Hollywood
Guinness Book of World Records 2015 to be star studded
MUMBAI: The Guinness Book of Records 2015 has announced a new list of personalities who broke and created new records this year and it appears to be filled with names of prominent musicians.
Metallica, Eminem, One Direction and Miley Cyrus are among the musicians who have found their way into Guinness World Records 2015 which will be published next week.
Eminem earned the honour for the ‘most words in a hit single’ with his song Rap God, which has him rapping 1,560 words in six minutes nine second. Eminem’s rapping skill has been applauded by the Guinness Book of World Records for the first time.
The band ‘One Direction’ was recognised for being the ‘First act to debut at No. 1 with first three albums’ on the standard-bearing American chart. Their album Midnight Memories debuted at top position last year following the chart-topping successes of Up All Night and Take Me Home in 2012.
While Miley Cyrus has been chosen for being ‘the most searched-for Pop Star on the Internet in a year,’ Shakira is officially the ‘Most liked person on Facebook’. Shakira reached 100 million likes in July on Facebook also making her the ‘First person to reach 100 million likes on Facebook’ and star singer Katy Perry boasts the most Twitter followers in the world, with a count of more than 56 million.
Thanks to their ‘Freeze ‘Em All’ show in Antarctica, Metallica became the first and only band to ‘perform a concert on each of the Earth’s seven continents’.
The band set the record after they entertained 120 scientists and competition winners in a transparent dome at Carlini Station in Antarctica in December 2013.
Among the television and film records listed in the book, the popular movie Frozen has also found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records as the ‘highest box-office earning for an animated movie’, HBO show Game of Throne is now officially the most copiously pirated show on television. Each episode of the show has been recorded to be downloaded at an average of 5.9 million times. The last show of the recently concluded season alone was downloaded 1 million times.
The DiCaprio-Scorcese movie The Wolf of Wall Street makes record for ‘Most swearing in one film’. The movie has at least 687 expletives at an average of 3.81 swear words per minute.
Guinness World Records 2015 marks the 60th anniversary of the book and will be available on stands from 9 September.
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.
