Hollywood
Alfonso Cuaron honoured at the 66th Annual Directors Guild of America
MUMBAI: Hosted by Jane Lynch, the 66th Annual Director’s Guild of America Awards held at the Hyatt Regency center Plaza, Los Angeles on 25 January was a grand affair honoring the behind-the-scenes folks that shape our viewing experience.
Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe Award winning director, Alfonso Cuaron (Pan’s Labyrinth, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) snagged up his first Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film award for the Sandra Bullock and George Clooney starrer space epic, Gravity.
Steven Soderbergh (Ocean’s Eleven, Erin Brockovich, Magic Mike) took home not one, but two DGA awards as his debut win. One for Outstanding Directorial achievement in Movies for Television and Mini-Series in the Golden Globe winning HBO Original Movie, Behind the Candelabra starring Michael Douglas and Matt Damon. Soderbergh was also awarded the Robert B. Aldrich Service Award in recognition of extraordinary service to the Directors Guild of America and to its membership.
In the Television category, Vince Gilligan won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Dramatic Series for Breaking Bad, while Beth McCarthy-Miller won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Comedy Series for 30 Rock.
Grey’s Anatomy creator Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers (Casanova, The Hoax) won the DGA Diversity Award in recognition of commitment to diversity hiring and providing jobs and opportunities to women and minorities in DGA-covered categories.
Hollywood
Paramount Skydance secures financing for Warner Bros Discovery deal
Debt syndication and new loans push $111 billion merger closer to close
WASHINGTON: Paramount Skydance has taken a major step towards its planned acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery, securing fresh financing and completing the syndication of its bridge loan facility.
In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company confirmed that the bridge facility has now been distributed among a group of 18 banks, reducing total commitments to $49 billion from an earlier $54 billion. The move spreads risk across lenders and signals growing confidence in one of the year’s largest media deals.
Alongside this, the company has finalised permanent financing arrangements, including $5 billion in senior term loans and a $5 billion revolving credit facility. A previously planned $3.5 billion credit line has been dropped as part of the restructuring.
The loans are secured against key assets, including Paramount Global, Skydance Media and Warner Bros post-merger, underlining the scale and complexity of the transaction.
The financing push follows a competitive bidding process earlier this year, which saw interest from players such as Netflix before Paramount Skydance emerged as the frontrunner. The deal, valued at $111 billion, is expected to close in the third quarter, subject to regulatory approvals.
Adding to the momentum, the company has also secured significant equity backing, including investments from Middle Eastern funds, with support from billionaire Larry Ellison, who has guaranteed the equity portion of the transaction.
Commenting on the development, Paramount Skydance chief strategy officer Andy Gordon said, “Our successful debt syndication and new debt facilities represent another important milestone towards the completion of our acquisition of Warner Bros Discovery.”
Once completed, the combined entity is expected to carry net debt of just under $80 billion, reflecting the sheer scale of the merger.
As Hollywood continues to consolidate in the streaming era, this deal could reshape the competitive landscape, with Paramount Skydance betting big on scale, content and financial muscle to take on global rivals.
