Hollywood
Richard Attenborough, director of ‘Gandhi,’ dies at 90
MUMBAI: Oscar-winning British filmmaker Richard Attenborough, renowned for his critically-acclaimed biopic on Mahatma Gandhi, died on 24 August 2014 after his long illness. The death of the 90 year old was confirmed by his son, according to BBC.
Paying his tribute, British Prime Minister David Cameron tweeted: “His acting in Brighton Rock was brilliant, his directing of Gandhi was stunning – Richard Attenborough was one of the greats of cinema.”
In London, he was the original detective in Agatha Christie’s play The Mousetrap. On the British screen, he made an early mark as the sociopath Pinkie Brown in an adaptation of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock (1947). His acting CV consisted movies like The Great Escape (1963), In Which We Serve (1942), Seance on a Wet Afternoon (1964) etc. To a later generation, he was well known as the scientist-entrepreneur who clones dinosaur DNA in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park (1993).
He won back-to-back Golden Globe Awards for best supporting actor, in The Sand Pebbles (1966), also starring McQueen, set during China’s civil war in the 1920s, and Doctor Dolittle (1967), playing Albert Blossom, a circus owner, alongside Rex Harrison as the veterinarian who talks to animals.
But for most of Attenborough’s later career, his acting was sporadic while he devoted much of his time to directing. Gandhi (1982), an epic but intimate biographical film, was his greatest triumph. Gandhi was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won eight, including best picture, best director, best cinematography, best original screenplay and best actor. The film had 430 speaking parts and used over 300,000 extras for Gandhi’s funeral. No one expected it to recoup its $22 million cost, but it wound up earning 20 times that amount.
Richard Samuel Attenborough was born in Cambridge on 29 August 1923, the eldest son of Frederick Attenborough, an Anglo-Saxon scholar who became the principal of University College, Leicester, and his wife, Mary, a writer who crusaded for women’s rights and took in Basque and German refugees.
Leaving school at 16, he won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts and eventually married a fellow student, Sheila Sim, who became a well-known actress herself before abandoning the theater to look after their three children and become a magistrate.
Attenborough leaves behind his wife, son Michael and daughter Charlotte. His eldest daughter Jane was killed alongside her mother-in-law Jane and her daughter Lucy in the 2004 tsunami.
Hollywood
Paramount eyes $24bn Gulf support to fund Warner Bros Discovery merger: Reports
Sovereign funds line up funding as media giants chase streaming scale
NEW YORK: Paramount Skydance is in talks to secure nearly $24 billion in equity commitments from Gulf sovereign wealth funds to support its planned takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery, according to a WSJ report.
The funding push comes as Paramount Skydance advances its proposed $110 billion deal for Warner Bros. Discovery, which carries an equity valuation of $81 billion and is expected to close in the third quarter of 2026.
At the heart of the financing plan are three major Gulf investors. Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund is expected to contribute roughly $10 billion, while the Qatar Investment Authority and Abu Dhabi-based L’imad Holding are likely to make up the remainder.
Crucially, the proposed investments are structured as non-voting stakes. This means the Gulf backers would not have direct control in the combined entity, a move designed to ease regulatory concerns in the United States. Paramount executives reportedly do not expect the deal to trigger scrutiny from bodies such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States or the Federal Communications Commission.
If completed, the merger would bring together a formidable portfolio of entertainment and news assets, including CNN and CBS. The combined entity aims to better compete in a fast-evolving media landscape where streaming platforms are steadily pulling audiences away from traditional television.
The deal reflects a broader shift in global media, where scale is increasingly seen as essential to survive the streaming wars. By pooling content libraries, technology and distribution, Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery are betting on size and synergy to drive future growth.
The involvement of deep-pocketed Gulf investors also underscores the growing role of sovereign wealth in shaping global media consolidation, particularly at a time when high-value deals demand equally large financial backing.
With shareholder votes and regulatory milestones still ahead, the proposed tie-up remains one of the most closely watched media deals of the year. If it clears the final hurdles, it could redraw the competitive map of the global entertainment industry.
