Hollywood
Tina Fey and Amy Poehler may return to host the Golden Globes
MUMBAI: After successfully hosting the Golden Globes this year, the duo has been asked to come back for a second time. The comedy stars had received good reception at their first stint. They had agreed to just appear once as hosts but their success has made NBC and Golden Globes request them to be back.
However, there hasn’t been any formal communication as yet and the duo seems to be very busy with their respective projects. Fey has two high profile comedy shows under her belt after receiving some huge buzz for 30 Rock. Poehler is the star producer of NBC’s Parks and Recreation.
Prior to 2010, the Globes did not have any host and even now it is not too heavy on them either. More conversations are set to begin next month as it has to be finalised by November, before announcing nominees in December.
Fey and Poehler drew 19.7 million viewers last year that moved up by 17 per cent from the previous year as well as recording as one of the most watched Globes ever.
Hollywood
US theatre group opposes Paramount, Warner Bros. merger, calls it ‘harmful’
Exhibitors warn mega deal could shrink film output and weaken cinema ecosystem
LAS VEGAS: Cinema United has come out strongly against the proposed merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, warning it could concentrate too much power in the hands of a single player and disrupt the global film ecosystem.
Speaking at CinemaCon in Las Vegas, the group’s chief executive Michael O’Leary did not mince words as he addressed thousands of theatre owners. The deal, reportedly valued at $110 billion, was agreed in March after Netflix exited the bidding process.
“We believe this transaction will be harmful to exhibition, consumers and the entire entertainment ecosystem,” O’Leary said, cautioning that greater consolidation would allow fewer distributors to dictate terms around release windows, scheduling and access to film libraries. Theatre owners argue that such scale could reduce competition and ultimately mean fewer films making it to cinemas.
Pushing back, a spokesperson for Paramount Skydance said the merged entity plans to release 30 films annually in theatres, while continuing to operate both studios separately. The company added that the deal would expand opportunities for creators and strengthen competition by backing more projects globally.
However, exhibitors remain unconvinced. Drawing parallels with The Walt Disney Company’s 2019 acquisition of Fox, O’Leary noted a drop in wide theatrical releases post-merger, reinforcing concerns that consolidation often leads to fewer films.
“Unfortunately, history shows us that consolidation results in fewer films being produced for movie theaters,” O’Leary said.
Beyond output, Cinema United also flagged concerns around theatrical windows, warning that a combined Paramount-Warner entity could exert greater control over how long films remain exclusively in cinemas before shifting to other platforms.
With the debate set to intensify, the clash highlights a familiar tension in Hollywood: scale versus diversity. For theatre owners, the stakes are clear, as they push to ensure that bigger does not mean fewer stories on the big screen.
