Amblin Partners, Universal Enter New First-Look Deal; Steven Spielberg’s Company Will No Longer Independently Finance Movies
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Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners and Universal Pictures have changed the terms of their partnership as part of a new multi-year deal. Under the new pact, Amblin will no longer fully finance its own films, as it has in the past. Instead, Universal will provide backing for any Amblin movie it opts to produce.
There will be a handful of job cuts through a mix of layoffs and some contracts not being renewed associated with the transition.
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The new relationship seems to be an acknowledgment of the challenges of finding financial partners for movies aimed at adults or that don’t fit into pre-existing franchises — in short, the kind of movies that Amblin, which produced the likes of “Green Book,” “The Post” and “First Man,” tends to make. Compounding issues, some of Amblin’s more recent releases such as “Easter Sunday” with Jo Koy and Spielberg’s autobiographical “The Fabelmans” stumbled at the box office.
Amblin said the new deal gives the company more “creative and financial flexibility.” The company is not being acquired by Universal (something that had been rumored), but will continue to operate independently.
“Universal is my ancestral studio home, and this next chapter in our longstanding partnership will provide Amblin with the creative flexibility and autonomy that I know will allow us to succeed together in the future,” said Spielberg. “I’m eternally grateful to our entire team at Amblin for their work and dedication over the years, and also thankful to Donna [Langley] and everyone at Universal for their commitment and partnership, as we all look forward to our next adventure together.”
Spielberg will continue to be able to make movies for other studios as part of the pact, something he’s done in the past at Warner Bros. (“Ready Player One”) and Disney (“West Side Story,” “Bridge of Spies”).
“We’re excited to evolve our partnership with Steven and cement our creative legacy together that has resulted in so many iconic Universal films over the last half-century,” said Donna Langley, chairman and chief content officer of NBCUniversal Studio Group. “Steven and the team at Amblin have been outstanding partners, and we look forward to this next chapter.”
Amblin will also continue its film partnership with Netflix, as well as its television production business, which currently has more than a dozen shows on TV and on streaming platforms.
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