English Entertainment
HBO to premiere LORT’s ‘The Two Towers’ on Asian television
MUMBAI: HBO has treat in store for its viewers. The English news channel will be premiering The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers for the first time on the Asian television, on 29 August at 8 pm.
As a special treat for the die-hard LORT (The Lord Of The Rings) fans as well as for film and special effects buffs, there’s going to be a behind-the-scenes documentary on 21 August at 8:15 pm.
The second book of JRR Tolkien’s epic trilogy comes to life with the filmmaking and production process as much of a masterpiece as the film itself. A detailed commentary by the cast and crew echoes their unparalleled dedication to the film, claims a company release.
With two Academy awards and four Academy award nominations, the Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers is the second instalment in director Peter Jackson’s motion picture trilogy.
In addition, The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring will be shown on 29 August at 5 pm, followed by the Asian television premiere of The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers at 8 pm.
Tolkien’s trilogy chronicles the epic struggle for possession of the legendary One Ring. If returned to its creator, the Dark Lord Sauron, The Ring will give him the power to enslave the world.
Picking up from where The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring left off, The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers follows the perils of the members of the Fellowship, who have been split up. Frodo the Hobbit (Elijah Wood) and his devoted friend, Sam (Sean Astin) are on their way to the Black Gates of Mordor to destroy the all-powerful Ring of evil and rid the world of its dark powers when they realise a mysterious creature called Gollum (voiced by Andy Serkis) has been following them. The split-personality Gollum promises to guide the hobbits to their destination in order to destroy the Ring and its evil powers, in what would later be a key role in the epic quest.
With an all-star cast of recognisable names from Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler to Cate Blanchett, the rest of the fantastic cast remains unchanged from the previous film, leaving no distractions or possible inconsistencies.
A remarkably expressive computer-generated character that raises the profile of using computer technology in today’s movies, Andy Serkis also wore a motion-capture suit while on the set, resulting in the first character of its kind – an entirely performance-based digital creation that “acts” as much as any actor in the film.
Enchanting from beginning to end, this film is truly a cinematic masterpiece that will undoubtedly be remembered as a milestone in movie history, says the release.
English Entertainment
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount deal
Investors wave through a $111 billion megamerger but deliver a stinging, if toothless, rebuke over half-a-billion-dollar goodbye packages
NEW YORK: The shareholders said yes to the deal. They said no to the cheque. At a virtual special meeting on Thursday that lasted barely ten minutes, Warner Bros. Discovery investors voted overwhelmingly to approve Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of the company — and then turned around and voted against the lavish exit pay packages lined up for chief executive David Zaslav and his fellow outgoing executives.
Not that it will make much difference. The compensation vote is purely advisory and non-binding. The Warner Bros. Discovery board can, and almost certainly will, pay out as planned.
But the symbolism stings. It is the second consecutive year that WBD shareholders have voted against the executive compensation packages, and this time they had good reason. Zaslav’s exit deal is, by any measure, extraordinary. Under the terms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he is set to receive $34.2 million in cash severance, $517.2 million in equity in the combined company, and $44,195 in continued health coverage — a total of at least $550 million. On top of that, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to reimburse Zaslav up to $335 million for taxes assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on his accelerated stock vesting, though the company says that figure will decline depending on when the deal closes. As of March 11, Zaslav also held $115.85 million in vested WBD stock awards — and last month sold a further $114 million worth of WBD shares.
Shareholder advisory firm ISS recommended voting against the compensation measure, citing “problematic” tax reimbursements to Zaslav and the full vesting of his stock awards.
Zaslav will be bound by a two-year non-competition covenant and a two-year non-solicitation of customers and employees after the deal closes.
His lieutenants are not walking away empty-handed either. J.B. Perrette, chief executive and president of global streaming and games, is in line for $142 million, comprising $18.2 million in cash severance and $123.9 million in equity. Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, will receive an estimated $121.5 million, including $18.8 million in severance and $102.7 million in equity. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels is set for $120 million, made up of $6.6 million in cash severance and $113.1 million in equity. Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, will get $82.6 million, including $11.9 million in severance and $70.7 million in equity.
The deal itself, clinched in February after Netflix declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros., still needs regulatory clearance from the Justice Department and European authorities. Several state attorneys general are also weighing legal action to block it.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, was unsparing. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal,” she said after the shareholder vote. “State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
If it does go through, the combined entity would be a formidable beast, bringing together Paramount Skydance’s stable — CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, BET, MTV and Nickelodeon — with WBD’s portfolio of HBO, Max, Warner Bros. film and TV studios, DC, CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV and Discovery+. Paramount has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings from the merger, which is Wall Street shorthand for mass layoffs on a significant scale.
The ten-minute meeting was presided over by chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr., with Zaslav, Campbell, Wiedenfels and chief communications officer Robert Gibbs in virtual attendance. Di Piazza was bullish. “We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio,” he said. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community.”
Zaslav echoed the sentiment. “Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. Discovery and returned the company to industry leadership,” he said. “Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.”
Paramount Skydance struck a similar note. “Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” it said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to “closing the transaction in the coming months.”
The shareholders have spoken on the merger. On the pay, they were ignored before the vote was even counted.
