Star has announced that its Star Movies channel has signed an output deal with DreamWorks Distribution to acquire the exclusive pay-television rights for 40 DreamWorks SKG films to be broadcast in India and Pakistan. The agreement extends the nine-picture deal brokered between Star and DreamWorks in June 2000.

Titles to premiere on Star Movies include "The Haunting" starring Liam Neeson, Best Picture Oscar-winner "American Beauty", rib-tickling Star Trek spoof "Galaxy Quest", animation classics "The Road To El Dorado" and "Chicken Run", and Peter Chan's poignant "The Love Letter", an official release states.

Founded by film and music industry giants Steven Spielberg, Jefferey Katzenberg and David Geffen, DreamWorks had a bountiful summer with the box office heat generated by "Shrek", the animated blockbuster featuring the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy and Cameron Diaz, and "A.I. Artificial Intelligence", a Steven Spielberg film.

Jamie Davis, senior VP, programming, Star, said: "Building on the fantastic response the DreamWorks titles have generated for us thus far, we are very excited to add a long line of new DreamWorks titles for the benefit of our South Asian viewers."

Speaking on behalf of DreamWorks Distribution, Hal Richardson, head of Worldwide Television Distribution, expressed enthusiasm for the agreement, stating: "We are very pleased to have concluded this deal, securing a home for our motion picture product in pay television for India and Pakistan. We are especially happy that this arrangement has served to broaden the relationship with our friends at Star."

The DreamWorks agreement further expands a Star Movies library that consists of exclusive contributions from 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney (which includes the output of Touchstone Pictures, Hollywood Pictures and Miramax), MGM/United Artists, Canal+ and over 100 independent distributors and production companies, the release says.