Hollywood
Full cast of ‘The Godmother’ announced
MUMBAI: Jon Bernthal, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Oscar Jaenada and Mehdi Dehbi have been finalised to join Catherine Zeta-Jones in her next movie The Godmother.
Eva Sorhaug will direct the movie from a screenplay by Frank Baldwin, and production will begin next spring.
Oscar winning Zeta-Jones stars as the notorious Colombian drug queenpin Griselda Blanco, also known as ‘The Godmother of Cocaine’.
Blanco was the first and only woman in history to head a major Colombian drug network, and the film chronicles the rise and fall of the woman who became the wealthiest, deadliest, and most wanted drug lord in the world. Notorious for instigating and fueling the Miami drug wars that took place during the late 1970s and 1980s, Blanco grossed millions of dollars a month amidst fierce competition as cocaine replaced marijuana as America’s drug of choice. Blanco was eventually arrested and convicted in 1985 in her home in Irvine, CA.
She served 18 years in prison before she was released in 2004 and deported back to Colombia. Blanco was murdered on 3 September 2012 — shot to death by a drive-by motorcyclist outside a butcher shop in Medellín, Colombia.
The film is being produced by Daniela Cretu through her First Born Films banner, while Oscar nominee Nicholas Pileggi is the executive producer along with Sierra/Affinity’s Nick Meyer, Marc Schaberg, and Kelly McCormick.
It isn’t Zeta-Jones’ first turn in a movie about the drug trade. In 2000, she starred in Steven Soderbergh’s Traffic, which earned more than $200 million at the global box office.
Bernthal, who currently stars alongside Brad Pitt in David Ayer‘s Fury, was last seen in Martin Scorsese‘s The Wolf of Wall Street.
Moreno was nominated for an Oscar for her performance in Maria Full of Grace, and she recently appeared on the TV series ‘Red Band Society’.
Jaenada most recently starred in Cantinflas and was previously seen in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides while Dehbi’s past film credits include A Most Wanted Man and The Other Son.
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.
