Monday morning headlines

Paramount vs. DreamWorks: It's been a year since the "Dream team" was purchased by Paramount in a $1.6 billion deal, and the LAT explores the tensions between the two sides. It sounds like the DreamWorks folks just want to be left alone, while the Paramount folks - and we're mostly talking about studio head Brad Grey - want to be ruling their roost. Well, there's actually more to it: DreamWorks honcho David Geffen has made several power plays, such as suggesting to Sumner Redstone (the chairman of Paramount parent Viacom) that Jeffrey Katzenberg take over as Viacom CEO - and that Viacom buy DreamWorks Animation, which Katzenberg runs. There's also the bad blood between Grey and DreamWorks studio head Stacy Snider. From the LAT:

Snider has chafed under Grey's management, culminating in a heated exchange between the executives this month. The day Grey announced that Paramount President Gail Berman was leaving the studio, he issued a press release outlining a restructuring of the operations that tightened his grip over the company's four production units, including DreamWorks. "I have all the heads of these divisions reporting to me creatively. I'm really comfortable with that," Grey was quoted as saying after announcing he was eliminating Berman's position and assuming some of her duties. Snider told associates she was furious that Grey had not given her a heads-up about the news release and had lumped her in with three production chiefs who lacked her seniority and status. Although she contractually reported to Grey, Snider saw herself as his equal and considered her true boss to be Spielberg, according to people close to her.... Snider called Grey that evening to express her anger, said a person with knowledge of the conversation. The discussion became acrimonious and Grey hung up on Snider, the person said. Snider immediately contacted Geffen, who phoned Grey on her behalf.

Countrywide keeps gaining: Shares of the Calabasas-based mortgage lender are up another 6 percent in early trading this morning - presumably on Friday's report about BofA being interested in some sort of relationship. The gain is somewhat surprising because several analysts have been pouring cold water on the prospect of an outright takeover. "We doubt that Bank of America would purchase Countrywide," Prudential Equity Group analyst Michael L. Mayo wrote in a report, noting that BofA has said that it doesn't want to own a mortgage operation. AP

Barbie and Elmo score: Strong holiday sales for those two resulted in Mattel Inc.'s 2.6 percent increase in fourth-quarter profits, which beat analysts expectations. Barbie sales rose for the second straight quarter - another sign that the aging blonde continues to fight off the competition from MGA Entertainment's Bratz dolls. T.M.X. Elmo was perhaps the biggest hit of the holiday season - at least judging by how many retailers ran out of the little runts. Shares of El Segundo-based Mattel are up this morning. Bloomberg

Splitsville for True Religion pair?: NY Post reports that Jeff and Kymberly Lubell, the husband-and-wife team behind L.A.-based True Religion, have moved into separate homes in Malibu. As you might expect, no comment from the company. Beyond the gossip factor, any breakup could have a financial impact because the Lubells are True Religion's largest shareholders, with a 36 percent stake. The company has been frequently mentioned as a takeover candidate, and the stock has fallen almost 20 percent in the past 52 weeks.

Speaking of jeans: It's tough holding onto the patent for a design stitch first used 133 years ago. But Levi Strauss is giving it a try. The SF-based jeans giant claims that many of its high-priced competitors have stolen its signature denim stitches (two intersecting arcs and a cloth label). The NYT reports that Levis has become the most litigious company in the apparel biz.

The lawsuits, which Levi’s says it is compelled to file to safeguard the defining features on its jeans, are not about the money — one settled for just $5,000 in damages. Instead, the company says, they are about removing copycats from stores. Nearly all the cases have settled out of court, with Levi’s smaller rivals agreeing to stop making the offending pants and to destroy unsold pairs. But those competitors say the lawsuits are the last resort of a poor loser, a company that has lost billions in sales, laid off thousands of workers and flirted with bankruptcy as the denim industry exploded. “They missed the boat,” said Tonny Sorensen, chief executive of [L.A.-based] Von Dutch Originals, a six-year-old denim and clothing manufacturer sued by Levi’s six months ago for allegedly borrowing the company’s double arcs for a back-pocket design. “Now they want to make a lot of noise and scare people away.”

Deciphering Jack Welch: It ain't easy these days. Take the brief interview he did for NY magazine, in which he's asked why NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker still has a job, given the network's ratings struggles. "'Cause I retired," was Welch's cryptic response. He did say that NBC has got "a little turnaround going on now," thanks to "Heroes" and "Sunday Night Football." Jeff Immelt, chairman of NBC parent GE, is said to like Zucker, who is still expected to succeed NBC Chairman Bob Wright. And Welch? Well, he's been a little flaky every since marrying Suzy Wetlaufer.

Vistavision: Microsoft's new Vista operating system, which hits store shelves tomorrow, gets lots of coverage - even though not many of us will be willing or able to install the package on our current PCs as an upgrade. Actually, it sounds pretty nifty, especially the voice recognition and security features. SF Chronicle

Toyota's Long Beach roots: Surprised? The automaker's first North American manufacturing plant opened 35 years ago on 28 acres just south of the Artesia Freeway. The TABC plant, which these days manufactures the HINO truck, is Socal's last auto assembly line and the Press-Telegram takes a look at the operation (TABS stands for the long-abandoned acronym Toyota auto Body California).