Hollywood
‘Breaking Bad’s’ Bryan Cranston and ‘HIMYM’s’ Neil Patrick Harris snag major Tonys’
MUMBAI: The 68th Annual Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, well known as the Tony Awards saw firsts for Bryan Crantson and Neil Patrick Harris and a record-breaking win for Audra McDonald. Broadway’s biggest night honoured A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder with Best Musical and All the Way for Best Play. Both productions scored four honours each.
The awards show got off to a hoppin’ start with Hollywood star Hugh Jackman (X-Men: Days of Future Past) on Sunday in New York. The evening’s host entered Radio City Music Hall hopping his way from the city streets, down the aisles and then backstage where he proceeded to meet the cast members from many of today’s biggest Broadway shows.
The first award of the night went to Rylance of Twelfth Night for best performance by an actor in a featured role in a play. This marked his third Tony after having previously won for Jerusalem and Boeing-Boeing.
Audra McDonald, known on the small screen for Private Practice, won best lead actress in a play for her portrayal of Billie Holiday in Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill, marking her sixth Tony and making her the biggest Tony winner of all time. She now tops five-time Tony winners Angela Lansbury and the late Julie Harris.
All the Way won best play — and its lead star, Bryan Cranston, who previously won the Golden Globe award and the EMMY award for his portrayal of a high school chemistry teacher with terminal lung cancer in Breaking Bad, snagged his first Tony, taking home best lead actor in a play for playing former President Lyndon B. Johnson in his Broadway debut. The former Breaking Bad star beat Samuel Barnett from Twelfth Night, Chris O’Dowd from Of Mice and Men, Mark Rylance of Richard III and Tony Shalhoub with Act One.
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The lead actor in a musical honour went to Harris for his portrayal of a German transsexual in Hedwig and the Angry Inch. Harris, well known as the womanizer Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother has won Primetime EMMY Awards, and now he has a Tony to his name. The actor edged out Ramin Karimloo of Les Miserables, Andy Karl from Rocky along with Jefferson Mays and Bryce Pinkham, who both star in A Gentleman’s Guide to Love & Murder. Lena Hall of Hedwig and the Angry Inch took home the award for best feature performance by an actress in a musical.
Presenters included Hollywood big shots like Kevin Bacon, Matt Bomer, Wayne Brady, Zach Braff, Kenneth Branagh, Patricia Clarkson, Bradley Cooper, Fran Drescher, Clint Eastwood, Emilio Estefan, Gloria Estefan, Vera Farmiga, Will Ferrell, Tony Goldwyn, Anna Gunn, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Ethan Hawke, Carole King, Zachary Levi, Lucy Liu, Kate Mara, McDonald, Leighton Meester, Alessandro Nivola, Zachary Quinto, Emmy Rossum, Liev Schreiber, Orlando Bloom, Barrett Foa, Jonathan Groff, T.I., Samuel L. Jackson, Judith Light, Rosie O’Donnell and Patrick Wilson.
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.
