Hollywood
George Clooney to receive Cecil B DeMille award at Golden Globes
MUMBAI: Hollywood star George Clooney will be the recipient of the Cecil B DeMille Award at the 2015 Golden Globes, announced the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA).
HFPA president Theo Kingma stated that the HFPA is honoured to bestow the Cecil B. DeMille Award to George Clooney to celebrate his outstanding contributions both in front of and behind the camera.
The actor, producer, writer and director co-founded ‘Not On Our Watch’, an organisation that works to fight genocides around the world. In 2008, Clooney was designated as a UN Messenger of Peace and two years later, he with Joel Gallen and Tenth Planet Productions co-produced a telethon, ‘Hope for Haiti’, which raised $66 million for the Haiti earthquake relief.
Clooney has already been nominated for Golden Globe awards 13 times and won three including ‘Best Actor in a Drama’ for The Descendants (2011), ‘Best Supporting Actor’ for Syriana (2005) and ‘Best Actor in a Comedy/Musical’ for O Brother, Where Art Thou (2000).
The 53-year-old has also won two Oscars – one for his supporting role in Syriana and the other as a producer of 2013’s best picture winner, Argo
Clooney most recently appeared in Gravity and The Monuments Men, the latter of which he also directed, co-wrote and produced. He stars next in Brad Bird’s sci-fi adventure Tomorrowland for Disney and is also slated to direct a film about Britain’s phone-hacking scandal.
Previous recipients of the Cecil B. DeMille award include Jodie Foster, Steven Spielberg, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Douglas and Martin Scorsese. Woody Allen received the honour last year.
Clooney will receive his award when the Golden Globes air on NBC on 11 January 2015.
Hollywood
WBD sets April 23 vote on $110bn Paramount Skydance merger
Investor approval key step, but regulators loom over mega media deal
NEW YORK: Warner Bros. Discovery has set April 23 as the date for shareholders to vote on its proposed $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, marking a crucial step in one of the biggest media deals in recent years.
The all-cash transaction offers WBD shareholders $31 per share, a hefty 147 per cent premium to its unaffected stock price, signalling strong intent to push the deal across the finish line. The company’s board has unanimously backed the merger and is urging investors to vote in favour.
Even if shareholders give the green light, the deal is far from done. Regulators in the United States and Europe are expected to scrutinise the merger closely, weighing concerns around competition and potential price impacts for consumers.
To keep investors on side, WBD has built in a safety net. If the deal is not completed by September 30, shareholders will receive a quarterly “ticking fee” of $0.25 per share until closure.
The proposed merger would significantly reshape the media landscape, combining the assets of Warner Bros. Discovery with those linked to Paramount Global and Skydance Media. It would also cement the growing influence of David Ellison, who has been steering Skydance’s aggressive expansion strategy.
“The WBD Board has been guided by the singular principle of securing a transaction that maximises the value of our iconic assets and delivers as much certainty as possible to our shareholders,” said Warner Bros. Discovery board chair Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr.. “This historic transaction will expand consumer choice and create new opportunities for creative talent.”
Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive officer David Zaslav added that the company is working closely with its counterpart to close the deal and unlock value for stakeholders.
With investor backing likely but regulatory hurdles ahead, the proposed merger is shaping up to be a defining moment for the global entertainment industry, where scale, content and competition are increasingly intertwined.
