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Hillary Clinton to attend fundraiser hosted by Jeffrey Katzenberg

President Obama tours DreamWorks Animation with Chief Executive Jeffrey Katzenberg, one of his biggest campaign contributors and fundraisers.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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While he negotiates the possible sale of his studio, Jeffrey Katzenberg isn’t retreating from his role as Hollywood’s chief fundraiser for Democratic Party.

Katzenberg, chief executive of DreamWorks Animation, will co-host a fundraiser for Senate Democrats on Oct. 20 in Hollywood.

The star attraction will be former First Lady and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, a presumed presidential candidate for 2016, according to people familiar with the event.

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No location has been set for the fundraiser, co-hosted by Casey Wasserman, which was first reported by Politico.

Katzenberg is one of President Obama’s biggest contributors and fundraisers.

In May 2012, he hosted a fundraiser at actor George Clooney’s house that raised nearly $15 million for Obama’s reelection campaign.

Last year, Obama returned the favor by paying a visit to DreamWorks Animation during a West Coast fundraising trip.

The fundraiser comes as many in Hollywood speculate on Katzenberg’s next move.

The mogul has been shopping the studio he ran for nearly two decades. Last week, DreamWorks Animation was in talks to sell the studio to Japanese telecommunications giant SoftBank for $3.4 billion.

This week, however, the talks stalled after Katzenberg made an unsuccessful effort to interest Rupert Murdoch’s 21st Century Fox in buying the company, two people familiar with the matter said.

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Fox already distributes DreamWorks films and has its own animation division, Blue Sky Studios, creator of the “Rio” and “Ice Age” films.

Meanwhile, SoftBank announced a deal to invest $250 million in Legendary Entertainment.

Twitter: @rverrier

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