Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino’s next: ‘The Hateful Eight’
MUMBAI: Right around the time of the Golden Globe, rumor has it that Quentin Tarantino will complete his new script, which will be a western; the working title of the film right now is The Hateful Eight. “I had so much fun doing Django, and I love westerns so much that after I taught myself how to make one, it’s like ‘OK! Let me make another one now that I know what I’m doing,’” Tarantino told Jay Leno in November when he appeared on The Tonight Show.
Tarantino has finished a draft, and is in the process of showing it to a handful of actors he wants for the picture. Nothing has been confirmed yet, however the title suggests Tarantino could be stepping up his game, playing off the title of John Sturges’ 1960 film The Magnificent Seven, which in turn was a remake of Akira Kurosawa’s 1954 Seven Samurai.
No one has been cast yet, but Tarantino has reached out to veteran casting director Victoria Thomas, who worked on Django, to work with him on casting for the flick, say several insiders. A part has been written for Christoph Waltz, who starred in Tarantino’s Django and Inglourious Basterds. As rumor has it, another part has been written for Hollywood veteran Bruce Dern who, at the age of 77 and after a career worth of distinguished mostly supporting performances, has emerged as a Best Actor frontrunner in Alexander Payne‘s Nebraska.
Pilar Savone, who served as a producer on Django and was also an associate producer on Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Death Proof after being his assistant, is producing Hateful Eight.
Hollywood
Trump invested over $1.1m in Netflix bonds at the peak of Warner Bros bidding battle
Financial disclosures show U.S. president also bought Warner Bros Discovery debt during high-stakes media takeover race.
WASHINGTON: New government financial disclosures show that U.S. president Donald Trump purchased more than $1.1 million worth of bonds issued by Netflix over the past three months. The transactions occurred during a period when Netflix was engaged in a competitive bidding war for Warner Bros. Discovery, a potential merger that the Trump administration had publicly criticised on antitrust grounds.
Between December and January, the president acquired Netflix bonds valued between $1.1 million and $2.25 million. The bonds carry a 5.375 per cent interest rate and are scheduled to mature in November 2029. Financial disclosures also revealed an additional investment in Warner Bros Discovery bonds. The purchase was valued between $500,002 and $1 million, with the debt reportedly bought at roughly 92 cents on the dollar. The bonds are now trading at around 95 cents on the dollar, leaving the position currently in profit.
The timing of the investments has drawn scrutiny because the administration had been openly critical of Netflix’s market activities at the time. While the president’s trust was purchasing the debt, the administration reportedly pressured Netflix to remove board member Susan Rice and expressed concerns that a Netflix–Warner merger could harm competition.
The White House has dismissed conflict-of-interest concerns, stating that the president’s assets are managed independently by his children. Spokesperson Anna Kelly said U.S. presidents are legally exempt from the conflict-of-interest laws that apply to other federal officials.
Despite the financial interest, Netflix ultimately lost the race to acquire Warner Bros Discovery. Paramount Skydance secured the deal on 27 February with a $110 billion offer. The acquisition was backed by Larry Ellison, who guaranteed $40 billion to support the bid, while major lenders including Bank of America, Citigroup and Apollo Global Management provided $39 billion in financing.
The final acquisition leaves the combined Paramount entity carrying roughly $85 billion in debt, while Netflix withdrew its bid roughly two weeks before the official disclosure report was released.
