Company Town : Katzenberg Reportedly Trying to Lure Television Heavyweight : Word Is That ‘Dream Team’ Is After Matt Williams to Join New Company

Now that most of the hyperbole has run its course, Hollywood’s so-called Dream Team seems to be getting down to business. Sources say Jeffrey Katzenberg is putting one of his famous full-court presses on big-time TV producer Matt Williams to join the new company.

Williams developed two of TV’s biggest current hits, “Roseanne” and “Home Improvement,” and is counted among the industry’s savviest creative executives. Sources say Katzenberg wants Williams to help jump-start TV operations at the new company, which is still unnamed.

Katzenberg declined to comment on the report, except to point out that he and his high-profile partners--Steven Spielberg and David Geffen--are in a flurry of business discussions.

A spokesman for Williams’ Wind Dancer Production Group called the speculation premature, adding: “Like a lot of companies, we’re taking a wait-and-see approach to this new venture because there really isn’t enough information available yet to accurately assess the value of that organization, other than the tremendous experience and clout of the three principals.”

One Hollywood theory is that Katzenberg is mainly positioning himself for the time when Williams and other desirable executives become available. While most of the media attention has focused on the Dream Team’s film and music plans, Katzenberg is equally committed to TV. Sources say the company has quietly hired entertainment attorney Skip Brittenham of Ziffren, Brittenham & Branca to help develop a strategy for exploiting opportunities on the tube.

Rumors involving Williams are also being fueled by news that he recently parted ways with his longtime attorney, Ernest Del of Del, Rubel in favor of power lawyer Barry Hirsch. A company spokesman, however, said the change is mainly tied to other business matters.

Williams and his partners, Carmen Finestra and David McFadzean, have a year to go on an exclusive production deal with ABC and on a separate distribution deal with Walt Disney Studios.

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Wind Dancer is also based on the Disney lot in Burbank. Disney, which is known to be extraordinarily sensitive to the issue of former studio chief Katzenberg raiding talent, declined to comment on the Williams rumor. Sources, however, agreed that Williams would be an obvious choice to eventually join the Katzenberg-Spielberg-Geffen company.

He and Katzenberg had a close working relationship at Disney, and Williams has been on Katzenberg’s famous whitewater rafting-bonding expedition for Hollywood executives. Both men also have close ties to ABC, where Katzenberg is said to be targeting TV proposals.

Williams has profited handsomely from the TV business, having been guaranteed $10 million from a three-year 1989 deal with Disney alone. Williams’ other current show, “Thunder Alley,” is expected back on ABC this spring. He is also developing a spinoff of “Home Improvement,” the top-rated prime-time program.

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In other Katzenberg news, Hollywood faxes were burning up Monday with a parody update of the ex-studio chief’s legendary memo on the state of the film industry. Under the heading of “Business Plan for My Company,” the Katzenberg impersonator heralds the need to wring every dollar out of employees and creative talent to ensure the success of the Dream Team.

The memo goes on to state that “unlike other flash-in-the-pan executives, my power does not stem from my office, it comes from me. No matter where I sit, I radiate that power.”

The faux Katzenberg also denies the rap that he doesn’t share credit with others.

“When the live action divisions at Disney went into their downward tumble, I was quick to share the credit with my chief lieutenants,” he says.

Good taste and common sense argue against quoting any further from the “memo,” which skewers Katzenberg in a fairly vicious way.

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Disney, meanwhile, is poised to announce record profits for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, despite all the tragedy and turmoil that has engulfed the entertainment company over the last year. Sources say Disney will report nearly $2 billion in operating income.

The news, which will come as no surprise to Wall Street, still runs counter to recent publicity surrounding the company’s many crises--including President Frank Wells’ death, Chairman Michael D. Eisner’s subsequent emergency quadruple bypass surgery, Katzenberg’s volatile exit and Disney’s failed plans to build a historic theme park in Virginia.

Entertainment analysts say the lion’s share of the success, so to speak, is owed to animation. The year’s major events included the theatrical release of “The Lion King” and the video release of “Aladdin.” Animated films also drove Disney’s marketing business. The major sore spot for Disney was the theme park business--which remains soft everywhere.

Jill S. Krutick of Smith Barney in New York and Jeffrey Logsdon of Seidler Cos. in Los Angeles are both projecting that Disney will report operating income of roughly $810 in filmed entertainment, $430 million in consumer products and $695 million for theme parks.

While Logsdon has a “buy” recommendation on Disney stock and Krutick’s recommendation is neutral, some analysts remain troubled by the company’s perceived lack of management depth. “The concerns over management have not entirely dissipated,” Krutick said. “They still have to fill the chief financial officer position, and they have had a fair bit of turmoil. We view the company as one that’s going through a transition.”

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Said another analyst: “If many of the people you relate to in the company are now gone, there’s unease. Are the natives restless? No, because there are no natives left.”

Disney denies there’s an executive void and says things look promising for the coming year as well. “The Lion King” continues its theatrical run and will show up in video. The studio’s next animated feature, “Pocahontas,” comes out this summer. “Home Improvement” is going into the syndication market. “Beauty and the Beast on Broadway” is being prepped for the international market. And Disney has plans for several new theme park attractions, as well as a revised marketing campaign.

Times staff writer Robert W. Welkos contributed to this report.