Will Disney buy DWA? No! Universal did!

[Randall]

I suspect the latter.

[ShyViolet]

[ShyViolet]

Hmmm...interesting!

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/w ... rks-826201

[EricJ]

But for Spielberg, giving up the DreamWorks name would be a tacit admission that the full-fledged studio he founded in 1994 with Katzenberg and David Geffen to great fanfare never lived up to its potential.

...NO KIDDING!!

(And yes, that's referring to the live-action studio that Spielberg is rarely using anyway, except as a moniker tag on his own productions. If nothing else, finally dropping the SKG name would get rid of all those idiots still blaming Spielberg for the Transformers sequels.)

[Dacey]

You mean the ones he's an executive producer on?

[Randall]

It's all kinda interesting, and all pretty much a non-issue. Spielberg'as name carries more weight than any production company. Given that DWA has been its own thing for a while now, and DW has been a practical non-entity for just as long (at best being a co-producer with other companies), I'd rather see Steve go back to just using Amblin, which has a storied history. If DW didn't live up to its potential, so be it. It still had a good run, and did well enough for itself. The company was gutted when it lost is animation division. Might as well call it a day. Having two companies with the same name is just weird.

[ShyViolet]

Really glad DWA shares went up! Maybe things aren't so hopeless after all. And hopefully I'm wrong about KFP 3 and the film will be a major hit that will surprise everyone!

[ShyViolet]

A somewhat sanguine view from TAG:

http://animationguildblog.blogspot.com/ ... d.html?m=1

[Dacey]

So DW owns Frosty the Snowman? How did I miss that happening?

He's now officially part of the "DreamWorks Holidays" page on Facebook, along with Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

[EricJ]

So DW owns Frosty the Snowman? How did I miss that happening?

He's now officially part of the "DreamWorks Holidays" page on Facebook, along with Santa Claus is Coming to Town.

Both from the "Classic Four" Rankin-Bass holiday specials (along with Rudy, Yukon Cornelius and Aaron, and not counting both Easter Bunnies), whose rights were owned by Classic Media, and now by way of Dreamworks, which, as Ben will point out, doesn't do anything with them.

While Warner got the remaining obscure half of R-B's catalog (including the Thundercats series), and is now stuck pimping the Miser Brothers crap out of "Year Without A Santa Claus", since it's the next highest-ranking holiday R-B'er that DW/CM doesn't own.

[Ben]

Yep, DWA own all these now and previously put them out in a nice BD set, just reissued with extras specials this September: http://www.amazon.com/Original-Christma ... B00XZF39Z0

[ShyViolet]

With the release of Kung Fu Panda 3 in January some financial analysts have a more positive view of DreamWorks' future:

http://www.thestreet.com/story/13381293 ... weeds.html

[EricJ]

Yep, DWA own all these now and previously put them out in a nice BD set, just reissued with extras specials this September: http://www.amazon.com/Original-Christma ... B00XZF39Z0

Although it's not likely that DWA will do anything with CM's annual reissue of Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol, even though they now own that through CM as well.

[Ben]

It's on that set I linked to.

[ShyViolet]

So happy to hear about the positive vibes surrounding KFP 3! I really hope this will be a turning point for the company.