SoftBank considers stake in Legendary Pictures: report

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp <9984.T> has been in talks to take a minority stake in privately held movie studio Legendary Pictures, entertainment trade publication The Hollywood Reporter reported on Tuesday. The talks between SoftBank and Burbank, California-based Legendary, home of hits like "Man of Steel" and the 2014 remake of "Godzilla", have been going on for weeks, according to the publication. The talks have been on a separate track from SoftBank's negotiations with DreamWorks Animation , The Hollywood Reporter said. The Hollywood Reporter was first to report that SoftBank had been in talks with DreamWorks over a possible acquisition. A SoftBank source and banking sources in Japan subsequently said those talks had cooled even before media reports about them emerged over the weekend. SoftBank declined to comment. Legendary was founded in 2000 by chief executive Thomas Tull, who raised funding from private equity investors. A representative of Legendary could not be reached for comment. (Reporting by Teppei Kasai; Editing by Kenneth Maxwell)