English Entertainment
L’oreal Paris Elite Model Look India 2006 unveils new face
MUMBAI: The L’Oreal Paris Elite Model Look India 2006, which kickstarted last month, culminated in a grand finale in Mumbai.
Manasvi Mamgal was chosen as the winner of the contest There was a tie in the first runners up position. Erica Packard and Nicki Sehgal were announced as the first runners-up, while Akanksha Arora was selected as the second runner-up of this mega model hunt.
The auditions for the model hunt were held across four metros between 2 and 9 September. Twenty girls were chosen and sent to Goa for a complete training and fitness programme from 12 to 17 September.
The grooming sessions was held at The Leela Palaces and Resorts, which was the official venue sponsor for the event. Fitness expert Leena Mogre monitored the sessions in Goa.
The winner will represent India at the Elite Model Look International 2006 to be held in Thailand in November 2006 while the three runners-up will be the participating in the Elite Model Look Asia Pacific 2006 to be held in Shanghai in November 2006.
The panel of judges for the finale included Elite supermodel and reigning Miss India-Universe Neha Kapur, actress Amrita Arora, supermodel Mehr Jessia, fashion designer Manish Malhotra, stand-up comedian Ash Chandler and Michaela Goddard who is the Head – Scouting, Elite Worldwide.
Elite India CEO Sushma Puri said, “The L’Oreal Paris Elite Model Look 2006 is an exciting property which allows us to tap into the immense talent that lies undiscovered across India.
This democratic event gives an opportunity to all those young girls who dream of a career in the fashion industry. Elite on its part strives to develop these participants so that they rise to their fullest potential and are able to shine.”
Besides the final winners, Soni Agarwal and Apoorva Vishvanathan were the other two winners for the Miss Photogenic title while Ekta Chaudhury was announced as the winner of the Trussardi Prima Donna Award.
All the winners will be in a modeling contract with Elite India and have won a free one-year membership to Fitness expert Leena Mogre’s gym.
The auditions for the model hunt was held across four metros between 2 to 9 September. Twenty girls were chosen and sent to Goa for a complete training and fitness programme from 12 to 17 September.
The grooming sessions was held at The Leela Palaces and Resorts, which was the official venue sponsor for the event. Fitness expert Leena Mogre monitored the sessions in Goa.
The model hunt will be aired in the form of a reality series from 23 September onwards exclusively on Zoom, India’s premier glamour and lifestyle television. The series will take a look at the shoot right from auditions, training sessions to the grand finale.
Commenting on the association with the event, Zoom business head MK Anand said, “As India’s foremost Glamour and Entertainment news destination, Zoom has showcased the finest events in the fashion and lifestyle arena. This model hunt is an effort to gain a space in fashion and style space. We hope to consolidate our position with the L’Oreal Paris Elite Model Look 2006.”
“We will be airing a 10 episode series that takes a look at the reality shoot at the training sessions at Goa and the finale. This is just the beginning. We will soon be lauching a hunt called Diva Quest, which will be a hunt for a face for Zoom” added Anand.
L’Oreal Consumer Products Division (India) director Philippe Raffray added “L’Oreal Paris endeavors to make women around the world more beautiful. Which is why this association with Elite, one of the most prestigious modeling networks, and Zoom, India’s glamorous lifestyle channel, creates a unique showcase for contemporary Indian beauty.”
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.
