Cinematical

As Karina explained a couple of weeks ago, in order to be able to pay the roughly $1.6 billion that Dreamworks cost them, Paramount knew they would have to sell off the rights to their new acquisition's rather substantial film library, a collection that includes such hits as American Beauty and Gladiator. There was talk in December that a deal was near, but no names were known, and that deal either fell through or stalled, because no further information ever appeared. Until now, that is.

According to a new Wall Street Journal report, Paramount is in discussions with a "private-equity fund" headed by billionaire investor/financier/philanthropist George Soros. Though a Paramount spokesperson refused to comment on the story, it's understood that the talks are exclusive, and that a deal needs to be done by the end of the month. No matter who buys the library, Paramount will "continue to garner a fee for distributing the films in the library," so that, in addition to the initial payment for rights, the Dreamworks films will also be a source of long-term income for Paramount.