English Entertainment
VH1 will uncover Michael Jackson’s Secret Childhood
MUMBAI: One case that the media is following closely is pop icon Michael Jackson’s trial in front a California judge.
But regardless of the outcome of his trial on child molestation charges, the gap between how the world views Michael and how he sees himself has never been wider.
In this context music and lifestyle channel VH1 explains how the beloved child entertainer became such a bizarre public figure. In India through its segment VH1 News the broadcaster will air Michael Jackson’s Secret Childhood on 19 March at 10 pm.
VH1 News has examined the singer’s upbringing and found a life filled with abuse, hard labour, relentless ambition, and conflict between his religious upbringing and growing fame. Beginning with Jackson’s birth in 1958 to the record-breaking success of his Thriller album in 1984, the special delves deep into Jackson’s past, such as the mental and physical abuse he endured from his father, Joe Jackson. This includes incessant rehearsals, whippings and humiliating Michael by calling him ‘big nose’
Joe exorcised his frustrations over his own failed musical career by exploiting his musically gifted children – especially Michael – by forcing them to perform in seedy bars and strip joints from Indiana to Ohio. At the same time, the proselytising of his mother Katherine – a devout Jehovah’s Witness – confused Michael about singing, sex and family secrets.
This show opens the doors to the Jackson family homes in Gary, Indiana and Encino, California to uncover bizarre, never-before-seen home movies of Michael dancing with Emmanuel Lewis and cavorting with Snow White and the Seven Dwarves. In exclusive interviews, viewers are introduced to Michael’s first “little friend” the child actor Rodney Allen Rippey.
Other interviews include former CBS Records music mogul Walter Yetnikoff, the man responsible for Michael pursuing a solo music career, but knew him since his childhood years as a member of the Jackson 5, Tatiana Thumbtzen, Michael’s co-star from The Way You Make Me Feel video who tells her tale of unrequited love for the shy pop star. Then there is Teresa J. Gonsalves, a childhood pen pal who got to see a side of the pop icon that very few were privileged to see.
These people, along with celebrity family therapists, biographers and religion experts, all offer their theories about the man whose public antics have become a national obsession. As far as the trial is concerned the sexual molesting case against Michael Jackson, which could put him in jail for 18 years, rests almost entirely on the confused and sometimes contradictory testimony of three siblings, none older than 18.
Defense lawyers for Jackson face a delicate balancing act in cross-examining the young witnesses. Challenging them too vigorously could turn the jury against the defense team and Jackson, who has promoted himself for years as loving children and all things childlike.
While the accuser and his siblings appear to be resolute on central aspects of the case, the halting manner of their presentation and the defense team’s aggressive efforts to undermine it illustrate the difficulties in putting children on the witness stand and having their testimony stick.
English Entertainment
Warner Bros. Discovery shareholders approve Paramount deal
Investors wave through a $111 billion megamerger but deliver a stinging, if toothless, rebuke over half-a-billion-dollar goodbye packages
NEW YORK: The shareholders said yes to the deal. They said no to the cheque. At a virtual special meeting on Thursday that lasted barely ten minutes, Warner Bros. Discovery investors voted overwhelmingly to approve Paramount Skydance’s $111 billion acquisition of the company — and then turned around and voted against the lavish exit pay packages lined up for chief executive David Zaslav and his fellow outgoing executives.
Not that it will make much difference. The compensation vote is purely advisory and non-binding. The Warner Bros. Discovery board can, and almost certainly will, pay out as planned.
But the symbolism stings. It is the second consecutive year that WBD shareholders have voted against the executive compensation packages, and this time they had good reason. Zaslav’s exit deal is, by any measure, extraordinary. Under the terms filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, he is set to receive $34.2 million in cash severance, $517.2 million in equity in the combined company, and $44,195 in continued health coverage — a total of at least $550 million. On top of that, Warner Bros. Discovery has agreed to reimburse Zaslav up to $335 million for taxes assessed by the Internal Revenue Service on his accelerated stock vesting, though the company says that figure will decline depending on when the deal closes. As of March 11, Zaslav also held $115.85 million in vested WBD stock awards — and last month sold a further $114 million worth of WBD shares.
Shareholder advisory firm ISS recommended voting against the compensation measure, citing “problematic” tax reimbursements to Zaslav and the full vesting of his stock awards.
Zaslav will be bound by a two-year non-competition covenant and a two-year non-solicitation of customers and employees after the deal closes.
His lieutenants are not walking away empty-handed either. J.B. Perrette, chief executive and president of global streaming and games, is in line for $142 million, comprising $18.2 million in cash severance and $123.9 million in equity. Bruce Campbell, chief revenue and strategy officer, will receive an estimated $121.5 million, including $18.8 million in severance and $102.7 million in equity. Chief financial officer Gunnar Wiedenfels is set for $120 million, made up of $6.6 million in cash severance and $113.1 million in equity. Gerhard Zeiler, president of international, will get $82.6 million, including $11.9 million in severance and $70.7 million in equity.
The deal itself, clinched in February after Netflix declined to raise its bid for Warner Bros., still needs regulatory clearance from the Justice Department and European authorities. Several state attorneys general are also weighing legal action to block it.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, Democrat of Massachusetts, was unsparing. “The Paramount-Warner Bros. merger isn’t a done deal,” she said after the shareholder vote. “State attorneys general across the country are stepping up to stop this antitrust disaster. We need to keep up this fight.”
If it does go through, the combined entity would be a formidable beast, bringing together Paramount Skydance’s stable — CBS, CBS News, Paramount Pictures, Paramount+, BET, MTV and Nickelodeon — with WBD’s portfolio of HBO, Max, Warner Bros. film and TV studios, DC, CNN, TBS, TNT, HGTV and Discovery+. Paramount has said it expects $6 billion in cost savings from the merger, which is Wall Street shorthand for mass layoffs on a significant scale.
The ten-minute meeting was presided over by chairman Samuel Di Piazza Jr., with Zaslav, Campbell, Wiedenfels and chief communications officer Robert Gibbs in virtual attendance. Di Piazza was bullish. “We appreciate the support and confidence our stockholders have placed in us to unlock the full value of our world-class entertainment portfolio,” he said. “With Paramount, we look forward to creating an exceptional combined company that will expand consumer choice and benefit the global creative talent community.”
Zaslav echoed the sentiment. “Over the past four years, our teams have transformed Warner Bros. Discovery and returned the company to industry leadership,” he said. “Today’s stockholder approval is another key milestone toward completing this historic transaction that will deliver exceptional value to our stockholders.”
Paramount Skydance struck a similar note. “Shareholder approval marks another important milestone towards completing our acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery,” it said in a statement, adding that it looked forward to “closing the transaction in the coming months.”
The shareholders have spoken on the merger. On the pay, they were ignored before the vote was even counted.
