Amidst layoffs, Steven Spielberg’s production company have signed a deal which will secure its financial future.
Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners has struck a fresh multi-year deal with Universal, according to The Hollywood Reporter. What’s more, the agreement will see Universal co-finance Amblin projects, a significant shift from the previous arrangement where the studio only handled distribution.
The deal comes alongside the separate announcement that Amblin Partners is also letting go of around 20 percent of its workforce, meaning around 20 staff from marketing, international and post-production are leaving the company.
The latter news is an indication of the rockier economic climes that the screen industry is facing, and comes in the wake of other companies (such as Disney and Amazon) downsizing their operations. With that in mind, the new deal with Universal which will see the studio co-finance Amblin productions will ease the pressure on Amblin and hopefully allow the production company to take creative risks.
Spielberg has released a statement on the deal, saying “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 … 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.”
The director’s last film was 2022’s The Fabelmans. He hasn’t yet announced what his next project will be but this deal will certainly give Spielberg and his company greater options, both creatively and financially. We’ll let you know when Amblin announce any projects in the future.
Image: BigStock
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