Hollywood
Roger Deakins to shoot sequel of 1982 sci-fi film ‘Blade Runner’
MUMBAI: Twelve-time Academy Award-nominated cinematographer Roger Deakins will join director Denis Villeneuve on Alcon Entertainment’s shoot the sequel to Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi film Blade Runner.
Deakins, who was presented with the Pierre Angenieux Excellens in Cinematography Award at the Cannes Film Festival, reteams with Villeneuve on what will be their third feature collaboration, having previously worked together on Alcon’s Prisoners, starring Hugh Jackman and Jake Gyllenhaal as well as Villeneuve’s upcoming film Sicario, a drug-trafficking drama starring Emily Blunt, Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro from Black Label Media.
Deakins received his latest Academy Award nomination this year for his work on Angelina Jolie’s Unbroken. He was previously nominated for Joel and Ethan Coen’s Fargo, The Man Who Wasn’t There, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, No Country for Old Men and True Grit; Frank Darabont’s The Shawshank Redemption; Martin Scorsese’s Kundun; Andrew Dominik’s The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford; Stephen Daldry’s The Reader, which he shared with Chris Menges; and, more recently, Prisoners and Sam Mendes’ Skyfall.
Blade Runner is scheduled to start principal photography in summer of 2016. Hampton Fancher (co-writer of the original) and Michael Green have written the original screenplay based on an idea by Fancher and Ridley Scott. The story takes place several decades after the conclusion of the 1982 original. Harrison Ford will reprise his role as Rick Deckard.
Alcon co-founders and co-CEOs Andrew Kosove and Broderick Johnson said, “Roger is an extraordinary talent and we are very excited that Denis and Roger have chosen to continue their collaboration in bringing the sequel to Blade Runner to the big screen.”
Alcon Entertainment acquired the film, television and ancillary franchise rights to Blade Runner in 2011 from producer Bud Yorkin to produce prequels and sequels to the iconic science-fiction thriller. Yorkin will serve as a producer on the sequel along with Kosove and Johnson. Cynthia Sikes Yorkin will also produce.
Thunderbird Films CEOs Frank Giustra and Tim Gamble will serve as executive producers. Ridley Scott will also executive produce.
Among its many distinctions, Blade Runner has been singled out as one of the greatest movies of all time by innumerable polls and media outlets, and overwhelmingly as the greatest science-fiction film of all time by a majority of genre publications.
Released by Warner Bros., Blade Runner was adapted by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples from Philip K. Dick’s novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? and was directed by Ridley Scott following his landmark Alien. The film was nominated for two Academy Awards.
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.
