Hollywood
Shoot begins for Tom Hanks & Irrfan Khan starrer ‘Inferno’
MUMBAI: Principal photography has commenced on Inferno, the new film in Columbia Pictures’ Robert Langdon series, which has taken in more than $1.2 billion worldwide to date. The film is slated for release on 14 October, 2016.
In the film, Academy Award winner Tom Hanks reprises his role as Langdon. An international cast of actors, including Felicity Jones, Irrfan Khan, Omar Sy, Ben Foster, and Sidse Babett Knudsen, joins him. The film is directed by Ron Howard and produced by Brian Grazer and Howard.
The screenplay is by David Koepp, based on the book by Dan Brown. The project’s executive producers are David Householter, Dan Brown, Anna Culp, and William M. Connor.
Inferno continues the Harvard symbologist’s adventures on screen: when Robert Langdon wakes up in an Italian hospital with amnesia, he teams up with Sienna Brooks, a doctor he hopes will help him recover his memories and prevent a madman from releasing a global plague connected to Dante’s Inferno.
Howard said, “I’m so excited to be starting production on our third Robert Langdon film. Audiences everywhere have shown a tremendous appetite for the Robert Langdon adventures and Inferno has all of the intrigue and action they could want.”
The film will be shot on location in such exotic cities as Florence, Venice and Budapest. Howard’s production team includes director of photography Salvatore Totino, production designer Peter Wenham, editors Dan Hanley and Tom Elkins, and costume designer Julian Day.
Hollywood
WBD sets April 23 vote on $110bn Paramount Skydance merger
Investor approval key step, but regulators loom over mega media deal
NEW YORK: Warner Bros. Discovery has set April 23 as the date for shareholders to vote on its proposed $110 billion merger with Paramount Skydance, marking a crucial step in one of the biggest media deals in recent years.
The all-cash transaction offers WBD shareholders $31 per share, a hefty 147 per cent premium to its unaffected stock price, signalling strong intent to push the deal across the finish line. The company’s board has unanimously backed the merger and is urging investors to vote in favour.
Even if shareholders give the green light, the deal is far from done. Regulators in the United States and Europe are expected to scrutinise the merger closely, weighing concerns around competition and potential price impacts for consumers.
To keep investors on side, WBD has built in a safety net. If the deal is not completed by September 30, shareholders will receive a quarterly “ticking fee” of $0.25 per share until closure.
The proposed merger would significantly reshape the media landscape, combining the assets of Warner Bros. Discovery with those linked to Paramount Global and Skydance Media. It would also cement the growing influence of David Ellison, who has been steering Skydance’s aggressive expansion strategy.
“The WBD Board has been guided by the singular principle of securing a transaction that maximises the value of our iconic assets and delivers as much certainty as possible to our shareholders,” said Warner Bros. Discovery board chair Samuel A. Di Piazza Jr.. “This historic transaction will expand consumer choice and create new opportunities for creative talent.”
Warner Bros. Discovery chief executive officer David Zaslav added that the company is working closely with its counterpart to close the deal and unlock value for stakeholders.
With investor backing likely but regulatory hurdles ahead, the proposed merger is shaping up to be a defining moment for the global entertainment industry, where scale, content and competition are increasingly intertwined.
