Studios prepare bids for Spielberg

Hollywood's major studios are preparing to offer Steven Spielberg film deals this summer as his contract with Paramount comes to an end, The Hollywood Reporter says.

The director has the option to terminate his contract at the end of 2008 and can hold discussions with other studios from May 1.

Spielberg moved to Paramount in 2005 after the company paid $1.6 billion for DreamWorks, the studio he owns with David Geffen and Jeffrey Katzenberg.

Their relationship has been rocky, with DreamWorks executives unhappy over available development funds and a lack of accolades for successful projects. However, Spielberg managed to get Paramount to increase the annual DreamWorks production budget by $100 million.

The 61-year-old War of the Worlds helmer was courted by Universal and Warner Bros prior to heading to Paramount and may be keen to see what other studios will offer him in the summer.

Reports say the director may set up his own "DreamWorks II" studio and merge it with DreamWorks Animation, his company that is separate from Paramount.

Of Spielberg's current in development Paramount/DreamWorks projects, Transformers 2 has the highest profile and wouldn't be affected if he departed before its proposed June 26, 2009 release.

Spielberg's next film is Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which Paramount will release on May 22.