Marty's Mountain of a Deal

It's almost like he's been made.

Hot off the box-office success of his latest flick, The Departed, Martin Scorsese has sealed a four-year, first-look pact with Paramount Pictures and Paramount Vantage to direct and produce various film and television projects.

The agreement is the helmer's first with a major studio in many years and will also see him develop and produce made-for-DVD features as well as oversee digital content through his Cappa production banner.

"I have had a great personal relationship with Brad Grey for several years now and am looking forward to working with him at Paramount, a studio rich in cinematic history and responsible for making some of my favorite films—Sunset Boulevard, Shane and The Heiress, among others," Scorsese said in a statement.

For Paramount, luring Scorsese into the Mountain's fold ensures the studio will be able to attract high-priced talent for several years to come.

The move is a reversal of sorts for Paramount boss Brad Grey, who several months ago decided to sever business ties with Tom Cruise and his producing partner, Paula Wagner, saying the A-lister's deal was too costly.  It's also been part of a growing trend among Tinseltown studios looking to cut pricey talent deals in the wake of several high-profile blockbuster bombs.

"I wanted to create a home here for Marty.  I believe that talent attracts talent, and we're honored to have him here," Grey told Daily Variety. "For the last year and a half, my priority has been to attract the best talent we can, both in front of and behind the camera."

Scorsese's hiring signals that Grey appears to be focusing mostly on big names from the latter category.

Grey recently reached a development deal with Mission: Impossible III director and Lost creator JJ Abrams that will see the up-and-coming filmmaker not only overseeing his own projects but also relaunching Paramount's ailing Star Trek franchise with a new movie set to unspool in 2008.

The studio boss also inked an agreement with Cameron Crowe, the director of Singles, Jerry Maguire and Almost Famous.

Despite Cruise's exit (he has since made a comeback after he and Wagner teamed up with MGM last week to revive its defunct shingle United Artists), Grey still has a go-to mega-star in the form of Brad Pitt.

Before succeeding Sherry Lansing in running Paramount, the Brillstein-Grey CEO served as a partner in Pitt and then-wife Jennifer Aniston's Warner Bros.-based Plan B, which developed and produced The Departed. With Grey's elevation to studio boss, Plan B moved over to Paramount, sans Aniston.

In nabbing Scorsese, Grey is joining forces with a world-class filmmaker at the peak of his career.

The Departed has become Scorsese's biggest hit to date, grossing roughly $150 million worldwide in its fifth week in release. It's looking to be a frontrunner come awards season, largely on the strength of stellar performances from stars Jack Nicholson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon and Mark Wahlberg.

As part of the development pact, Paramount will pay Scorsese $2 million a year to develop various projects.  The studio also retains the right to co-finance and co-distribute all of The Aviator auteur's upcoming films for other studios.

Scorsese, of course, is best known for the cinematic masterpieces Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Raging Bull and Goodfellas.  

Among his other credits are such highly acclaimed films as The King of Comedy, The Color of Money,  The Last Temptation of Christ,  Cape Fear, The Age of Innocence, Casino, Kundun, Gangs of New York and several documentaries including The Last Waltz and No Direction Home: Bob Dylan.

Scorsese's upcoming directing efforts include the drama Silence, about two Jesuit priests in 17th century Imperial Japan; the biopic The Rise of Theodore Roosevelt, with DiCaprio slated to play the former president during his early years; and an untitled Rolling Stones documentary expected to hit theaters next year.