Uni's Snider Wooed For D'works Post

Universal Pictures motion picture chairman Stacey Snider has entered into discussions that could lead to her moving to Paramount Pictures, where she would supervise DreamWorks. Paramount parent Viacom Inc. recently purchased the studio for $1.6 billion.

The talks first were reported Friday by the Los Angeles Times.

Although speculation has swirled for several weeks that Snider was considering a post at Paramount, it missed the target. While the most-often-heard theory was that she was being sought to replace Paramount Pictures president Gail Berman, in fact she was being sought to oversee DreamWorks' live-action efforts.

"DreamWorks has to come up with some hit movies to make the deal pay off," said one executive close to the talks about Paramount's rationale behind seeking an executive of Snider's stature.

The rumors of Paramount's interest resulted in unwanted media spotlight for Snider that forced the executive to begin to assess her options. A disciplined, aggressive manager and respected creative executive who has spent 10 years at Universal, she was forced into accelerating an upcoming decision about her future at the studio, where her current contract expires at the end of the year.

The mother of two children, the veteran is making up her mind about what she wants to do with the next stage of her life. Snider's boss, Universal president Ron Meyer, has said he very much wants to keep Snider, but the question is whether NBC Universal and parent company General Electric are willing to pay a premium to persuade her to continue supervising a slate of about 30 pictures a year.

Meyer and Snider were not available for comment Friday. Snider was flying to London, where "Children of Men" and "Flight 93" are in production.

For his part, DreamWorks chairman David Geffen still is smarting from the perceived withdrawal of NBC Universal's deal to purchase DreamWorks. Luring away their prized studio chief would be another coup for him.

The job Geffen is dangling at Snider would have her supervise DreamWorks' production slate of six movies a year, which will be released by Paramount. She would work closely with Steven Spielberg, who is at the top of the Hollywood food chain and has access to the best scripts and talent in town. Snider has worked closely with Spielberg at Universal over the years.

Commented one studio chief of the opportunity, "She's young and ambitious and in a great position."

Snider's attorneys, Skip Brittenham and Sam Fischer, were expected to begin negotiations with Paramount this weekend. Snider presumably would demand a better deal from DreamWorks than the one commanded by married producing partners Walter Parkes and Laurie MacDonald, who, while serving as co-heads of DreamWorks Pictures, earned hefty salaries as well as a sizable cut of the first-dollar gross on movies they produced. They recently forged a new producing deal to deliver several films a year to DreamWorks.

Snider also has been considering running her own production company. She has a built a solid track record over seven years as a studio head, creating the franchises "The Mummy," "The Bourne Identity," "Meet the Parents," "The Fast and the Furious" and "American Pie." But her 2005 slate, which boasted the hit "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" as well as "Jarhead," "The Producers," Spielberg's "Munich" and Peter Jackson's $207 million, three-hour remake of "King Kong," failed to deliver on its boxoffice promise.

Should the current negotiations result in Snider going to Paramount/DreamWorks, Meyer is likely to reach into the deep executive bench he and Snider have developed at Universal. Hollywood insiders are betting that the most likely candidate for Snider's job is her trusted lieutenant of seven years, studio vice chairman Marc Shmuger, who now has global responsibility for marketing, distribution, consumer products and corporate partnerships.

But should Snider decide to leave, Meyer could consider a larger roster of candidates, both within and outside the company.