Hollywood
Five Asian world premieres compete at Tokyo fest
NEW DELHI: Five Asian films will have their world premieres in competition at the 26th Tokyo International Film Festival next month. The Festival will be held from 17-25 October.
The entries include two films from Japanese directors, Fukada Koji’s Au revoir l’été and actor-turned-director Sakaki Hideo’s Disregarded People based on George Akiyama’s novel.
Fukada’s debut film, Hospitalité (2010), debuted at the Tokyo festival three years ago in a now-retired section for local indies. His new film stars Nikaido Fumi as a teenager having a holiday romance.
Non-Japanese Asian films competing are Ning Ying’s To Live and Die in Ordos from China, Jun Robles Lana’s dramaBarber’s Tales from the Philippines, and the Kim Ki-duk produced black comedy Red Family.
Non-Asian films in the 15-strong competition include Daniele Luchetti’s drama Those Happy Days from Italy, Levan Koguashvili’s comedy Blind Dates from Georgia and Richard Ayoade’s thriller The Double from the UK.
The jury, headed by Chinese director Chen Kaige, is comprised of South Korean actress Mun So-ri, Japanese actress Terajima Shinobu, UK-Australian producer Chris Brown and American director Chris Weitz.
They are 22 Japanese feature films in the lineup, representing more than half the Asian titles. There are also six films from Taiwan, part of an already-announced special focus, and three each from China and Philippines.
The Special Screenings section includes films by Shinjo Takehiko, Kumazawa Naoto and Motoki Katsuhide alongside films directed by Luc Besson, Sofia Coppola and Steven Soderbergh.
Dante Lam’s Unbeatable and Vicki Zhao’s So Young screen in the World Focus section with Alex van Warmerdam’s Borgman (Netherlands), Amal Escalante’s Heli (Mexico) and Ulrich Seidl’s Love trilogy (Austria).
Two new competitive sections have been introduced this year, Asian Future and Japanese Cinema Splash, to replace the long-running Winds of Asia-Middle East (2007-2012) and Japanese Eyes (2004-2012) respectively.
The new Asian Future section for first- and second-time directors includes Juno MAK’s Rigor Mortis, Mikhail RED’s Rekorder and Kim Jeong-hun’s Korean Academy of Film Arts (KAFA) graduation feature Stray Dogs.
Japanese Cinema Splash, includes new films by Ogata Akira, Saito Hisashi and Matsui Daigo. It will also screen the winning film of the 35th Pia Film Festival (14-20 September 2013).
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.
