Hollywood
Taiwanese director Liang to release movies at art museums
KOLKATA: Taiwanese director, Tsai Ming Liang, who participated in the 20th Kolkata International Film Festival that kicked off last Monday, declared that his movies going forward will be screened in art museums where it would not compete with commercial and Hollywood movies.
Also, the director talking about the freedom of film makers said that a movie is majorly controlled by financers, distributors and the demands of the viewers, leaving the director with no independence.
“Henceforth I shall release my movies at art museums where they won’t have to compete with commercial and Hollywood movies,” said Liang, talking about his films and cinema in general in front of a heavily packed auditorium.
He nostalgically also shared experiences of his childhood and mentioned how the political situation in Malaysia did not allow him to watch European films. It was only possible once he migrated to Taiwan which became a democratic nation at around the same time.
With such a change in political climate, several international film festivals were arranged which introduced him to directors like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut.
To him, the final frozen frame of ‘The 400 Blows’ raised more questions than it answered and was a major cinematic moment in his life, he added.
While talking about filmmaking as a practice, he said that the foremost question a filmmaker should ask is, “why am I making films?” When asked about the long duration of his shots, he defended them by saying that they are a representation of his own time. In most films objectification of the subject obliterates time.
However, he wants to remove the object so the viewer is aware of the flow of time.
When speaking about the casting of his films, he mentioned that he always casts an individual and not an actor. He discovers his actors in their moments of solitude. He found Lee Kang Sheng when he was riding his bike, he concluded.
Hollywood
David Zaslav could net up to $887m as Warner Bros Discovery sells up
Media mogul strikes gold as Paramount Skydance deal triggers massive windfall
NEW YORK: While the average office worker might hope for a nice clock and a round of applause upon leaving, David Zaslav is looking at a slightly more substantial parting gift. The chief executive officer of Warner Bros Discovery is positioned to receive a windfall of up to $887 million following the company’s blockbuster $110 billion sale to Paramount Skydance.
In a twist of corporate fate that feels scripted for the big screen, the deal marks the finale of a high-stakes bidding war. It comes after Netflix, once the frontrunner, decided to exit stage left and abandon its pursuit of the HBO Max parent company.
While most people receive a standard final paycheck, the filing released on Monday suggests Zaslav’s exit package is built a little differently. If the deal closes as expected in the third quarter of 2026, the numbers break down like this:
The cash out: A severance package of $34.2 million, covering his salary and bonuses.
The equity: $115.8 million in vested shares he already owns.
The future fortune: A massive $517.2 million in unvested share awards, essentially “future stock” that turns into real money the moment the ink dries on the merger.
Perhaps the most eye-catching figure is the $335 million earmarked for tax reimbursements. However, this particular pot of gold has an expiration date.
The company noted that these reimbursements are tied to specific tax-code rules that significantly decline as time passes. If the deal hits a snag and drags into 2027, that tax payout drops to zero. With hundreds of millions on the line, the chief executive officer likely has every incentive to ensure the closing process moves at double-speed.
