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With DreamWorks Animation stock price in the toilet, six shareholder lawsuits pending against the company, and an upcoming "informal inquiry" by the SEC, things have looked better for The House That Shrek Built. The NY Times reports on the plight facing bite-sized CEO Jeffrey Katzenberg, whose relentless enthusiasm for his movies may have harmed his credibility with the money people:

What seems to have worked in Mr. Katzenberg's favor during his 30-year career in Hollywood - being known as a tireless cheerleader for his projects - is being viewed with suspicion on Wall Street. Combine that with a series of communications gaffes the company has made, and DreamWorks is left with a credibility gap that many analysts say may take years to overcome.
"The problem with Jeffrey is he is an enthusiastic promoter for projects and movies he is passionate about," said Chris Dixon, a managing director at the investment firm GGCP Inc. "The market then takes that enthusiasm to mean promotion for the company's stock."

Indeed, investors lost some faith in Katzenberg's CEO skills when he appeared at the premiere of Madagascar in pigtails and a miniskirt barely obscuring the "Buy Dreamworks Animation" embroidery on his boy-shorts, then offhandedly bragged that the movie cost "ten bucks" to produce, but would probably gross "about $650 million, easy" in its opening weekend. Katzenberg didn't help his credibility gap when he suddenly realized that such a statement might trigger a huge windfall for the movie's voice talent, then backtracked by stating, "But we'll probably still lose money on the thing. It's just a labor of love."


(were the miniskirt, pigtails, and pom-poms at the Madagascar premiere over the top?)