English Entertainment
Foreigners’ mantra: Build contacts, create awareness
MUMBAI: Apart from getting ‘gyan’ at the various sessions at Frames 2005, the event also provides an opportunity for overseas firms to build contacts and learn about the Indian market. Companies from Australia, Canada, Wales, Germany and the US have set up stalls at Frames.
There is an Australian Enclave which is an initiative of the South Australia government. Mason Films’ Mason Curtis tells Indiantelevision.com that the aim is to educate the Indian film industry about the facilities that South Australia provides.
“We want to capitalise on the fact that Indian locales and European ones have been exhausted. The response has been mixed. So our aim is to educate them. Frames is a great forum for reaching outgun South Australia we design cash paybacks and rebates for firms whose shooting generates employment,” he said.
Wales is another country that has a stall with the purpose of enticing filmmakers to shoot in the country. A representative of Wales Film says that Frames has helped provide valuable contacts, which can be developed for the future.
The hope is that when a filmmakers’ schedule is free and production will start on a new film, Wales should be a top of the mind recall locale.
Another factor that attracts visitors to Frames is intimacy. That is not the case with, say, MipTV in Cannes where there are 10,000 visitors. So if you get even half an hour with a client you are lucky.
Imax, meanwhile, sees Frames as an opportunity to network and meet clients. Last month the company had announced plans to set up shop in Chennai. So Frames serves as a vehicle to create awareness about the service Imax provides.
Six months ago Vancouver Film School set up a place in Mumbai. The aim is to provide an avenue for media students who are interested in studying abroad. International admissions advisor Dorothy Mathias says that at Frames the response has been fantastic from both students and working professionals who wish to upgrade their skills. In particular, there have been enquiries about the animation and sound designing courses as well as scriptwriting.
Then there are companies who are looking to study the Indian market and learning. This will give them an idea of what Indian firms are looking for as well as what India can provide for the international market.
A case in point is World Wide Entertainment. This is an Australian firm that makes and distributes TV content. It sells around 400 hours of content globally. In India, its clients include India TV, DD and NDTV. It is using Frames to increase the number of Indian clients. According to World Wide Entertainment international business manager Rana Vassi, “At Frames you get to meet key local players that are not listed in guides. We have lined up several meetings.
“We also look at shows in India that might work for clients overseas. We have been talking to Sony about this. India is coming out with lifestyle shows and travel shows. So we want to see if any of these will be of interest to clients abroad. It is a two way process.” He added, “We also represent other producers of TV content. We sell films, documentaries and animation. So, at Frames we learn about what the local Indian players require. We will form alliances with other foreign producers to distribute their content depending on what Indian firms need. The bottomline is that it is always good to interact with players in their backyard.”
Goto Bavaria, a German government organisation, is here to learn about the Indian market. The aim is to identify opportunities for German companies in the Indian market such as in the post-production arena. This is in the short term is the strategy for Goto Bavaria. In the long term, Indian companies like Zee and Star will go global. So, they will do some of their shooting abroad. Then the interactions between Bavaria and the Indian entertainment industry will pay off.
The one firm that showed some disappointment is Filmpur. This is an online destination for Indian filmmakers. It helps producers and directors scout for suitable locations globally as well as to help them secure financing. However, the big guns were in short supply at Frames.
English Entertainment
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount deal
Investors wave through a $111 billion megamerger but deliver a stinging, if toothless, rebuke over half-a-billion-dollar goodbye packages
NEW YORK: The shareholders said yes to the deal. They said no to the cheque. At a virtual special meeting on Thursday that lasted barely ten minutes, Warner Bros. Discovery investors voted overwhelmingly to approve Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of the company — and then turned around and voted against the lavish exit pay packages lined up for chief executive David Zaslav and his fellow outgoing executives.
Not that it will make much difference. The compensation vote is purely advisory and non-binding. The Warner Bros. Discovery board can, and almost certainly will, pay out as planned.
But the symbolism stings. It is the second consecutive year that WBD shareholders have voted against the executive compensation packages, and this time they had good reason. Zaslav’s exit deal is, by any measure, extraordinary. Under the terms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he is set to receive $34.2 million in cash severance, $517.2 million in equity in the combined company, and $44,195 in continued health coverage — a total of at least $550 million. On top of that, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to reimburse Zaslav up to $335 million for taxes assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on his accelerated stock vesting, though the company says that figure will decline depending on when the deal closes. As of March 11, Zaslav also held $115.85 million in vested WBD stock awards — and last month sold a further $114 million worth of WBD shares.
Shareholder advisory firm ISS recommended voting against the compensation measure, citing “problematic” tax reimbursements to Zaslav and the full vesting of his stock awards.
Zaslav will be bound by a two-year non-competition covenant and a two-year non-solicitation of customers and employees after the deal closes.
His lieutenants are not walking away empty-handed either. J.B. Perrette, chief executive and president of global streaming and games, is in line for $142 million, comprising $18.2 million in cash severance and $123.9 million in equity. Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, will receive an estimated $121.5 million, including $18.8 million in severance and $102.7 million in equity. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels is set for $120 million, made up of $6.6 million in cash severance and $113.1 million in equity. Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, will get $82.6 million, including $11.9 million in severance and $70.7 million in equity.
The deal itself, clinched in February after Netflix declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros., still needs regulatory clearance from the Justice Department and European authorities. Several state attorneys general are also weighing legal action to block it.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, was unsparing. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal,” she said after the shareholder vote. “State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
If it does go through, the combined entity would be a formidable beast, bringing together Paramount Skydance’s stable — CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, BET, MTV and Nickelodeon — with WBD’s portfolio of HBO, Max, Warner Bros. film and TV studios, DC, CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV and Discovery+. Paramount has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings from the merger, which is Wall Street shorthand for mass layoffs on a significant scale.
The ten-minute meeting was presided over by chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr., with Zaslav, Campbell, Wiedenfels and chief communications officer Robert Gibbs in virtual attendance. Di Piazza was bullish. “We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio,” he said. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community.”
Zaslav echoed the sentiment. “Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. Discovery and returned the company to industry leadership,” he said. “Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.”
Paramount Skydance struck a similar note. “Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” it said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to “closing the transaction in the coming months.”
The shareholders have spoken on the merger. On the pay, they were ignored before the vote was even counted.
