Hollywood
Stars commit to ‘Suicide Squad’
MUMBAI: An all-star roster of actors has joined Warner Bros. Pictures’ new action adventure ‘Suicide Squad’, bringing DC Comics’ super villain team to the big screen under the direction of David Ayer (‘Fury’). The announcement was made today by Warner Bros. Pictures creative development and worldwide production president Greg Silverman.
The film will star two-time Oscar nominee Will Smith (‘The Pursuit of Happyness’, ‘Ali’, upcoming ‘Focus’) as Deadshot; Tom Hardy (‘The Dark Knight Rises’, upcoming ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’) as Rick Flagg; Margot Robbie (‘The Wolf of Wall Street’, upcoming ‘Focus’, the ‘Tarzan’ movie) as Harley Quinn; Oscar winner Jared Leto (‘Dallas Buyers Club’, ‘Alexander’) as the Joker; Jai Courtney (‘Divergent’, upcoming ‘The Water Diviner’) as Boomerang; and Cara Delevingne (‘Anna Karenina’, upcoming ‘Pan’) as Enchantress.
In making the announcement, Silverman said, “The Warner Bros. roots are deep on this one. David Ayer returns to the studio where he wrote ‘Training Day’ and brings his incredible ability to craft multidimensional villains to this iconic DC property with a cast of longtime Warner collaborators Will Smith and Tom Hardy, and other new and returning favorites: Margot, Jared, Jai and Cara. We look forward to seeing this terrific ensemble, under Ayer’s amazing guidance, give new meaning to what it means to be a villain and what it means to be a hero.”
Ayer is also writing the script for ‘Suicide Squad’, which is being produced by Charles Roven (‘The Dark Knight’ trilogy, upcoming ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’) and Richard Suckle (‘American Hustle’). Zack Snyder, Deborah Snyder, Colin Wilson and Geoff Johns are serving as executive producers.
The film is slated for release on 5 August 2016.
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.
