Hollywood
Isaiah Washington to be seen in Blackbird
MUMBAI: The actor, who is known for his role in Grey’s Anatomy has just finished shooting for the movie Blackbird which is a film written and directed by Patrick-Ian Polk. He plays the role of a father to a talented singing son who is gay. Washington is sympathetic to his son as he struggles to cope in a conservative society.
Washington’s stint at Grey’s Anatomy ended when he was caught in a homophobic incident against a cast-mate who is gay.
He has also produced the movie along with Carol Ann Shine and Keith Brown. He has been getting rave reviews for Blue Caprice which is directed by Alexander Moors. He was also seen in They Die by Dawn.
Repped by Inqlusion Entertainment and Anderson & Smith, he is developing a reality-based sports and outdoor adventure show with Wayne Hubbard and Candice Price’s Urban American Adventures brand.
Hollywood
US theatre group opposes Paramount, Warner Bros. merger, calls it ‘harmful’
Exhibitors warn mega deal could shrink film output and weaken cinema ecosystem
LAS VEGAS: Cinema United has come out strongly against the proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, warning it could concentrate too much power in the hands of a single player and disrupt the global film ecosystem.
Speaking at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, the group’s chief executive Michael O’Leary did not mince words as he addressed thousands of theatre owners. The deal, reportedly valued at $110 billion, was agreed in March after Netflix exited the bidding process.
“We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire entertainment ecosystem,” O’Leary said, cautioning that greater consolidation would allow fewer distributors to dictate terms around release windows, scheduling and access to film libraries. Theatre owners argue that such scale could reduce competition and ultimately mean fewer films making it to cinemas.
Pushing back, a spokesperson for Paramount Skydance said the merged entity plans to release 30 films annually in theatres, while continuing to operate both studios separately. The company added that the deal would expand opportunities for creators and strengthen competition by backing more projects globally.
However, exhibitors remain unconvinced. Drawing parallels with The Walt Disney Company’s 2019 acquisition of Fox, O’Leary noted a drop in wide theatrical releases post-merger, reinforcing concerns that consolidation often leads to fewer films.
“Unfortunately, history shows us that consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” O’Leary said.
Beyond output, Cinema United also flagged concerns around theatrical windows, warning that a combined Paramount-Warner entity could exert greater control over how long films remain exclusively in cinemas before shifting to other platforms.
With the debate set to intensify, the clash highlights a familiar tension in Hollywood: scale versus diversity. For theatre owners, the stakes are clear, as they push to ensure that bigger does not mean fewer stories on the big screen.
