Reliance Big Entertainment, DreamWorks close to finalizing $1.5 billion joint film venture

According to sources close to the development, the world's sixth richest man, Ambani, is keen on partnering with Spielberg, the highest-grossing film director ever, and is ready to finance his movies. Ambani's offer may be the ideal opportunity for the DreamWorks founders to end their bitter 3-year old association with Paramount Pictures, the Hollywood studio owned by Viacom.

Viacom bought DreamWorks in 2006 for $1.6 billion with the aim of using the company as a creative engine to reinvigorate Paramount but angered Spielberg and other DreamWorks founders when Philippe Dauman, Viacom's CEO told investors recently that Spielberg from the company would be "completely immaterial."

Paramount has tasted box office success with offerings such as Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull this year and hopes that J.J. Abrams, who created the "Lost" television series, would become a worthy creative successor to Spielberg.

Steven Spielberg and music mogul David Geffen, co-founders of DreamWorks, and Stacey Snider, CEO, DreamWorks, have also clashed often with Brad Grey, chairman, Paramount, and are expected to leave Paramount later this year when their contracts expire.

According to Reliance sources, Ambani is in talks with Spielberg and the founders of the DreamWorks and is ready to provide $500-600 million that would help Spielberg and Geffen split from Paramount Pictures in a smooth manner and start a new film production company. While Reliance Big Entertainment would hold 50 percent stake in the new company, Spielberg is expected to seek another $500 million in debt financing. The promoters of the new film studio are expected to invest $1.5 billion in the new venture that would produce movies that would be distributed by another Hollywood studio. The contractual arrangements between Spielberg and Viacom allow the former to use the name DreamWorks in case of a split.