In the Universal City bungalow offices that house Steven Spielberg’s newly formed DreamWorks Studios, the swagger is suddenly being dialed back a notch or two.

When the company reorganized itself as an independent operation a few months ago, Stacey Snider, a co-owner of DreamWorks and its chief executive, envisioned herself presiding over a grand new empire. It was a nice fantasy while it lasted.

“You’re not presiding over anything,” Snider, 47, said that she had quickly realized. “You’re back in the trenches.” After riding two decades of almost nonstop growth from the cable and video revolutions, a new generation of Hollywood power players is finally being forced to test its mettle.

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