Report: Steven Spielberg And Sumner Redstone’s Love Might Be Fading

Perhaps the only Hollywood marriage more troubled than that of the Writers Guild and the studios is the turbulent union between the DreamWorks team and the well-monied Paramount lovers into whose welcoming embrace Steven Spielberg and David Geffen happily threw themselves two Christmases ago. Though Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman’s public celebration of Spielberg as “the greatest filmmaker – nay, the greatest human being – of all time” seemed like it might be an attempt to save their ill-fated partnership, Radar passes along the latest “Steven is so out of there” chatter:

“He’s gone, and he’s not going to be missed,” one knowledgeable insider tells Radar. Word is, Viacom chief Sumner Redstone – who made headlines in 2006 for canning Tom Cruise after his off-screen antics became a liability – has struck again.

So, is the ornery octogenarian billionaire, who also controls CBS, Paramount Pictures, and MTV Networks, trying to prove that he’s still the big swinging dick of the entertainment business? Looks that way.

Whether or not this account of is an accurate representation of where the Spielberg/Viacom marriage is headed, we’re genuinely disturbed by the idea of a dick-measuring contest between the Hollywood deity and his immortal nemesis. Should Spielberg and Redstone ever meet to finally settle the matter of who’s packing more influential inches, the confrontation could stretch on for hours, with teams of assistants furiously unspooling yards and yards of their bosses’ members, which have been imposingly lengthened by billions of dollars in box-office grosses and hundreds of years toiling in show business, respectively.

• Spielberg Out at DreamWorks? [Radar]