Trouble reportedly in air at DreamWorks

LOS ANGELES, July 23 (UPI) -- Signs are emerging that Paramount's sweet acquisition of DreamWorks has soured, so much so that Hollywood giants Steven Spielberg and David Geffen could walk.

If a split occurs, Geffen and Spielberg could keep the DreamWorks name but lose ownership of their negatives, development deals and nearly all their staff, Variety reported Monday.

Acknowledging Geffen and Spielberg receive no salaries and have non-exclusive deals, one Paramount executive disputed their contractual ability to walk away from their studio relationship.

Geffen, a DreamWorks co-founder, said in an interview with Variety he and Spielberg "are very happy with the performance of Paramount's marketing and distribution teams in handling our films," such as DreamWorks-Paramount releases "Transformers" and "Disturbia."

Sumner Redstone, chairman of Viacom, Paramount's and DreamWorks' parent company, is emerging as a lightning rod in the relationship between the two studios, sources within DreamWorks told Variety. Redstone said his relations with Spielberg are friendly, but sources said both the filmmaker and Geffen have said they believe the Viacom chairman has cold-shouldered them, which contributes to perceived snubs and credit-grabbing.