Hollywood
Catherine Deneuve to receive European Film Academy Lifetime Achievement Award
MUMBAI: Catherine Deneuve, whose decades-long career has made her a prominent name in French cinema, will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award from the European Film Academy.
Her roles in Jacques Demy’s The Umbrellas of Cherbourg in 1964 and Repulsion by Roman Polanski in 1965 catapulted her to stardom, and since then she has gone on to work with industry heavyweights such as the late Spanish filmmaker Luis Bunuel in Belle de Jour and Tristana, French director and screenwriter Jean-Pierre Melville in Un Flic and Andre Techine in Ma Saison Preferee and Les Voleurs.
Deneuve earned her first Cesar in 1981 for her role in The Last Metro by Francois Truffaut, and received another Cesar and an Oscar nomination for her role in Regis Wargnier’s Indochine. Her other accolades include a Volpi Cup at the Venice Film Festival and a Berlin Silver Bear.
Deneuve has also delved into Hollywood, having guest starred in TV series Nip/Tuck and appearing in a sex scene with Susan Sarandon as a bisexual vampire in Tony Scott’s 1983 film The Hunger.
Recently, she starred in Berlin competition title On My Way and will appear in Andrew Techine’s L’homme que l’on aimait trop and Benoit Jacquot’s Trois Coeurs. She will be an honorary guest at the 26th European Film Awards Ceremony on 7 December in Berlin.
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.
