before they parted ways to try and make the ends meet.

Dreamworks will need several big blockbuster movies to achieve their goals for the next 5 to 7 years. What that means for the Transformers movies is that a third installment of Transformers is almost guaranteed since the brand is a proven success. But it could also mean that budgets may be cut for later movies, including the Transformers sequels.

So 1) These talks were for future dealings. It will not effect Transformers: RotF, but could mean TF3 will have other companies distribute the movies in the future.

And 2) When it comes to movie deals, Spielberg prob. isn't worried no. But it does put a question mark on how they will proceed in the future as the concern is not about a single movie franchise but the entire company, which a single blockbuster like the Transformers movie could never carry them alone. It does mean that the chances that there will be a third and maybe even a fourth Transformers has increased, as that is the type of production that they need to keep afloat. But as a consumer and movie goer you will probably notice very little of this when the next Transformers Movie rolls around.

This was the suspicion that I had all along but lacking all of the necessary information at the time of making my post I was not going to push any of my comments past the stage of pure conjecture. This at least confirms that my ability to draw logical conclusions based on careful observation has not dulled any. Well, except for maybe the production of a "Wheelie" figure. THAT one slipped right past my radar whereas the intricies of this business deal were much easier to pick up. Go figure!