Steven Spielberg

The USC School of Cinematic Arts celebrated its 80th birthday Sunday with a dedication ceremony of its new $175-million campus home. Oh, and George Lucas and Steven Spielberg were there too. The veteran filmmakers both made brief remarks and were joined by university officials, alumni and hundreds of supporters at the celebration, which also featured a performance by the USC Trojan Marching Band. "We're now officially a legitimate school . . .

Nearly a year after embarking on plans to relaunch DreamWorks as an independent studio, Steven Spielberg finally has the financial means to greenlight his own movies. DreamWorks said Monday that it had finalized the first phase of a long-in-the-works funding deal that paves the way for the production company to be fully operational. The funds, which will enable DreamWorks to make 18 to 20 films over the next three years, include $325 million in bank debt and a matching equity investment from Spielberg's 50% partner, India's Reliance Big Entertainment.

In a move that spares Universal Orlando theme parks from a potential financial jam next year, Steven Spielberg has agreed to delay by seven years his option to demand a payout worth hundreds of millions of dollars under the terms of his long-standing consulting agreement. The amended deal will make it easier for the company to renegotiate a heavy debt load that comes due in April and could ultimately net the director more money than he otherwise would have received. As part of the agreement signed in 1987 with Universal Orlando, a joint venture between General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal and private equity firm Blackstone Group, Spielberg in perpetuity receives 2% of ticket sales and a portion of gross revenue from concession sales at the two Florida theme parks.