Hollywood
Angelina Jolie to direct Richard Leakey biopic on ivory poaching
MUMBAI: Oscar-winning actress Angelina Jolie is all set to direct a new film, a biopic of Kenyan politician and conservationist Richard Leakey and his battle to save the elephants of Kenya from the illegal ivory trade.
Titled Africa, the story has been penned by the Forest Gump screenwriter Eric Roth. It will focus on Leakey’s fight against ivory poachers in the 1980s when he was the head of the Kenya Wildlife Services (KWS).
Leakey, who is the son of the famous anthropologists Louis and Mary Leakey, is the former head of the Kenya Wildlife Service, and is known for taking a hardline stance against the country’s poachers. Working with Kenya’s then-President, Daniel Arap Moi, Leakey spearheaded the creation of armed anti-poaching units. During his time as the KWS chairman he ordered rangers to shoot any poachers they found.
He made international headlines in 1989, after a stockpile of 12 tonnes of ivory, worth an estimated three million dollars, was burned in Nairobi National Park.
In recent years, Leakey has continued to campaign against the slaughter of African wildlife, founding the charitable organisation ‘WildlifeDirect’, which provides support to conservationists working in Africa.
Africa will be produced by Jolie, Man of Steel‘s Jon Peters and Skydance Productions. The cinematographer for the movie is Roger Deakins, an eleven-time Oscar nominee known for the Coen brothers’ No Country For Old Men.
Africa would be Jolie’s fourth film as a director, following 2011’s In the Land of Blood and Honey, a romance set during the Bosnian War, Unbroken, the story of the Olympic athlete Louis Zamperini, which is due in theaters on Christmas Day and her latest movie By the Sea. Jolie serves as writer-director and star alongside her husband, Brad Pitt in the movie which is slated for a 2015 release.
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.
