Hollywood
Two classic martial arts titles to be remade
MUMBAI: Celestial Pictures and The Weinsten Company announced that they will be joining hands to recreate The Avenging Eagle and Come Drink with Me. These movies are owned by the Shaw Brothers Library, the largest Chinese feature film in the world.
Harvey Weinstein and David Thwaites will be the producers while Jon Fusco will be making the screenplay. This will be Celestial Pictures’ first English language adaptation of the martial arts movies from Shaw Brothers’ films.
In The Avenging Eagle, orphans are raised by a cabal master called as King Eagle who grow up to be a part of his gang of thugs called The Thirteen Eagles. But one of them starts to rebel and avenge the King Eagle. The original movie released in Hong Kong in 1978 won many accolades.
A group of thugs kidnap an official in Come Drink With Me, in exchanged for their captured leader. The official’s sister, a martial artist is sent to free him but is hit by a poisonous dart. She is then helped by a beggar, who is a Kung-Fu master in disguise. The original is a 1966 movie from Hong Kong.
The deal for The Avenging Eagle and Come Drink With Me was negotiated by Kristen Tong for Celestial Pictures with David Glasser for TWC.
Hollywood
David Zaslav could net up to $887m as Warner Bros Discovery sells up
Media mogul strikes gold as Paramount Skydance deal triggers massive windfall
NEW YORK: While the average office worker might hope for a nice clock and a round of applause upon leaving, David Zaslav is looking at a slightly more substantial parting gift. The chief executive officer of Warner Bros Discovery is positioned to receive a windfall of up to $887 million following the company’s blockbuster $110 billion sale to Paramount Skydance.
In a twist of corporate fate that feels scripted for the big screen, the deal marks the finale of a high-stakes bidding war. It comes after Netflix, once the frontrunner, decided to exit stage left and abandon its pursuit of the HBO Max parent company.
While most people receive a standard final paycheck, the filing released on Monday suggests Zaslav’s exit package is built a little differently. If the deal closes as expected in the third quarter of 2026, the numbers break down like this:
The cash out: A severance package of $34.2 million, covering his salary and bonuses.
The equity: $115.8 million in vested shares he already owns.
The future fortune: A massive $517.2 million in unvested share awards, essentially “future stock” that turns into real money the moment the ink dries on the merger.
Perhaps the most eye-catching figure is the $335 million earmarked for tax reimbursements. However, this particular pot of gold has an expiration date.
The company noted that these reimbursements are tied to specific tax-code rules that significantly decline as time passes. If the deal hits a snag and drags into 2027, that tax payout drops to zero. With hundreds of millions on the line, the chief executive officer likely has every incentive to ensure the closing process moves at double-speed.
