Par players keep juggling
Studio builds diverse slate
Brad Grey is working to make a studio that's known for being nimble, talent-friendly and fearless. With the closing of the deal last week, Par refilled its pipeline with a combo of Par, DreamWorks and combined productions, including "Flags of Our Fathers," "Dreamgirls," "Over the Hedge" plus future Steven Spielberg projects.
On the lot, the mood is far from settled, with Par's 2,000 employees jittery amid news of impending layoffs. The Feb. 1 announcement that 120 Par staffers and 120 DreamWorks employees would be pink-slipped added gasoline to the twin fires of resentment and speculation, which had been burning since the deal was first announced.
"It's a big distraction from getting day-to-day operations done," a leading producer admits.
The chatter hasn't stopped agents from taking projects to Par, though. "There are still only six real buyers, and you have to take projects to all of them," one notes.
Rarely have so many scrutinized so much with so little, since none of the new regime's greenlit films has yet to open in theaters. It'll be four more months before the first films bow.
Grey's regime has given greenlights or moved forward on a diverse array of pics including "Babel" with Brad Pitt, Oliver Stone's 9/11 rescue film, the Robert Ripley biopic with Jim Carrey, the David Fincher-helmed "Zodiac," a remake of "When Worlds Collide," the Jack Black "Nacho Libre," "Jackass II" and a pair of Iraq war dramas -- "Stop-Loss" and the Marla Ruzicka biopic, starring Kirsten Dunst.
John Lesher's gotten several projects going at the specialty division, including Sean Penn directing "Into the Wild" and the Coen brothers on "No Country for Old Men."
