English Entertainment
NGC US looks to capitalise on ‘Star Wars’ hype with ‘Extraterrestrial’ special
MUMBAI: As the conclusion to the Star Wars saga Revenge of The Sith takes the world by storm National Geographic Channel (NGC) in the US has announced a special documentary Extraterrestrial which will air on 30 May.
Tthe show will feature an array of new and bizarre planetary creatures. What makes them unique is the fact that they are scientifically based visions of life as predicted by some of the world’s leading scientists.
The show creates two worlds which scientists believe could exist in our own Milky Way galaxy, putting evolution into motion to investigate what life forms could survive there. Utilising a combination of computer generated imaging (CGI) and 3-D effects, Extraterrestrial takes viewers on a galactic journey to come face-to-face with these fantastic alien life forms.
The show reflects the contributions of leading scientists from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa), prestigious
universities and organisations like the Ecospheres Project and the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence). The experts anticipate discoveries to be made in the near future, when super-powerful new telescopes will begin watching the fringes of the Milky Way for signs of life.
Using super computers powerful enough to make predictions about the Earth’s climate Extraterrestrial’s scientists modeled the weather and climate for a planet that would orbit a red dwarf star, one of the most common stars in our galaxy. To their astonishment, the resulting profile indicated that the planet would be capable of supporting life.
Based on the latest scientific results and deep space observations, two planets are identified to
represent statistically likely celestial bodies and are subsequently named Aurelia and Blue Moon. Extraterrestrial then brings the science team’s
visions of their respective inhabitants to the screen through CGI modelling and animation.
One of the Planets Aurelia, which circles a red dwarf star, is representative of one of the
most habitable types of planets. The scientists are confident of finding something very similar to Aurelia. It’s very much in the cards according to them.
A place of extremes, one side of Aurelia is permanently exposed to starlight, the other in eternal freezing darkness. There are no seasons, days or nights. Cloud and lightning storms cover the center of the light side,
while a giant ice cap smothers much of the dark side. As viewers descend into the light side, violent storm clouds give way to a landscape of immense rivers and vast flood plains, several times bigger than the Amazon.
Evolutionary biologists and biomechanists then conceived of life forms they believe could survive on Aurelia — nicknaming them Stinger Fans, Gulphogs and Hysteria among others.
Stinger Fans on Aurelia resemble tall plants with giant fans at the top, but they are flesh-and-blood animals that feed on the sun’s energy.
Large slithery tentacles constantly move them slowly across the mud, jostling for the best place to capture the sun’s precious rays.
The Gulphog is the largest predator in the Stinger Fan forest, standing nearly 15 feet high, massive as a buffalo, but with a giraffe-like neck and prominent central teeth. Although it looks ungainly, scientists’ calculations show that the Gulphog can run as fast as a racehorse. Its long legs often help it outrun an indigenous predator, dubbed the deadly Hysteria.
Hysteria look like tadpoles, peacefully eating tiny creatures that live in Aurelia’s lagoons. But the Hysteria can undergo a terrifying transformation
when they come together as one undulating creature, rising from the water to bore into land-based victims and releasing a flesh dissolving toxin.
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.
