Date: 2nd January 2001

Producer Accuses Spielberg Of Killing His Film


Jerome O'Connor, a producer of Barry Levinson's Irish comedy An Everlasting Piece, is accusing DreamWorks and Steven Spielberg of trying to bury the film in an effort to kowtow to the British government. The film, about two hair piece salesmen, has been described as a parable reflecting on the troubles in Northern Ireland.

"They're doing everything possible to make sure it doesn't work. Three weeks before it was meant to open, Spielberg's partner, Jeffrey Katzenberg, told Barry Levinson to cut the politics or he'd bleep us," O'Connor told today's (Tuesday) New York Post. O'Connor accuses Spielberg of pulling DreamWorks' support of the movie in order to court favor with the British government. However, a DreamWorks spokesperson told the Post that the studio has not heard from O'Connor, adding"Everyone involved with this movie has been aware from the start that it was always on a limited-release pattern."

Source: Studio Briefing