You know, in retrospect, late summer 2008, just before the hilarious implosion of the world economy, might not have been the greatest possible time for DreamWorks to split from Paramount and become an independent studio. As the bills arrive from its former parent company for the 17 movies it has in production, and credit becomes increasingly difficult to come by, DreamWorks is being forced to cough up as much as $35 million to keep films like The 39 Clues and The Trial of the Chicago 7 under its own roof. And where will all that money come from? Reliance Entertainment will cover about half, but the rest is coming from Steven Spielberg's own bank account, making this the first time the director's ever written a check for any of his own movies. Does he even know how to fill one of those things out?

Spielberg digs deep for D'Works [Variety]