Company Town : Where Studios Stand After Seagram Deal : Competition: The Hollywood landscape would look quite different from what it was just a year ago.

Seagram Co.’s pending acquisition of MCA Inc., along with the emergence of the newly formed DreamWorks SKG, promises to change the competitive landscape among Hollywood studios. Here’s a look at some of the biggest studio players:

Universal Pictures: Universal is owned by MCA Inc., an 80% stake of which is expected to be sold to Seagram by Japanese conglomerate Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.

Seagram Chief Executive Edgar Bronfman Jr. sees the acquisition of MCA as a way to cash in on the potentially rapid growth in entertainment. But some key players at MCA may not be around much longer. Steven Spielberg, responsible for “Jurassic Park” and some of Universal’s other biggest hits, is going to turn out most of his future magic for DreamWorks. Warner Bros.: Seagram has a 15% stake, valued at about $2 billion, in parent Time Warner. But Seagram may sell it following its acquisition of MCA. This could pose a dilemma for Time Warner Chairman Gerald Levin, who doesn’t want the stake to fall into hostile hands but probably can’t afford to buy it back, given Time Warner’s huge debt load. Time Warner had erected anti-takeover defenses to fend off Seagram.

Warner Bros. is seen as a leading candidate to strike an alliance with DreamWorks.

Sony Pictures Entertainment: Sony Corp. took a $2.7-billion write-off last fall from its soured Hollywood investments. That produced speculation that its studios, Columbia Pictures and TriStar Pictures, might be sold by their Japanese parent. But Sony’s incoming president, Nobuyuki Idei, is a well-known fan of Hollywood and things creative, and he reiterated his company’s intention to stick with its studios.

Paramount Studios: In one of the most heated acquisition contests in history, Viacom last year beat out QVC to buy Paramount Communications for $10 billion. Soon after, Paramount Chairman Martin Davis and President Stanley Jaffe left the company, but Sherry Lansing stayed on as chairman of Paramount Studios.

Walt Disney Studios: A year ago, the studio was headed by Jeffrey Katzenberg and Richard Frank. Now both are gone, as is Frank Wells, president of parent Walt Disney Co., who died in a helicopter crash. Katzenberg departed and helped form DreamWorks after Disney Chairman Michael Eisner refused to promote him to replace Wells. A recent meeting with analysts convinced Wall Street that Disney is safe and sound.

Twentieth Century Fox: Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp. owns the Fox studio, along with the upstart fourth network, Fox Television. Last year, the studio, headed by Peter Chermin and Bill Mechanic, announced plans to get into animation by opening a division in Phoenix.

MGM / UA: Owned by French bank Credit Lyonnais, it is trying to revamp its two studios under the direction of former longtime Paramount Pictures Chairman Frank Mancuso and former top Warner Bros. executive John Calley.

New Players: DreamWorks has already attracted nearly $2 billion in capital. Turner Entertainment owns Turner Pictures and recently purchased Castle Rock and New Line Cinema. PolyGram Pictures has a controlling interest in Interscope Communications, co-owns Gramercy Pictures with Universal Pictures and has other independent labels.