Hollywood
Andrey Zvyagintsev to head SIFF jury, Ishu Patel to lead animation jury
NEW DELHI: Russian film-maker Andrey Zvyganitsev will be the president of this year’s Golden Goblet Awards jury at the 18th Shanghai International Film Festival (SIFF).
The Festival is being held from 13 to 21 June.
Zvyagintsev won Best Screenplay at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival for Leviathan. The film was also nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at this year’s Academy Awards. The drama, about one man’s crusade against his small town’s corrupt mayor, will screen at the festival this year.
The festival has also announced that this year’s Golden Goblet competition will have a Best Documentary and a Best Animation category. Malcolm Clarke and Ishu Patel will head the documentary and the animation jury, respectively.
This year’s SIFF edition will also include a Takakura Ken retrospective held in association with the Motion Pictures Producers Association of Japan Inc and the Tokyo International Film Festival.
Hollywood
Paramount eyes $24bn Gulf support to fund Warner Bros Discovery merger: Reports
Sovereign funds line up funding as media giants chase streaming scale
NEW YORK: Paramount Skydance is in talks to secure nearly $24 billion in equity commitments from Gulf sovereign wealth funds to support its planned takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a WSJ report.
The funding push comes as Paramount Skydance advances its proposed $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, which carries an equity valuation of $81 billion and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
At the heart of the financing plan are three major Gulf investors. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is expected to contribute roughly $10 billion, while the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based L’imad Holding are likely to make up the remainder.
Crucially, the proposed investments are structured as non-voting stakes. This means the Gulf backers would not have direct control in the combined entity, a move designed to ease regulatory concerns in the United States. Paramount executives reportedly do not expect the deal to trigger scrutiny from bodies such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States or the Federal Communications Commission.
If completed, the merger would bring together a formidable portfolio of entertainment and news assets, including CNN and CBS. The combined entity aims to better compete in a fast-evolving media landscape where streaming platforms are steadily pulling audiences away from traditional television.
The deal reflects a broader shift in global media, where scale is increasingly seen as essential to survive the streaming wars. By pooling content libraries, technology and distribution, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are betting on size and synergy to drive future growth.
The involvement of deep-pocketed Gulf investors also underscores the growing role of sovereign wealth in shaping global media consolidation, particularly at a time when high-value deals demand equally large financial backing.
With shareholder votes and regulatory milestones still ahead, the proposed tie-up remains one of the most closely watched media deals of the year. If it clears the final hurdles, it could redraw the competitive map of the global entertainment industry.
