A Monster Hit but No Happily Ever Afters

The New York Times > Business > Media & Advertising: "Steven Spielberg, Jeffrey Katzenberg and David Geffen created DreamWorks in 1994, promising an entertainment powerhouse for the 21st century. But a decade on, the television production business has not had a hit in years, the music division was sold off last year, the Internet ambitions popped with the rest of the dot-com bubble and the live-action movie division is significantly smaller than its major competitors.

Which is why many analysts and Hollywood executives say the possibility of DreamWorks Animation, the most marketable part of the company, going public this fall may be the best hope of cashing out for longtime investors like the Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. DreamWorks has created value in all of its movie businesses, building a library full of quality films like "Gladiator," "Saving Private Ryan" and "American Beauty" and employing 1,500 producers, writers, animators and others."