Hollywood
41st Student Oscar winners announced
MUMBAI: 15 students have been selected as winners in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ 41st Student Academy Awards competition. They will arrive in Los Angeles for a week of industry activities that will culminate in the awards ceremony on Saturday, 7 June at 6 p.m. at the DGA Theater in Hollywood. The medal placements – gold, silver and bronze – in the five award categories will be announced at the ceremony.
For the alternative category, the winners are “Oscillate,” Daniel Sierra, School of Visual Arts, New York and “Person,” Drew Brown, The Art Institute of Jacksonville, Florida. For the animation category, the winners include “Higher Sky,” Teng Cheng, University of Southern California; “Owned,” Daniel Clark and Wesley Tippetts, Brigham Young University, Utah and “Yamashita,” Hayley Foster, Loyola Marymount University, California.
In the documentary category, the winners are “The Apothecary,” Helen Hood Scheer, Stanford University; “One Child,” Zijian Mu, New York University and “White Earth,” J. Christian Jensen, Stanford University.
The winners in the narrative category include “Above the Sea,” Keola Racela, Columbia University, New York; “Door God,” Yulin Liu, New York University and “Interstate,” Camille Stochitch, American Film Institute, California. The winners who took home the coveted prize in the foreign category include “Border Patrol,” Peter Baumann, The Northern Film School, United Kingdom; “Nocebo,” Lennart Ruff, University of Television and Film Munich, Germany and “Paris on the Water,” Hadas Ayalon, Tel Aviv University, Israel.
This year saw first-time honours go to Tel Aviv University, Israel, and The Northern Film School, United Kingdom, in the foreign competition. Academy members voted the winners from a field of 49 finalists, announced earlier this month. The Academy established the Student Academy Awards in 1972 to support and encourage excellence in filmmaking at the collegiate level. The previous Student Academy Award winners have gone on to receive 46 Oscar nominations and have won or shared eight awards. They include John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Robert Zemeckis, Trey Parker and Spike Lee.
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.
