Hollywood
Weinstein Company to distribute ‘Macbeth’
MUMBAI: The Weinstein Company has closed a deal for distributing a new version of Macbeth that will star Michael Fassbender and Marrion Cottilard. It is being directed by Justin Kurzel that has the original lines but the visual will be scaled up.
The film is produced by Iain Canning and Emile Sherman. Fassbender comes off from 12 Years a Slave while Cottilard replaced Natalie Portman this year for the role of Lady Macbeth.
TWC had been bidding for it against Fox Searchlight. Shooting is to commence early next year. Jacob Koskoff and Todd Louiso have written the script. The Shakespeare drama has been made several times.
Hollywood
Paramount responds to Warner Bros’ seven-day negotiation offer
$30 all-cash bid battles Netflix pact as board sets March vote
NEW YORK: The streaming wars have taken a corporate twist, with Paramount Skydance sharpening its pitch just as Warner Bros. Discovery doubles down on its planned tie-up with Netflix.
In a pointed statement, Paramount said WBD’s board has granted it a seven-day window to negotiate, but stopped short of formally declaring the $30-per-share all-cash offer a superior proposal. Such a determination would normally open the door to talks without a ticking clock.
Instead, the WBD board is pressing ahead with its special shareholder meeting on 20 March to seek approval for the Netflix merger. Proxy materials already sent to investors put the deal’s value in a range between $21.23 and $27.75 per share.
Paramount’s counter, by contrast, is simpler and sweeter. It offers $30 per share in cash, plus a quarterly ticking fee of $0.25 per share until the transaction closes, promising what it calls a faster and more certain route to completion.
While it described the board’s approach as unusual, Paramount said it is ready to engage in good-faith discussions during the short negotiating window. At the same time, it is not putting all its chips on the table. The company plans to continue its tender offer, campaign against the Netflix merger, and push ahead with plans to nominate its own slate of directors at WBD’s upcoming annual meeting.
For investors, it now reads like a three-act drama: a richer cash bid on one side, a strategic streaming partner on the other, and a board trying to keep both suitors in the wings, at least for a week.
